Written with the single purpose of displaying the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus, the book of Colossians answers the two questions every person asks: Who am I? Why am I here? Louie Giglio takes us through the book of Colossians to find the answers to these questions; the answers to which determine the direction and quality of all of our lives.

The Church at Colossae had a major problem. This small church, located about 100 miles from Ephesus, had been established as a result of the impact of Paul’s ministry in the area, and although we’re not sure that he ever visited Colossae himself, Paul’s voice no doubt carried major leverage there.

Notice the language of Chapter One, verses 3-8:
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

What do you see here? The Gospel is bearing fruit! Paul writes that ever since the birth of the church in Colossae, faith and love have been springing up as a result of the hope these people have gained from putting their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He even mentions Epaphras, who has been serving faithfully as a minister and teacher of the faith!

These are exactly the kinds of reports you would want to hear from a church. This is great news.

Except, another report had reached Paul. A report that troubled Paul deeply and should trouble us today. See, Colossians isn’t just about something that happened to them, Colossians is God’s way of speaking to all of us.

“Be careful someone doesn’t come into your story today and start threatening your pure faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ because I guarantee you it is happening all around you right now.”

So, what news from Colossae was so concerning that it inspired Paul to write to the burgeoning church?

The deity of Jesus was under attack in the Church at Colossae.

Fast forward to our world today, and these empty lies still exist. All over the world, people challenge the deity of Jesus with their words. They say that he was just a prophet or an excellent teacher of morality, or some just call him a liar. Even more plentiful are people who claim to know Jesus, but their actions betray that they don’t really consider him to be God. They turn a blind eye to his teachings or his character and then still publicly wear his name. Others claim a secret knowledge that would unlock a doorway into salvation outside of the redemptive power of Jesus, searching everywhere for a different thoroughfare into an eternity of enlightenment other than the clear teachings of Scripture.

In other words, not much has changed.

This is why Paul’s letter to the Colossians is so important to study today and why we’re so glad you’re joining us for this track:

“The doctrine of the Person of Christ is here stated with greater precision and fulness than in any other of St. Paul’s epistles.” -J.B. Lightfoot

Did you wake up today with purpose? Did you imagine that you would be able to answer these two questions today? Two existentially massive questions, ones which will define the next moment, the moment after that, and every single moment of your life moving forward? Or maybe you have been a believer in Christ for a decade, and you needed a reminder of the answer to these questions today. Either way, take a minute right now, maybe close your eyes and just pray the simple prayer, “Thank you.”

To the threat facing the pure faith of the believers in Colossae, Paul put his foot down. Look at verses 15-16 again:

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.

Many of us may know, or even believe, that God created everything. We look around at the awe-inspiring peaks of mountains, or we close our eyes and listen to the sound of a heavy rainstorm, and somewhere in our minds, we realize that there are bigger forces at play than we can imagine. But here in Colossians, Paul is laying down a heavy theological truth that when the triune God created all things, all things were through the person of Christ.

All. Things.

You.

You were created through Jesus and for Jesus.

So to anyone who has ever told you that you were a mistake, to anyone who has ever tried to measure you on the scale of accomplishment or accolade, to any person who has stapled a definition to your heart and reduced who you are to a spiteful comment, even to your own inner monologue who has never let you live down a single mistake here’s what you can remind them.

You were created through Jesus and for Jesus. That is who you are, and it’s WHY you are.

Your purpose is not your job.
Your purpose in existing is to know God.
Your purpose is not your significant other.
Your purpose is to be in a relationship with God.
Your purpose is not in how much money you have.
Your purpose is to worship God.
Your purpose is not to fix everyone’s problems.
Your purpose is to give praise back to God.

To honor God and reflect back to him all the greatness he has put inside of you. That is your purpose.

He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Colossians 1:17-20

Why is everything all about Jesus? Because everything was created by and for Jesus, everything and everyone belongs to him. This is why challenging the deity of Jesus was such a threat to the Church at Colossae, and it’s why Paul responded with such fierce vigor. Read those verses again; you’ll find no quibbling as to his meaning.

For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.

Once again, all things.

Jesus created you.
Jesus shed his blood to redeem you.
Therefore, Jesus gets supremacy over every breath of your entire life.

Have you given it to him?

There’s not a lot of instruction necessary here, just a powerful reminder that you are held together by billions of molecules that take the shape of a cross. You were made by and for Jesus. He created you and gave you purpose. He holds you through every moment, every season, every challenge, and every celebration. He is almighty God, and yet he is in your most precious seconds. He is in your story today. Thank God. Praise his Holy name.

Make time on your calendar tonight, or a night soon to come, to watch the full Laminin message from Louie Giglio, “How Great is Our God”

“God and everything He is through Christ, who is everything, has come to bring everything Christ is. is to you, so at birth Christ is in you, and in that, we now are adjusting to the new reality and shifting our thinking and our behavior to live as though we are in Christ and Christ in you and you in Christ is the new power for life.”

Let’s reflect all the way back to day one. What was the second heresy that was working its way through the church at Colossae? A teaching that promoted the idea of a secret knowledge that was only available to a select few people in the faith. In other words, the people of God were being led to believe that there was a revelation outside of Jesus, something that only a few would ever have access to.

And yet we have the Word, and furthermore, the Word made flesh in Jesus. Look back at Colossians 1:27 again, specifically what Paul labels as our hope of glory, Christ IN us.

In other words,

His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
2 Peter 1:3

Don’t just read that scripture and move on. Look deeply at it, and let yourself feel the weight of that truth. For those in Christ, every single thing that is needed to carry out the Holy work before us has already been given to us through the divine power of God. You didn’t discover some secret truth hidden in a field. You aren’t being asked to manufacture a pearl of wisdom through your own deduction. You haven’t been plucked out of your sin and shame and then abandoned to navigate your way through a life filled with hallelujahs and hardships by the power of your own grit and gusto.

No, every single equipping gift you need for a godly life was given to you through your knowledge of Jesus, who called you by his own glory and goodness. He who gave you a revelation of His power has given you, through that revelation, His power. Ask yourself, what else could we, or the church at Colossae, possibly long for, and if we do long for something else, where does that longing come from?

“It is a brand new reality and a brand new story, and it is available to every single person.”
Louie Giglio

This is why we are called to preach Jesus with our gifts, our words, and our lives. He is the way, the truth, and the life.

What a supernaturally reassuring reframing of our lives. What we are called to is not to come alongside Jesus and offer Him a 50/50 partnership between Christ AND us. No, we were created to surrender all we have and live our lives through the power of Christ IN us. Maybe to you, this feels too easy to be true, like surely there must be a part of this equation that comes from you. Let’s work through this together and see what conclusion we come to.

Look at Colossians 2:6-7 again,
So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord… how did you receive Him? Turn to Ephesians.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:8-10

How did you receive Christ Jesus as Lord?
By Grace through Faith.

How do you continue in Him?
By Grace through Faith.

Turn back to Colossians.

So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
Colossians 2:6-8

Notice how Paul is doing more than just rebuking the heresy we’ve been discussing that was making its way through the Church at Colossae. He is instructing those who have received Christ Jesus as Lord in how to live on guard against any teaching that is peddling any knowledge that does not come from and point to Jesus and the supreme and sufficient source of life.

This changes everything. In fact, Louie Giglio taught us in this video that we can sum up the book of Colossians with a single statement:

He is, in me, changing everything.

Often times people will say that they want spirituality, but they don’t want it to change thier lives. But Jesus changes everything. In fact, He intends to change every single thing about us. Why? through Jesus, we have been rescued from the dominion of darkness and delivered into redemption, and that kind of change results in a total life makeover from the inside out.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Colossians 3:1-11

This is the plan of God in your life, to change everything. To reach into all of the facets of who you are and to transform you to look more and more like Jesus. He wants to change the way you think, the way you act, the patterns and appearance of your life.

Why? So that we can earn favor with God? No!

It is because we have shed our old selves and been clothed with our new selves; because we are not our own any longer, but we are Christ’s.

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 1:12-17

In other words, when you see that Jesus is everything and that He has given you everything He is, then you see that your life is defined by this transaction, and the why becomes clear.

Colossians has four chapters containing 95 verses, and at their heart is a singular, eternity-defining purpose: the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus. So, as we wrap up our study, we would encourage you to write down and do your best to memorize these three key verses:

For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:13-14

And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
Colossians 1:18

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:17

Why take the time to memorize scripture? Because there is a time coming when you will need these verses. There will absolutely be days when Jesus is working in your heart, and you will need to remind yourself that He is Supreme over all, so your self-desires have to be dealt with. There will be days when you feel the pull of some other form of false fulfillment and need to remind yourself that Jesus is sufficient and that all that you need He is and has already given to you.

And there will be days when you feel like leaving it all behind and settling for a lesser life, and in that moment, you will need the reminder that your life isn’t yours to do with as you please and how you please.

Read all of chapters three and four of Colossians, and you’ll find that Paul has something to say to all of us about how we are to live. Read far enough into chapter four, and you may start to find your attention waning as Paul lists 11 ordinary people who made sure to do everything they did in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Do you want to know how to make your life count? There’s your answer.

So why commit yourself to memorizing the scriptures? Because you will need them. Look no further than the 95th verse of this letter written by Paul.

I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

Even chained to a wall, even in prison, Paul understood that there is no circumstance in life that can stop almighty God from accomplishing through anyone’s life what He intends to accomplish through their life. If you are in the Son of God, and the hope of Glory is within you, then nothing can come against you that can stop you from proclaiming the story of Jesus who saved you and sustains you. Carry that truth with you everywhere you go.

Praise be to God.