The Sufficiency of Christ
As an integral part of the Prison Letters, Paul wrote Colossians to reinforce the believer’s faith.
The church was in danger of becoming extinct, because it was trapped in an error that Paul calls an outside “philosophy” (2:8, 16-23), which threatened their assurance. This error was not a heresy or some kind of false doctrine. The most one can say is that the error devalued Christ’s supremacy and the adequacy of salvation through him.
The congregation, therefore, needed encouragement about the certainty of their faith. Against this treat, Paul argues for the all-sufficiency of Christ by asserting 3 truths:
- all the fullness of deity dwells in Christ
- believers are complete in Christ, and
- Christ has authority over all angelic beings and cosmic powers (2: 9-15)