Jesus is Sufficient
Introduction
Last week we looked at the supremacy of Jesus: Jesus is the supreme Lord over everything. Jesus is supreme over creation and new creation, over our understanding of God and humanity, over our identity and purpose, over redemption and reconciliation, and over His body, the church (you and I).
Colossians 1:18b (ESV)
18bHe is the beginning,
the firstborn from the dead,
that in everything he might be preeminent. (“supreme”)
But this is not just some doctrinal tenet or static idea. It is a living revelation. Jesus being the supreme Lord calls for a response. If Jesus is the supreme Lord, then what do we do about it now?
- The Church lives under Jesus as the supreme Lord
Paul is going to get to all the practical stuff in this letter (ethics, morality, maturity, relationships, work), but this is NEVER JUST about behavior.
- The Church worships Jesus as the supreme Lord
Worship is not the “warm-up act”, but is to be the beating heart of the Christian life. Our hearts are to remain bent toward adoration and love for Jesus.
Living Under Jesus as Lord
The revelation that the sovereign Lord of the universe redeems and reconciles us is not just an idea in our heads, but a reality in our lives. If He is supreme over everything, then we are called to submit our whole lives to Him as the supreme Lord. Paul builds on this idea further in chapter 1.
Colossians 1:27-28 (ESV) To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
The emphasis is not on “you.” Paul repeatedly draws our attention to the one focus we need: Jesus. But neither does Paul exclude you. Though the focus is, and must remain, on Jesus (“Him we proclaim”), it is not without us being included. The sovereign and saving Lord of the universe is not in some distant dimension. He is very much present and near us. The mystery that was once hidden is now open to everyone: that the supreme Lord of the universe, the fullness of God dwelling within Him, is now “in you” (“y’all” – the pronoun there is plural). Everything Jesus is, He is in us.
But this means something; we have Christ in us, but with a goal in mind: to be presented “mature in Christ.” The goal Paul has for everyone, not just the spiritually elite or the extra holy and godly, is that they be presented as mature, grown up, in Christ.
“Mature” (sometimes translated “perfect”) — “teleios” — brought to its end, finished; wanting nothing necessary to completeness; consummate human integrity and virtue; full grown, adult, of full age, mature
The progression Paul takes from announcing Jesus over everything in the universe and has redeemed them from sin and death and reconciled them to God is to say, surprisingly, that this same Jesus is in them, but the goal of Him being in them is that they become mature in Him. He in us and us in Him. Not Him without us, nor us without Him. The goal for us in submitting our lives to the supreme Lord of the universe Jesus is that we receive His Lordship over our lives, receive His presence into our lives, and walk out the entirety of our lives in Him. Jesus is not an “add-on” to our already ordered lives. He is no “supplement” but is “supreme.” Nor is Jesus a starting point on a long journey of enlightenment where we add things onto Him. Jesus is both supreme and “sufficient.” Our growth and maturity is not adding Jesus onto our lives, nor is it adding more ideas, systems, or spiritualities onto Jesus. Growth in our lives comes from Jesus as sufficient, He in us and us in Him.
Jesus is sufficient for everything we need.
What does it look like to “grow in Christ”? And how do we grow?
Examples/Analogies: growing in our health — many opinions and many perspectives. Some advocate for vitamins and supplements, some advocate for this or that workout routine, some advocate for certain forms of diet or another. How do we know what will work? How do we know which voices have credibility, not just popularity?
Christian examples: some people advocate for more things to do (growth is found in following the rules, starting these practices, doing more things), and some advocate for more experiences to have (growth is in spiritual experiences).
Paul addresses these things and describes what growth in Christ is in the next chapter.
Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV) Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
Colossians 2:6 (CEB) So live in Christ Jesus the Lord in the same way as you received him.
How do you grow and mature? You know who you are, what you have, and what you can do “in Christ.” As you “received” Him as Lord (you surrendered your life to Him, submitting to His authority, receiving what He has done for you), so now you are to live you whole under His Lordship. Everything in our lives are to revolve around Jesus. Jesus is not a nifty addition to our lives. He is not a supplement. He is not a side-project. He is not one among many religious or spiritual options. He is everything. We are to “root” our lives in Him. Our lives get “built up” in Him. We are to be “established” in the faith we have been “taught” in Him. We are to overflow with thanksgiving for Him. It is all about Jesus. Jesus is sufficient for everything.
Jesus is sufficient for everything we need.
Dangerous Temptations
Colossians 2:8 (ESV) See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
“Let no one enslave you”
“More philosophy” — ideology (image of a slick salesman); ideas and belief systems that makes promises they can’t keep (secularism, Marxism, post-modernism)
Any idea, belief system or philosophy that moves me in a direction away from Jesus will eventually enslave me. It’s not that I cannot learn from other philosophies or world-views. It’s not that I cannot build bridges with people who hold those belief systems. But I must see to it that I do not get enslaved by them and drawn away from Jesus.
There are “Christian” versions of these that try to combine Christian thinking with cultural trends and it will have the same effect: draw you away from Jesus and enslave you. We must learn to recognize any thought, idea, philosophy, or belief that draws us away from Jesus, and bring those under the authority of Jesus.
When Jesus is seen as not sufficient for us, we are easily tempted and deceived by clever philosophies and ideologies that sound true and good, but will only enslave you. Jesus is sufficient for us to grow wise and mature, freeing us to learn from others, but not be enslaved by bad ideas.
Colossians 2:16-17 (ESV) Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.
“Let no one judge you”
“More rules” — religion / legalism (image of a judge); rules and rituals in an attempt to impress God or get God to love us; love based on performance (Islam, Hinduism)
There are people who “pass judgment” on others who do not follow the same rules or have the same rituals. The bad kind of religion is legalism, and it is a system that demands strict adherence to rules and rituals that are designed to impress God, appease God’s anger.
Christians have a version of this legalism that demands conformity to rules and rituals to get God to love us, or earn His favor. There are charismatic versions of this as well: “you aren’t praying enough…worshipping enough…having enough faith.”
When Jesus is seen as not sufficient for us, we are tempted to pass judgment on others who aren’t doing what we think they should. When we are growing in Christ, becoming mature, we are freed from the need of judging others’ behavior.
Colossians 2:18 (ESV) Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,
“Let no one disqualify you”
“More feelings” — spirituality (image of an umpire); exotic experiences to transcend this world; love based on feeling (New Age, Buddhism)
This is the modern temptation. Spirituality is all the rage in today’s world, people wanting to “transcend” the burdens of this world, have “experiences” with the “divine force” and be “one with the universe.” God is more of an experience, than a person. Paul is saying to be careful of that.
There are Christian versions of this. There are many who addicted to the feelings of spiritual experiences. Those who are in excess in this area disqualify others whom they think aren’t spiritual enough.
When Jesus is seen as not sufficient for us, we tend to create a hierarchy of spirituality and disqualify others who are not as high on the ladder as we are. When we are mature in Christ, we recognize we are all on the journey of knowing Jesus more and more and no one is disqualified from knowing Him personally.
Christianity has a philosophy, and is both religious and spiritual, but not in the way we think! All of these get radically re-shaped in Jesus.
Colossians 2:19 (ESV) and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
“Hold fast to the Head” — think Jesus as the “source” or “fountain head” — “from whom…growth that is from God.”
All Christian growth and nourishment and unity comes from God, not ourselves.
Christ-less philosophy, religion, and spirituality elevates and isolates the individual.
Christ-centered philosophy, religion, and spirituality connects us to the LIFE of Christ and to the BODY of Christ.
Is what you are doing developing a deeper love of Jesus? for each other?
“From who the whole body…grows” — Your presence matters in the gathering of the church for worship and fellowship, not just for your own growth, but all of us to grow.
Colossians 2:20-23 (ESV) If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” ( referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Nothing self-made will lead toward lasting growth and fulfillment.
It is not “Jesus and me,” it is Jesus “in me” and I “in Him.”
Conclusion
John 15:4-5 (ESV) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
What is Christ-less will be fruitless.
Fruitfulness flows from Jesus.
There is no “Jesus and… _______” It is a lie to believe that Jesus is not enough, that you need more: more beliefs, more rules, more feelings. Jesus is enough. Jesus is sufficient for everything we need. Everything we need flows from Christ and is in Christ.
Jesus is sufficient for everything we need.