From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

If you want to remember the message of the book of Colossians, remember three words about the preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The book of Colossians is among the shortest of Paul's epistles to the churches (only First and Second Thessalonians are shorter in the Greek). Yet this book is one of the most all-encompassing of the Pauline letters. If any pastor were beginning to plant a new church and wondered where to begin preaching in the Word of God, I believe he could do no better than to begin that ministry with a series of messages on Colossians.

The theme of the book is the preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ. The outline of Paul's letter, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is both comprehensive and easy to remember. There are two ways to remember it.

Christ's Preeminence Declared, Defended, and Demonstrated

One way is to think in terms of three words, all beginning with the letter D. In chapter one, Paul declares the preeminence of Christ in all things - in creation, in salvation, in the church, in the present universe, and in the universe to come. In chapter two, Paul defends the preeminence of Christ against Satan's triple threat - the three means of attack by which Satan seeks to undermine the Christian individually and the church as body in all centuries. Those threats are worldly philosophy, legalism, and man-made doctrines. In chapter three, having declared and defended the preeminence of Christ in all things, Paul calls upon the Colossian believers to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ in all of their thinking and living - in the home, in the workplace, in their dealings with the unsaved world, and in the church.

That is the essence of the book of Colossians: Christ's preeminence declared, defended, and demonstrated.

Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life

Another way to remember the message of the book of Colossians is to remember Jesus' words in John 14:6 - "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through Me." Paul's declaration of the preeminence of Christ in chapter one is, in fact, a declaration that Jesus, the creator God, Lord of all, is the only Way to eternal life. Paul's defense of the preeminence of Christ in chapter two is a declaration that Jesus Christ is the Truth in distinction from, and opposition to, all the lies of Satan. Paul's challenge to believers in chapters three and four, to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ in their lives and thinking, is a call upon them to demonstrate that Jesus Christ is the Life - both now and in the world to come.

Therefore, Paul writes what is, in fact, a summary of his message at the beginning of chapter three: "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4)

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