Fullness in Christ (Colossians)

Do you ever feel as if you’re ‘not quite there’ as a Christian—as if you’re lacking something? Do you ever wonder if there’s something more you should be doing so that you can be truly spiritual? You began your Christian life by trusting in Jesus, but what happens now?

These are questions the early Christians in Colossae also wrestled with, almost 2000 years ago. As you work through these studies and discover the riches of Paul’s answers in his letter to the Colossians, you’ll be reminded of who Jesus is and all that he has done for us, and you’ll explore what it means to have fullness in Christ.

Download a free sample from our online store.

Table of contents

1. Please and thank you (Colossians 1:1-14)
2. The real Jesus (Colossians 1:15-23)
3. Toil and mystery (Colossians 1:24-2:5)
4. Fullness and freedom (Colossians 2:6-23)
5. New clothes for new people (Colossians 3:1-17)
6. New households (Colossians 3:17-4:1)
7. Engaging with God and with outsiders (Colossians 4:2-6)
8. Fellowship in Christ (Colossians 4:7-18)
9. For the leader

Before you begin

The 21st century continues to offer a vast array of tantalizing possibilities for developing a deeper and more vibrant spiritual life. If you ‘Follow this 6-step program’ or ‘Cultivate these 4 habits in your life’ or ‘Keep these particular practices’ then you will experience a richer relationship with God, or swim in deeper spiritual waters, or taste more sweetness in your everyday life, or… The options and their promises go on and on.

It may come as a surprise that things were no different in the first century. Although it would seem that the apostle Paul had never met the believers in Colossae, he was deeply concerned for them because of the threat posed to their faith by alternate teachings about Jesus and the Christian life. Paul knew that an incorrect or even an inadequate view of Jesus inevitably leads to disaster in a person’s faith and Christian life.

But what if Jesus is so glorious, so precious and so superior that he renders all other so-called avenues to God completely irrelevant? What if his work on the cross is so powerful, so thorough and so significant that other alternatives are unnecessary? What if Jesus’ person and work is all that is needed to bring a person complete fullness in their relationship with God?

Welcome to the short but wonderfully rich book of Colossians, where we see so clearly who Jesus is, what he has done in his death and resurrection, and how we are to live out the reality of our fullness in Christ.

—James Stone, March 2018