Signing Off

Colossians 4:7-18

About the Sermon

The endings of the New Testament letters don’t usually strike us as interesting or needful. But that’s one of the great values of expository preaching. We actually come to the end of a letter, and are forced to ponder why it is there, what it is doing, and what God had in mind by His Spirit in inspiring the passage. What will we find at the end of Paul’s letter? Names, commendations, instructions, logistics, and more. Of what value is this for us? Listen in to find out.

About the Series

Is Christ enough for us? Speaking of Christ, Paul writes, “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him” (2:9, 10). He is. The message of the book of Colossians is that spiritual fullness is found in Christ and Christ alone, and this fullness leads to fruitfulness and a life fully pleasing to God (1:10). Like the church at Colossae, the church in our age faces a pernicious threat. Not always the threat of outright doctoral heresy, but the subtle addition of religious sounding but worldly solutions to the problem of sin. It might even sound something like, “Do not handle. Do not taste. Do not touch” (2:21). Instead, Paul offers us the only way to true maturity: “Him we proclaim . . . that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (1:28).
Is Christ enough for us? Speaking of Christ, Paul writes, “in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him” (2:9, 10). He is. The message of the book of Colossians is that spiritual fullness is found in Christ and Christ alone, and this fullness leads to fruitfulness and a life fully pleasing to God (1:10). Like the church at Colossae, the church in our age faces a pernicious threat. Not always the threat of outright doctoral heresy, but the subtle addition of religious sounding but worldly solutions to the problem of sin. It might even sound something like, “Do not handle. Do not taste. Do not touch” (2:21). Instead, Paul offers us the only way to true maturity: “Him we proclaim . . . that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (1:28).

Sermons in the Series