The sufficiency of Christ is something that most Christians would say, “Yes! I absolutely believe in the sufficiency of Christ.” However, what that really means came to a very sharp point as we discussed it one week in our LifeGroup’s study in Colossians Chapter 1.
Here Paul talks to the church about how excited he is that they “heard it and truly understood God’s grace” (v.6). And how he prayed that they would “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way.” (v.10) But what does this have to do with the supremacy and the sufficiency of Christ? Simply put, it means we have to go all in. If Christ truly is supreme, he is not supreme in the way most Americans use the work. He is not simply the greatest…the biggest…or the best. He is those things, to be sure, but that is still not all that is implied in His supremacy. His supremacy flow from his authority. Paul says “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. (v.17) That means that the reason we are here is not to please ourselves.
This is the pernicious lie of the world, that if we please ourselves, we might experience fulfillment, wholeness, or peace. Quite the opposite, however, is actually true. Life spent in the pursuit of the material and the temporary cannot satisfy us. However, if we spend our lives pleasing the one who is “the head of the body, the church…the beginning and the firstborn” (v.18) THEN we might be able catch a glimpse of what he has in store for us in heaven. It’s not the easiest path…but it is a worthwhile one.