Reading Colossians Carefully: What Paul Is Actually Doing
The letter to the Colossians is often summarized in a single phrase: the supremacy of Christ.
That summary is true — but it can also be too simple.
What is the book of Colossians actually about? At its core, Colossians is a letter reminding believers that Christ is supreme and sufficient.
Colossians is not merely a theological declaration. It is a carefully constructed argument written to believers who were being tempted to look elsewhere for spiritual fullness. Paul writes not to introduce Christ to them, but to remind them that Christ is enough.
To read Colossians well, we have to see both what Paul affirms and what he quietly resists.
The Background of Colossians: False Teaching and Spiritual Drift
(Colossians 2:8–23)
Paul warns the Colossians not to be taken captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy (2:8). Something was pressing in on this young church — teachings that blended religious practices, spiritual experiences, and human traditions in ways that subtly diminished Christ.
The danger was not outright rejection of Jesus. It was addition.
Additional rules. Additional mediators. Additional spiritual experiences.
Paul responds by bringing them back to the center: Christ is not a starting point to move beyond. He is the fullness in whom believers already stand complete (2:9–10).
This context matters. Without it, we can read Colossians as abstract theology rather than pastoral protection.
The Supremacy of Christ in Colossians
(Colossians 1:15–20)
At the heart of the letter is one of the most breathtaking descriptions of Christ in the New Testament.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God.
The firstborn over all creation.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Paul is not simply praising Jesus poetically. He is grounding the Colossians in reality. If Christ is the creator, sustainer, and reconciler of all things, then no rival teaching can offer something He lacks.
Colossians insists that Christ is not one spiritual resource among many. He is the center of creation and redemption itself. Everything else in the letter flows from this.
The Movement: From Christ’s Supremacy to Transformed Living
Colossians does not stop with doctrine. It moves steadily toward transformation. Paul urges the believers: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him…” (2:6–7)
The pattern is clear:
Receive → Continue
Rooted → Built up
Established → Overflowing with thankfulness
Spiritual maturity is not presented as moving beyond Christ into more advanced experiences. It is deepening into Him.
In chapter 3, Paul presses this further:
“Set your minds on things above…” (3:1–2)
“Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature…” (3:5)
“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility…” (3:12)
Transformation, in Colossians, is not self-improvement. It is life reshaped because believers belong to Christ. Identity precedes behavior. Union with Christ produces visible change.
What Colossians Refuses to Let Us Do
One of the most important things Paul does in this letter is prevent spiritual drift.
He refuses to let believers:
Add to Christ as though He were insufficient
Reduce Him to a helpful teacher
Replace Him with self-discipline or mystical experience
Colossians repeatedly draws attention back to fullness in Christ (2:9–10). Believers are not spiritually incomplete, waiting for a missing piece. They are already united to the One in whom all fullness dwells.
This clarity protects the church from both pride and anxiety. There is no room for boasting in human systems — and no need to fear that something essential is missing.
And What About Philemon?
Placed alongside Colossians in the New Testament, Philemon gives us something different but deeply connected.
Where Colossians proclaims Christ’s supremacy in cosmic terms, Philemon shows the implications of that supremacy in personal relationships.
Paul appeals for Onesimus not on the basis of law or social expectation, but on the basis of shared life in Christ. The gospel that reconciles humanity to God also reshapes how believers relate to one another.
Colossians gives us the theological foundation.
Philemon shows us the relational outworking.
Together, they press us to consider not only what we believe about Christ, but how that belief transforms the way we live.
Why Colossians Still Matters
We live in a culture saturated with competing voices.
Some promise deeper spirituality through technique.
Some redefine identity through cultural categories.
Some encourage performance as proof of worth.
Colossians quietly but firmly redirects us: Christ is sufficient. Christ is supreme. Christ is enough.
In summary, the book of Colossians teaches that Jesus Christ is supreme over creation and sufficient for salvation and spiritual growth. Paul writes to guard believers from adding to Christ and to call them into a life transformed by union with Him.
To read this letter carefully is to allow its central claim to recalibrate us. We do not outgrow Christ. We grow deeper into Him.
If you are spending time in Colossians and Philemon this season, I hope you read slowly. Notice how often Paul brings everything back to Christ — not as a slogan, but as the center that holds all things together.
And if you want to study these letters in a way that traces that movement carefully, Colossians & Philemon: Live Transformed was written to help you do just that.
