What is success in the Christian life? At the end of Colossians 1, Paul says that he has endured a great deal of difficulty in order that others might know Jesus. Paul is saying that all of the pain, toil, trouble, and sacrifice was totally worth it in order to see others encounter Jesus and follow his way. We exist to know Jesus and make him known and faithfulness to that endeavour is how we measure success in the Christian life.

Blaise Pascal famously said, “All men seek happiness. This is without exception.” We are all on a fulfillment quest. We are searching for the thing or the things in our life that we think will bring us fulfillment. So we look to our career, or status, or marriage, or finances, or relationships to find this fulfillment. The problem is that the only way to have a truly fulfilling life is if Jesus is first and foremost. If Jesus is merely a sliver or a square of our life then we are on a frustrating and ultimately fruitless quest. So the simple and yet life altering question of Colossians 1:15-23 is this…is Jesus first and foremost in your life? Asked another way: is Jesus more than enough?

What does it mean to be gospel-centred? In Christian circles we may hear this term used, without understanding what it means. The Book of Colossians is intended to show us that to be gospel-centred is to be Jesus-centred, and that in Him is fullness. Jesus Christ is more than enough for us to give our whole lives to. The gospel is the fullness of God to you and through you in Christ.

As we look at Colossians 1:1-14, Paul approaches to the Colossian church (a seemingly unlikely group of people) for the purpose of affirming their faith in Christ and encouraging their advancement in the gospel. All who come to Christ find in Him the fullness of God, worthy to be our Savior and Lord.