208IMMERSE•MESSIAHall things and holds the creation together. Because of the Son’s bloodshed on the cross, everything in heaven and on earth is reconciled toGod. The supremacy of Christ is the great theme of Paul’s letter. Christis sufficient for everything the Colossians need, and no other power orruler can ever be his equal.Paul then explains that this great victory by God’s Son has implications for how the Colossians should live. All the rules and laws they’vebeen told to obey were only shadows; the reality has arrived in Jesus.Since they have been raised with Christ, the believers are now to livefreely in his Kingdom of light. As they do so, their relationships mustbe marked by a commitment to love each other. A new life of humilityand forgiveness, rooted in the Messiah, will anchor their community.Paul also gives the Colossians practical instructions for household life,showing how followers of Christ should have an attitude of love andservice in their everyday relationships. This includes how they relateto others within the human institutions in which they live. While theseinstitutions won’t always change overnight, God’s people can movethem closer to the ultimate goals of Christ’s Kingdom.At the end of the letter we find specific instructions for the Colossians to share this letter with the nearby church in Laodicea and to readtheir letter in turn. This shows how the books in our New Testament,first written for particular local churches, were shared and eventuallygathered into a single collection for all God’s people.
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