Paul had ministry companions God brought into his life. He was not a lone apostle. Ministry is working together in the church for the kingdom of God.

Be devoted to prayer, using time wisely. Being devoted to prayer means having a lifestyle of constant, habitual prayer. Only then will we be able to speak to others effectively about the Christ we love.

We have a new identity in Christ; the only one that will remain. We are now motivated to live for God. So how does this apply to employment?

The answer for Christian parents is the Word of God. The beginning of wisdom is the fear of God. Only this respect and love for the Lord will change the hearts of children - or parents.

Our new purpose as Christians is to live life for the glory of God. Our union with Christ affects all relationships in our lives.

Our new position in Christ affects all our relationships, especially those in the church.

Whilst indwelling sin is a reality for us as believers, it no longer has control over us because we have been given a new nature that is no longer under the domination of sin.

The war against sin and the flesh is a reality that believers need to understand. Any victories we may win in the here and now are only temporary. Whilst the power of sin indeed has been broken, and the payment for sin has indeed been paid in full, nevertheless the battle against sin and the flesh is very real.

If Legalism, Asceticism, or Mysticism (as Paul has taught towards the end of chapter 2) are false and do not provide any spiritual value, how then are we to grow in spiritual maturity? We find the answer to this in the text before us today.

The false teachers in Colossae were leading people astray by teaching them to measure spiritual maturity by a standard other than the Word of God. Their teaching advocated the dangers of Legalism and Mysticism, and in the text before us today, Paul warns about the dangers of Asceticism because of the following reasons.

Jesus is sufficient because he is God and man. We pursue Christ rather than feelings or emotion, because he is the truth of God made known.

The church often struggles with what Paul wrote to the Colossians about. In their day, the false teachers were adding to God's Word to distract from the truth.

Paul uses two physical realities as metaphors to help us understand spiritual redemption.

The way you refute error is by redirecting attention to the truth. While we are surrounded by the world's philosophy, we need to renew our minds by looking to Christ, who is everything we need for spiritual life.

We must start at the knowledge of God if we are to have a right view of reality. This is true philosophy.

Paul wrote to the Colossians, warning them about false teaching on the horizon. He desired them to have confidence in Christ, rather than ignorance of truth which would leave them vulnerable to false teaching.

The central focus of all churches should be the Word of God, as it was for the apostle Paul.

Sin alienates man from God. But our hope is in the gospel of God which has reconciled us back to Him.

Jesus Christ is supreme. He is supreme over the natural order of creation. And He is also supreme over the new creation, which is the body of believers – His bride, the church.

The false teachers in Colosse were saying that Christ was not enough. But Paul says that if you do not have the foundation of Christ’s sufficiency, everything else you believe will be on shaky ground.