Colossians: The All-Sufficient Christ (Print)

Colossians is a letter about the greatness of Christ. Since their conversion, the believers in Colosse had heard many theories about salvation. All of these false doctrines diminished Christ in some way. Some people had placed their faith in angels, some in rituals and others in various religious philosophies or practices. Paul wrote this letter to correct them all. His words ring with the message that Christ is God in the flesh and the only one sufficient to save us from sin and its destructive power.

In this letter, Paul included some practical advice about the kind of lives that the believers were supposed to live. Paul urged them to adhere to the truth, to live sexually pure lives, to live in peace with their friends and neighbors and to live in dependence on God. Paul did not expect the Colossians to accomplish these things by themselves. He emphasized the fact that when we seek to do God’s will, we can depend on God’s help. Our actions can be energized by the greatest power in the universe – the power of God in Jesus Christ.

This book is in the form of a commentary, providing a verse by verse study of the entire epistle to the Colossians.

GERALD PADEN (1924-2015) was educated at Abilene Christian University and subsequently served as a missionary in Italy for 18 years with his wife Bobbie and their family. He was an instructor at the Sunset School of Preaching and Sunset International Bible Institute beginning in 1971. He specialized in teaching Missions, Church Growth, the Levitical Sacrificial System, Hebrews, Ephesians, and the Epistles of John.