This morning when I was reading God’s Word, these verses in Colossians jumped out to me and I couldn’t get past them. I’m guessing that God wanted me to try and grasp this word, even if I’m limited in my understanding. Paul, in these verses in Colossians, is talking about the sufficiency of Christ. I’m not sure we quite understand Christ’s sufficiency in our lives, nor do I think we as believers walk in that sufficiency. Me included. This short devotional cannot begin to unpack Christ’s sufficiency, but I will try in a few paragraphs. At least it will give us some food for thought.
The sufficiency of Christ is about the utter completeness and adequacy of Christ’s work at salvation. Hence, ALL our needs, our salvation, our redemption, our reconciliation was met at the cross. Christ’s work on the cross – His sacrificial death – was enough for me. Jesus Himself was always telling the people of His sufficiency. He said, “I AM the , Way, the Truth, and the Life. I AM the Bread of Life. I AM the Living Water.” And even after His ascension, He was still saying the same thing. Jesus said to Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you.” I believe Paul’s letter to the Colossians was all about the sufficiency of Christ.
We must believe in the sufficiency of Christ and walk in it. However, belief in His sufficiency cannot come from human effort. It comes from a deep faith and belief in His Word. To believe in the sufficiency of Christ is to accept that Jesus alone is enough – He is everything we need for spiritual wholeness, healing, freedom. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 1:20: “For all of God’s promises have been fulfilled in Christ with a resounding ‘Yes!’ And through Christ, our ‘Amen’ (which means ‘Yes’) ascends to God for his glory.” By quoting this verse, we in essence, are agreeing with the sufficiency of Christ. As Jesus was about to give up His spirit on the cross, He cried out, “IT IS FINISHED!” Done! Complete! Aren’t you thankful?
To walk in the sufficiency of Christ means that we stop fretting and worrying because we trust in His complete work. It means that we stop depending on people or other resources to meet our needs because He is enough. It means that I FIND everything I need in Him. And here’s the thing… when we walk in the sufficiency of Christ, we have contentment. And Paul says in 1 Timothy 6:6: “Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.” I’m thinking we need to understand this important theological concept more. I’m also thinking a longer message is in the works. Maybe even a Bible study on Colossians. I trust this has encouraged you in a new way today.