Paul has been confronting the false teachings that had crept into the Colossian church. The Colossians were faced with a barrage of false teachers who insisted on all sorts of particular observances. False teachers were telling them that Jesus Christ was not sufficient, that they needed something more. They believed they were privy to a higher level of spiritual knowledge and the secrets of spiritual illumination. This higher, hidden truth was beyond Jesus Christ and the Word. They effectively beguiled some Christians and drew them away from confidence in Christ alone. The “something more” that the false teachers offered was a syncretism of pagan philosophy, Jewish legalism, mysticism, and asceticism. Paul wrote the Colossians to refute that false teaching and to present the Absolute Sufficiency of Jesus Christ for Salvation and Sanctification. Because the Colossians had Christ, and He is sufficient, they did not need to be intimidated by the false teachers.
