When Paul, as a prisoner at Rome, wrote to the church at Colossae, it seems the church was doing okay from a moral standpoint, but it was having some problems regarding false teachers.  The false teachings being spread related to three areas—human philosophies, Judaism, and Gnostic leanings, especially concerning esoteric knowledge.

These false teachings sprang forth from the idea that the gospel is incomplete. Why were philosophies necessary?  It was because the gospel message was not enough, at least that is what the philosophers were saying.  Why did one have to keep the law of Moses to be saved?  It was because the cross of Christ was insufficient, or so the Judaizers said.  Why did one need special knowledge to be saved?  It was because, according to those with Gnostic leanings, the wisdom of Christ found in the gospel was imperfect.  All of these false views were an assault on the adequacy of Christ and His message.  What was Paul’s solution?  He emphasized the preeminence of Christ and His message (Colossians 1:12-23). 

The message of Christ (the gospel) is the greatest message the world has ever heard.  The false teachers at Colossae had messages that lacked in value.  They spoke of angels, emanations, and man-made regulations, but their messages could not save anyone.  Paul reminded the saints at Colossae that the message they heard had the power of salvation and gave them hope.

Colossians 1:5-6 (KJV)
⁵  For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel; ⁶  Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:

For a message to have lasting value, it must possess the power to transform its hearers.  The message of Christ has that power, and the Christians at Colossae experienced it firsthand.  Since the day they heard the gospel, their lives were not the same.  Their transformation was real and seen by the fruit that they brought forth.

The saints at Colossae were not the only ones transformed by the power of the gospel.  Paul said of the brethren at Thessalonica,

1 Thessalonians 1:8-9 (ESV)
⁸  For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹  For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God,

Men and women at Thessalonica left their idols, and all the immoral living that went along with it, behind and served God.  The New Testament is filled with such conversions that involve both Jews and Gentiles.  The gospel is, indeed, the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16).  No message formulated in the minds of mere men can boast of such power.

Before you close your eyes tonight, thank God for the preeminent message of Christ.  If you are a Christian, your life has been transformed for the better.  Think of where you would be if you had never experienced this transformation and praise God.

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.