Paul’s Teachings on the Uniqueness and Supremacy of Christ in Colossians 1: 12-23 and Its Implications for Christianity in Africa

Abstract

This article examines Paul’s teaching on the uniqueness and supremacy of Christ and its implications for Christianity in Africa. The approach is analytical or qualitative. The historical-critical method and contextual tools are used in the interpretation of the biblical text. The study reveals that Christianity in Africa shares similar threats of heresy to that of the Church at Colossae which, of course, holds implications for Christianity in Africa such as: that Christ must be a living reality in one’s life without which he/she is not worth being classified as a Christian, that the one professing to be a Christian must not only be rooted in Christ but must be built up in Him as well, that Christians in Africa should realize that when believers are part of the body of which Christ is the head, there is no need to fear or manipulate any other spiritual beings, that subjugated powers cannot harm the person who is in Christ for their ultimate overthrow in the future is assured, that Christians in Africa have no cause to pay homage to any lesser supernatural beings, that Christians are not to follow ceremonies, rituals, initiations and restrictions in order to be saved, that Christians in Africa must not obtain secret or acquire an exoteric knowledge in order to be saved or be liberated from the clutches of evil powers, and that they should shun combining aspects of several religions given that they have everything since they have Christ. This, therefore, spells the need to take Christian discipleship very seriously in African Churches.