Col. 3:12-14 "Put on Love"

Intro:

Colossae- Paul never phyiscally visited, Ephaphras made known the gospel to them, right on the river with a mountain behind them, the city was rocked by an earthquake and never fully recovered (unlike Laodicea), there is a challenge in the uniting of Jewish believers and gentile believers and who really belongs to the “church”.

Paul thanked God when he prayed for them because of their faith in Chist Jesus and of the love that they had for all the saints, becauseo f the hope laid up for them in heaven.

Maturing in Christ cannot happen unless you are in Christ

Chapter 2 Even though Paul was distant, Jesus never is. The hope of Jesus reaches every distance. Physical distance and deluded arguments have nothing on the treasure of Jesus

Walking with Christ does not start with a big “do” but with a big “done”.

My distance from sinful things doesn’t guarantee a closesness to God

The fullness of life is only found in the fullness of Christ

Victory over sin is not possible without the Victor over sin.

Christ is all

You have put on the new self- vs. 10

There have been 6 vices listed: anger, rage, mailce, slander, filthy language, and lying

I had one of Jeff’s old painting shirts, put off

Outline:

Position: “Chosen Ones, Holy, and Beloved” (vs. 12-13)

Possession: “Above all…Love” (v. 14)

Summary: Above all…Love

Prayer:

Position: “Chosen Ones, Holy, and Beloved” (vs. 12-13)

Attributes (v. 12)

Put on then- “endysasthe”, aor, mid, imperative, 2nd, pl to be clothed, take decisive action, because you have put on the new self verse 10

As God’s chosen ones- “eklektoi”, chosen, elect, for a particular purpose. this connects God’s choosing of Israel in the OT and God’s choosing from among the Jews and Gentiles in NT. Both are there because God chose them. One is not more “chosen” than the other.

Holy- “hagioi” holy, pure, having the characteristics of moral or ritual purity. Set aside.

and beloved- “hegape-eh-menoi”, perf, pass, part, nom, mas, pl to be loved, to have great affection, care or loyalty shown to.

Deut. 7:6-7 ““For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples,”

Attitude: Virtue (v. 12)

Compassionate hearts (vs. anger)- “oiktirmou splanchna” a deep awareness of and sympathy for another’s suffering, “Bowels of mercy” KJV, Acts 1:18 “(Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness, and falling headlong he burst open in the middle and all his bowels gushed out.”

Kindness (vs. rage)- “chr-eh-stot-eh-ta” the quality of being warmhearted, considerate, humane, gentle, and sympathetic, “benevolence in action” (BKC).

Humility (vs. malice)- used 7x in the NT, 3 here in Colossians. “tapeinophrosyn-eh-n”, the disposition of valuing or assessing oneself appropriately; especially in light of one’s sinfulness or creatureliness, “a lowly attitude toward God” (BKC). not cowardice, Phil. 2:3, 8- valuing other people above yourself, not looking to your own interests but…to the interests of others”. This is used in contrast to the false humility of the false teachers.

Col. 2:18 “Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind,”

Col. 2:23 “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.”

Col. 3:12 “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,”

meekness (vs. slander)- “praut-eh-ta, acting in a manner that is gentle, mild, and even-tempered. “A lowly attitude towards others” (BKC). “The quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance” - Greek lexicon of the NT

and Patience (vs. filthy language)- “makrothymian”, patient endurance of pain or unhappiness. it comes for the word for steadfast endurance. “Self-restraint, a steady response in the face of provocation” (BKC).

Col. 1:11 “being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy;”

All of these resemble Jesus, so put on Christ! These virtues are mentioned in many other places in Scripture.

Action: (v. 13)

Bearing with one another- “anechomenoi”, pres, mid/pass, part, nom, masc, pl to endure something unpleasant or difficult whether on once’s own behalf or on behalf of someone else. “Put up with each other” (BKC).

So, the word order in the ESV does not represent the verb order in the greek text. The participle for “bearing with” one another and “forgiving” each other are side by side

and if on has a complaint against another- “momph-eh-n”, an expression of grievance or resentment; especially one that assumes blame

forgiving each other (vs. lying)- “charizomenoi” pre, mid/pass, part, nom, mas, pl, to forgive graciously, to forgive someone on account of the goodwill one has toward a person. “Forgiving others is an act of grace, freely offered, often not ‘deserved’”- Pillar

as the Lord has forgiven you- “echarisato”, aor, mid, ind, 3rd, sg to forgive graciously

so you also must forgive

What is the alternative if we choose not to forgive each other? Well they are listed in 3:8-9

Vices vs. Virtues Chart: Who is the vices a picture of? Who are the virtues a picture of? JESUS!!!

Illustration: Put on one shirt for each of the virtues

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

We all belong because God chose us. You are not more “chosen” if you grew up in the church, send your kids to CBA or graduated with a “Biblical” Degree or are serving as leadership in our church. We belong because God chose us.

Which attitude or virtue do I struggle the most with? What is preventing this from growing in my life?

What action will replace my complaint this week? Bearing with one another or fogiving one another?

Enlist the Body (Words, actions, emotions):

What will it look/sound like this week to live out of the attributes of chosen, holy, and beloved?

What will it look/sound like this week to live out the attitudes listed in this passage

What will it look/sound like to live our the actions of bearing with one another and forgiving each other?

Transitional phrase: Paul wanted the people in Colossea to live out of the attributes of being chosen, holy, and beloved. This affected their attitudes and actions. Are we any different? Jesus wants you and I to live out of the position we have in Him.

Possession: “Above all…Love” (v. 14)

Perfect harmony (v. 14)

and above all these: compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, forgiving one another...

put on love- Sounds like 1 Cor 13. “Put on” is not immediatelty in the text, it is connected to the verb in verse 12. It litterally says, “and above all these the love (sg). Like the cover on a book (BKC)- this is the supreme virtue

Illustration: Put the suit jacket of “Love” over all these. If you cannot remember all of these, remember this one! You cannot put on Love for others unless you are first “Loved by God”.

which binds everything together- “estin sundesmos” pres, act, ind, 3rd, sg to be identical to; be someone or something, dond

(CHILLI POT) Paul is not telling them to just add one this year, and then that one next year. Think about it as ingredients to your favourite meal. You don’t just use one spice. But even if you don’t use other spices, at the very least, use salt. It brings out the flavour that is already there. Paul is telling the Colossians even if they only focus on Love, because they are beloved by God, some of these things will start to shine through because they are a reflection of Jesus. Not that they would do them naturally, but they would do them because they are in Christ!

in perfect harmony- “teleiot-eh-tos”- perfection, the state of beling complete and without defect or blemish.

“Perfect” is translated in 1:20 as maturity

“Harmony”- think of the word picture here, it is not just one, it is many voices or notes being sung or played together to give that beautiful, mature, full, reflection of the song.

Application/Implications:

Renew the Mind (the Scriptures):

What caught your attention in this section?

Which verses or words would you like to study a little more this week?

Engage the Heart (humility vs. pride):

How does the concept of loving binding everything together change the way you look at the individual attitudes or virtues?

How is one practical way I can put on love this week?

Think of your favourite song or meal. In what ways has my life become more about the individual notes and spices and less about the harmony and binding together of love?

Enlist the Body (Words, actions, emotions):

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Transitional phrase: Paul does not want the people of Colossea to think that Christianity was about the pieces that needed to be “put on” but the “perfect harmony” of the possession they had from the position of being in Christ. Are we any different?

Summary: Above all…Love

Song: All Glory be to Christ

Benediction/Looking ahead:

Discussion questions

Worship- Renew the Mind (Scripture)

What passage of Scripture did we look at? Summarize it in your own words.

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Grow- Engage the Heart (Conversation)

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Serve- Enlist the Body (Action)

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