Col 3 1-17 Part One
Col 3:1 Eij ou\n sunhgevrqhte tw'/ Cristw'/, ta; a[nw zhtei'te, ou| oJ Cristov" ejstin ejn dexia'/ tou' qeou' kaqhvmeno":
Col 3:2 ta; a[nw fronei'te, mh; ta; ejpi; th'" gh'".
Col 3:3 ajpeqavnete ga;r kai; hJ zwh; uJmw'n kevkruptai su;n tw'/ Cristw'/ ejn tw'/ qew'/.
Col 3:4 o{tan oJ Cristo;" fanerwqh'/, hJ zwh; uJmw'n, tovte kai; uJmei'" su;n aujtw'/ fanerwqhvsesqe ejn dovxh/.
Col 3:5 Nekrwvsate ou\n ta; mevlh ta; ejpi; th'" gh'", porneivan ajkaqarsivan pavqo" ejpiqumivan kakhvn, kai; th;n pleonexivan, h{ti" ejsti;n eijdwlolatriva,
Col 3:6 di j a} e[rcetai hJ ojrgh; tou' qeou' ªejpi; tou;" uiJou;" th'" ajpeiqeiva"º.
Col 3:7 ejn oi|" kai; uJmei'" periepathvsatev pote, o{te ejzh'te ejn touvtoi":
Col 3:8 nuni; de; ajpovqesqe kai; uJmei'" ta; pavnta, ojrghvn, qumovn, kakivan, blasfhmivan, aijscrologivan ejk tou' stovmato" uJmw'n:
Col 3:9 mh; yeuvdesqe eij" ajllhvlou", ajpekdusavmenoi to;n palaio;n a[nqrwpon su;n tai'" pravxesin aujtou'
Col 3:10 kai; ejndusavmenoi to;n nevon to;n ajnakainouvmenon eij" ejpivgnwsin kat j eijkovna tou' ktivsanto" aujtovn,
Col 3:11 o{pou oujk e[ni {Ellhn kai; jIoudai'o", peritomh; kai; ajkrobustiva, bavrbaro", Skuvqh", dou'lo", ejleuvqero", ajlla; ªta;º pavnta kai; ejn pa'sin Cristov".
Col 3:12 jEnduvsasqe ou\n, wJ" ejklektoi; tou' qeou' a{gioi kai; hjgaphmevnoi, splavgcna oijktirmou' crhstovthta tapeinofrosuvnhn prau?thta makroqumivan,
Col 3:13 ajnecovmenoi ajllhvlwn kai; carizovmenoi eJautoi'" ejavn ti" prov" tina e[ch/ momfhvn: kaqw;" kai; oJ kuvrio" ejcarivsato uJmi'n, ou{tw" kai; uJmei'":
Col 3:14 ejpi; pa'sin de; touvtoi" th;n ajgavphn, o{ ejstin suvndesmo" th'" teleiovthto".
Col 3:15 kai; hJ eijrhvnh tou' Cristou' brabeuevtw ejn tai'" kardivai" uJmw'n, eij" h}n kai; ejklhvqhte ejn eJni; swvmati: kai; eujcavristoi givnesqe.
Col 3:16 JO lovgo" tou' Cristou' ejnoikeivtw ejn uJmi'n plousivw", ejn pavsh/ sofiva/ didavskonte" kai; nouqetou'nte" eJautouv", yalmoi'" u{mnoi" wj/dai'" pneumatikai'" ejn ªth'/º cavriti a[/donte" ejn tai'" kardivai" uJmw'n tw'/ qew'/:
Col 3:17 kai; pa'n o{ ti eja;n poih'te ejn lovgw/ h] ejn e[rgw/, pavnta ejn ojnovmati kurivou jIhsou', eujcaristou'nte" tw'/ qew'/ patri; di j aujtou'.
Translation
Col 3:1 Since therefore you have been raised with Christ, aim at/keeping seeking/strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Col 3:2 Set your mind on things above not the things of the earth.
Col 3:3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God
Col 3:4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then also will you appear with Him in glory.
Col 3:5 Put to death therefore things which are a part of the earth; sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry.
Col 3:6 Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming [upon the sons of disobedience]
Col 3:7 In which also you formerly walked, when you lived in them
Col 3:8 But now you must get rid of all such things: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips
Col 3:9 Do not lie to others; you have out off the old man with his deeds
Col 3:10 And have put on the new which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of him who created him.
Col 3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is everything and in all.
Col 3:12 Therefore, as chosen of God holy and beloved, put on compassion of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience.
Col 3:13 Bear with one another, and if anyone was a grievance against someone else, you are to forgive one another. Just as the Lord forgave you , so also you must forgive.
Col 3:14 And in addition to all these, put on love, which is the bond that produces perfection.
Col 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body and be thankful
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ reside in you richly, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another, with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with grace singing in your hearts to the Lord
Col 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Exalt His Name; Live His Purpose
Colossians 3:1-17
I. Introduction
A. Burying Sin Video (4:29)
II. New status = new way of life (3:1-4)
A. As believers, we have been freed FROM sin, and we have been set free to LIVE as unto the Lord.
B. ILL
1. Notice how this section is introduced – “since then…”
a. Same phrase used in 2:20 – died with Christ
1) Paul talks about our death with Christ in reference to man- made rules.
2) Christ fulfills the law; no longer subject to man-made rules.
3) His law is now written on our hearts
4) Christ becomes our standard; not man-made rules.
b. 3:1 says we are raised with Christ, which becomes the basis for the question, “How then must we now live?”
2. We must live our lives as one whose status has changed – because it has!
a. Past Reality – YOU DIED! (3:3-4)
b. Present Reality – your life is now hidden with Christ
c. Future Reality – will appear with Him in glory
3. Presently our lives are HIDDEN with Christ
a. Not everyone is able to see the reality that we have in Christ.
b. Those who reject Christ and His Word refuse to believe in the Christian hope and mock the security and confidence of those who believe.
4. Paul uses this reality to encourage believers to live consistently with their new status in Christ.
C. Overall encouragement – aim at/keeping seeking/strive for the things above
(3:1-2)
1. The danger is to read Gnosticism into this verse – physical and material is bad while spiritual and immaterial are good.
2. The point is not to reject earthly things and only engage and think about spiritual things.
3. The point is that every thought, every aim, every value, every dream, every aspiration, every pursuit should come under the Lordship of Christ.
4. For that is the whole reason for which we died and were raised anew – to live the blessed life under His Lordship.
5. To not aim at/keeping seeking/strive for the things above is to live a life inconsistent with our renewed status in Christ.
6. And we are depriving ourselves of living the blessed life – a life that falls short of being truly human.
a. Being truly human does not include sin, right?
b. For that is not how we were first created – humans were without sin.
c. Christ has made it possible for us to live as true humans, for we have been raised with Him.
D. As believers, we have been freed FROM sin, and we have been set free to LIVE as unto the Lord.
E. Paul goes on to explain to us what it means to live life as unto the Lord.
III. New way of life = Abandon Sin! (3:5-9a)
A. Paul demands that the lifestyle consistent with sin be exterminated!
B. ILL – leaky roof must be fixed and stopped!
1. Paul does believe and states very clearly that a person is either dead IN sin (2:13) or dead TO sin (3:5).
2. However, those who are dead TO sin are still works in progress.
a. vs. 10 – God’s image is being renewed in us and will be completed on that day when we see Jesus face to face.
b. As works in progress, we can still offer our minds, tongues, hands, feet, eyes as instruments for sin, can’t we?
c. That is why it is necessary for Paul to command us to put off those things which are inconsistent with the renewed life.
d. Paul is not interested in putting together a list of dos and donts and he is not at all interested in putting together a list for Christians to consider doing.
e. Rather, Paul is simply stating that those who are in Christ are also being transformed into Christ’s image and this transformation will be seen in the abandoning of sin.
f. Because this is so, Paul is encouraging the believers to live true to their new nature.
C. Things to put off…
1. Sexual Sins
a. Paul makes it very clear that sexual relations outside the bounds of marriage are inconsistent with one who is being renewed into the image of Christ.
b. The Colossian culture was pretty loose when it came to moral standards, so when someone became a Christian, there were sexual habits that were hard to break but needed to be broken.
c. Sex is not evil!!
1) God created sex, even the urges and pleasures of sex.
2) Sex becomes sin when it is entertained and acted upon outside the marriage boundaries.
d. Paul calls all sex outside of the marriage relationship as immorality and such acts and thoughts are inconsistent with one being renewed in Christ’s image.
e. Greed tops off the list
1) “The belief that everything, including other people, exist for your own personal amusement and pleasure.”
2) Greed turns our own desires into idols and stands opposed to a live of sacrifice and giving as outlined in Scripture.
f. Paul concludes this section by stating that such behavior will incur the wrath of God.
2. Sins of Anger
a. Paul highlights sins of anger because nothing destroys community faster.
b. Not just referring to outbursts of rage, but malicious talk, gossip, sarcasm and abusive language used to degrade, belittle, and intentionally hurt others.
c. Lying tops off the list.
d. Anger and lying are all directly opposed to Christ’s love that is to characterize not only our personal lives but our lives within community.
D. Wrath of God
1. In Col 3:6, Paul states that God’s wrath is coming because of the sins listed.
2. However, in Romans 1:18-32, Paul states that God’s wrath is already being revealed because of sin.
a. What do you think of when to hear about the wrath of God?
b. In this passage, God is not to be compared to the Greek gods of Olympus, who punished people for the slightest offenses.
c. Nor is God pictured as throwing tantrums or waiting with a lightning bolt in hand ready for the next sinner.
d. God is not to be portrayed as one seething with human anger.
3. Rather, Romans 1 tells us that God’s wrath is pictured as God turning sinners over to themselves.
a. Three times, Paul states that “God gave them over” (1:24,26,28)
b. The repetition seems to indicate that the giving over is a deliberate act of God.
1) People who willfully desert God could in turn be left to themselves and their own sinful pursuits and lusts.
2) And in so doing, God allows them to self-destruct by way of their own sinful desires and pursuits.
c. Therefore, it seems that God’s wrath has little to do with lightning bolts and anger, and has more to do with allowing people to experience the consequences of their sinful desires and pursuits.
4. Paul is basically informing the Colossian believers and us that our concept of sin is way too shallow.
a. Our concept of sin – don’t push God too far or else he will get you.
b. For many, sin is not feared; rather, it is getting caught in our sin that is feared.
c. We hope that maybe God isn’t looking or that if caught we could quickly ask God to spare us of any consequences.
5. Paul’s understanding of God’s wrath is that immorality and foolishness IS the punishment, not simply the cause for punishment.
6. This means that we are punished by the very sins we desire, pursue and commit.
a. If we shut our eyes to the light – we go blind!
b. If we shut our ears to the truth – we go deaf!
c. If we exchange the true God for a false one, we become like the gods we serve and are destroyed by the very same gods.
7. Therefore, God’s wrath is allowing sin and its consequences to take its due course in our lives.
a. But you may say, “Why would a good God allow me His child to fall on my face and possibly be marred with sin’s consequences for the rest of my life? That doesn’t sound loving and gracious!”
b. Here we see the redemptive value of God’s wrath – God allows us to wallow in sin’s consequences with the desire to see us wake up, see our need to depend and trust in Him, and repent of our sin.
E. Application
1. Those who have given their lives to Christ are indeed DEAD TO SIN!
2. However, we are a work in progress and must put off those sinful habits that contradict our true identity.
3. God hates sin – we must recapture a Biblical understanding of sin.
a. Sin is an affront to God, not merely misses His mark.
b. Sin obstructs our fellowship with God and other people.
c. Sin will ultimately act as God’s wrath and destroy us.
d. Habitual Sin is inconsistent with our true identity in Christ.
4. Encouragement is to trust God and live consistent with your true nature by putting off / exterminating sin in your life.
5. By doing so, you will be renewed by the Spirit into the image of Christ.
Colossians 3:1-17
Small Group Discussion
1. Discuss the video
a. Discuss observations on the symbolism portrayed in the video.
2. Colossians 3:1-4
a. “You have been raised with Christ…” (verse 1)
1) In this new section, is Paul admonishing his hearers? (“Stop doing what you are doing?”) Compare 2:20-23.
2) Or is Paul seeking to encourage his hearers? (“This is how you ought now to live!”
b. How does Paul describe our changed status in verses 3-4?
1) Past Reality –
2) Present Reality –
** What do you think this means?
3) Future Reality –
c. What do you think it means to set your hearts/minds and things above?
d. Since setting our hearts/minds on things above is stated as a command, how do we put this into practice?
3. Colossians 3:5-9a
a. If we are “dead to sin” and “raised with Christ”, why does Paul command us to put sin to death? Is it necessary to make this a command? Why or why not?
b. Paul records two lists of sins to be “put to death” – verse 5 and verses 8-9a.
1) Out of all the sins Paul could have mentioned, suggest some reasons why he chose these particular sins.
2) How do the last sins mentioned in each list (greed and lying) relate to their respective list of sins?
c. Verse 6 - Paul says that because of these sins, the wrath of God is coming. How do you understand God’s wrath? Try to visualize God being full of wrath.
1) What makes Him full of wrath?
2) When He responds wrathfully, what does this look like?
3) Who does He respond wrathfully against…all people or just unbelievers?
4) Read about God’s wrath in Romans 1:18-32. How does this passage help in your understanding of God’s wrath?