What are you Putting On?

Colossians 3:12-13

I. Up close and personal

a. The NT letters / Epistles are simpler and more personal than other Greek and Roman letters of the time

b. Bible Study Workshop – read through all of Colossians

i. Paul’s passion for the churches he wrote too – he really cared about them

c. Chosen – holy – dearly loved / beloved (NASB)

i. God has chosen us to be part of his family. He made the way for us to come to salvation – John 3:16. Of course still must come by faith

1. Drawn by the spirit

ii. Holy Set apart – The law was to set Israel apart from other people

1. God is Holy in that he is the only one

2. We come to him set apart, forsaking all others.

iii. Then we come to dearly loved / beloved – not just loved – dearly loved / beloved

1. A very personal even intimate term.

2. God calls us his beloved

a. We often see God as someone a far off, not concerned with our mundane day to day

3. It is so easy to read don’t do this but do this

a. But Paul wants us to understand how who we are is the new creation God has made us

b. He wants us to understand how much God Love’s us

i. Romans 5:8

ii. 1 John 4:9-10

c. Then we desire to put off our old sinful ways and put on the fruits of the Spirit

iv. Also note these ae present tense – we are, not will be.

1. We are chosen, we are holy, we are beloved – and we are always every day.

II. But to put on, I must take something else off.

a. Let’s go back to the beginning first. For we are to be disciplined with what we put on ultimately it is God who clothes us. Genesis 3:21

i. Remember God never changes. He clothed Adam and Eve then and he clothes us now with the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

1. Abraham and the sacrifice – then Jesus

a. God always provides the sacrifice – the righteousness

i. We are chosen!

2. Without that clothing we can do nothing else.

b. Take it off – Ephesians 4:17-24

i. Again we put off something that is old and put on the new – according to God’s likeness

c. Colossians 3:5-11 – what I am taking off

III. What we put on

a. Notice how these very closely align with the fruits of the spirit

i. Out of our love for Christ, out of the reality he has and he is changing us we produce

b. Notice how these feed one another

c. Compassion – compassion in action is kindness

d. Humility – the Roman world was all about power and a strong self

i. Sadly we seek this today and even hide it a Christlike virtue

e. Gentleness – Humility will most often product gentleness Colossians 4:6

f. Gentleness will product patience – means waiting, not in a hurry. Waiting for others to catch up

i. Tell our church leaders – we get in a hurry want to move quick and make things happen – but we move at the speed of the slowest sheep

g. Patience lived out is bearing with one another

i. Those who just don’t get us or get on our nerves

ii. Those that fail over and over.

iii. You should have negative people in your life.

h. And then the capstone is forgiveness

i. Not because they asked, apologized, sad they were sorry, promise never to do again – but just because Christ forgive us

ii. Not even for our benefit but for theirs.

i. Decisive Action – It is both the work of the Holy Spirit and our own decisive action

i. Our discipline – we must put away our old self – what belongs to our earthly nature

1. Put it to death –

“Be killing sin or it will be killing you” – John Owen

a. Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry. Vs. 5

i. Vs. 9 put away (take it off and put it away) anger, wrath, malice, slander and filthy language.

b. I am confident if you were take the time you would find these are the opposites of what we put on.

i. So we must take the decisive action. Don’t put yourself in those places. Know your weaknesses.

ii. But then add in a lot of word, prayer and fasting

j. We put on Christ Romans 13:11-14 – Lego man example

i. So compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another and forgiveness is all because of Jesus righteousness. All because we are his beloved and he died for our sins. All because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit

ii. Yes we have to make an effort, be disciplined in word and prayer. To make a choice to serve others. But at the end of the day we do all these things because we put on Christ and he makes us a new creation

k. God does not love you the way your are – he loves you so much he makes you a new creation. We replace our old sinful life with a new creation wrapped in Christ.