The Speech of the New Man
Colossians - The Preeminence of Christ • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 54:04
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How do we accomplish presenting a home that reflects the new you, clothed with Jesus Christ?
The New Man is Clothed Different.
The New Man is Clothed Different.
Chapter 3 dealt with our actions and character.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
Changing our wardrobe to the character and image of Christ, we see the repercussions of this wardrobe.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
As a result of this new influence of the peace of God, the dwelling of the Word of God, and do the Will of God, changes happen in our relationships, starting in the home.
The New Man Acts Different
The New Man Acts Different
It is one thing to wear Christ and for people to see the change but we cant stop there. We have to be willing to speak.
Now Paul deals with our mouth.
And our mouth is dealt with in relation to those outside of our family.
You actions speak louder than your words to those you are most intimate with while your words speak louder than your actions to those you are less intimate with.
Paul began with the most intimate relationship of the Husband and Wife and then moves to the 2nd most intimate the child and parent, and then the 3rd most intimate, the worker and servant.
However, remember, our commission is to go into all the world.
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
The New Man Speaks Different.
The New Man Speaks Different.
2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
The emphasis of this section is on those that are without, the less intimate of all our relationships.
Our words are what is going to be the most impactful on this group.
That is why we are talk with GRACE, seasoned with salt, in order that we may answer every man’s response to our new wardrobe.
So, God not only gives us a new wardrobe, but He gives us a new mouth also.
How is our mouth different?
Remember, Jesus told us that
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
However, remember when Jesus comes to dwell in our heart, he has to make some changes because our heart
9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
but God changes our heart and therefore changes our mouth.
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
If you remember our study in Ephesians, you will remember that after making this statement, Paul goes into a discourse of the mouth.
25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.
Our speech is probably the truest indicator of our spiritual condition without any question.
Isaiah, when defining sinfulness in relation to his people said,
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.
Jesus said, Matt 12:37
37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.
An unregenerate mouth speaks evil, lust deceit curses, oppression, lies, destruction, vanity, flattery, foolishness, false doctrine, evil plots, boastings, hatred and I could go on and on.
However, Rom 3:13 describes it this way.
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:
Notice it comes from the heart, through the throat, all the way across the tongue through the lips.
On the flip side, the regenerated mouth, the new mouth, speaks grace. confession, of sin and of Christ, wisdom, kindness, peace, and again, I could go on and on.
However, now that we understand the evil and the greatness of the mouth, lets look at our speech now that we are new creations.
Look at Col 4:2
2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
The Conversation of Prayer
The Conversation of Prayer
Notice, prayer is the most important speech of the Christian. It is mentioned first when talking of the mouth.
Prayer is the most important conversation that your will ever hold, the most important expression of the new life.
Prayer is what God asks us to do to fight Satan and demons.
After putting on the clothing and armor of Jesus Christ, Paul said
18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Prayer is how we confess our sins.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Prayer is how people are healed.
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Prayer is how we as beloved children carry on a simple conversation with our caring Father as we talk of love.
Prayer is
Toward God.
In line with the Holy Spirit.
Consistent with God’s mind and will.
We know all that. However, Paul is expanding upon that a little.
The Continuance of Prayer
The Continuance of Prayer
2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
Paul doesn’t just say pray. Paul say to continue to pray.
Most of us pray, but do we continue in prayer?
Jesus said to
36 Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
The Apostles in Acts 6 said Acts 6:4
4 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word.
Paul said to
17 Pray without ceasing.
12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Therefore, it means to continue to pray, stay at it, don’t quit praying.
Continuing means to be constant, persevering, and unwearied in prayer
This does not mean you are to have your eyes closed and hands always folded. We would never get anything done.
What Paul is saying is we need to have a God consciousness in our daily life that sees everything that happens in reference to God.
If I see something bad, I pray.
If I see something good, I praise.
Consciously continuing in prayer and communion with God.
But notice the 2nd thing
2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
The Clarity of Prayer
The Clarity of Prayer
If you are going to be consistent in prayer and pour your heart out to God, you really ought to know something to pray for.
Remember Peter, I believe he illustrates this the best because remember back in the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus asked Peter along with the other apostles to pray.
What did Peter do?
He fell asleep.
Jesus woke him up and told him to pray and again what did he do?
He fell asleep.
Now Peter writes
7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer.
Peter is basically saying, Know the priorities be looking for things that you could pray about.
The third thing about the speech of prayer is
2 Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;
The Carriage of Prayer
The Carriage of Prayer
This deals with our attitude
When someone does something for us, we thank that person. The One Person who has done more for us than anyone else is God. Therefore, we are to thank Him.
In fact, God continues to bless and help us; His hand is constantly upon our lives, looking after and caring for us; therefore, we should continually thank Him. Our praise should be lifted up to Him all through the day as we go about our daily affairs.
An hour should never pass when we have not praised and thanked God several times.
We should never forget the presence, provisions, and promises of His Son—
Jesus actually took our sins upon Himself and bore the judgment and punishment of them for us. He provides everything we need physically, spiritually, and mentally to face this world and the challenges of this world. His promises never come up short when we follow and are obedient to Him.
Our hearts should be continually filled with thanksgiving and praise.
The Conversation of Proclamation
The Conversation of Proclamation
In the new man’s mouth utters this, notice verse 3, and Paul links it up with prayer as a prayer request;
3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
The Convenience of Proclamation.
The Convenience of Proclamation.
Twice you see the word speak.
Once you see the word utterance.
Once you see the word manifest.
And here is the speech of proclamation.
Here is the Apostle Paul saying Pray for me that I may open my mouth and proclaim.
And by allusion here not, of course, by a direct statement to us we see that another element in the speech of the new man is the speech of proclamation.
Notice the last part of this verse mentions Paul is in bonds while making this request.
Remember back when we started this series, we discussed Paul was writing this letter from prison.
If you go back to Acts chapter 21, you find Paul was arrested for preaching Jesus Christ in the temple. He was arrested and wound up in Rome on a 2 year house arrest.
30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him,
It was during this time frame that Paul wrote the letter of Colossians.
31 Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.
Everywhere Paul was, whether in the temple, in someones home, or even in prison, Paul was constantly speaking of Jesus Christ.
During this time he wrote Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon. It was a productive time.
And so he says here-praying also for us that God would get us out of this. No.
You don’t see that. He didn’t pray for where his body was, he only prayed that his mouth would have an affect.
So he says—Pray for us that God will open to us a door of, what? Of utterance, of speech, to speak the mystery of Christ. Pray for us is kind of nice. The plural pronoun means he probably was including some of his buddies who were with him and if you look at the end of chapter 4 you’ll see a list of names and at one time or another, those dear coworkers of Paul were with him. And so he’s saying—Pray for us and especially that we would speak the mystery of Christ.
Paul was aware that he was on the battleground and the forefront, out in the trenches fighting as a … as an infantryman.
He didn’t ask to pray for his personal needs.
He didn’t say Pray for me that I’ll hold up under the stress.
He didn’t say Pray for me that I get released from prison.
He just said—Pray for me that I’ll open my mouth and find a door for the Word, boldness.
Why was this the attitude of Paul? Because this was the attitude of Christ and the marching order of the Christian.
Go back to
8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
In Acts chapter 2 the Holy Spirit fell and
4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Chapter 4, Peter and John are arrested and return to the church and make 1 request.
29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,
God answers this prayer in verse 31.
31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.
The mouth of the new man should speak the gospel. Somehow because of some inhibition, because of some fears, we are lost to the effort of evangelism unless we are poked and jabbed and prodded continually.
But not Paul,
3 Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:
The mystery of Christ entails everything surrounding the gospel of Jesus Christ that was hidden in the Old Testament and to the Jews.
Especially in this letter.
26 Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:
27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Christ is not found in the temple, the sacrifices, the feasts. Christ is found in You.
This is the mystery of the Indwelling of Christ. We don’t go to Christ, Christ came to us.
Again,
2 That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;
3 In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
Christ wants us to understand. All knowledge and wisdom is found in Christ.
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
The Rapture
The Bride in Ephesian 5.
and there are several more.
These things need to be preached and proclaimed.
4 That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.
The Comprehension of Proclamation.
The Comprehension of Proclamation.
Notice the word “ought”.
Where did this ought come from.
This prayer of proclamation should be your burden as a Christian.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
If you are clothed in Jesus Christ and have put on the new man, you will also have a new mouth. We need to be ready to speak and we are to know what we are speaking.
Our new mouth prayers.
Our new mouth proclaims.
Lastly notice
The Conversation of Performance
The Conversation of Performance
Our new mouth performs. What I mean by performs is referring to our behavior. The control we have over our words. Notice what Paul says.
5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
The Consistency in Walk
The Consistency in Walk
Have you heard the phrase, “Walk your Talk”
Paul is reminding us our words can be destroyed by our walk.
Paul understood this important fact.
9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
10 That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Your walk—talks.
I hope your walk says the right thing to those on the outside.
Every time you have an opportunity, redeem or buy up that opportunity. Purchase it for eternity. Life is so short. It’s so stupid for the Christian to waste it.
The Consistency in Talk
The Consistency in Talk
6 Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.
Your conversation should always be with grace, answering and sharing what it is that makes your life different.
What an expectation God has of us: to be living a life so different and righteous that men ask us what it is that makes us different.
How many live a life that is that different? That godly and righteous?
Note exactly what is said.
When we are walking among unbelievers, we are to guard our speech and conversation.
We are …
• to make sure that we speak with grace, remember grace is that which is not deserved, therefore, with kindness, courtesy, and graciousness.
• to season our conversation with salt; that is, we are to flavor and turn the conversation to tasteful and enjoyable subjects and away from corruptible and tasteless subjects.
What happens when this is done is striking: unbelievers will begin to notice our lives and conversation—that we are different in a good and wholesome way. And some will ask you what it is that gives you such peace and security and assurance in life. Then it is that you have a unique opportunity to witness. Then it is that you can reach out and bring in those who are so tragically without Christ, lost and doomed in despair and hopelessness forever.
And this whole passage begins with
Praying for these opportunities.
When they come,
Be willing to utter the mystery of Christ manifesting the ultimate priority in life, Jesus Christ.
·
Redeeming every opportunity with wisdom to what
needs to be said and how you should say it to bring them to Jesus Christ.
