Becoming Who You Already Are | Colossians 3:5–17
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Thank you music team! If you have your Bible’s go ahead and open them to Colossians 3. We had a little last minute change of plans this week; Will was planning to close out this section of Colossians, but something came up and he is out of town. So I’m actually really thankful to jump back in and lead us through the rest of this book. As of right now, I don’t plan for us to deviate from this book till we get it done. The Lord might have other plans which I’m great with, but for now, we’re going to keep our head down till we finish.
Last week Will started us on this text, which unfortunately you can’t go back and listen to because of a glitch we had when recording. Hopefully we’ve got that solved. But Col. 3:1-17 really serves as one unit in which Paul is taking the indicatives of what he explained in the first half of this book and is now applying those to life.
If you haven’t been with us, in the first half of this book we saw the Supremacy of Christ over all things. We looked at His work and what he’s accomplished through the cross. The church at Colossae had come to believe that, but a report had gotten back to Paul that this group of teachers was beginning to have some sort of influence over these believers and telling them that while Jesus is good, he’s not enough. So Paul wrote this letter to combat that heresy and ultimately tell the church at Colossae that not only is Jesus enough, but He is all. Now, having looked at the glorious supremacy of Jesus, Paul begins to unpack and apply that to every day life. For our purposes today we’re going to focus on 12-17, but I’m going to back up to verse 1 because I will reference back to some of the things in the previous verses. So if you would follow along with me as I read these verses, I’ll pray, and then we’ll seek to understand what the Lord has communicated to us through His Word.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
This is God’s Word. Thanks be to God. Let’s pray.
As many of you know I’m not just your pastor; I’m also a farmer. And in particular a watermelon farmer at that. As of Tuesday night we put our last load of watermelons on a truck and shipped em out of here.
Main Point Sermon: Live in the new reality of Christ.
A New Reality
If Christ is Lord you have been raised with him. The fullness of your life resides with Christ now and we’re in pursuit of that reality.
Paul reminds them before telling them what to do who they are:
“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, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
Chosen - not by any merit of their own
Holy -set apart
loved - enough to be pursued
Some of us just need to sit with that for moment. If Christ is Lord over your life, if you’ve recognized your sin against a holy God and repented of that and asked for salvation you need to understand right now that God the Father looks at you in Christ as chosen, holy & beloved.
Sappy Wedding illustration
This new reality creates a new way to relate to one another. How we live is now affected, and what we display should be a new character. But new character is never displayed in isolation, it’s always seen in community. That’s what God has always been after a community, a people for himself. This new reality creates that both individually and corporately. So point 2 is really 2A & 2B. These things can’t be separated; the must go together.
It’s important to remember that the indicative leads to an imperative. As Adrian Rodgers would say, “Oh, how He loves you. Now, child of God, walk worthy of that love.”
A New Character
We were to put off Col. 3:5, 8. That language Paul uses here is of putting on and putting off clothes, but the phrase put off is emphatic & forceful like stripping something off. Elsewhere Paul tells us we must be killing these sins in us. In place place that we put on:
Compassionate hearts
lit. bowels of mercy
“love characterized by mercy”
A moving towards someone in need or distress out of sincere love for them.
kindness
goodness
humility
“not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less”
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.
Meekness
“more concerned with responsibility than privilege”
patience
N.T. Wright, “If kindness refers to our basic approach to people, patience refers to the kind of reaction we should display towards them.”
Bearing
For when reconciliation is currently not possible
Forgiving
For when repentance has happened.
Love
Like a belt holding the whole garment together or like a cloak over all of it love binds these character attributes together simultaneously to function gloriously.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
Where is this ultimately seen?
Christ towards US!
Compassionate heart
Wept over Jerusalem
Kindness
Welcomed sinners
Humility
Washed sinners feet
Gentle & lowly in heart
Meekness
Rode in on a donkey
Patience
He endured rejection
Bearing
Mt. 17 disciples couldn’t cast out a demon but Jesus did.
Forgiving -
Lk. 7:36-50 “Woman of the city” wept and washed his feet and he forgave her
Rom. 5:8 while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1 Jn. 1:9 If we confess he is faithful & just
“These are not rungs in a ladder to climb they’re graces to receive.”
How can we ever attain this?
In repentance and faith
What does the end of Col. 3:11 say? “Christ is all and in all”
Christ is all - because he is the one who made it and defines it
Christ is in all - because it’s united to him & with him (Col. 3:1) & empowered by him.
As you know the character of Jesus you begin to live it out, but in order to do that you must know Jesus. So the ultimate question for you is do you know Jesus?
If you do, then the question for you is where do you need to surrender to the lordship of Jesus in your life in these areas? Is compassion absent? Are you impatient? Do you do good to others? Would your wife or your children call you humble? Are you more concerned about your privilege than you are your responsibilities? Is your life marked by a forgiveness and bearing with one another that symbolizes the how Christ has forgiven and is bearing with you even now?
A New Community
A new reality was born when we were raised w/ Christ, and new people was made
Recall wedding Illus. & Deut. 7
This new reality redefines our identity as people…doesn’t diminish, it relativizes it
Col. 3:11 (Greek/Jew, Circumcised/uncircumcised; barbarian/Scythian; slave free)
Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
This new reality brings about imperatives for survival and flourishing
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Unified in Christ
Ruled by Peace
Full of thanksgiving
Rooted in Scriptures
Loudly proclaiming
A New Way of Life
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
All things in the name of the Lord Jesus
What does “in the name of the Lord Jesus” mean?
I say, “In Jesus name” before everything?
“To do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus...[means] to act always in concert with the nature and character of our Lord.”
How I act. Why I act. “Under the authority & character of Christ.”
This pushes us beyond corporate worship to every aspect of life
Serves as a warning to not staple on good people characteristics but to submit to the new life Christ gives.
Serves as hope giving--everything done for Christ is not done in vain. “Christ’s lordship dignifies every act.”
Concluding questions & application
Receive the good Lordship of Jesus
Commit to putting to death the old way of life and pursuing the new way of life given to you by Christ with the community of Christ.
“You can live in this new reality only because Christ first lived, died, and rose to make it yours.”
