Teach One Another
Notes
Transcript
Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Colossians chapter 3.
I think that Colossians chapter 3 is one of the most comprehensive chapters in the Bible on a Christian’s personal and spiritual growth.
It is a manual of sorts for what every day sanctification looks like.
It begins with a word on the Christian mindset.
The spiritual battle is first a battle of what we set our minds on.
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
If you are a Christian…,
You have been resurrected to spiritual life and your life is secured in heaven with Christ.
The old you is dead., the new you is alive.
and your are now living in such a way that you are looking forward to what you will become when Jesus returns….,
4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
But in the mean time, you have what is left of your old sin nature to war with.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
You are presently being renewed into the image of your creator.
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
therefore in the Christian life,
though your eternity is secure,
in the present, you are still tasked with actively pursuing transformation into the image of God...,
You are putting off the old self, and you are putting on the new self daily.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
13 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.
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
two weeks ago Drew preached this text and he emphasized that if this vision of the Christian life is true…,
If we really are all in progress…,
fighting our sin…,
putting on Christ-likeness…,
Then there is an extremely high probability that we will sin against each other in the process.
A church is a group of people who still sin and are in the process of sanctification…,
In our midst there is a big variety of people…,
some beginning their journey to follow Jesus very recently,
some having walked with Jesus for a long time,
represented here are all kinds of sin struggles,
Therefore…, one of the things that makes Christian community work is our capacity to forgive one another in the same way that Jesus forgave us…,
Christian community just does not work if it is not a forgiving community….
last week…, Kenneth followed up with a sermon from 1 John which emphasized not only the necessity of forgiveness in the Christian community, but also the necessity of confession in the Christian community.
Because we all know this about ourselves…,
that we are sinners,
because we all know this about Christ that he is the forgiver of every sin…,
we are freed to be honest with one another when we sin…,
Just as we come into the presence of God who is light with nothing hidden from his sight…,
we do not have to hide things from each other…,
We dwell in a community of light…,
transparency, humility, and honesty…,
but this community contributes more to our spiritual growth than just the relational context of forgiveness….,
In Colossians chapter 3,
Paul turns his attention from just the personal battle against sin…,
and he begins to emphasize that this is actually a corporate battle
in which God uses the tool of the Christian one-anothering
to help in the sanctification process..
The church fellowship is actually the surgical scalpel in the hand of our redeemer doing the important surgical sanctifying work in our hearts..,
God is using the community of one-anothering to actively mold and shape his people…,
now turn to Colossians 3:15-16.
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
16 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.
Lets Pray
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Lets start with a look at the word, “let” in verse 15.
This word in the english is meant to signal to us that what follows is an imperative.
The Greek language has something that our English language does not have…,
It has a third person imperative.
Meaning it’s a command that anyone and everyone should obey.
verses 15-16 are structured around three commands…
followed by three participles….
a participle is an ongoing action…,
so three commands and then three ongoing actions which help us to obey the three commands.
So thats the way we are going to structure our sermon this morning..,
3 commands
and
3 participles.
Command #1 Let Christ’s Peace Rule Your Heart
Command #1 Let Christ’s Peace Rule Your Heart
God’s commands are not burdensom…, they are a blessing
This command is especially a blessing.
God wants your heart to be ruled by the peace of Christ.
several questions arise…,
Firstly, what is peace?
Peace by definition is the absence of worry, turmoil, or conflict...,
It is a state of well-being..,
The old testament uses the word “shalom”
It is a word of right relationship leading to a state of blessedness..,
When there is peace between nations, there is no war.
When there is peace between two people, there is no conflict.
But what is the peace “of Christ”
Well lets take note first of how Paul has used the word already…,
speaking of Jesus, Paul writes….
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,
20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
So the peace of Christ is something accomplished by the blood of his cross…,
Christs sacrificial blood created peace…,
Peace between us and God…,
There is no longer any conflict between us and God…,
There is no debt to be paid.
There is no wrath to receive.
Jesus paid it all and thus peace with God is possible…,
but the command is not just to be at peace with God through your faith in Jesus…,
It is to let that peace rule in your heart…
God’s will for our lives is that our very hearts are regulated by this standard which is the peace we have with God and each other through the blood of Jesus..,
so practically speaking…,
Our hearts are governed by this reality.
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;
all other ground is sinking sand.
The things that worry my soul,
the things I am most concerned with,
the situations that are anxiety inducing,
they have no bearing on the foundation upon which I stand..,
they change nothing about my greatest hope,
Jesus says it this way…,
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
In the gospel of John, Jesus says it this way..,
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
We are commanded to pursue this kind of peace in our very hearts…,
So that the external changing circumstances of our lives in this corrupted world do not steal our peace in the eternal unchanging promises of our resurrected savior.
When anxiety or worry strikes one of my kids…, we have been following this progression of question and answer:
Does God exist?
Is God all powerful?
Is God good?
Has he loved me since before this foundation of the world?
Then whom shall I fear?
When we go through that progression, we are trying to submit our minds and hearts to the rule of Christ’s peace.
BUT, there is a context in which we pursue this…,
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body…
So notice what Paul does here…,
We are called to a peace which rules in our hearts…, but that peace which rules in our hearts is something we are called to live out in “one body”
Whats he talking about?
the church.
18 And he is the head of the body, the church. …
We are called to dwell in one body as we let the peace of Christ rule our hearts..,
The peace of Christ in our hearts is going to shape the peace of the relationships within the body…,
And the body is going to shape the peace of Christ in our hearts..,
If the peace of Christ is not the thing dictating your heart…,
you will most likely find yourself in conflict with others in the body…,
ITs the blood of Jesus shed for me that shapes how I live at peace with other people.
At the same time, If you separate yourself from the body..,
you are not likely to experience the real peace of Christ dictating your heart….,
God both commands you to let Christ’s peace rule your heart,
and he provides you with the tools to see it happen in the body of Christ…,
now put a pin in that and we will come back to the way the body contributes to your peace when we get to the participles,
but lets look at two other commands I.
Command #2 Be Thankful
Command #2 Be Thankful
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
This is essential to a heart that is at peace…,
One of the reasons that we find ourselves with hearts so anxiety stricken,
and so ridden with unrest,
is that we are unnecessarily discontent…,
And we are quick to forget all of the ways our God has been faithful to us throughout our lives.
we are unnecessarily discontent…, because we are sinfully ungrateful..,
Beware of the creep of entitlement in how you relate to others…,
And especially how you relate to God…,
He does not owe us a life.
He does not owe us a certain kind of life free of all difficulty and full of all the worlds blessings.
He does not owe us eternal life.
We are not in a position to barter with God, or argue with God.
We are not in a position to understand the fullness of God’s plans for every detail of the cosmos.
We are not in a position to make demands of God.
And when we are tempted in any of these ways…, at least one of the things we need to stop and consider are the undeserved gifts of grace that we should be very thankful for.,
Theologian R.C. Sproul says it this way…,
“The essence of Christian theology is grace. The essence of Christian ethics is gratitude.” - R.C. Sproul
Dietrich Bonhoeffer speaks of gratitude as the agent that changes the way we remember things or people we have lost.
He says,
Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer
This is one of the repeated themes in Colossians is the theme of thankfulness..,
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.
16 …with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
17 ….giving thanks to God the Father through him.
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.
A Peaceful heart is a thankful heart…,
Thanksgiving shapes how we pray, how we sing, how we serve, how we relate to one another, and how we relate to hardship and suffering.
Thankfulness therefore becomes one of the heart shaping tools of our spiritual and communal lives..,
We wage war against what is earthly in us…, with the weapon of our thankfulness.
It is difficult to be thankful and prideful at the same time…,
It is difficult to be thankful and anxious at the same time…,
It is difficult to be thankful and angry at the same time…,
It is difficult to be thankful and at the same time be sexually immoral, impure, or idolatrous.
Think about your last sinful act that you are most ashamed of…,
when you committed that act…,
were you full of thankfulness for your salvation in Christ Jesus, and all of the undeserved blessings he has poured out upon you?
Or did you look on God’s kindness with disdain, discontent, and desire for something else…,
One very practical suggestion for you when you feel like you are stuck in the depths of despair…,
Write down every grace that God has given you that you should be thankful for…,
write it down, thank God for it, and watch God work in you the peace he promises.
Be thankful…,
thats a command for you to pursue…,
Command #1 Let Christ’s Peace Rule Your Heart
Command #2 Be Thankful
But what happens when you lose sight of what you should be thankful for…,
If your not careful,
you may think that you don’t have anything to be thankful for…,
which is not true…,
so where do you turn for the truth of all that you should be thankful for.
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly….
Command #3 Let Christ’s Word Dwell in You Richly
Command #3 Let Christ’s Word Dwell in You Richly
Notice that the peace of Christ which rules your hearts…,
Works in tandem with the word of Christ that dwells in you richly…,
What does it mean for Christ’s word to dwell in you…,
It means that the truth of what Christ has said, and revealed, and promised is on your mind, remembered, meditated upon, and believed.
What does it mean to dwell in us richly?
It means to dwell in us quantitatively A LOT
God’s word is on our mind a lot..,
and qualitatively it means to dwell in us as precious.
listen to how Paul references the word of Christ elsewhere in Colossians.
27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,
3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
We are commanded to meditate on the truth of Christ a lot
and to meditate on it as THE treasure that it really is.
the word of God contains the riches of the glory of the mystery…,
that the hope of glory,
Jesus Christ, is in us by faith.
We actively, daily, with discipline and intentionality, set our minds on these realities
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
How else do we do this if not by reading the word of Christ every day,
And praying that God would cause his word to dwell in our hearts richly,
this is the daily business of a Christian person,
It is the daily exercise which builds the muscles of faith and gratitude,
It is the daily bread which keeps the spiritual body nourished,
It is the personal responsibility of every Jesus follower to feast on his word personally and daily, in pursuit of a thankful heart and a peaceful heart.
Three commands:
Let Christ’s Peace Rule Your Heart
Be Thankful
Let Christ’s Word Dwell in You Richly
three commands back to back…,
but there is a particular communal way that we pursue all of this
which is where the participles come in.
A participle is a word formed from a verb that functions like an adjective.
a present participle is a word that ends with -ing
it reveals continuous action.
Here is three continuous actions we do as we pursue those first three commands.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom…
Participle #1 Teaching One Another
Participle #1 Teaching One Another
Christian community is a community of mutual teaching...,
the only way any of us will live lives in which
Christ’s peace rules our heart
is that we live in relationship to a group of people who have the God-given responsibility to teach us…,
and whom we have the God-given responsibility to teach them…,
To teach simply means to make truth clear…,
WE are commanded to make truth clear to each other…,
This is part of the great commission.
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
14 I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
The author of Hebrews rebukes the believers he is writing to because they are not teaching one another.
12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,
So there is this expectation within Christian community…, that we are both teaching others and seeking the teaching that comes from others.
This happens in small groups.
This happens at our Sunday evening prayer services,
This happens on Sunday mornings.
This happens in every day conversation and relationships.
Every disciple of Jesus is a disciple maker…,
Every one of you should have an eye for others you can help in their pursuit of Jesus.
That doesn’t mean that we are always instructing one another with new information we have learned...,
Though sometimes, that happens especially when there is a newer believer among us.
But it often means we are seeking to make God’s truth clear to one another by way of reminder…,
we need to exist in a community who is constantly reminding one another of what is true in clear and compelling ways…, especially when our mind is clouded with suffering, and sorrow, or sin.
That means that when we give ourself to the discipline of daily bible reading and prayer
or meditation through a particular theological book or question.…,
we do it so that our own hearts are ruled by the peace of Christ…,
but we also do it so that we might be filled up to the point of overflow into the lives and hearts of other people…
your personal devotional time is always an investment into the other people whom you might encourage or instruct with the word of God that is dwelling richly in you.
Spiritual disciplines of bible intake and prayer are never solely personal…,
they always have corporate effect..,
As you live in the community of faith seeking ways to instruct others in the truth.
This is for teaching but it is also true for admonishment…,
Participle #2 Admonishing One Another
Participle #2 Admonishing One Another
What happens when someone in our midst slips into a state of total despair and ingratitude…,
or perhaps the more hostile version of this…, they slip into total bitterness and hostility….
or perhaps the more lazy version of this…, they slip into total self-centeredness and slothfulness…,
What hope do they have?
What help does God give?
Well hopefully there is someone in their life who will obey this command.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
The word admonishment carries a different kind of nuance then just teaching.
Teaching is the act of making truth clear.
Admonishment is the act of urging someone to change course….,
It is often a call to repent, to change direction, to turn from sin, or to change their mind…,
It is the kind of conversation where you plead with someone, warn someone, urge someone to take a particular path…,
and it requires wisdom..,
admonishment done in wisdom…, is admonishment that is direct, clear, timely, perceptive, and with the right tone.
Right words said in the wrong way, can be the wrong words.
Right words said at the wrong time, can be the wrong words.
Once you get pass the fear factor of actually admonishing someone…, the hardest part to get right can be this wisdom aspect.
And sometimes there is no perfectly wise way to tell someone they are sinning so that all awkwardness or difficulty is alleviated it….,
It’s just true, that this is a hard thing to do,
But remember that these are one-another commands…,
That means they are reciprocal…,
If you are always and only the one doing the teaching and doing the admonishing…, that may be cause for concern as well..,
Not only do we want to be teachers,
And administers…,
We want to strive to be the kind of church member who is teachable.
Who is admonish-able.
You all know what its like to interact with the kind of person that you feel as if you have to walk on egg shells around them..,
Perhaps you have a family member like that,
Or a co-worker or a boss like that.
It is an uncomfortable thing to always be fearful of someone else’s pride response…,
It should be our goal to live the kind of life in humility,
Where our friends and our fellow church members should not be afraid to correct us,
Or to confront us,
Or to disagree with us…,
If you are un-teachable, and un-admonishable, you will miss out on the blessing of spiritual growth in a whole host of ways…
So when the Bible says teach one another and admonish one another…,
Obedience looks like teaching and being taught,
Admonishing and being admonished.
As we said, this can happen in variety of contexts…,
but the apostle Paul actually gives us one of the ways in which this command can be obeyed every time we gather together,
look back at the text one last time at one more participle.
16 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.
Participle #3 Singing with One Another
Participle #3 Singing with One Another
How is the peace of Christ going to rule our hearts
How are we going to fight for thankfulness
how are we going to let God’s word dwell in us richly…,
At least one of the answers is this….. sing together.
This is part of the Christian life…,
We teach one another through singing with one another.
the words of the songs we sing are full of truth,
and we gather every week to rehears certain truths through song,
its a way of dwelling on the word of Christ,
resting in the peace of Christ,
thanking God for all the grace of Christ,
and its a way of instructing one another with important reminders…,
Your soul needs the regular singing of God’s word in community with God’s people..,
This is a gift of God’s grace to you.
In fact…, I don’t love the translation of the words “with thankfulness” in verse 16.
The word is literally by grace…,
so the sentence would read…, singing psalms, and hymns, and spiritual songs by grace in your hearts to God..,
We sing about grace,
under the influence of grace,
to one another…,
AND to God from the genuineness of our thankful hearts.
So there is something remarkable happening in the singing moment…,
WE are at the same time communicating to the God of the universe in musical prayer
and to the people that we are singing with in theological teaching.
And in that moment of singing,
God is glorified,
and God’s people are edified.
If you are a church member of St. Rose Community Church, one of your responsibilities is to show up and sing to God from the heart.
and what a wonderful responsibility that is.
And what a wonderful grace that is to our own souls especially in seasons when we need it most.
This is the kind of personal and communal life God has invited us into.
So what do we do with all this:
All of this has been very practical already, but let me break it down as plainly as I can in the form of three takeaways
Takeaway:
#1 Take in the Word Personally and Communally
#1 Take in the Word Personally and Communally
make a real plan for reading at least one chapter of God’s word and responding in prayer every single day.
You have certain habits like putting on deodorant or brushing your teeth, (hopefully). Build one chapter of the bible into your routine and do it as consistently as you drink your morning coffee or put on your shoes.
The cumulative effect of personal prayer in response to the word you read, will change your life.
Take in the Word Communally
Imagine with me you are a solider preparing for a high stakes mission with your platoon to retrieve hostages.
The night before the mission, there is a briefing which describes the objective, and there is an equipment check in perpetration for what’s ahead.
How do you think you would pay attention to that briefing?
Would you multi-task and scroll your phone a bit while the commanding officer spoke?
Would you rush through the equipment check eager to get to dinner?
My guess…, is that you would be locked in, taking notes, and taking in every detail that might help you in the mission ahead…,
Paul says you are in a spiritual war…,
And the gathering of the saints is that briefing every week…,
16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
If this is the case…,
Then when you gather corporately…, take in the word like your preparing for something…, because you are.
#2 Teach the Word Organically and Intentionally
#2 Teach the Word Organically and Intentionally
Not all of you are going to preach sermons…,
But all of you are going to build relationships with each other…,
It’s your responsibility to share with each other what God is teaching you in his word, and to help others understand or remember his word…,
Do that all the time organically.
But don’t just leave it to be done organically.
Teach the Word Intentionally
One of the best learning environments is one-on-one.
You can ask questions, find answers, and dive deeper into one another’s lives when you meet one on one.
You can better admonish one another, when you actually know what’s going on in someone else’s life, and you can best know what’s happening in someone else’s life if you invite them for coffee, or for a walk, or for a meal and turn an talk one-on-one.
Look for opportunities to read a book with someone one-on-one. Especially look for opportunities to grow together in a specific area or to disciple a believer who is younger than you in the faith.
This doesn’t have to be a forever commitment. Pick a person and a book. Meet 8 times. And teach one another.
And what the lord bless that disciple-making ministry.
#3 Sing the Word Loudly and Thankfully
#3 Sing the Word Loudly and Thankfully
The roar of voices on Sunday mornings tells you that you are not alone.
It tells you that there are others in this room that believe this stuff.
There others in this room who have lost loved ones, who are enduring sickness, and grief, and sorrow.
There are others in this room fighting for the strength to sing.
And the peace of Christ is ruling their hearts through their season of sleeplessness, of sickness, of sorrow, and of joy, and plenty, and provision.
Sing Loudly for the sake of those next to you,
And sing in your own fight for thanksgiving as you remind yourselves of gospel truth packed in every song.
We are going to sing two songs this morning:
Chris is our Wisdom
And
Christ, the Solid Rock
In singing, we are thanking God, and we are reminding each other.
so lets pray and then lets sing.
