Colossians 3:9-17 (v14-15)

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What comes to mind when you think of the church?

We left off last time in v14.

It is no doubt the case that mentioning the idea of the church to individuals can bring about diverse reactions.

For some, to speak of the church is a reminder of something gone wrong.

Whether it was

a pastor who sinned grievously in some manner,

a person who gossiped or slandered, or

poor stewardship of money entrusted to the church,

there is some reason why mentioning the church to some people is like pulling a scab off a wound.

Something happened that left them thinking they would never be part of the church again.

On the other hand, for others, the mention of church is a reminder of something they are committed to but, sadly, it brings them no joy.

After all, the meeting of the church together each Sunday often gets in the way of certain sporting events or

other leisure activities,

causing them to lose a crucial day in the weekend.

Yet, for some reason these individuals are committed either out of duty or some kind of obligation.

For the most part, they gather with believers on Sundays, are pretty regular in their attendance, but yet

the thought of the church

does not bring about great joy.

It’s like brushing one’s teeth—a necessary thing to which most are committed yet few (if any) get excited about.

Still yet, for others, the mention of the church is like telling your dog that he’s about to get a treat.

It’s a reminder of what—and more importantly, whom—they love.

They’re willing to alter their lives just to be able to be involved in this believing community.

The church, for them, is one of their greatest delights.

The thought of going through life apart from these people

with whom they have linked arms and

walked through joys and trials is almost too much to bear.

There are local churches that at one time epitomized everything good and beautiful about the bride of Christ that are now simply gone.

There are people who at one time sacrificed much just to be a part of a certain believing community

who later voluntarily walked out the door and never came back.

Perhaps it is this reality that leads Paul (and the other biblical authors) to spend so much time

instructing us on how to relate to one another as part of a local church.

It’s because, on the one hand, (the reality) that we desperately need one another,

can become a portrait of something beautiful and delightful together,

and can shine brightly together in this world,

and, on the other hand, can so quickly end up on the other end of the scale,

bearing hatred in our hearts toward one another,

picturing disunity and malice, and

can provide a false witness to the glory of Jesus Christ.

So, it should not surprise us that as Paul turns his attention to exhorting the Colossians in day-to-day practice

that he focuses specifically on the Colossians laboring and living together as a community of believers in 3:12–17.

And as we pay attention and heed Paul’s exhortations in these verses,

it will aid us in growing

as a delightful community of believers and in preventing and fighting against those things that stand to destroy such a community.

If you want to sum up Paul’s picture of what makes a thriving church community, I think it’s found in verse 17 of our text.

Paul closes this section of exhortations by noting in verse 17,

— And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The idea of doing everything we do “in the name of the Lord Jesus” in light of the rest of this text and the rest of this book seems to be the idea of always acting in accord with the nature and character of Christ. That is, in everything we say or do, let’s make sure that we are demonstrating the nature and character of Christ. That is our goal. But, how do we do that? I think the answer is by walking according to the exhortations we find in verses 12–16.

How do we live as a Christ-honoring community of believers? I want to mention four points from our text which will enable us to do so.

FIRST, IN ORDER TO LIVE AS A CHRIST-HONORING COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS WE MUST LABOR TO DEMONSTRATE THE PEACE OF CHRIST IN OUR MIDST

— And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.

The exhortation to let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts doesn’t come until the first half of verse 15,

but I think this is where these first few verses are heading.

I think this for a couple of reasons.

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 69–70.

First, in the book of Ephesians (which has a number of parallel texts with Colossians), Paul begins his exhortations in that book by writing, — Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to live worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Does this not sound similar to what we read in ?

I think it does, and given this fact, we see that the goal of Ephesians and Colossians is that in the church,

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 69.

we are called to work hard at maintaining the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Second, the nature of the commands that Paul gives in verses 12–15a, if obeyed, would indeed bring about peace amidst a community of believers.

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 69.

That is, where these commands are obeyed, peace will be the result.

And, given that Paul opens the letter (as he does others) with a declaration of peace (1:2),

I think that his aim is for the Colossian church to be one characterized as a community of peace,

where the gathering of believers together is a haven of peace.

But how do they get there?

We see this in the opening verses of our text. Paul exhorts them first to “put on” those qualities that characterize the nature of Christ.

He writes in verse 12,— Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,

I don’t think it’s by mistake that Paul lists five of these qualities after listing five vices in 3:5 and in 3:8.

He is countering those things which we must put away and put to death with five characteristics that we must “put on,” as if putting on clothing.

Therefore, the kind of person that Paul envisions each of us being is a person characterized by these qualities.

As those who have been called out of the world by God and then called together as his church, we must exercise first, compassion.

That is, we should be characterized by a willingness to demonstrate tenderness and mercy toward others.

We must be kind.

We must be humble, ridding ourselves of arrogance that looks down on others.

We must have gentleness, not wanting to exalt ourselves above others.

And we must have patience.

This is what a covenant community of believers should look like.

This is the New Testament’s vision of what the church should be and how she should act in the world.

And, I would dare say that

all of us would want to be part of a community of believers

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 70.

characterized by these qualities.

Yet, that means that each one of us must labor to ensure that we ourselves are characterized by such qualities.

This must be a focused and disciplined goal on the part of each one of us.

Yet, Paul is realistic as well. He knows that we are prone to failure.

He knows that he’s calling us to link arms together with people who will hurt us, even as we will hurt them.

We will sometimes be careless with our words and offend.

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 70.

We will sometimes look past our aching brother or sister because we’re focused on our own needs.

Therefore, Paul reminds us that we must bear with one another. He writes in verse 13,— bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive.

We should note here as well that walking together in peace with other believers is always necessarily undergirded with the gospel.

The only reason we will be able to live like this is because we recognize that we are not doing these things so that we can be right with God.

We’re living this way because we’ve already been declared right with God.

And the only way we’ll find strength to forgive others when we’ve been wronged by them

is by recognizing and remembering that

we’ve been forgiven for much greater evil than anyone has committed against us.

So, Paul sets for us a vision of a covenant community.

We are to be a people characterized by compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, who are willing to bear with and forgive one another.

This is what unity and peace among a believing community requires.

Where it is present, we delight and love the church.

Where it is absent, we are simply mirroring those around us who have not died and been raised with Christ.

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 70–71.

Yet, Paul continues.

Next, he mentions an element that we must not simply assume, namely the reality of love in our midst.

SECOND, IN ORDER TO LIVE AS A CHRIST-HONORING COMMUNITY OF BELIEVERS WE MUST LOVE OTHERS GENUINELY

After mentioning these virtues and characteristics that we must put on, Paul says in verse 14,— Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

The greatest reality that must characterize those of us in this covenant community of believers is love.

Every responsibility we bear before Christ stems from love.

This is why Paul says that “above all” we are to put on love.

You see, if we demonstrate kindness, patience, humility, patience, and compassion and yet do not have love,

it is worthless.

If we say that we forgive one another and yet do not love one another, then everything is a mere façade.

Paul tells us as much as he writes to the Corinthians in 13:3, saying,

— And if I give away all my possessions, and if I give over my body in order to be burned but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is a necessary characteristic of the Christian community.

Everything we do is bound together in harmony by our love for one another.

What this means is that we do not make it our aim

make it our aim to serve others in this body,

to serve others in this body,

though we need to serve one another.

We do not make it our aim not to

sin against others in this body,

make it our aim not to sin against others in this body,

though we need to fight sinning against one another.

We do not make it our aim to

meet others’ needs,

though we want to do that as well.

Rather, we make it our aim to genuinely love one another. This is our goal, and everything else (our service, care, and kindness to one another)

must flow out of this.

This means, among other things, that we

take opportunities to spend time together,

hear one another joys and burdens, and

see one another’s hearts

so that we might cultivate love for one another.

We need to provide for ourselves opportunities to see and delight in our brothers’ and sisters’ love for Christ

so that we might grow in love for them.

Yet Paul does not stop here.

On top of our labors for peace that are driven by love,

we also see that we must be characterized by thankfulness. We’ll see this next time in v15.

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 71.

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 70.

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 71.

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 69.

Tankersley, L. (2013). Sermon: A Portrait of the Glorious Community of Faith (). The Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 17(3), 68–69.We left off last time in v14.