Colossians 3:1-17
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 10 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Doctor visits: Evaluative Questions
Doctor visits: Evaluative Questions
There are things to run from and things to run to.
it is vitally important to understand this passage in light of the fact that Paul was writing it to a church.
Many times, passages are often personally applied, but rarely do we ever consider what it means for the corporate body.
These passages, this passage was written to a church.
So today, we will focus on what our church should focus on for the next year.
How should we exist as a church in 2019?
What does God desire from us as a church in 2019?
He desires that we pursue Heaven and Christ together?
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Have you ever considered this thought?
I think we may be surprised at what he just said.
First, he begins with the condition that must be met.
If you have been raised with Christ...
In other words, if you have been saved, and brought into the body of the church through baptism.
you have..
If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself to decrees, such as,
having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
In other words, you have been saved.
The church and its membership is to be made up of those who have been raised up with Christ.
God has graciously saved each of us, called us brought us together here in this local church ministry, but there is something that is required of us as a church.
As a church we must:
“Keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
Wait a minute: Didn’t he just say we are already raised with Christ? Yes.
And now he is telling us to keep seeking the one we are already with?
yes.
The pursuit of Christ does not end at the altar of salvation. It begins there. We have been saved and seated with him in the heavenly places, already, but we are not yet there with him in glory, so we seek him with all our hearts.
We seek what is above, where Christ is, and don’t forget that the one we seek is in a place that can only be occupied by him, which means this:
When we seek him and find him, we also find the victory that it iin him.
Seated at the right hand of God.
Church: Will you commit this year to corporately seek after Christ?
To come (Emphasis here on come). To come together with each other with a desire to seek after Christ.
To find ways to pursue him TOGETHER outside the walls of the church building.
Paul says that this is supposed to be a corporate pursuit. He is speaking here to the church.
He continue with something else we should be pursuing.
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
Again, here this is often applied to the individual, but remember this was written to the church.
But what does this mean for the church?
What does verse 2 mean for the church?
Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
I believe what this means the mind of the church should be set on doing things that matter in heaven.
Often times we get so caught up, as a church, with things that don’t matter to God and don’t matter in heaven.
We spend/I spend more time working more on what will burn up, than we do on things that won’t.
Allow me to be frank for just minute:
our God is more concerned that there are lost people around us in our community that we haven’t ministered to than he is about whether or not the grass is cut, the carpet vacuumed, the walls painted.
God is more concerned with people outside and inside than he is the building
The question is: what are we more concerned about? What do we spend our money on as a church?
Does our church budget reflect that we are seeking the things that are above? Or does it reflect something else? Do you know?
Do our actions, as a church, reflect that we care about the things above? Or do our actions reveal something else? Are we earthly minded?
If not, hear me out church, we (me included) we need to reevaluate what we have our mind set on.
And Paul gives us 2 reasons why:
Our current standing with Christ. verse 3.
Our future glory because of Christ.
And here again is where we must stop evaluate.
Do our lives reflect that we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God?
On the day, when Christ is revealed, will we have lived and functioned as a church in light of that future glory and the judgment that is coming with it?
More pointedly: To the person or family that lives 2 miles from here or even a mile, will it have mattered that we existed as a church.
As a church, we must commit ourselves to pursuing the things above.
But there is another commitment we must make:
Coming with
Kill the Sin Below.
Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
In verse 4, we talked about how Christ is our life. and if we are saved we have been raised to life with him.
But Christ does not come alive within us without expecting the sin in us to die.
If we are spiritually alive in Christ, we are to consider the members of our earhtly body as dead to sin.
As a church and individuals we are to put to death things like:
Immorality
Impurity
Passion
Evil Desires
Greed
Which all amounts to idolatry.
There is one who is worthy of our worship.
We must worship him as a church putting to death anything that does not promote the worship of the true God.
We will not be able to seek or see the things above that we discussed early if our vision is cloudy with the things of this earth. We have been saved out of this type of life.
This is wha
Look what he says again in verse 6-7
For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.
We cant expect God to bless our church, if we are living in the things that brings forth His wrath. We must kill sin.
Paul uses some imagery her that is helpful.
He speaking in the next portion of the chapter about putting on and putting off.
We put off sin:
But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
These are things that should not characterize the body of Christ and a community of faith.
These are the things that cause blurred vision to the true purpose that God has given us as a church.
These are the things that cause disunity and faction amongst the church.
Anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive speech, lying to one another.
Put those things off.
Instead, put on the new life you have in Christ.
and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
How do you fight against attitudes of bitterness, anger, and slander?
Remember who you are in Christ.
Its pretty hard to be angry at someone when you think of God’s Son being sacrificed as your substitute because of your anger.
It will be more difficult to slander someone when we think of the Savior who died for our slandering of each.
We are to take off the old clothes of slander, anger, malice, selfishness, idolatry, and put on the new clothes of Christ transforming work in our lives.
This is where true unity among the body happens.
verse 11 highlights this.
a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.
Those who are in Christ have no reason to divide over anything. Even things that normally divide.
If you are in Christ, you are unified and you can work together to kill sin in your life that our Savior was killed for.
Church: Will you commit this year to work together to kill sin? to not let slander reign in your mouths. To not let anger about things in the past dwell in our hearts. To put those things aside and pick up the renewal we have in Christ.
Lastly, will you commit to Christ being all in all in our church?
That seems so vague..
How do we do that?
In verses 12-17, he lays out what the practical applications of Christ being all in all means.
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
He begins with what should motivate our holiness as a church, and he tells us what our response should be.
Put on a heart of compassion.
Kindness
Humility
Gentleness
Patience
This is talking about how we interact with each other.
Are you compassionate to other members of this body?
Are you kind to other members in this body?
Are you humble? Do you have a proper view of yourself?
Are you a gentle spirit? approachable or abrasive?
Are you patient? Are you as patient with other as you want them to be with you?
These are all necessary qualities that must inhabit the life of the believer and the church.
But he goes on…
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Bearing with one another..
Literally, this is saying that at times, we are supposed put up with each other.
Forgiving one another, just as Christ forgave you.
Why is it that forgiveness is so absent it seems in the church?
Someone or several people set us off, and what normally happens? People leave.
Bearing with another implies staying with each other despite our faults and failures.
To have a commitment to each other, that I’m going to love you even if you hang me out to dry.
Bear with one another. This statement assumes imperfection.
If you stay here long enough, there will be something that I do that upsets you.
I’m going to love you regardless.
But too often forgiveness is the exception and not the assumption.
But you don’t realize what he did…
She always does this…
Just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And Love is the motivating factor of all of this.
Look in verse 14
colo
Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
There is one thing that we can out on to accomplish this.
It may be overwhelming to to look at verses 12-13, so he summarizes it all in verse 14
Its as if he is saying, “Put on Love. The rest will take care of itself.”
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Putting on love will result in peace together.
We were all called into this peace, and be thankful.
Where love is, there is peace together, and where there is peace together because of Christ’s call, there is thankfulness.
Thankfulness in a church is vital to our success as a church.
Thankfulness breeds generosity.
Generosity of time. Generosity of love. Generosity of the money God has blessed us with.
A lack of thankfulness breeds greed.
If we as a church forget who gives everything we have to us, we cease to be thankful.
look in verse 16
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
The Word of God must be central to what we do here.
Our teaching is to be by the Word of God.
Our encouragement is to be by the Word .
And I’m a firm believer that where the word of God is richly dwelling, thankfulness will abound.
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
Again, this passage is often applied individually, but it is written to a church.
Our words and deeds as the church are to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Can Jesus sign His name to our worship today?
Can Jesus sign His name to your church attendance?
Can Jesus sign his name to your service?
Can Jesus sign His nam at the bottom of our church budget and say, thats how I want what is mine spent?
What are we here for today?
Are we here for ourselves?
Or we here for Christ?
Our prevailing motivation should be Jesus and His glory.
Will you commit to that this year?