Sermon Tone Analysis

Quit dragging around a corpse

Here in , Paul describes that as the old man and new man.

The old man is dead and needs to be put off, and the new man needs to be put on.

The new man occupies the same old physical body of the old man and has to contend with a brain that has been trained to think in wrong patterns and view the world incorrectly, but those things will change as the man is conformed into the image of Christ.

The old man is dead and Christian needs to quit dragging his old corpse around.

His previous deeds and attitudes are to be put to death – immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed along with anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech.

In their place the deeds and attitudes of the new man are being developed through the cleansing of God’s word, the renewing of his mind, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

The believer’s character is changed so that he is marked by compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another, forgiving each other and agape love.

These virtues are not limited to friends and loved ones, but are extended to all men.

The result of this is a disposition of peace and thankfulness.

Because the believer has peace with God through Christ, he can be at peace himself and extend peace to others.

A peace that is not just the absence of conflict, but a peace of harmony in relationships.

(Obviously such harmony requires both parties involved to work at being at peace and it may not be possible if one of them refuses to do so.

That is why God only commands us to be at peace with all men so far as it depends on you.)

Today I want us to focus on v.16

The idea of “dwell” (ejnoikevw / enoikeô) is for the teachings of Christ to reside within in us.

It is to live in us so that we can live it out in what we think, what we say, and our disposition.

Jesus Himself made the same point in when explained that He is the vine, we are the branches, so we must abide in Him to have life.

We are to abide in Him and His word is to abide in us if we are to prove to be His disciples.

David expressed this idea in when he explained that the way live a pure life was to hide God’s word in his heart so that he might not sin against the Lord.

Paul adds here the adverb “richly” (plousivwV / plousiôs) to describe the degree to which this should occur in the life of a believer.

It is to be within us in abundance.

The word of Christ should direct every thought and decision that we make.

We should be striving to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ () so that we can make and live out decisions that will glorify Him.

The third part of the Great Commission is to teach believers to obey all of Christ’s commands ().

But none of this can happen if you do not know the teaching and commands of Jesus.

There is a knowledge base that must be present and that knowledge needs to be present in abundance.

You need to know God’s word richly.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you;” that is, let it be your most familiar friend.

Col

We know the people who live in our home, but we do not really know other people.

When someone asked Mr. Whitefield, “What do you think of Mr. So-and-So’s character?”

He answered, “I cannot say, for I never lived with him.”

Ah!

That is the true test; it is living with people that lets you know what they are.

In like manner, if you will live with “the word of Christ,” especially if you will let it dwell in you, and abide with you as a constant friend, you will get to know it better; and the better you know it, the more you will love it.

Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, if you meet with a man who finds fault with the Bible, you may be certain that he never read it.

If he would but read it in the right spirit, he would be of another opinion.

And if you find a professing Christian indifferent to his Bible, you may be sure that the very dust upon its cover will rise up in judgment against him.

The Bible reader is always the Bible lover, and the Bible searcher is the man who searches it more and more.

Various pursuits have a measure of fascination about them, but the study of God’s Word is fascinating to the highest degree.

Jerome said, when he was pondering a certain text, “I adore the infinity of Holy Scripture;” I have often felt that I could say the same.

The Bible is a book that has no bounds to it.

Its thoughts are not as men’s thoughts, a multitude of which may go to make up half an ounce; but any one of the thoughts of God can outweigh all the thoughts of men.

This Book is not a book of pence, or a book of silver, or even a book of gold, but a book whose every leaf is of untold value.

He shall be enriched indeed who lets “the word of Christ” richly dwell in him.

(CHRIST’S INDWELLING WORD NO. 2679 A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD’S-DAY, JUNE 17, 1900.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD’S-DAY EVENING, APRIL 10, 1881.)

(CHRIST’S INDWELLING WORD NO. 2679 A SERMON INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD’S-DAY, JUNE 17, 1900.

DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD’S-DAY EVENING, APRIL 10, 1881.)

It is truly by way of spending time with Christ in the word that we are transformed into the person of Christ.

The Problem

We Need to be a People of the Word

Not just a cursory verse or a checklist item, but a transformational time of fellowship in the word.

If you are visiting for the first time or you’ve been here for decades, I want you to know that Sunday Church will change your life… Hopefully a sermon will encourage you along the way, but it is not enough to sustain you...

ruminate

verbru·​mi·​nate | \ ˈrü-mə-ˌnāt \ruminated; ruminating

Definition of ruminate

transitive verb

1: to go over in the mind repeatedly and often casually or slowly 2: to chew repeatedly for an extended period

intransitive verb

1: to chew again what has been chewed slightly and swallowed : chew the cud 2: to engage in contemplation : REFLECT

Some of our small group leaders are reading the book Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

“The early morning belongs to the Church of the risen Christ.

At the break of light it remembers the morning on which death and sin lay prostrate in defeat and new life and salvation were given to mankind”

What do our mornings look like?

What sweet fellowship are we missing out on?

The Word of Christ dwells richly among us as we admonish one another

When we teach we are telling someone the truth about Jesus and the Gospel.

When we admonish we are warning someone who may be wandering from the truth.

As believers we called to warn or admonish those who are straying from the truth

Admonition is often difficult but it essential to the health of the body of Christ.

As a church we should strive to have a culture where we speak the truth to one another in love.Our teaching and admonishing is to be carried out in all wisdom- In the Bible wisdom usually refers to the ability to take truth and apply it to life.

Our teaching and admonishing is carried out as we apply the Scriptures to life

The Word of Christ dwells richly among us as we sing with and to one another

In this verse singing is being directed to God and to one another.

Singing is commended and commanded throughout the Bible We are all supposed to sing

Singing is a means of giving thanks and praise to God – God is worshipped through our singing

Singing is a means of teaching and admonishing one another

Our singing is a means of instructing and serving one another 

There are many different kinds of songs that we should sing– Paul mentions several different kinds of songs that we should sing.

While there are a variety of kinds of songs, the most important thing is that our songs are true and that they are used for the praise of God and the benefit of others.

In a Healthy Church the Name of Christ is Supreme (3:17) – As a church we should strive to have a culture that exalts the name and reputation of Christ above all else

The phrase word or deedrefers to what we say and to what we do.

Everything we say and everything we do should be done in the name of Jesus, or for the sake of His reputation and fame.