Colossians 3

I. Verses 1-4 Raised with Christ

A. If Christians have died to legalism and superstition, what do they rise to?

B. God tells us here to “set our selves to the things in heaven”

1. In verse 2 God is telling us to keep seeking the things above

2. We are to become obsessed with things above to lock our minds on to spiritual things

C. From now on heaven must become more real for us than earth.

D. In verse 3 it says if ye are saved you have become a new creation.

1. 2 Corinthians 5:17, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

a) Why are we a new creature? Because Christ was rasied in a new body

2. So the next question is how do we know we are saved?

a) How does one get saved?

II. Verses 5-17 Putting off and putting on

A. First Paul tells us is we are to take off our old life styles

1. We must understand that we have had habits which do not honor God

a) We are to face up to our old habits and understand that they don’t honor God.

2. We are then to take action to get ride of them

3. God is telling us here to take off our clothes (attitudes and action) and go into the water which is baptism and come out clean and put on our new Baptismal robe (new cloths) which is all about grace and forgiveness

4. In verse 5 we have the word “Mortify” or put to death, means = a permanent death

a) 1 John 4:4, Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

b) So it all boils down to this, do we want to trust God to put to death the things which need to die?

B. Second he tells us to put on new attitudes and actions

1. In verse 5 God tells us to make dead the things we do

a) Make dead or to kill, deaden, deprive of power the evil desire lurking in our members

b) Than in verse 5-9 God gives us a list to make dead

(1) Anger = means to calculated vengeance

(a) You have made me mad, so I am going to work out how to get even; and I will get even

(2) Wrath = spontaneous indignation

(a) spontaneous rage that flares up when somebody harms or irks you

God is telling us that with the help of His Spirit we can get to the point were we will not even flare up spontaneous

(3) Malice = Hateful feelings

(a) This can be a self-destroying vice

(b) Malice starts out as a small fire and as we think on these feelings the fire grows and grows

(4) Blasphemy = Slander

(a) To attack the character or reputation of someone

(b) Usually behind someone’s back

(5) Fifthly Communications = abusive or obscene speech

(a) This is more to someone’s face

(6) Lie not one to another

(a) If we put on a front, we are lying to each others

(b) Being someone we are not is a lie

(c) Christ wants us here to be sincere with each other and in doing so we can help and pray for one another

(d) If we see a brother or sister down and out we can comfort them and uphold them in prayer

We are to work together to build each other up in the Lord

James 1:20, For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.

c) Here is something to think about, in verse 6

(1) Read verse 6 from the AMP Bible

(2) We wonder why God is not blessing us at times. Grace only goes so far with disobedience

2. Verse 10 tells us we have put on new clothes

a) Which is ever in the process of being renewed and remolded

3. Acts 9:15, But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel

a) What could a vessel be?

(1) Cup

(2) Think about this, Christ dies for us and we are washed (the out side of the cup) we inturn must keep the inside of the cup clean in our daily walk with God. (which is sanctifiecation)

(3) Sanctifcation = to make Holy or to set aside for Gods use

(4) We need to keep clean so God can use us

III. Verse 16

A. Verse 16 tell us how we will let Christ persuade us our lives

B. The word must dwell in us

1. The more you reads the more one will attane what they read

2. When trouble comes verses start to pop into our minds and we can use them to get the victory we need for that moment.

a) Just the way Christ use the word when Satan tempted Him

3. This verse is calling us to be controlled by the Word.

a) So when we know Scripture is telling us to do something, we are to do that which we know.

(1) We don’t think twice about it, we simply do it, because we know it is God's word and we can trust it.

b) 2 Timothy 3:16, All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness

c) Matthew 4:4, But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God

C. Here in verse 16 music seem to play an important part of our Spiritual growth.

1. God know the value of music and how important it can be to us in our growth

2. So what type of music we listen to makes a differents on our growth.

3. Christian music should teach us in the same way as when we are listening to a sermon

4. So think about this, if music you listen to makes you start to bep pop to it, is it helping you get closer to Christ?

5. Music should bring honor and Glory to Christ

6. If you want a Biblical examples of song just go to the book of Psalms and read them and you will see what they sung to back in the days of the Old and New Testament

IV. Verse 17

A. In the closing of these verses we have been studing the last couple of weeks, it ends with verse 17 sumerizes into every area of our lives.

1. In every area of our live we are to do to the service of God

2. And in thankfulness to Christ and the Father who helps us through it all

3. We do this in seeking Gods approval in our lives

The purpose of the next couple of verses (18 – 1) is to instruct christian in physical behavior with each other

Vesers 18,19 covers martial relationships

Verses 20,21 covers parent/child relationships

Verses 22-1 covers master and slaves relationships

V. Verse 18

A. First the wife is to sumit to authority of her husband as the head

B. This is asuming that the husband is doing what he is suppose to be doing in Christ

C. Part of this we find back in Gen. when woman cause the fall and because of that she is to be under her husband

D. 1 Timothy 2:11-15,11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety

E. This verse ends with the pharse “as it is fit in the Lord”

1. Means = the Lord wants it thus

VI. Verse 19, the husband has two injunctions to follow

A. First is to love his wife

1. Husbands are commanded to love their wifes

a) Why wood this be a command?

(1) Love is a controlled emotion not one of circumtanse

(2) We chose to love or not to love

b) If we submit to the Holy Spirit control or influnce, we would not have any problems with loving our wifes

(1) This is why I said Sunday that each year your marrage will get closer together if you let the Holy Spirit lead you with your love.

(2) What happens is that you keep growing in the Lord and your marrage keeps growing stronger

(3) Let me give you a quote I heard from Home Improvement show

(a) A great lover is not a man who loves many women, but a man who loves one woman a life time

c) Sense I have been in the ministy I have found out that it is easy for a woman to love, it is build in her, but it is not natural for a man to love and I believe that is one reason why God command man to love his wife.

d) If a husband is Christlike what Christian wife can do anything but love him

B. Husbands are not to be bitter against their wife’s

1. Husbands are not to abuse their offices

2. Husband are to protect their wife’s in all things

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VII. Verse 20 talks to the Children

VIII. Verse 21 You will notice that this is directed to the fathers

A. We have another command here.

1. Provoke not our children to anger

2. Ephesians 6:4, And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord

B. Children are to be obedient and responsive

C. If we has parents act the way we should before God, than our children will see what we do and will follow

1. A friend of mine once told me “ We as parents must learn to break the will and not the Spirit”

2. Hebrews 12:7, If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

3. What I see in my studies on this is there is a fine line on discipline and abusive demands

a) We can in the name of God push our children away from us.

4. We are to train them up as unto the Lord

D. The main responsibility focus on the father not the mother

1. Fathers are the head and are to have the parental responsibility to show the kids the right path.

2. Fathers having this responsibility is not to abuse it

a) In doing so can cause a child to go down the wrong path of life

b) Proverbs 22:6, Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it

(1) Find the way of the child

(2) After you find that than train them in the Lord

(3) Remember, Christ was always kind and loving

IX. Now we go to Masters and servants

A. We can use this in our work place

B. In verse 22 it says according to the flesh

1. God is Master of the Spirit

C. Verse 23

1. So every thing we do should be until God and not to man

2. When we work, we are not to work for a raise, put to bring honor and glory to God

3. When we do this the raise will come

4. 1 Corinthians 7:17-24,17 But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hath called every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in all churches. 18 Is any man called being circumcised? let him not become uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not be circumcised. 19 Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God. 20 Let every man abide in the same calling wherein he was called. 21 Art thou called being a servant? care not for it: but if thou mayest be made free, use it rather. 22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant. 23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men. 24 Brethren, let every man, wherein he is called, therein abide with God

!!! 5. Colossians 3:22-25,22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ. 25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons

D. The conclusion of the whole matter is that we are the servents of God

1. 2 Corinthians 5:10, For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad

X. Verse 4:1

A. We who are bosses are to take care of our employees, because we have a master in heaven