Colossians 3
Walk Through the Bible • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 1:02:55
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· 149 viewsWednesday night Walk Through the Bible, Calvary Chapel Bishop, CA. “Church On Main”
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Colossians
Colossians
2 To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
In every letter Paul writes, he always sets up the letter and gives a road map to where he’s going…Grace is a big one for the Colossians
This grace is also displayed in...
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
We can not go into Chapter 3 without reading the last verses of Chapter 2
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”
22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings?
23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
In Chapter 3 Paul gets practical about what he said in the first two chapters.
In that day, the pagan worship was more of a hypothetical than a reality. Paul is putting realism to the Christians walk that the people of that day may have not seen worked out.
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.
Remember Pauls longing to see the church of Colossi flourish in
1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face,
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.
4 I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.
5 For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.
“Please I beg you! If you have been raised with Christ then seek the things that are above...”
He started this point in
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Then, as we saw, reiterated it in
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,
14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.
15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Remember the mystery he spoke of in
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.
The mystery?…CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY.
When we’re feeling down and out; when we’ve lost perspective; when our face is more to the ground and situations around us, the fires we feel we have to extinguish, the arguements we feel we have to resolve, the depression we feel we have to rise above.... the ONLY way to rise above is to focus on the above…CHRIST is YOU the HOPE OF GLORY. YOU are the hope for your neighbor, your work, your friends, your enemies…only through Christ’s blood and resurrection living in us through His Grace!
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Remember
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
Your life is hidden with Christ; it is where we find our confidence; it is the only place we can find true confidence.
4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
The hope of Glory is coming. That is what our hope is in Christ the substance of that glory. And He’s coming to reign!
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Here is a list of what we once were. But, as we know of Paul, there is purpose in his lists. These could be looked at as all in the mind for if it manifests itself physically it started in the mind first. Remember what Jesus said in
27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’
28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
22 What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
23 in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—
Paul points out in Romans that we are the vessels of mercy, the Gentiles, grafted in to the Vine, adopted as sons and daughters.
The wrath is coming but grace abounds to His glory.
7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.
8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
It seems as though this list is the physical manifestation of the list above.
When I feel myself rising with anger it is not the anger that I must focus on. It is caused by the route which was in the first list.
What is a person to do in these situations when we resurrect the wrong body; when we resurrect Judas and not Jesus in us.
9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices
Practical. Do not lie. What are we lying about? Why is this here? Could Paul be pointing out that when we struggle with the old man and the desires of the old man without confession we are lying to each other
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Renewed…after the image of its creator. We are God’s workmanship...
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
There is no one but Christ and He is working all people for all things for His glory
Now we will see another list. An answer, per say, to the lists above.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
Put on then…reiterating v.10 “put on the new self”
“…as God’s chosen ones...”
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Compassion knocks out Anger
Kindness knocks out Worldly Wrath
Humility knocks out Malice
Meekness knocks out Slander
And Patience knocks out obscene talk by
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.
no gossip
ABOVE ALL…above all is a pretty serious statement in Scripture. It’s saying, above all the things that proceeded this...
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
Who doesn’t want to live in perfect harmony…sign me up
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
Now Paul is switching gears a little. Let the peace which flows from perfect harmony which flows from love rule in your hearts...
Doesn’t that sound like the perfect state to be in?!
Now he speaks about called in one body…hold on to that.
“And be thankful...” for that peace and harmony from love!
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.
Now Paul goes into practical ways on how we are one body…again reiterating thankfulness.
It’s pretty hard to hold onto something not healthy for our souls when our souls reside in thankfulness...
17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
This one is a hard one! In whatever I do…word or deed; at home or at (dare I say it) work! Ugh!
Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus…love that hard to love, give peace to the angry, bless those who curse you…sounds familiar
Again reiterating Thankfulness…must be important!
Here is an example of the one body we are to live...
18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.
Paul starts with the household; God created us to be in relationship. I believe Paul, though he was single, knew the importance of a husband and wife who loves God first and loves each other with that love.
So, he lays down some guidance for husbands and wives. Then moves to the children.
Then points out the importance of the father figure. We, through Christ, have the power to raise our children up or tear them down. It is by our words that they listen and obey, they follow Christ, they are confident in who they are because they are confident in the man they see everyday displaying God’s love to them!
22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.
Bondservants referred to slaves who voluntarily stayed with their masters. Sounds similar to our jobs we have now.
Whenever someone comes back from break at my jobs I always welcome them back and thank them for being back. I point out they have a choice to come back or not and I’m glad they chose to come back.
This is where Paul reiterates to me “whatever you do, in word or deed.”
My boss is my earthly master. As they tell me to do things, I have a choice. Will I chose to go against what they do; will I chose to do it but not with a sincere heart; or, will I chose to listen and obey, seeing God has put me under them and I will obey with a sincere heart...
NOT fearing them…fearing the LORD.
23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
As I do that, I will fulfill col 3.23
24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.
As I work for the Lord and not for men, I need to focus not on the sometimes seemingly mundane tasks of work, but the amazing inheritance that I did not earn but came through Christ because of God’s grace!
25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
The wrongdoer, the person who does not rely on the finished work Christ has done. He will have his punishment as we will have our reward. There is no partiality.
Pointed back to his point in v. 11
11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Christ died for all. His grace displayed on the cross and His power displayed through the empty tomb is for all!