Colossians | Chapter 3 – Scripture Supply

Colossians

“A Worthy Walk”

Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6

3:1-4:6 Walking in the Wisdom of Christ

3:1-4 Position in Christ

3:1-4 “Looking Up”

Vs. 1-2 Seek and set

Vs. 3-4 Put on and Put off

Intro.

Near the end of Jesus’ public ministry as He was in the temple He said that not a stone shall be left upon another. Everything that the Jews held dear Jesus said was going to be destroyed. The disciples were shocked and wanted to know when this was going to happen, so Jesus told them the signs. I can only imagine the long faces of despair on those that heard Jesus’ true predictions of the future of the world. Ah dear ones listen to what Jesus said after those dire predictions in Luke 21:28 “Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

Is your world coming apart, the walls of your temple falling down? Are all of your hopes and dreams coming to an end? “Look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.” Far too many of us have set our affections on the things of the earth and all its bringing us is heart aches and heart burns! Heaven is where it’s at, so now you can simply enjoy life! It does little good for Christians to declare and defend the truth if we fail to demonstrate the truth in our own lives.

Vs. 1-2 Seek and set

I’ve noticed as I’ve traveled that despite the different cultures there is always a distinguishing characteristic of believers everywhere. Spend any time with a believer and no matter where you are they always have a positive, optimistic joy about them despite their circumstances. It’s like they have a secret switch, an invisible reality that enables them to go to another gear to pass by the obstacles that stop the ordinary person. They don’t use this extra dimension to best their fellow man, they use it to help their fellow man and are ready to share their secret success so that they too can have that inner energy.

It seems that what lay at the base of the Colossians quest was growth in Christ but though their aim was right their approach was wrong. Twice in the first four verses Paul tells them that if growth in Christ is what they sought they didn’t need to look elsewhere they only needed to look up.

Vs. 1-2 Paul uses two words that give us the keys to this extra gear in life: SEEK and SET! These two words are action words but more than that they are attitude words! There use suggests to us that the Colossians lack was not because of a lack of resources but rather because they lack two things:

Effort
Direction

Seek: The truth was they already had everything they needed to be victorious Christians but had simply failed to tap into what they already had in Christ, as they were coerced to look other places than Jesus. Paul offers this secret to only those who have been “raised with Christ”; in other words this secret is in a person not a formula! If it was a formula then any one could have exercised the ritual and pop-O-presto, instant life. Paul, like a father to his young child, even tells them where to look, “Seek those things which are above”. The word “above” would better be translated “within” but this word “within” is yet another relational word that is telling us that what we need isn’t outside our relationship with Christ it’s WITHIN the relationship we already have with our Lord! The word also comes with an action attached: “Make the choice and decide to look at what you already have available to you in Christ…don’t separate your life from Him,…you belong to Him so yield your life over more to Him and you will experience more life through Him.”

Oh saints there is no greater poverty than the person who lives starving for sustenance while seated at the banqueting table full of provisions. Their hunger is because they won’t take a bite and taste and see that He alone is good? Here was a fellowship that had a never ending supply of Christ but had been conned to look elsewhere for scraps.

Set: The second step is also an action and attitude word as seeking was not enough they needed to SET their mind on those things above and not on things on the earth. The word “mind” can also be rendered “heart” and is a word that is used to describe a person’s “emotions, intellect and will”! Paul is saying while you are thinking on the things that naturally consume us you like: family, work, home etc. don’t forget to SET your mind also on the things of Christ. When we only set our minds on the things that trouble our emotions intellect and well we will soon get depleted and begin to dwell on our poverty and total inability to deal with what life is tossing at us.

Ah but when we set our minds on the things above we will still see our total inability but we will also see His total ability! Friend there is nothing wrong with “getting to the end of yourself” as long as you don’t start believing that your poverty is God’s poverty. You have in the “THINGS ABOVE” all His resources of wisdom and knowledge. You have His power that has conquered death and you don’t have to wait in line or be concerned that He may run out.

This two-step process is also known as a walk because it involves to equally important steps: SEEK and SET that all we have to do is moment by moment repeat the same two steps.

Vs. 3-4 Put on and Put off

Vs. 3-4 Just in case we didn’t get the two steps he repeats it using another analogy that I like to call as he does elsewhere “PUT OFF” and “PUT ON” or death and life!

Put off: Paul starts with the negative by reminding these believers of what has already happened when they received Jesus, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul phrases this by saying in the past tense; “for you died” and because of this in the present tense “your life IS hidden with Christ in God.” Christ is our life and this life isn’t something that we have to wait to enjoy.

We ought to start living eternally NOW! John wrote in 1 John 5:12 “He that has the Son has life….” He didn’t say WILL have life, but HAS life! Paul wrote in Phil. 1:21 “For me to live IS Christ…” Years ago I heard a story about two sisters who loved to attend wild parties. Then they gave their life in Christ and discovered what life was really all about and didn’t want to party any more. A short time later they received an invitation to a party with a RSVP in which they sent back in these words: “We will be unable to attend your party because we recently died.”

Put on: The next part of this is the positive “Putting On” as Paul says, “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Our shedding of those old rags enables us to put on Christ who Paul says “is our life”. The context of this passage is the certainty of the return of Jesus and how that truth transforms us in the present as well as permanently in the future. The putting off only makes sense if it enables us to put on someone better. There is a saying made famous by the then US Senator Hubert Humphrey with regards to voting when he said, “You must remember that in politics, how you stand depends on where you sit.” I would add that this is true as believers in Christ “Where we stand and walk on this earth depends totally upon the fact that we are seated in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Paul’s simple message for the Colossian believers was, “Live for heaven and you will enjoy life!” How do you do that, you ask? I suggest three T’s:

TREASURE: Matthew 6:21 “Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be.” First step is you’re going to have to redirect where you keep your assets! To do this you will need to start making deposits in eternal things and when you do this a strange thing always happens…your heart always follows what you treasure!
TRIALS: 2 Corinthians 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory..” Second trials cause us to start living for heaven as we lose our affection for the things of this world. If we didn’t lose the things of this world we would have never known what we were missing! In 1 Corinthians 2:9 Paul wrote that, “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
TRANSFER: 1 John 3:2 “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” The third and final way you can live for heaven and enjoy life is by realizing that those departed believing loved ones will be reunited with us for eternity. They may have preceded us but we will be together for eternity.

Consider old Joshua and Caleb who had to wait 40 years to enter into the promised land as the only two who were ready to enjoy the blessing and provisions by faith. How did those two make it 40 years? Well they had their heart SEEKING the things above and their mind SET of the land of promise! That is the key for us as well saints!

Colossians

“A Worthy Walk”

Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6

3:1-4:6 Walking in the Wisdom of Christ

3:5-11 Practice in Christ

3:5-7 “Sanctified sex”

Vs. 5-7 Sanctified sex

Intro.

We come now to a “negative section” and most folks would prefer pastor teachers to pass by this. But if you consider me as a Doctor and you went in for a checkup and I didn’t give you all the truth with regards to your examination because I knew you don’t like negative things you wouldn’t be very happy with me. So as one old rancher once said, “Fella, no amount of talking about the beauty of the horse, will clean out the stall!”

This section reminds me of Irena Sendler, an amazing woman of great courage who was dedicated to saving Jewish children during the Holocaust. Her father had always told her, “If you see someone drowning you must try to rescue them, even if you cannot swim.” As the Nazi’s swept through Poland she saw that the Jewish people were “drowning”, and decided to save as many Jewish children as possible. She smuggled over twenty five hundred Jewish children out of the Warsaw ghetto by drugging the babies and infants and putting them in coffins, boxes or sacks to smuggle them past the Nazi’s as they died to safety. Thus in death, life was birthed, so too Paul’s words now to the Colossians in dealing with human sexuality the misuse of it!

Vs. 5-7 Sanctified sex

Vs. 5 Based upon Paul’s admonishment in verse 1-4 we see specifically what “old clothes” he wants the Colossians to “put off”. There are five things listed here and in the Greek they all deal with human sexuality. That in itself is quite revealing as it suggests two very important things:

First God created human sexuality and intended it not just for procreation but for pleasure as well. God has placed human sexuality as a very important part of life; it is the way in which life is brought forth. God designed sex and tied it to our senses of pleasure; we humans are prewired with a sex drive that is vastly different then the animal kingdom.
Second, because the above is true Satan will continue to come in to corrupt humanity and seek to distort, pervert and enslave humanity to their passions. As far as God and His Word is concerned human sexuality is not what should define and consume humans. Instead sexuality is to be placed in such a high regard that it is used in the freedoms that He alone has placed it in. God’s design for sex is that it ought to be like fine china and brought out as often as we celebrate with joy the union He has made but people have treated it like paper plates and its use has been with everyone they meet and then just tossed to the curb. The truth of the matter is what we desire usually determines what we will do. And what Paul is telling us is that we are new creations in Christ God has changed our appetites and that should have changed our actions!

Before Paul describes these five areas that Satan and the world system has corrupted of God’s design, he starts with what to do with these things as he writes, “put to death your members which are on the earth.” What he is saying is that the Christian is to “put off” any and all sexual misbehavior which is defined as being outside God’s design. The fact that he uses to word “death” suggests two things:

The passion with which Paul views we Christians need to handle this

The completeness with which we Christians are to do the job

Here then are the five areas that the enemy of our faith has sought to enslave God’s people:

Fornication: This word refers to all sexual immorality, all sexual intercourse outside of the protective bounds of marriage as defined by God as one man and one woman. Specifically this word is used elsewhere in scripture for adultery where a person has violated their covenant with God and their spouse by having sex with someone that is not his or her mate. The Word of God is clear on this, there is no debate about the use of this word and it is why Paul has already said to put off with such passion and commitment as one would use to put to death something.
Uncleanness: This word means “unnatural lusts” and refers to that which nature itself would regard as unnatural or going against nature. This is the center of much debate within our society today with regards to the definition of marriage. I believe the Bible and nature are in agreement with this as to what is natural as procreation just isn’t possible in same sex, sodomy, bestiality, pornography, pedophilia, etc. I don’t believe that Christians should single out the homosexual community as “super sinners” but I cannot agree with their agenda that makes their lifestyle on equal footing legally with that of heterosexual marriage. Since God created and gave the gift of sex it must be used and enjoyed within the context of how He defines marriage as one man and one woman. Any use beyond this will eventually cause emotional, spiritual and even physical devastation between people and the society they belong to. God sees equal value in every life, but not in every chosen lifestyle!
Passion: The context here would be “erotic lusts”, which arouse passions especially in men who are predominately visually stimulated. Clearly pornography falls into this category but it would also include literature, movies and even music that are geared to stimulating passions outside of how God intended human sexuality.
Evil desire: This word refers to mental lusts, or what we use to call a “dirty mind”. These things are used to stimulate the kind of thought processes through the telling of dirty jokes and passing along emails that treat human sexuality and people as inanimate objects fantasizing in their body parts for self-gratification.
Covetousness: This word is most often associated with greed, money and things which money can purchase. But in this context linked with the word “idolatry” Paul is using it as greed to possess another person’s body for their own pleasure. The best example of this is the sorted affair of David’s children where David’s son Amnon lusted for his 1/2 sister Tamar the full sister of Absalom who became distressed over her that he became sick with lust and pretended to be ill so that she would care for him and then raped her.

We see folks committing this type of idolatry all the time under the false name of “falling in love” but in reality they are falling in “lust” and unable to restrain these affections and passion give themselves over to the worship of their passions. The sad truth is that this has become commonplace in literature, movies and music as it is almost exclusively given over to this idolatry.

Vs. 6 This all has become so commonplace like it was in the first century when Paul wrote this letter that unfortunately even Christians are practicing this behavior. Paul says there are two things wrong with Christians thinking that this is ok:

Vs. 6 “The wrath of God” is not some divine temper tantrum where He zaps folks that make Him angry. The Bible describes the wrath of God as God acting judicially to evil. It is the way a Holy God who can do no wrong reacts to an individual, society or civilization who turns their backs upon God’s laws and moral absolutes. In Romans 1:24-32 we are given a description of how God gave people over to their own lusts, vile passions and debased mind. The end result is a society where moral restraints have been removed and people have been allowed what sin and evil always produce death and destruction.

The freedom from restraints soon turn into bondage to said freedoms, then society collapses under the sheer wait on no moral absolutes and anarchy reigns. God’s punishment has natural consequences while folks believe that they are getting one over on God or somehow He is powerless to do anything. In reality he is giving them the worst possible judgment He can by allowing them to have everything they want without having any of Him. He has not lost His holiness nor His power and judges by allowing folks to have their fill as He did the Israelites in the wilderness. In Numbers 11 they complained against God about only having Manna and wanted meat so God gave quail to fly over as they bashed them with clubs and gorged themselves on it until they became sick.

Vs. 7 The second wrong way of thinking that it’s ok to practice such immorality is that it’s going backwards. They are behaving in a way that doesn’t represent their new nature in Christ. God’s law as a form of morality to all mankind is an “Owners Manual” from the Manufacture telling us the best way to use what He has made to live a full and joyous life. If we violate that as those who read the “Manuel” and believe in the “Manufacturer” then we are doing so not out of ignorance but willful disobedience. Prior to trusting in God what we did was out of ignorance and should tell us that we were irreparably broken and hopelessly lost. But according to Romans 6:14, “Sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law but under grace.” We have a new source of power in Christ whereby we can not say NO to our former immorality and deal with each temptation each and every time it comes up. We have a new ability that prior to a relationship with Jesus we didn’t possess that enables us to say NO.

Colossians

“A Worthy Walk”

Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6

3:1-4:6 Walking in the Wisdom of Christ

3:5-11Practice in Christ

3:8-11 “Lose him and let him go”

Vs. 8-9 Six sins in “good standing”

Vs. 10-11 Become what you are

Intro.

We are still in the “negative section” of Paul’s letter to the Colossian church and what they need to put off. G. Campbell Morgan called this list the “Sins that are in good standing” on account that they are so common that most folks aren’t shocked or convicted by their use. It reminds me of Jesus’ words in John 20:1-10 where Lazarus was buried in the tomb and Jesus raises him from the dead, then instructs people to “Loose him, and let him go.”

Raised people should not walk around in old grave clothes of their former life even if the sins they are wearing are commonplace! Saints, all religions boiled down to the common denominator say the same thing: “Become what you ought to be!” Christianity says, “Become what you are!” Religion demands that we become what in our natural fallen state and human effort we can never attain. But Christianity changes us from the inside out, then reminds us that we can now live what He has made us to be, “a new creation in Christ” and He supplies the power in the Holy Spirit to do so!

Vs. 8-9 Six sins in “good standing”

Verse seven made it plain that walking in these ways is past tense and should not be present tense! A true Christian cannot be comfortable in habitually practicing sin. It’s possible that these sins can occasionally mark a Christian’s life, but they must not be a part of their walk and manner of living.

Vs. 8-9 Here Paul tells us six other sins that we can say NO to other than five sexually immoral sins that we need to rid ourselves of. The problem is these attitudes and actions are harder than the five as we tend to justify their use in our life. I again remind you that Paul in mentioning these things is speaking to Christians to STOP because in Christ they now can!

“But NOW”, Paul says we are “to put OFF all of these”! We are no longer what we once were, we are a NEW CREATION and old things have passed away. Saints, the number one reason we lose battle with our former life is because we have failed to remember who we now are in our new life! If morally you are still diving in dumpsters then it’s NOT because you prefer the cuisine, it’s because you have forgotten you have a free never ending invitation to Che’ Jesus that you can dine at every day! Here then are the 6 attitudes and actions that Christians are now able to say NO to.

Anger: Anger, wrath and malice are all sins that result from a bad attitude towards others. The word “anger” is the same as the word for wrath in verse 6 but this word in the context refers to a habitual attitude. The difference between God’s wrath and man’s anger has to do with character; God is holy and just and has every right to be angry at sin and to judge it. Man however is not holy and just and has no right to judge others guilty for what he also practices. We are to no longer give in to our anger and the word used here is that impetuous anger that quickly flies off the handle and begins name-calling and character assignation. Jesus referred to this in His sermon on the mount as “Raca” or calling someone a fool.
Wrath: This word is different from the one above as it means “temper tantrums” or violent displays that attack either by word or action another person. Saints we aren’t going to be able to avoid the temptation but we can flee the sin as the old self life is still hanging onto us but we don’t have to hang around him!
Malice: This word means that silent, hidden hatred that waits to take out revenge in secret. It’s an attitude of ill will towards another person; if we have malice towards a person we are saddened if they are successful or happy and happy when their life is falling apart. The kind of thing that says, “I’m not going to get mad, I’m going to get even!”
Blasphemy: This word is also interpreted by the word “slander” and is an attack on another’s character, whispering and gossiping about another, whether true or untrue, with the desire to ruin what others think of that person. Often this masquerades as spiritual concern; “I can’t tell you about this person but I can tell you that you need to pray right away as it’s very bad!!!” If you have deep-seated ill will toward a person, you will use every opportunity to say something bad about him.
Filthy language: This is foul talk, crude and coarse words, or even curse words. The kind of words that slip out of your mouth when you are hurt and angry. There are some pastors now that are letting off these kinds of words from the pulpit in an attempt to be relevant to the culture they are trying to reach but there isn’t anything relevant about this kind of speech. If someone says, “Now, take this with a grain of salt!” you can remind him of Col. 4:6 “Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt.” Salt is a symbol of purity, and grace and purity go together.
Lying: Untruth breeds suspicion and destroys trust. There was a little boy in Sunday School who was asked to give a definition of what a lie is and his reply is what far too many Christians treat a lie as when he said, “A lie is an abomination to the Lord, but a very present help in time of need!” But that isn’t true as a lie is quickly said but hard to gain trust back once it’s discovered asked Washington D.C. the capital of lies! A lie is ANY misrepresentation of the truth, even if the words are accurate. The tone of voice, the look on the face, or a gesture of the hand can alter the meaning of a sentence.

A lie can also be the motive of the heart. If my watch is wrong and I give the wrong time, that is not a lie. Lying involves the intent to deceive for the purpose of personal gain. There is an old proverb that asks a riddle, “When is the half of something a whole?” the answer is…, “Half a truth is always a whole lie.” One old pastor was preaching on Acts 5 about the lie of Ananias and Sapphira when he said, “If God struck every person dead for lying, where would I be?” the congregation broke out into a laugh realizing that he had just called himself a liar until he continued, “Why I’d be right here …..preaching to an empty church!”

Vs. 10-11 Become what you are

Vs. 10-11 When we put off the “old man” we must also put on the “new man”. The Greek verbs for “put off and put on” indicate a once-for-all action. And the word “renewed” literally means being constantly renewed. The context of these verses is linked to what Paul has just said and the fact that there is NOW not a reason to continue in these behaviors. Some folks might object to the term “put on” as it seems to indicate playing a part or a role. But friend you aren’t playing a part if you are still in character after the curtain has come down! Consider the old actor and romantic leading man actor Cary Grant. Born in 1904 in Bristol England he was anything but the “Mr. Sophistication” as he was known for. He had a ruffian cockney accent for most of his early life and got into acting as an easy way of making some money. But as he began to play the part of a sophisticated romantic ladies’ man during his 70 movies the suave personality stuck. When asked by a reporter if he had always been suave and sophisticated he laughed and said, “I just played the part so frequently that it became me as I put on this character and I became the person I played.”

But the trouble was that when the curtain came down Cary Grant went back to a ruffian as he had five marriages, battled depression and became a raging alcoholic all the while people in the audience believed he was “Mr. Sophistication”. The trouble was that “He just put on a role that at the end of the day he just took off and put back on what he had taken off!”

Vs. 11 The new man is part of a family, which favors no race, nationality, class, culture or ethnicity. It only favors Jesus, because in this new family, Christ is all and in all. We can’t say that I do things because I’m of this heritage or that ancestry as the Old Man has passed away and behold we are brand new and Christ is all and in all! All such backgrounds of class, national origin, training, education, whatever it may be, is all set aside because you are now linked to Christ. We look to Jesus the “author and finisher of our faith”!

In 1 Thessalonians 5:4-7 Paul said, “But you brethren are not in darkness so that the Day of the Lord should surprise you like a thief. You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness, so then, let us not be like others who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled, for those who sleep, sleep at night and those who get drunk, get drunk at night, but since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breast-plate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet, for God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Colossians

“A Worthy Walk”

Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6

3:1-4:6 Walking in the Wisdom of Christ

3:12-17 Peace of Christ

3:12-13 “New Outfit, New Outlook”

Vs. 12-13 Royal robes

Intro.

In chapter 3 verses 5-11 Paul wrote to the Colossian Church about putting off and putting to death the “old man” of our former life. I’m thankful he didn’t stop there as in verse 10 he told them that they needed to “put on” the new man and here before us in verses 12-17 he tells them what the new man looks like! Years ago Bing Crosby sang a song that accurately describes this section as the song went:

“You’ve got to accentuate the positive,
Eliminate the negative,
Latch on to the affirmative,
And don’t mess with Mr. In-between.”

The Christian life isn’t just about what we “put off” friends, it’s about WHO we put on! The great thing is that each and every day we can put off the old man and put on the new man in Christ! It can be difficult to get up in the morning and get going with the old man, as Albert Einstein noted while working on the mathematical equation for the “speed of light” he turned to his research assistant early in the morning and said,… “The problem with the speed of light is, it comes too early in the morning!” There are a few Christians I know that act as if they don’t even believe in God before 10 in the morning. Saints, could it be that part of our problem in the morning is that we haven’t gotten dressed in our grace clothes?

Vs. 12-13 Royal robes

Before Paul tells the Colossians what the 7 characteristics of the new man looks like he first tells of the four things God has done for them that make it possible to “put on” the new man:

Vs. 12 He chose them: As was the case with Israel described in Deut. 7:7-8 the choice was not based upon earthly qualities or characteristics but was done before the foundation of the world according to Eph. 1:4. If we were saved upon potential or merit heaven would be empty! But because His choice is grace, heaven is full to the praise of His glory alone! How do you know if you are chosen? Receive Jesus and apparently you are chosen!
Vs. 12 (Cont.) He set them apart: That’s the meaning of the word “holy” we are no longer captains of our own ship we exclusively belong to Jesus as such we all could wear a shirt that says, “property of Jesus”. No longer are we slaves to the world’s ways and our passions, we belong to God.
Vs. 12 (Cont.) He loves them: Paul says that they are His “beloved”. Though God loves everybody and is not willing that any should perish there remains a difference when a person has not chosen to love God. Some people, by their own choice, remain content to part of His creation that has broken His holy heart. What they may not understand is that as their Creator and Judge, He will respond to them as their Creator and Judge and act accordingly. But when we have chosen to receive the love of God, we are no longer just His creation we are His children And something marvelous happens when we choose to become His child, you see when we break His heart now we do so not just of our Creator and Judge but also of a loving Father, and no He chooses to act towards us as a Loving Father not a Creator Judge! Saints as we grow in His love we will grow in our desire never to allow anything to separate us from His love and walk in His love through obedience.
Vs. 13-14 He has forgiven them: We will take this up more in detail next week but, thank God that He has chosen to forgive “ALL” our trespasses and sins. His forgiveness is complete and is not conditional or partial because it is based completely on His son’s sacrifice on our behalf. There remains no stone unturned in all our past, present or future failures that needs not be made new in God’s grace.

Vs. 12-13 The phrase “Elect of God” means that God has chosen the Christian to be unique in His plan. Each one of these 7 qualities is expressed through relationships with our fellow man and as such the measure of the “new man” that we are to “put on” is best seen in how we treat others. Having said this now we can look at the seven qualities that are best represented in the life of Christ.

Tender mercies: The word is literally “bowels of sympathy” and there is a reason why we don’t translate it this way anymore as there is very little sympathy that comes from most of our “bowels”. When this word was first written by Paul it came from a belief that emotions came from within, like we would say today… “I’ve got a feeling deep down in my gut.” Tender mercies, is an attitude, a heart of pity and sympathy. We are to put on compassion and pity towards people the moment we get up in the morning. I’ve noticed the older I get the easier it is to put “tender mercies” on as I’ve lived enough life, had enough tuff experiences now that I want to be a blessing towards others and not just demand to be blessed. Human heart ache and suffering demand tender mercies and the older you become the easier they are to put on as we have experienced those same things.
Kindness: When we are putting on “tender mercies” we are putting on an attitude but when we get “kindness” we are moving beyond the attitude to action. It comes from that empathy but it can take on many forms to a warm smile, a kind word, a hug or an invitation to get together or an offer of help. Augustine wrote of this in his confessions where he wandered into a church and was converted not by the preaching of Ambrose but by the kindness of this man. Saints, don’t ever underestimate the value of kindness as it is the key that unlocks the door of most hearts!
Humility: Humility in the ancient world was not seen as a virtue as they valued pride and arrogance. Humility is not thinking “poorly” about one’s self, it is thinking “properly” about one’s self. John Stott calls humility the “rarest and fairest of all Christian virtues” as it is the opposite of the worst of sins, “pride”! It was the lack of this virtue that caused the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as we are told in Ezekiel 16:49 “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.” We are to consider others better than ourselves and act accordingly with a heart that says, “THEY deserve better, instead of a heart that says I deserve better.”
Meekness: This word is also rendered “gentleness” but I’m afraid that in today’s world it often gets mistranslated as “weakness” but in reality meekness literally means “strength under control”. It’s the kind of inward strength that doesn’t need to display itself or show off as its will to let go of its rights for a good cause. Meekness doesn’t demand to be satisfied, instead it’s willing to suffer the loss that others may gain. It’s the opposite of rude abrasive behavior.
Longsuffering: Or patience ensures that which would normally cause folks to fly off the handle. It means to hold back and restrain one’s self from becoming upset before we behave in a way that destroys another instead of encourages another. I witnessed the lack of patience at a store the other day as there was a mom with a young teen who wanted the most expensive item on the shelf and wasn’t listening to the mom’s reason. Instead of just ignoring the selfishness of the young daughter she let her have it with a profanity laced tirade that made the young teens look tame. Saints, that’s what happens when we don’t put on patience as we end up looking far worse than the person or event that was trying our patience.
Bearing with one another: “Forbearance” or “bearing with one another” is the positive side of the coin for patience. It means to uphold and support someone whereas patience means only to restrain yourself. Man could I ever use this quality on more than just hanging in there with someone who is trying my patience actually being a blessing. That’s what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5:41 in the “sermon on the mount” where He said “And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.”

Saints, we will pick up the seventh quality or characteristic of the new man (forgiveness) next week as well as what the Church ought to look like in the world today.

Colossians

“A Worthy Walk”

Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6

3:1-4:6 Walking in the Wisdom of Christ

3:12-17 Peace of Christ

3:13-17

“Grace Clothes”

13 No hunting or fishing allowed

14-17 What the church looks like

Intro.

In the 3rd chapter of Colossians Paul reveals to his readers that every believer has two garments: The first I call “grave clothes” which Paul admonishes his readers to “put off”. The 2nd I call “grace clothes” which Paul says that we Christians need to “put on”. This two-step process is what causes believers to look different in the world. These two outfits came into play in our own area during Lewis and Clark’s famous expedition in 1804. Half-starved and frozen, the men staggered out of the Bitterroot Mountains into a camp of the Nez Perce Indians. Lewis and Clark were the first white men ever to reach them and in the absence of more prominent leaders, who were out on a war party, chief Twisted Hair had to decide what to do with these strangers.

The tribe’s oral tradition proposed killing them and confiscating their goods which would have made the Nez Perce the region’s most powerful tribe. That would have been their fate if not for an elderly woman named “Returned from Faraway Country”. As a young girl, she had been captured by an enemy tribe, who sold her to another tribe farther to the east. Eventually she had been befriended and treated kindly by white people in Canada before escaping and making her way back to her own people. For years she had told them stories about the fair-skinned people who lived toward the rising sun. She was aged and dying by the time Lewis and Clark arrived. When she heard about the plans to kill them she spoke up and said, “These are the people who helped me. Do them no hurt.” Thus someone else’s “grace clothes” years before saved the life of Lewis and Clark right here in the Bitterroot.

Vs. 13 No Hunting or fishing allowed

Last week we took a look at six of the seven traits of “grace clothes” that we Christians are to put on. We noted that:

The threads of the fabric are made up of “tender mercies” an attitude of a heart of sympathy and empathy towards our fellow man
The stitching on the fabric or what holds it together is the action of “kindness”
The construction of the garment of grace is humility that enables us to think of ourselves properly
The inner lining of the garment of grace is meekness where we have strength under control
The durability of our grace clothes is patience that holds itself, back from being upset when others are pushing our buttons
The style of the garment is forbearance that upholds others instead of just restraining myself

That takes us to the seventh and final aspect of our grace garments, forgiveness;

Forgiving one another: Take all the other aspects of our grace garment into consideration then the seventh quality has to be how others view the garment or its appearance. Forgiveness is a promise made in response to repentance to completely put out the offender’s offense from our mind. As such the phrase, “I’ll forgive but I won’t forget” is biblically speaking untrue! Even if true forgiveness and reconciliation cannot be made because there is no recognition of wrong, the offended party still can and must give it to the Lord God and make the promise of forgiveness unto God. I think Paul put this last quality at the end for a reason as Paul isn’t asking us not to feel he is asking rather that you deal with what you feel! If you have something that is eating at you then you need to go and deal with it and if you can’t talk it out you at very least need to forgive them for their wrong.

The Lord doesn’t ask us to repress our feelings or injustices, we are to go to that person and say what’s bugging us but having done that we need to forget it and move on. Far too often we just stew on it instead, not allowing ourselves not to dwell there. As it deals with forgiving those that have wronged us and we have shared our heart with the person who has hurt us we then put up a sign on our hearts with regards to that person and the incident that reads “NO HUNTING OR FISHING ALLOWED”.
And this means that we don’t allow anyone else to fish or hunt on this property as well. And the reason for this is once we have forgiven we treat the incident as never happened! This subject comes up quite often in the body of Christ just as it did during Jesus time.
In Matthew 18:21-22 Peter came to Jesus thinking that he was setting the bar pretty high for his fellow disciples when he asked the Lord, “how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” And Jesus responded back “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” So I offer this rabbit trail on what biblical forgiveness means:
It means that we are not to bring up to the person whom we have forgiven the thing we forgave. We are to treat him as though it did not happen. We are not to keep a “historical record” to rehash the incident in light of new allegations. Folk’s aren’t you glad that the Lord keeps no record of our wrongs to throw back at us each time we blow it?
It means that we don’t tell anybody else about the matter that has been forgiven. We are not to share “for a matter of prayer of course” as it has been erased from memory and we are not to allow ourselves to go back to that which has been forgotten. Again aren’t you glad that the Lord doesn’t share your failures with others and instead is always before the throne of grace prayer for you. Jesus is on our side and once we have forgiven someone we are on their side.
It means you don’t dig that which has been buried in Christ. If you start to dig it back up you will need to remind yourself that it was buried for a reason….it is dead!

Vs. 14-17 What the Church looks like

Vs. 14 All these wonderful qualities must be wrapped with the bow of LOVE. Love is the summary of all seven qualities listed and it perfectly fulfills what God has for us in our earthly relationships. It is love that will bind these 7 qualities together and the reason why we don’t see these qualities more frequently in our lives is that they are not bound in love so we just become unraveled. Love, Paul says, is the bond of perfection it reveals to us that we are a new creation in Christ and have put off our former life and Put on Jesus. The basis for this was found in verse 12 where Paul reminded the Colossian believers that they were the chosen of God, holy and beloved….! We aren’t trying to be something we aren’t, we are reminding ourselves of what He has made us to be. We chose Him and He chose us to be Holy so our holiness is His work! And all of this is because we are dear to His heart, that’s what the word beloved means in verse 12.

Vs. 15-17 These three verses move beyond the 7 qualities of the individual Christian to three characteristics of what the church ought to look like in the world.

Vs. 15 Peace: The word rule here is used in the context like that of a baseball umpire. The peace of God is the “umpire of our life” and it is this peace of God in accordance with His Word that cries out “fair” or “foul”! Peace is to rule our lives unruffled by all the action around us. The Church’s primary witness in the world is peace in the midst of chaos and anarchy. When the world is kicking up dust in our faces and yelling horrible things at us we are to remain calm because we know that the Lord is in control. This is the primary reason why we can not only be at peace but also be thankful. Life is a gift and the body of Christ is our family and we can be thankful for each and every one.
Vs. 16 Praise: It is interesting to note that praise is the direct result of believers allowing the Word of God to dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching. A teaching church will be a worshipping celebrating fellowship. This book gives us enumerable reasons to worship as it gives us insight into life as God intends it to be. It dispels fears, casts aside anxiety which alone is reason to sing His praises. Most people are familiar with Hawaiian music but the history of their music is that prior to the Christian missionaries coming to the Island their music was primarily just chanting and the first songs the people sang were hymns taught by missionaries. Christian truth has been the greatest inspiration of music the world over as Praise is the natural conclusion to truth! We sing to bless others and bless the Lord as well as ourselves in singing His praise.
Vs. 17 Practice: The third and final witness the church has in the world is practice as our activity whether word or deed is always aimed at pleasing Jesus. Our whole life is to be in the sphere of our relationship with the Lord and an act of worship. Billy Graham’s wife Ruth had a sign over her kitchen that read, “Divine services held here three times a day!” Washing dishes can be an act of worship; so can everything else you do if what you do you do as unto Him. Christian the right motivation will always make hard work light and praise flow from your heart. There are many things you could never get me to do for money that I would do for love, there is no such thing as labor when what you do you do in service to the Lord.

We will need to be reminded of this next week when Paul will take us through the various areas that this will be applied in our lives.

Colossians

“A Worthy Walk”

Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6

3:1-4:6 Walking in the Wisdom of Christ

3:18-21 Pleasing in Christ

3:13-17 “Grace Garments in Marriage”

18 Five things about a wife’s role in marriage

19 How to love your wife

Intro.

Paul doesn’t just challenge believers generally he challenges them specifically, in their homes and on their jobs. He has something to say to wives, husbands, children, parents, employees and employers. The first thing to note is that these challenges were to believers as his call to them was to live a life pleasing the Lord. Looking out upon America today it is plain to see that something is wrong with the home today. A full 1/3 of all US households or 15 million children are being raised without a father. Another 5 million children are being raised without a mother.

There are 13.7 million single parents raising 21.8 million children which is 26% of all families in America. The highest rate of this by far is in the African American family where 72% of all households are single parent households. Saints the first institution the Lord established on earth was the home and as the home and family goes so goes the society and the nation. Confucius once said, “The strength of a nation is derived from the integrity of its home.” Saints, prior to this section as truthful as it was it still remained a theory but the moment Paul takes it out in this verse it quickly moves into a reality as he places the practice of this two step process in the most difficult areas we humans face,…RELATIONSHIPS.

18 Five things about a wife’s role in marriage

As Paul wrote what “grace garments” would look like in a marriage we need to remember just how radical that would have been for the reader of this letter at this time.

Under Jewish law a wife was a possession of her husband not a person. She had no rights as a husband could divorce his wife for anything where as a wife had only three reasons whereby she could divorce her husband, leprosy, apostasy, and rape of another woman.
In Greek society a wife lived her life incomplete seclusion. She was not allowed to go out alone, and did not even join her husband for meals. She was his servant and was to be loyal to him alone. Whereas he was free to have as many relationships outside of marriage as he wanted.

Under these cultures 100% of the duties belonged to the wife and 100% of the privileges belonged to the husband. The Christian ethic of marriage was one of shared duties and privileges as in a Christian marriage a person doesn’t ask “What can my spouse do for me, but what can I do for my spouse?” Christian marriage is a partnership where the duties and responsibilities may be different but they are shared and equal.

Vs. 18 Paul chooses to start with wives but I believe that he does so because the family is the key relationship we humans have and there is none more important to the harmony of the family then wives. The word for submission is a military term that means to arrange under rank and suggests not superiority but different roles. Whenever a man teaches on marriage and starts talking about wives and “submission” he is at an extreme disadvantage but let me start out by pointing out five things about a wife’s role in marriage:

Paul addresses this section to wives: He doesn’t say, “Husbands, tell your wives to submit to you as it is fitting in the Lord.” As such this section is a word of the Lord to women only not to husbands or men. We have no right to come to wives in specific, or women in general and demand submission. For us husbands and men it is as though verse 18 doesn’t exist; our verse is verse 19 which as we shall see in a minute doesn’t exist to wives and women.
Submission must be defined as understood in New Testament times: The word doesn’t have anything to do with equality and in fact this word is also addressed to men in the Bible so in no way can it be described as sexist. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, just before he speaks to wives about submission, he uses the very same word and says that we Christians ought to be, “submitting to one another in the fear of God.” It is also a word that is used of Jesus willing submission unto death to the Father. Clearly this submission was voluntary and not forced and in no way lessened His equality to the Father. The word means as we are filled with the Spirit our desire ought to be the yielding of our lives for the benefit of our spouse.
Submission is specific not universal: Paul made the use of this voluntary yielding of a wife’s life “specific” and “not universal” to all men or other husbands as he placed in this sentence the words “own husbands”. She is not under the same obligation with other men that are not her husband other than the generally yielding of our lives for the benefit of others spoken of in Ephesians 5:21. Let alone men who seem to think it is their place to order women around as their personal servant as some inferior species to them.
Submissions attitude and aim: Wives voluntary submission to their husbands is the attitude in which the wife is doing so. She is doing so because it is the Lord’s will that she do so and in so doing she is “pleasing the Lord” as well as voluntarily relinquishing her rights to Jesus!
Submission means strength: Paul adds that it is “fitting in the Lord”. There is an order to His creation and he has so designed the family with a structure where the husbands greatest need is to be supported, to be under girded that will enable him to stand up to the stresses of life. It is not a lesser position as the two are one; it is the way in which she was created to be a help mate where her strengths complement his weaknesses.

Vs. 19 How to love your wife

Vs. 19 In this headship it is the husband’s responsibility to treat her as a self-sacrificing love that Jesus has demonstrated towards his bride the church. Paul gives the husband what their “graces clothes” look like in a marriage and again we need to understand specific things about this.

Paul addresses this section to husbands: Just as was the case with wives this section is exclusive in nature, addressed just for husbands and not for wife’s to tell their husbands. Husbands need to be concerned with verse 19 and wife’s need to be concerned with verse 18.
Love needs to be defined in N.T. terms: The word Paul choses “love” is specific in definition as he uses the word agapao and not eros, philo. Paul is telling husbands that they need to treat their wives like Christ treats the church.
To not do so is bitter: Husbands can’t treat their wife’s like they do their buddy’s by being sarcastic, sharp, or silent.

I like the fact that God only gave each partner “ONE” rule instead of some exhaustive list. These two commands reveal that there is a difference between how men and women sense “love”:

Men: Define love generally by “support”. Support the fellow and he will know that you love him. So you can see why Paul’s words calling for the “voluntarily relinquishing of her rights” is so important to maintain harmony in the home.
Women: Define love in terms of “security” A woman needs to feel secure in her marriage and that is how she defines her husband’s love.

You see God intends our marriages to be harmonious in which we sing a duet and not a battle in which we have a duel.

In Ephesians 5:25-33 Paul gives four views on what “loves security” looks like for a woman.

Vs. 25 (Cont.) Sacrificially: “gave Himself for her” Paul uses Jesus’ example for His bride, the church saying that Jesus “gave Himself” for her. This sacrificial love can be seen in two ways:

Positively: Jesus shared Himself with us. Husbands are to be sharing all of our emotions, dreams and thoughts with our wives. This kind of sharing is sacrificial for husbands and it requires for us to feel supported because you will really know how vulnerable we are.
Negatively: Jesus loved us to death, literally, the death of Himself. Husbands are to love their wives to the death of ourselves. We will be dying to all our self-seeking pursuits and we will be placing our wives interest’s above our own.

Vs. 26-27 Specially: Jesus spoils or treats His bride as being extremely special. Jesus’ love for you and I is the kind of love that wants us to “be all we can be”! Paul lists two specific ways in which Jesus sees His bride, than he reveals the two ways in which Jesus accomplish His goal for His bride, (you and I):

Vs. 26 Sanctify: Our wives were created to be our companion to complement us in what God has called us too. It is the water of the word of God that cleanses the character of a person and a character that has been cleansed will be equipped to function as God has designed us!
Vs. 27 Glorify: Jesus’ goal is to continually beautify His bride. Looking at this section of scripture the inward beauty of a wife is the direct result of the husband loving her in a special way. If that is our goal then I’m betting our wife won’t have a hard time voluntarily relinquishing her rights!

Vs. 28-30 Unconditionally: The husband’s love for his wife is to be automatic as his care for himself. Husbands don’t treat our hands with anything but the utmost care. When my big thumb gets in the way of the head of the hammer I don’t call it stupid or laugh at it. In verse 28 Paul tells us that there are two things you and I always do with regards to our own bodies:

Nourish: We spend time every day making sure that our bodies are taken care of. Paul says, “Just treat your wives as you treat yourselves.”
Cherish: In the Greek this word means to foster tender care, so not only to provide for the physical wellbeing of our bodies we are constantly trying to pamper them. Husbands need to spoil our wives all the time, not just on special occasions. Can you imagine your mouth wanting an ice cream Sunday and your brain saying, “Hey, it’s not your birthday, who died and made you boss”?

Vs. 31 Unbreakably: You see how secure our wives would feel if they experienced love that won’t ever allow anything or anyone to come in between us. For “love’s” sake, we will leave our parents and be “glued” to our wives men. Our bond with our wives is to be unbreakable.

Vs. 32-33 (Still Ephesians) The goal of marriage is the same goal of our relationship with Jesus, “Oneness”! Paul has not one time spoken about our “rights” in marriage, no he has instead spoken to us about our “duties”.

Wives’ biggest challenge is to continue to love their husbands by supporting them by “voluntarily relinquishing their rights”.
Husbands biggest challenge will be to continue to love their wives in a way that causes them to feel secure, sacrificially, specially, unconditionally, and unbreakably.

Colossians

“A Worthy Walk”

Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6

3:1-4:6 Walking in the Wisdom of Christ

3:18-21 Pleasing in Christ

3:20-21 “Grace Garments in the Family”

20 Adult making

21 Parenting 101

Intro.

Paul addressed what “Grace Clothes” looks on husbands and wives, now reveals what it looks like on children and parents. It is interesting that Paul is addressing human relationships, specifically the family unit. This reveals that these human interactions were very important to the early Church. Paul seemed to understand that what happened in the family and on the job had far reaching implications. We Christian’s can’t expect to leave a lasting impression with the truths about the person and work of Jesus if His impact isn’t visible in the most personal of our earthly relationships.

Notice that Paul addressed the marriage and applied “grace garments” to both husbands and wives before he addresses children and parents. When a marriage is under the submission of Jesus Christ the family will be in harmony. There is no room in our witness for us to say to a lost and hurting world, “Do as I say, not as I do!” Instead what we hear over and over again is “Imitate me as I imitate Christ!”

Vs. 20 Adult making

Vs. 20 If some chafed at the word “submit” in verse 18 as it relates to the wife’s exhortation to voluntarily demonstrate love to their husband by support; then children are going to have a similar reaction to this word “obey”. The Greek word has a dual meaning: “to hear and to be under someone”. A lot is mentioned today about “Children’s Rights” . I believe they have the right and expectation in a Christian home according to Ephesians 6:4 to grow up in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord”. But they have responsibilities as well and the first is to obey their parents in all things, not just the things that please them. They are to recognize that their parents have authority over their lives. The only area where a child may disobey their parents is on the occasion where the parent is asking them to do something that goes against God’s word. Children that grow up habitually not obeying their parents will grow up rebelling against all authority, teachers, police, employers and anyone else who tries to exercise authority over them.

Instruction is towards children: Like the above two commands that Paul gave in the marriage this one as well is mutually exclusive. This command assumes that the “children” would be mature enough to comprehend and apply the command. As a parent and grandparent it is not the independence of the child that I object to. The truth is “independence” is a natural progression to becoming a productive adult. As parents we ought to be fostering independence, which ought to include good problem solving capabilities. What parents object to is the attempt to exercise independence apart from personal responsibility. Parents are in the “adult making” business not in the “child rearing” business.

There are some in society with the mistaken notion that 30, 40 and 50 something children are cute! This society has given people all the freedoms of adulthood without any responsibilities then wonders why people rebel at having to suffer the consequences of their actions. This has allowed some in the government to keep them attached to a seemingly never ending supply of sustenance, prolonging their irresponsibility and ensuring their continual support of that politician. I do not fault the children as they have a fallen nature that will always look to be on “easy street”. To many parents are:

Either living through their children vicariously in a false reality of wanting to be their child’s “best friend” or be seen as being “cool” (or whatever they are calling it today.) God has not placed us parents to be our children’s “best friend”! He has placed us there to instruct them and guide them into adulthood. Liking us will come when they are in the same position one day and realize that what we said no too and placed boundaries on had merit and reason to it.

Or secondly, they lack instruction themselves in a cycle of irresponsibility that seems to be multi-generational. I have observed this historical pattern of generational irresponsibility as “adult children” are raising “adult children” who have now started their own brood.

This generational irresponsibility is spreading like a plague across this nation. Hard work, where a person has to forgo instant self-gratification has been replaced by an attitude that expects to be paid millions for no work. And again we have adult children (called politicians) who are ever so pleased (for a vote of course) to offer adult children just what they crave, more freedoms without any responsibilities. This circular society has failed to anticipate one thing in their master plan for society….what happens when those who are responsible and hard-working stop working? Who is going to continue to pay for the Instant Fun when no one is responsible? The “perpetual party” will inevitably run out of “party favors” then what?

Children’s “Obedience” is not situational: The measure of a child’s obedience is “all things” and the motive is to “please the Lord”. As adults, we understand that hard work and sacrifice is the surest path to success. If our children are going to be successful the sooner they learn this, the better. To prolong perpetual irresponsibility through willful disobedience is to diminish opportunity.

Obedience greatest reward: Obeying parents, motive is not to please the parents but it is “well pleasing to the Lord”. It pleases the Lord because it preserves the sanctity and sanity of the family and society. Obeying parents with the motivation of pleasing the Lord teaches the child that they are not just doing a duty, arbitrarily following a list of dumb and antiquated rules they are relationally living as pleasing the Lord. Parents need to impress upon children the need to develop and maintain their own personal relationship with Jesus. In “obeying parents” is a lesson of respecting all people and treating others better than one’s self. It is a way of life of peace, joy and love that makes a difference through self-denial and sacrifice for a great good and glory. Obedience makes a choice because it doesn’t want to lose the greater “pleasing the Lord” for the lessor “the temporary pleasures of sin for a season”.

Vs 21 Parenting 101

Vs. 21 The word translated “fathers” is translated “parents” in Hebrews 11:23. Notice that Paul starts out with a negative…. “do not provoke”. The word in the Greek means to “stir up, arouse, or to irritate” but in the context is in the present continuous tense which is saying: “Don’t keep on badgering your children.” It has to do with verbally harassing our children pointing out every little flaw to where they become convinced that they just can’t ever please us. They work hard doing their homework on time studying for their test but when the grade comes in all we can say is that they should have got an “A”. The goal of discipline and instruction is to build up not to tear down and destroy. There are three things parents do in their relationship with their children that can be irritating that they need to stop doing:

Ignoring them: Absenteeism is a great problem especially among fathers today. One survey in a town indicated that fathers spent only thirty-seven seconds a day with their small children! Parents who are so busy that they have no time for their children will soon find that his children will have no time for them. We can also ignore them when we don’t listen and just say no when they ask us for something. We need to give them the courtesy of at least listening to their request. Failure to do this will cause a child to feel as though they aren’t important and worthless. Cat Stevens sang a song called “Cats in The Cradle” about a father’s neglect and the son’s promise that one day he would be just like you dad. And when the father got older the boy was disconnected to his father.
Indulging them: A second source of irritation is when the father tries to counter abandonment with materialism. Children know the difference between indulgence and intimacy; and will not be “bought off ” for long. Children long for intimacy, not for superficial indulgence. If I was to ask most people what they valued most about their parents they would say that it was the TIME they spent with them. I can tell you as a father that my biggest regret is that I wasn’t involved in their lives enough. It would also be what I would encourage young fathers today; you won’t have another time like this to be involved in your children’s lives.
Insulting them: The third and final thing parents need to avoid that their children will find irritating is insulting them, putting them down. Parents try to live through their children and when they don’t measure up to their expectations they often put them down. If you need to correct your child, do so privately if possible so as to not embarrass them publicly. When they are hurt don’t be afraid to pick them up and hold them and tell them that you love them. Along with listening we need to pick our words of encouragement and instruction carefully and make sure that we pray with them. We must be careful not to compare or cause our children to have to compete against each other for our acceptance and approval. When a child doesn’t receive the attention they need at home they will seek it elsewhere.

Colossians

“A Worthy Walk”

Main Teaching: 1:15-4:6

3:1-4:6 Walking in the Wisdom of Christ

3:22 – 4:1 Presence of Christ

3:22-4:1 “Grace Garments at work”

22-25 Set apart slaves

4:1 Mastered master

Intro.

The section that deals with the 3rd relationship in which the Christian will need to wear “Grace Clothes” (the work place) is the largest of the three. Its length should not suggest “greater importance” but rather a more “pressing need”. Paul included this letter to Ephesus as well to his fellow shepherd Philemon who had to be encouraged to do right by his runaway slave Onesimus. The geographical proximity to Colossi was a story these believers were very familiar with. Saints, the person God chooses to use in a work is inevitably the person that knows how to work! Consider this truth:

It was when Moses was at work tending his father-in-laws sheep that God appeared to him in the burning bush and called him to reach his people

Elisha was plowing in the field when Elijah called him into ministry

Peter and Andrew were fishing when Jesus called them to be fishers of men

Saints, waiting on the Lord doesn’t involve sitting and doing nothing instead as the above truths indicate it involves working!

22-25 Set apart slaves

During Paul’s day slavery was an established institution with well over 60 million of them. Some wonder why the church didn’t seek to destroy this horrid institution.

First, Christianity was at its infant stage and had no political or military power to change anything. Slavery was established on social order thus Paul taught that the Christian slave should secure their freedom if they could but never at the price of rebellion as they were first and foremost a slave to Christ.
Second, the purpose of the church is to spread the gospel which sets free all people from the tyranny of sin and death. Had the early church left their true calling for social action they would have been branded an anti government group and would have never been an instrument of change.
Third, Colossians was a part of a three letter set which included Ephesians and the little letter to Philemon which was written to encourage a church leader and slave owner “Philemon” to receive back his runaway slave Onesimus who had come to Paul escaping Philemon’s treatment of him and had become a believer. Paul corrects both by encouraging Philemon and by sending Onesimus back with the letter.

The positive side of obedience is single heartedness to the Lord which will produce sincere hearts in service! Though the gospel didn’t immediately destroy slavery it did gradually change the relationship between slaves and masters until society could no longer practice slavery at the same time treating each other as brothers and sisters in Christ. You cannot have a society of slaves and masters when all are brothers and sisters under one benevolent Master in Christ! At the heart of every problem is a problem of the heart and only the Holy Spirit can change and control the heart.

Vs. 22-23 Paul divides this section as he has in the last two into mutually exclusive commandments. The church was the only place where both slaves and masters would be present at the same time on the same social level without racial and class distinctions.

Like Paul’s words about marriage and the family he says things both to slaves and masters that would have been revolutionary concepts to both. I will use more contemporary terms like “employees” and “bosses”.
Slaves must be “conscientious workers” in Christ, more effective and more efficient slaves. Telling people who had no choice to make a choice to be the best would have been unheard of. A relationship with Jesus never means an escape from hard work; it means an escape from the wrong attitude and motivation that often accompanies it.

Negatively: The slave must not be content with just getting by when his overseer is watching. He must not sweep things under the rug instead he needed to sweep under the rug! There was a man in a foreign country that owned a factory that noticed that his workers would be busy earning their pay as long as he kept an eye on them. As soon as he stepped out they stopped. He had been injured years earlier and had a glass eye so knowing they were superstitious he would put it on a stump in front of them. The plan worked wonderfully until one day he came back to see the crew sitting and noticed that his glass eye had been placed under a hat by a worker who had snuck around behind the eye so it couldn’t see him and hid the eye under the hat.
Positively: We are to work with “sincerity of heart, fearing God and doing things heartily as to the Lord and not to men.” The best witness a person can have at work is by being the hardest most positive worker on the job the company has. It shouldn’t matter what the employer treats you like or passes over you for promotion because you aren’t working for yourself or for them but for the Lord.

Slaves are to remember who their true Master is and work only as unto Him who loved them so much that He sacrificed His life for their freedom!
Slaves could never possess property and are promised an inheritance from God who weighed the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Vs. 24-25 The great encouragement of this is that the reward or lack thereof will be supplied by Jesus at your promotion into His presence. The Christian worker always needs to remind themselves that they work as “unto the Lord” and “not unto men” so that our motivation stays correct and won’t lesson based upon how we are being treated by our earthly employer. It’s easy to become discouraged if we lose this perspective. I think it would be good for the employee to have on their desk (or somewhere handy) this phrase, “Jesus, I’m working only for You today…thank You for reminding me of this and please give me the Holy Spirit’s power and joy to do a great job for you today!”

Paul says that there is a bonus tied to this realization that you are to work as “unto the Lord”. When you work as unto the Lord your attitude is changed and the quantity and quality of your work is best you can expect to receive your bonus upon your promotion into His presence. Ah but listen up in verse 25 Paul says that you may be losing your bonus if you haven’t been working as unto the Lord. There are going to be people who work unto the Lord that never got promoted or compensated in this lifetime.

Perhaps they wondered, “Man this just isn’t right, why I’ve worked unto the Lord and here I sit!” Listen up saints, and be encouraged because God has seen that you have been working unto Him and rest assured He isn’t going to miss the opportunity to give you that promotion and raise with interest. Maybe you’re thinking “Well it sure would have been nice to have gotten it while on earth…!” If He would have given it to you now:

It would only have been temporary and not the full amount.

It would have been subject to taxes, added pressure and responsibility.

It would also be vulnerable to rust, rodents and robbers.

It wouldn’t have been able to be fully enjoyed, because you haven’t retired, you’re still working.

When He rewards you for your faithfulness of working unto Him He will be able to reward you without those limitations. The reward Jesus gives now for our faithful service according to Jesus’ parable in Luke 19:12-27: Is a greater opportunity to demonstrate your love in still greater service. That’s why sometimes even though you are working as unto the Lord you don’t get that earthly promotion and pay raise as Jesus is giving you a greater opportunity to demonstrate His love and that doesn’t always equate with a pay raise and a promotion.

Ah but the saints notice that in verse 25 Paul warns that the opposite is also true as those who do wrong in the job will be paid for what they have done, as there is no partiality. If the Christian employee isn’t working as unto the Lord and is instead just working with eyeservice or as a man-pleaser they may get promoted, get pay raises but the Lord has seen the truth and you will receive less of an opportunity to demonstrate His love here and now and less bonus in the future. Heaven is the great equalizer as with God there is no partiality.