Main Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17
Main Idea: If Christ is our all, then His grace will be seen in everything we say and do.
1. Christ’s clothes should define us (vs. 12-13)
• Many people define themselves by what they wear or what their outward appearance looks like and have tendencies to associate with people that look like them.
• A more subtle form of this tendency to associate with others based on their outward appearance can be seen when people of similar socio-economic status or similar ethnic background tend to gravitate to each other.
• But as Christians, we are no longer meant to define ourselves or others by outward appearance. Instead, we are to be conformed to the image of Christ that is not based on external appearances or even ethnic associations.
• As Christians we are to be defined by the clothes of Godly character.
• Since we have been chosen by God to be His people out of all the people of the earth, we are to be holy just like He is. Since we are a new creation and His love has been poured into our hearts, it is to be expected that we would start to look like Him.
Compassion
• We are called to clothe ourselves with compassion in our responses to others or when we see those in need – a compassion that moves us not just intellectually but emotionally as well, to respond
Kindness
Luke 6:35 "But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”
Romans 2:4 “Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?”
Humility
• This was an idea that was contrary to the way that the culture around the Colossians lived and it is contrary to the way that the culture around us lives as well.
• True humility is not self-seeking, whereas a false humility is manipulative and seeks to get something or gain honor, influence or respect from acting humble.
• We are called to be like Christ and humbly look out for the interests of others. In humility, we are to count others as more significant than ourselves.
Meekness
• Jesus Himself was the Messiah, the Savior who brought about His kingdom without using any force and He described Himself as meek
• meekness or gentleness is “the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance”. It is a consideration for others and includes a willingness to waive one’s rights. (BAGD)
• In the same way that Moses didn’t give into rage when he was wrongly accused, but instead he interceded with God for those who offended him, we are to be meek and gentle, not demanding our own way and seeking to be vindicated.
• We are to consider others first and be willing to waive our rights for the good of others.
Patience
“that long-suffering which endures wrong and puts up with the exasperating conduct of others, rather than flying into a rage or desiring vengeance.” - LH Marshall
Bearing with (enduring) and forgiving one another
• If we wear these virtues, it will look like us bearing with each other and forgiving each other like Christ Jesus has forgiven us.
• Mutual relational endurance and tolerance and complete forgiveness are what are being called for in this verse.
• In the same way, just like Jesus has forgiven us, we are to forgive each other.
• The motivation is the great forgiveness that we have received from the Lord and we are to follow His example of forgiveness with no strings attached as well.
• So often, we can feel justified in our unforgiveness and in holding a grudge and we can feel justified in being bitter or resentful, because we may have legitimately been offended or sinned against.
• When we are given the standard of our Lord’s forgiveness, there is no justification and no room for holding onto any offense, even though it may be legitimate.
• The connotation of the word that is translated as “bearing with” in the ESV is that of enduring one another or giving patient attention to one another.
• At times, we will need to endure one another’s faults and foibles in the body. We will need to endure some who are proud and immature and be patient with some who may be more set in their ways.
• We will need to endure and put up with different personalities that we would not normally gravitate to and we will need to give patient attention to those who have different preferences than us.
• When we have actual cause for complaint against another, we are called to forgive like Christ Jesus.
• We don’t wait until they ask us to forgive them.
2. Christ’s love should bind us (vs. 14)
• Above everything else, we are to put on the thing that perfectly binds all of the other graces together – the crowning grace of love.
1 Corinthians 13:4 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, 5 does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, 6 does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things”
• Jesus taught that love is the fulfillment of the law and that all of the laws hung on the two commandments to love God and love your neighbor.
• In fact, all of the commandments are summed up in loving your neighbor as yourself. Because it is only possible to love this way as we love God. And we cannot love God if we do not love our neighbor.
• God’s love that sent Christ and motivated Him to forgive all those who place their faith in Him is the basis of the mutual love that we are called to practice.
3. Christ’s peace should rule us (vs. 15)
• At times, our hearts can be ruled by our emotions and this is often the case when it comes to difficulties and offenses or complaints that we have against other people.
• When we are aware of a complaint that we have against someone else, we can easily become agitated and irritated and angry because we are not getting the justice or treatment we believe we deserve.
• But instead of letting what we think are our rights or needs to rule our hearts, we are called to let the peace of Christ rule our hearts.
• We are to let the peace of Christ be the decisive factor when we have competing interests or different concerns than someone else in the body.
• If our peace is reliant on us getting our way, we will seldom have peace.
• If peace in our hearts is contingent on people treating us the way that we think they should, then our hearts will not be at peace for long.
• But if our hearts are at peace because of the peace that we have with Christ and if the fact that we have been reconciled to God is what anchors us, then when we face relationship difficulties and disappointment (and we will), we will be able to experience a peace in our hearts that is unmoved by relational conflict.
• If we build our relationships on a false peace based on whether we get along or share the same interests, it will fail.
• If we build our peace on whether someone accepts us or approves of us or likes us, we will never have peace. Instead, we will be ruled by the fear of man and it will produce false, self-centered relationships
• We let the peace of Christ govern our relationships, by being grounded in the fact that God has accepted us because of Christ’s finished sacrifice on the Cross, so we don’t need to look to others for approval and acceptance. God almighty approves us and accepts us because Jesus took our place and lived a perfect life and took the punishment we deserve.
• Our acceptance in God is secure through Jesus and we all come together as a body not based on merit or how impressive we are – we are all called into one body because Jesus Christ have given us all peace and now we share a relationship closer than any brotherhood or society or fraternity – we are all now part of His body.
• And we are to let the peace that we have received from Jesus flow out from our hearts into our relationships and let it affect everything we do in the body
Be thankful
• If our hearts are thankful to God for His unmerited calling and unlimited forgiveness, we will find that this grateful perspective makes it easier to extend love and forgiveness and to bear with each other.
• When we are more aware of what we have received that we did not earn, it makes it easier to put up with someone else’s faults, because, like you, they can only see areas in need of growth in their lives by the grace of God and like you, they can only change by the grace of God.
4. Christ’s message should indwell us (vs. 16)
• Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. So, it is important for us to let the Word of Christ dwell in pour hearts richly and inform our teaching and admonishing, through songs and hymns and spiritual songs to each other.
• The word of Christ here is referring to the message about Christ – the gospel of Christ
• The central basis for any teaching or correcting or exhorting in our relationships in the body of Christ is to be firmly grounded in the gospel – the message of Jesus Christ.
• As we teach and admonish each other, we are to do so with a grace-filled wisdom – thoughtfully, wisely, words given in season, sensitive to what is going on in the life of the person we are talking to.
• The content of our signing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs is to be filled with and flow from the Word of Christ and the content of our singing is to teach and admonish each other with thankfulness for God’s grace in our hearts.
5. Christ’s name should guide us (vs. 17)
• Whatever we do or say and wherever we go, our behavior is meant to be guided by the name of Christ.
• In everything we do, whether it is something that we say or something that we do, it is to be said or done in a way that will bring honor to our Lord Jesus.
• For the mature Christian, our conduct is not to be primarily guided by a series of do’s and don’ts of external behavior – our conduct in word and deed is to be guided by examining for ourselves whether what we are doing would be pleasing to our Lord Jesus.
• What is the Christ like thing to say or do here?
• Can I do or say this thing in His name – will it reflect well upon Jesus?
• Will what I am doing and saying tell the truth about Jesus and what He finds pleasing and what He approves of?
• And can I do or say this thing giving thanks to God the Father through Jesus?
Conclusion
• Because God has chosen me, I know that He will also enable me to live for Him and be pleasing to Him. I am glad for conviction because I know it means that He is at work in me.
• These are not moralistic verses and these are not commands to speak and act in a certain way in order to earn any favor or be impressive to God or man.
• Precisely because God has chosen us in Him; because He loves us now and has made us holy, we can walk out the Christian life in faith, depending on Him to live a life that is pleasing to Him because he is already pleased with us because of His Son’s sacrifice on our behalf.
• We have died and our life is hidden with Christ in God. Now Christ is our life and He is our all. And now, we are to live like who we’ve been chosen to be.
• As we live this way, we can be grateful to our kind and loving and compassionate Father, who is slow to anger and rich in love. He does not treat us according to what our sins deserve but He is patient with us as His beloved, adopted children and because of this, there is great hope for you and I to change as He continues to be at work in us.
• And from a heart of thanksgiving, we want to worship God with our entire lives, because of what He has done for us and for how He is at work in us.
Potential Personal & Caregroup Application Questions:
(you can’t do all of these in Caregroup, so please do some on your own)
1. How does knowing that we have been chosen, made holy and beloved by God inform our pursuit of putting on His image?
2. Where/How are we tempted to define ourselves by things or clothes, personal appearance, etc.?
3. What areas of kindness, compassion, humility, meekness and patience has the Holy Spirit revealed to you your need to grow?
4. How do we address changing our hearts in these areas?
5. What would growth look like outwardly in these areas? (personally & specifically)
6. Where do we need to bear with the weaknesses or preferences of others in the church? What do we need to change in our own heart to do this?
7. Are there any areas where you are avoiding others in the church? If so, what is going on in your heart that has caused this behavior?
8. Are there areas where you are harboring bitterness, jealousy, resentment or unforgiveness against others in the church? If so, what do you need to do to forgive them and be reconciled?
9. Where is Christ calling you to love each other in the body more? What would growth in this area look like?
10. How can we dwell on the Word of Christ more specifically? (in addition to reading your Bible more consistently – what does having the gospel dwell in you richly look like?)
11. What areas do we need to change where we are not reflecting the name of Christ accurately? Where do we need to actively pursue making whatever we are saying or doing consistent with the name of Christ Jesus?
