Scripture: Colossians 3:1-17
As Paul continues in his letter to the Church,
encouragement is now the primary direction that the letter is moving in. He will still be calling out the false
teaching once again, but the truth of God will also be lifted up as a
replacement for the lies of earth. This
is an important distinction, for unless we know what we must be eliminating
from our life, we just might try to continue to keep the old ways, in addition to
the new teaching!
Paul is going to be very specific in naming all that
must be removed from our lives, as well as what we must now claim as God’s
truth! For if we try to include both in
our lives, it would be the same as trying to straddle that proverbial “fence of
faith”, and that will never work out for good in our lives!
God’s truth is the only way for the followers of
Jesus Christ.
Read Colossians 3:1-11
The point of Paul’s words in verse 1 – if you are“…raised
with Christ, set your hearts on things above” – this is what accepting
Jesus as Lord and Savior is all about. In
Galatians 2:20, we read “I
have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live,
but Christ lives in me.” The reference to crucifixion means that when
we accept Christ, and invite Him into our hearts and lives, we must also die
to the ways of earth. In Christ, there
is only one way – the way that is in Him!
And if, after we give our life to Christ, for
whatever reason, we want to also remain in the ways of earth, even while
becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ, or even to accept some of the
things that worldly culture advocates for, this means that we have denied all
things that come from Jesus Christ. This is why Paul is calling us to “set
our hearts on things above”, and to deny all things that the culture calls
us to accept.
In verse 5, the apostle lists many of the world’s
choices, which he proclaims are nothing less than idolatry, or in other words,
these are nothing less than the worship of false gods! The way of the Lord will always be far and
away superior to anything that the world could ever conjure up!
He actually offers us three such groupings of sins –
the first is primarily related to sexuality, the second lists possible
reactions that we may have toward others who have said or done something
against us, either a reaction to a comment that we may have made, or simply an
offhand comment of their own that causes us some degree of irritation toward
them, and the third is a very short list, including lying and establishing a judgmental
scale as to who is seen as being better or worse in God’s sight.
And Paul concludes this thought by pointing out that
Jesus Christ holds no ranking or preferences over anyone who loves Him and
follows Him, other than the absolute division that God has established between
those who confess Jesus as Lord and Savior, versus those who have chosen to
continue to live, believe and trust in the ways of worldly dominion! The “new self” that clothes us in the
Lord by faith, represents the change that we experience when we set the “old
self” aside by claiming Jesus as our new and only way in this lifetime.
Read Colossians 3:12-17
Paul now adjusts his teaching to outline the
attributes that a Christian should always exhibit. If they sound familiar to you, consider his
letter to the (Galatians in 5:22-25) -
that passage that we know as “fruit of the Spirit”. These are the images of the “new self” that
others will always see and experience as we begin our walk in faith, following
Jesus with every step we take.
These qualities are actually the direct opposite
of the negatives that Paul lists back in
verse 8 – anger, rage, malice, slander, etc.
This comparison is a good example of what giving our life to Christ will
accomplish in us. For our Lord God
Almighty is truly the direct and complete opposite of everything that the world offers and
stands for.
In consideration of what Paul is telling us about
our relationship with God, the Lord doesn’t play favorites as we read in verse
11, while relationships in the world have everything to do with favoritism. The extent and power of the Lord’s love for each
and every person is perfect and identical for everyone! The salvation that He so generously provides
to those who will come to Him in humility and submission to the ways of God is fully and complete for everyone. And God’s
forgiveness, in its perfection and completion, erases all sin, for all time,
and in all instances. Of course, the
world will never do anything that removes sin – after all, they’re in the
business of creating and promoting it!
Is this totally opposite to the way of God, or
what? And how is that possible? It’s all because God loves us in ways that no
one else ever can, or ever will!
So rejoice! Give
thanks to the One who has created perfect love for all who will love Him, too! This is what the fullness of the exceptional and true Godly power
is all about!
