Thank you for stopping by and taking to time to watch, listen, or read this week’s message, The New Self.
I hope you find encouragement in your faith in Jesus, and maybe even learn something new along the way 🙂
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Recap
Colossians 3 begins by telling us that since we have been raised with Christ we are to set our hearts and minds on things above. We are to put to death our old self, with its passions and attitudes, and to put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge of God.
So, how do we go about putting on the new self?
First, Paul tells us to…
1. Put On the Character of Christ (vss 12-14)
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
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We need to remember that we are “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.” We are holy, which means set apart. God chose us out of love and then set us apart as his children. We have been accepted and approved by God, and have received His grace. Because of this, we are to clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
These are all relational qualities necessary in maintaining community.
- Compassion…The ability to feel deep sympathy and sorrow for another, with a strong desire to alleviate the suffering.
- Kindness… Having a good or benevolent nature or disposition; considerate, or helpful; humane.
- Humility… Having a modest opinion or estimate of one’s own importance, rank, etc.
- Gentleness… Being kindly, amiable; not severe, rough, or violent; polite, refined.
- Patience… Bearing annoyance, misfortune, delay, hardship, pain, etc., without complaint, anger, or the like..
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These character traits are seen when we “bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Bearing with one another means more than just tolerating others. It means graciously embracing others who have done something against us. This embracing of one another when we are hurt or offended is a hallmark of Christian community. Grace is available to us so that we can do what goes against our old self.
We all have been hurt by others at some point in our lives. Bearing with one another is the ability to accept, even embrace others, extending forgiveness toward them. The reason we are able to forgive others is because Christ has forgiven us.
It has been said that most of the ground that Satan gains in the lives of Christians is due to unforgiveness. It isn’t hard to figure out why. Unforgiveness breeds bitterness, resentment, anger, unkindness, and even despair. Forgiveness, on the other hand, is choosing to live with the painful consequences of another person’s sin.
Because Christ has lavished us with forgiveness, we can extend that same grace and forgiveness to each other. We can maintain community by bearing with each other and forgiving each other. In this way forgiveness becomes a means of spiritual warfare, fighting against our own flesh and the devil.
Upon these character traits, Paul says, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” Love is the glue that holds all the rest of these characteristics together.
Not only does he tell us to put on the character of Christ, but Paul also tells us to…
2. Put on the Peace of Christ (vs 15)
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
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Because he is talking about maintaining community, the peace he is talking about is relational peace. We are called to maintain our community, to get along. Too often we undermine God’s process, by changing churches when we have relational issues rather than working them out, to our own spiritual demise. When we work through the friction, it strengthens the bond we have with one another through Jesus.
Peter writes in the letter that bears his name that we, “like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2.5). The way a building was formed was stone upon stone being held together by friction. That is the same imagery that we need to view the church today. We are these “living stones” being formed together through friction to become a strong house of God.
Being part of a church family is like a marriage, it takes a lot of work to maintain. If we work through the hardships instead of leaving at the first sign of turmoil, we will be stronger together at the end. If we choose to go from church to church because we won’t bear with others and forgive others, then we undermine our own spiritual growth and dishonor the name of Christ.
Along with putting on the character and peace of Christ, Paul then calls us to…
3. Live out the message of Christ (vss 16-17)
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
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To live out the message of Christ, we will need to take time to meditate upon the message. Paul tells us to “let the message of Christ dwell in you richly.” In other words, we are to make the message central to the life of the community. It is to be the source of transformation in our lives.
We grow in understanding of the message as we dwell on His Word. Then, as we grow, we can teach one another and receive instruction from one another. This act will expand upon what we have already learned. Another step of growth comes as we learn how to admonish and correct each other. As we keep one another accountable, the more secure we will become to the message of Jesus.
Another way we allow the word to dwell in us is through music. Paul tells us that we can “teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.” By singing to God, we learn and teach and admonish one another with the words of the song. We learn the truths of scripture in a way that is ingrained into our hearts and minds.
As we meditate, grow, and sing to the Lord, we ultimately want to live out the message of Christ. Paul states, “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” The things we do in this life, every word and action in which we are involved, is to be done for Jesus. From the way we care for our families, to how we do our jobs or school work, to the way we interact with other as a whole… we are to do it as if unto the Lord at all times.
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The way we maintain this community of faith in which we live is by putting on Christ. When we come to faith in Christ, we become part of the body of Christ. We become a community of irregular people whose only connection is Jesus.
To maintain this community, we must…
Put to death our old self and put on the new.
Care for one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Live out the life of Christ through our own lives.
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Have a Great Day!