Written ~ 10-08-2024
Read Colossians Chapter Three
Colossians 3
Have you noticed from all of the letters we have read so far from Paul (Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians and now Colossians) how many times he needs to remind us that we have new life in Christ, and we need to rid ourselves of the things of this world? Sometimes it feels like we really don’t get it! How many times does a parent need to tell a child “Don’t touch, it’s hot, you’ll get burned?” But the child touches it anyway. In every letter Paul is telling us, “Don’t touch.” And we do it anyway.
So, today’s chapter is another reminder, it would be good for us to listen to what he has to say. In 2 Corinthians 13, Paul told us to “test ourselves, to examine ourselves to see if our faith is genuine.” Let’s use that advice as we study Colossians chapter three.
Colossians 3:1-4…
1 “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory.”
I love the way the New King James Version translates verses 1 and 2…
Colossians 3:1-2 (NKJV)…
1 “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”
Ponder on the words Paul uses… Seek, Set, Think… The Realities of Heaven are what our hearts and minds should dwell on, not the things of this world.
When we accept Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior – WE ARE CHANGED! New life has begun – for some people it may be a subtle change over time, for others it’s like BAM! “I’m changed!” Either way, a profound change has taken place. Our spirits have now been renewed with God’s Spirit. The things of the world, all earthly desires should feel foreign to us. We should feel completely out of place when trying to fit into the world’s mold. Why is that? Because we have been “raised to new life with Christ.” If we know Jesus as Lord and Savior, our lives will be dedicated to learning the Scriptures… our hearts and minds will have a huge reset.
“…SET your sights on the realities of Heaven…SEEK those things which are from above…”
“…THINK about the things of Heaven…SET your mind on things above…”
Ok… Let’s switch things around a little bit. What if someone says they have accepted Jesus as Lord of their life, but there is no change. They are completely comfortable in their former lifestyle; they don’t feel out of place in the world and go on as before. I think we would have to challenge the sincerity of their conversion. Think back to 2 Corinthians 13 where Paul talks about how we all must “test ourselves, examine ourselves to see if our faith is genuine.” When a decision for Christ has been made there must be change!
“…Raised to LIFE…”
“…Died to this life…”
It should be noticeably clear that Christ is your life.
“…Your REAL LIFE is hidden with Christ…”
For those who do not wish to know the Lord… It will be “revealed to the whole world…” that Jesus is who He said He was, and He is seated in a place of Honor at God’s Right Hand!
“…SET your sights on the realities of Heaven…SEEK those things which are from above…”
“…THINK about the things of Heaven…SET your mind on things above…”
How do we do that? Well…We have the Scriptures! We have God’s Holy Word to read, study and fully digest! We will see glimpses of Heaven throughout God’s Word! God reveals the “things of Heaven” to the prophets in the Old Testament – the disciples were walking alongside Heaven while hearing Jesus speak to the multitudes and they wrote their eyewitness accounts! The prophets of old and the disciples of new wrote so we could “see” Heaven. And John… he was whisked up to Heaven to write about the things God revealed to him… now we have the Book of Revelation. When we gave our lives to the Lord, we were raised to NEW LIFE. We need to understand that this world does not have anything we need to seek after. Heaven is our home, our thoughts should be focused on the Glory of Heaven and someday, we will share that Glory with the Lord!
In the meantime, hear what Paul has repeatedly warned us about… let’s truly listen…
Colossians 3:5-11…
5 “So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. 6 Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. 7 You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world. 8 But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. 9 Don’t lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old sinful nature and all its wicked deeds. 10 Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him. 11 In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us.”
Look over the list of things Paul is pleading with us to remove from our lives…
- greed (selfishness)
- idolatry (worshipping the things in this world)
- anger (antagonism)
- rage (wrath, agitation)
- malicious behavior (hatefulness, viciousness)
- slander (blasphemy, defamation of character)
- dirty language (filthy language, cussing)
- do not lie (do not be deceitful in any way)
The things on this list look horrible, don’t they? You might think you would never involve yourself with such things… but please do not be deceived, these things can pop up easily because of our sinful nature. If our hearts and minds are not focused on the Lord AT ALL TIMES, if we are not studying the Word of God faithfully how can we possibly know how to fight against those things.
When we gave our hearts, our lives to Jesus, we stripped off our old sinful nature, we are not to reach back and put it back on again whenever we feel like it. When Christ entered into our lives, all these wicked deeds should have been cast far away from us, never to be retrieved ever again.
Colossians 3:10…
10 “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like Him.”
The only way to “put on the NEW” and to “know your Creator” and to “become like Jesus” is to study God’s Word. Just like Paul reiterates certain topics over and over again, I too, will reiterate over and over again how desperately important it is for the believer to read, study, understand and live the instructions found in the Scriptures.
It doesn’t matter who you are, what neighborhood you grew up in, what social status you have, if your parents were Christians or not, when you believe and accept who Jesus is… “Christ is all that matters, and He lives in all of us…”
Colossians 3:12-15…
12 “Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”
We read in Galatians 5:22-23 that when Christ is in you, you will produce this kind of fruit… “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” In Colossians 3:12-13 Paul adds a few more things that we must clothe ourselves in… “tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive anyone who offends you.”
It is true… that without the Lord living within us and the Holy Spirit to help us, it would be impossible to achieve even one of those attributes, let alone all of them! But that’s why Paul reminds us so often to “clothe ourselves.” This is an action; this is a visual he is giving us. We need to imagine, every day, before we get started with busy schedules and the stress of everything we need to do, we must clothe ourselves with the new nature Christ has given us. It needs to be a daily reminder…because we cannot do these things on our own. “Let peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts.”
Colossians 3:16-17…
16 “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.”
“…the message of Christ…” He is the Son of God, the One and Only Messiah. He humbled Himself, came down to earth and sacrificed Himself so we could be saved from sin and death. Don’t take this lightly! Without Jesus we couldn’t go to God with our needs. There was always the need for sacrifice – if you have read Exodus and Leviticus, you know that the sacrifice of an animal was necessary to obtain forgiveness of sin. I must say that I am exceedingly grateful that I do not have to slaughter a one-year-old flawless lamb every time I do something that displeases the Almighty God. Dwell on that for a moment… Christ Jesus in all His Glory knew He was coming to earth to die. But not just die, but to be the ultimate and final sacrifice for sin, so we can have access to the Kingdom of Heaven and the Throne of God. When Jesus rose again on the third day, He shattered sin and death, He paved the way to Salvation! I don’t know about you, but I cannot thank Him enough! “Let the message of Christ, in all its fullness, FILL YOUR LIVES.” This is what we live for, this is what fills our hearts and minds. We must never take for granted what Jesus did for us. Don’t think of Salvation as your “golden ticket” to Heaven, then live your life however you want to. No! We are to live for Christ! “…In whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus…”
When we understand the fullness of the Gospel message, we must “teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom He gives.” The Lord can build up our confidence, when we live fully in Him, we can share the Gospel message with others. With the Holy Spirit’s help, it may surprise you how much you actually do know. And by sharing your heart with others and by taking the time to teach someone else what you have learned will produce Christ’s wisdom in you.
Colossians 3:16b…
16b “Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.”
Yes! We can sing along with a song we hear on the radio or put on our favorite Spotify playlist and sing along, most of the time that’s for our own enjoyment. But what does it mean to sing songs to God? In the New King James Version, verse 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing (encouraging) one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” The song of our hearts is the Word of the Lord! It can be the prayer of our hearts. When we cry out to the Lord our hearts sing. Think of the Psalms that David wrote, they were prayers (songs) of his heart. Singing a song to the Lord can be when your hands are lifted high in total surrender – when no words can be spoken – the cry of our hearts, our praise of thankfulness and a shout of Hallelujah – the prayers we speak become a melody. Whether this is aloud or in the quietness of our hearts, we are singing our song to God. Sometimes though, if our “song” is only found deep within our hearts, you’ll find that there will be times we need to shout a song of praise!
Exodus 15:2-3…
“The Lord is my strength and my song;
He has given me victory.
This is my God, and I will praise Him…
I will exalt Him!
The Lord is a warrior;
Yahweh is His Name!”
Psalm 150…
“Praise the Lord!
Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty heaven!
Praise Him for His mighty works;
praise His unequaled greatness!
Praise Him with a blast of the ram’s horn;
praise Him with the lyre and harp!
Praise Him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise Him with strings and flutes!
Praise Him with a clash of cymbals;
praise Him with loud clanging cymbals.
Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!”
If you don’t know how to sing to the Lord, try reading these two Scriptures out loud! Make them a song from your heart.
And remember, “…whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus…”
~AMEN~