As we grow up we are constantly putting things off and putting new things on. It's just part of growing up. As a baby, a time came when you put off diapers and put on training pants. Then as we grew more we put off our underoos and put on something more grown up. At some point, we put off our childhood clothes and put on adulthood. In some cultures, this was done in a celebration of coming into adulthood. They symbolically remove the cloak of their childhood to replace it with the cloak of a young man or young woman. It's the same in our walk with Christ; as we mature, we are called to 'put off' some old things and 'put on' some new things. As a Christian, there is an expectation of growing and maturing and this is what the process looks like.
In the first few chapters Paul encouraged these believers to 'stand fast' in what they knew. This was a warning not to 'put off' the gospel truth. The false teachers would have them 'put off' the gospel and 'put on' the things of the world. In essence, Paul is teaching that these folks that it was time for them to grow up; to mature. Anything that impeded or harmed their walk with Jesus was on the list to go away.
What is to be 'put off' and what is on the list to be 'put on'? Paul placed Christ preeminent, supreme authority over all. The good news was the means by which we are able to walk with Jesus having our sins forgiven. Shouldn't all else be measured by its inherent value in relation to the supreme? It simply makes no sense for a person to bear the name of Jesus, declare Him as redeemer, savior and friend; yet, display works and words of the world.
Colossians 3: 1-2
So now we know, from the previous chapters, that Jesus is preeminent and that we don't need anything else. One might ask, "So, what's next? What do we do with this knowledge? How do we live this out in our life? How does this do you any good?" Paul's going to give the Christian some practical answers.
In 2:20 asked the Christians:
- If they died in Christ …..then why subject yourselves?
Verse one of this chapter is a continuation of the same thought.
- If you were raised in Christ…….then seek?
The walk that is consistent with being raised in Christ is to be seeking that which is above. It was time to set their minds on the things of the kingdom of God; not on the fallen things of this kingdom. This is literally where the rubber meets the road. It's a test of sorts. Those whose minds are on the things of the world have a problem. At best, they are resisting the sanctification process and quenching the spirit. At worst, they may not be raised in Christ. In our day and time, it may be the difference of those who walk with Christ, and those who want Christ to walk with them.
When your mind is set on things above and you seek those things which are above, you are released from the burdens of the world. When your eyes are lifted, a proper priority is established in your life. You have put the holy and sacred on high and put the common and defiled and spoiled things of the world in a low place.
So, Paul's call in verse 1 is a reality check. If you are raised in Christ it should be evident. There should be evidence in your life. It's time to check your self for the evidence. You can take a pig out of the mud and scrub them down, clean them up and soak them with perfume. But the minute you set them back in the pig sty they're right back at it. Because they are still a pig and that's what pigs do. What else would you expect? As Christians, we were cleansed from our sin and given new desires and a new nature. We shouldn't look like the pig longing to return to the mud. We're now walking through the pig sty and trying not to get anything on us. That's what our life should be like. We aren't pigs any more so we shouldn't go back to the mudhole of sin. We need to set our minds on higher things; on the one who saved us and cleaned us up. When we do that, we quickly learn that God didn't save us just so we can walk through the pigsty without getting dirty, He saved us for what's beyond this life.
Colossians 3:3-4
By identification with Christ, we identify with his death. Our old self died with Him. If that old self really did die, the old man is dead and can't be brought back to life. When that truly happens your life is hidden in Christ. What does it mean to be hidden in Christ? The Greek word is Kyrpto. Your life is concealed, it escapes notice.
Galatians 3:27 says, 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. Romans 13:14 Says, 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. That's what it means to be hidden in Christ, we need to put Him on. Just like putting on a royal robe. I am concealed in Christ, my life is all wrapped up in Him. If I am in Christ, my life should begin to look Christ-like. When God the Father looks down from Heaven, to Him you and I look like the Son. We look like Jesus, the old me goes un-noticed. Then, when Jesus appears, we will also appear with Him in glory.
Colossians 3:5-7
This 'put to death' is a very strong word. It is nekros. It means to literally kill these things, to remove their power by putting them to death. While Paul isn't talking about physical body parts it is the picture he is using. The term means to allow these things to die by atrophy; let them die and fall away. These sins are clearly identified as that which needs to fall away from a follower of Christ. We once walked in these types of things. Because an unbelieving world continues in this unforgiven sin, God's wrath continues to build against them. The believer is forgven because Jesus paid the sin debt we owed.
Paul gives us this short list of the ethical demands.
- Fornication, uncleanness
- This is sexual sin, filth and immorality. The two words together encompass the thoughts and intents through the acti of adultery.
- Passions, evil desires
- Passions are physical lusts; while evil desires are the mental aspect of our lusts. Again we see the thoughts and intents through the action all encompassed in this command.
- Covetousness
- This is greed. It is our constant desire to have more, to need more, more, more. This is idolatry; its seeking gods to serve our greed to acquire more.
It's fascinating that the list starts with sexual sin, even including the thought life. Sex, lusts and greed; no follower of Christ should be characterized by these things. These things would not be indicative to someone who repented (turned away) from sin and followed Jesus. This is quite a turn around from those who grew up in the Roman culture where these sexual sins, lusts and greed were considered normal. The daily pursuit of fornication, passion and greed were not just acceptable, but somewhat expected.
Colossians 3:8-11
In the early church when a believer was baptized, they took off their old clothes as they went down into the water. After they were emersed, they rose out of the water and put on new clothes.
They took off one life and put another life on.
- anger – a sudden fit of rage; explosive and then passes.
- wrath – a long-term engrained anger that refuses to be satisfied or diffused.
- malice – a pervading evil; a viciousness of mind.
- Blasphemy – while ususally considered insulting and slanderous speech toward God, in this context it probably means insulting and slandering another person.
- filthy language – obscene language
The old man; the old garment taken off is discarded as one repents. It is left alongside the path of life at the beginning of stepping into 'The Way'. This heep of old garments is black, filthy and stained; it wreaks of impurity, smells like the pit of hell and sounds like the mourning of the damned. In its place is the new garment put on by the 'new man'. It is fresh, white and pure; yet is also in the onging process of renewal. This new garment is not marked with any other loyalty; there is no sponsorship by any race, religion or politic. There is only Jesus.
Paul said for them not to lie to one another. This was a warning about hyposcrisy; don't say you've put off the old man and all his deeds if you haven't done it. This anger and malice and foul language, all these things that come from our mouth, they betray you. These things say, you haven't really put off the old man and crucified the old ways. They say you are still engaging in your old life. The words of a Chritian display the heart. The absence of blasphemy, filthy language or lying would reveal kindness, purity and truth. It would become obvious there was no evil intent or unhealthy anger. This is a picture of the 'new man' clothed in Christ.
The 'putting on' wasn't restricted to the circumcised Jew as some had been teaching in Colosse. Others taught the barbarian wasn't good enough, the Scythian unqualifed and the slave not on the right side of the economic line. But all were created in the image of God (imago dei). When the 'old man' is put off, we all look sin-stained and indebted as we stand spiritually naked before our God. There is no distinction when he washes us clean and clothes us in white.
Those at Colosse were likely shocked to hear that even the Scythians might put on the new man. These folks were the barbarians from the other side of the tracks; known for their savagery and essentially seen as a wild animal. Even a Scythian can put off being a Scythian and trusting in that culture or life and can put on Christ.
The biggest division in the Roman culture was between the slave and free. There were 60 million slaves in the Roman culture. Paul wanted these people to know, no matter where they came from, no matter their status, culture, wealth, whatever, we are one in Christ. He is all and in all. And we should walk in Him with one distinction, that being characterized by Christ Jesus. The first and foremost distinction in our life is that of being in Christ. Every aspect of our life will be affected by, and formed in the relationship with Him.
Colossians 3:12-17
This is the very real and practical life of a Christian. We should be identifiable by these things. The 'putting on' of this new garment looks like this:
· Compassion – imagine our world without compassion; it comes from Christ.
· Kindness – caring about your neighbor as you care about your self.
· Humility – our attitude, maintained by a balance of understanding the holiness of God in contrast to our own fallenness.
· Gentleness – defined by Aristotle as the mid-point between too much and too little anger. Strength, commitment and boldness with the edges rounded off.
· Longsuffering – this is never loosing our patience in the face of someones words, deeds, or foolishness.
The new garment interacts with others in this way:
· We are to bear with one another.
· This is like saying we need to be good at putting up with one another.
· Forgiving one another
· This reflects the grace and forgiveness given to us by Christ.
· Put on love
· It's the glue that holds the Christian life together.
· It keeps the 'new man' garment from becoming torn, worn and weathered.
· The peace of God rules our heart
· The peace of God becomes the mediator and referee of our heart.
· The decisions of life are decided by Christ; so whatever our answer, it is based in love; not pride or emotion; not bent by any other lust.
· Barclay stated it this way, "Let the peace of Christ be the umpire in your heart."
· We have to allow it, God doesn't force it on us.
· If that peace is missing, something will take its place.
· It might be bitterness, or anger, or spite as Paul noted.
· The Word of Christ dwells in us
· The source of all wisdom.
· Alive and active, both a tool with which to work and a treasure chest from which we receive.
· Thankfulness
· Outward, evident, appreciative of all that God has done and provided.
· Not dependent on outward circumstances, people or situations.
Colossians 3:18-4:1
With the 'putting on' and this new look about us, there ought to also be a new look at home. We are under new management, we ought to reflect the values of that new master. This is the christian ethic, charactized by submission, love, obedience. It has wide-sweeping application; nearly everyone would see themselves in these verses.
The submission of the wife should not be viewed as something ugly or that a woman is of lesser value than her husband. It is God's order of things. As a wife submits, the husband then has a greater responsibility and accountability. The love of a husband toward his wife is an unconditional love; a willingness to lay down his life. It becomes the pitcure of Christs love for the church. That is a tremendous responsility and only attainable by the provision of Christ in our life.
Children were responsible to obey and respect their parents. The balance to this was the father's responsibility not to provoke the children.
Bondservants were to be obedient; not just when being watched, but with character and integrity. We can liken this to our ethic in the workplace. We are to work as though we work for Jesus because He's the one with the lasting reward, far beyond what you could be paid. This is balanced by verse one of chapter four. The Masters were to be fair in dealing with the servants. We are to be respectful and forthright with those who work for us.
©2017 Doug Ford
Facebook