(Audio Version--Music: "Forever" by: Bethel/Johnson/Jobe--Worshipmob cover)
[GOD’S]
Introduction
I
had a conversation this week with a great friend about some of the things that
come with being a parent. For those of you who are parents, you know it can be
really, really hard work. My girls are both in their early 20’s now and
parenting isn’t the same as it was when they were little girls. When my girls
were little, my wife and I spent most of our time teaching them how to not
destroy themselves. You see, little kids are no different than anyone
else—within all of them lurks the sinful nature. About a year ago, I had a
single mom ask me what she could do about her son that was giving her so much
trouble. She just couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t obey her. She was only
interested in doing what was best for him but he just wasn’t cooperating. She
did everything for him; provided everything for him, but he kept on doing
things that weren’t good for him and she wanted to know why. That’s when I
tried to explain to her the basics of humanity’s sinful nature. The minute I
explained that the sinful nature within her son was no different than the
sinful nature within all humanity, she looked at me with total shock and didn’t
want to hear anymore. It’s hard enough to get an unbelieving parent to
acknowledge the sinful nature within themselves, getting them to acknowledge
the sinful nature within their children…forget it! But that’s exactly what
parents are dealing with as parents—the nature within ever child that is bent
on self-destruction. That’s when the conversation I was having with my friend
this week turned to guardrails—that’s right, guardrails! What, you might be
asking, do guardrails have to do with raising children? Let me explain: It is a
parent’s solemn duty to provide parameters within which children can live,
grow, and learn. Those parameters create a kind of safety zone for their
children much like guardrails create a safe passage to travel along a road that
can be treacherous. The guardrails we build for our children are lessons of
what is right, what is wrong, how we should treat people, and how we shouldn’t
treat people. Well in case you’ve forgotten, we are all children from God’s
perspective. In fact, those who confess belief in Jesus can call themselves
children of God (1 Jn 3:1). Nevertheless, it is God’s will that all people will
come to a saving knowledge of Jesus (2 Pet 3:9) and become redeemed children of
God. Consequently, like a good and loving parent, God constructs guardrails for
humanity—guardrails for the ways we shouldn’t behave and guardrails for the way
we should behave. You could call them God’s
Guardrails. However, like disobedient children, those who still reject
Jesus see God’s Guardrails as
obstacles to a life of happiness and fun. But that’s not God’s intent at all.
Instead, God constructs guardrails so that we don’t wind up destroying
ourselves and others. God’s Guardrails
are in place so that we can live freely; so that we will not only have life but
have life in all its abundance (Jn 10:10).
Subject Text
Colossians
3:1-14
1Since,
then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things
above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2Set
your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3For
you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4When
Christ, who is your life, appears,
then you also will appear with him in glory. 5Put to
death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and
greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of
these, the wrath of God is coming. 7You
used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But
now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger,
rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you
have taken off your old self with its practices 10and
have put on the new self, which is being renewed
in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here
there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is
all, and is in all. 12Therefore, as God's chosen
people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive
whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord
forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on
love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Context
Although Paul is quite familiar with
the church in Colosse, he did not form this particular church community.
Instead, the church in Colosse was formed by Epaphras who first heard the
message of the gospel from Paul, perhaps in Ephesus, and who Paul now considers
a fellow servant. The impetus for this letter from Paul begins when Epaphras
visits Paul in Rome to give him an update on the church in Colosse and the
believers in the nearby cites of Hierapolis and Laodicea. The believing
community is growing in numbers, in faith, and in love for one another—all very
good news. However, there was bad news too—the Colossian church had been
infiltrated by false teachers who didn’t believe that faith in Jesus alone was
sufficient for salvation. These false teachers claimed that they possessed a
special divine knowledge apart from Christ that was essential for salvation.
This was the Gnostic heresy that affected so many of the churches in the region.
These false teachers also emphasized the need for strict ritual observances,
angel worship, and ascetic self-abasement. Ultimately, they were teaching many
things about holy living and salvation except the sufficiency that is found in
Christ alone. But Paul wasn’t having any of it so he addresses these matters in
his letter to the Colossians. Although Paul makes it clear that faith in Jesus
alone is sufficient for salvation, Paul explains in our Subject Text what the appropriate actions and attitudes should be
for those who ultimately put their faith in Jesus.
Text Analysis
The language of vv. 1-4 does not
refer to Christ’s resurrection specifically but to the believers’ resurrection
to new life represented by their baptism that symbolized the death of their old
lives when they entered the baptismal water and their new lives when they rose
out of the baptismal waters. Paul calls them to set their minds on heavenly
things because that is were Christ, with whom they are united, now resides.
“Our home with Him is not simply in the region of the things above, but in the
highest position there, at God’s right hand.”[1] Paul continues by calling
them to set not only their hearts on the things above but their minds as well
specifically because they are dead to the old lives and now live united with
Christ. Paul’s language, however, seems odd to us when he says in v.4 that our
lives are hidden with Christ in God. What exactly is Paul saying here? This is
the only place in the New Testament that references the hiddenness of
believers. It is a motif that Paul started in chapter one when he tells them
that he has been commissioned by God to preach the message that was previously
“hidden” to the generations but has now been “revealed” to them in the person
of Christ. “This ‘hidden’ / ‘revealed’ motif is fundamental to the widespread
Jewish apocalyptic worldview. According to this perspective, many things
relating to God and his purposes exist in the present, but because they are in
heaven, they are hidden from human sight. But the apocalyptic seer is given a
vision of these things, things that will one day be revealed as they come to
pass and are seen by people on earth. So, Paul suggests, at the present time
our heavenly identity is real, but it is hidden. We have not been physically
transported to heaven; nor do we, who belong to the heavenly realm, look any
different from those around us who still belong to this world. Verse 4 affirms
that this will one day change. In the meantime, our true status is veiled; and,
though we may not look any different than those around us, Paul’s point in this
context is that we certainly need to behave differently.”[2]
In some of Paul’s other letters to
the various churches he planted, he refers to believers either implicitly or
explicitly, as having a kind of dual citizenship. Their citizenship here on
earth among their respective communities and their citizenship in heaven. The
former being a physical citizenship and the latter a spiritual citizenship.
Ultimately, the two will one day become a combined reality. However, until that
day comes, believers are called to allow their spiritual citizenship to inform
their physical citizenship specifically because who they are as spiritual
citizens is who they will one day be revealed to be in their physical
citizenship as well. “As citizens of heaven, Christians have the responsibility
to think consistently with their citizenship and live holy lives. Paul’s own
idea of his heavenly citizenship allowed him to live in a way that freed him to
be all things to all people…This citizenship here provides the ground for
Paul’s commands to avoid thinking in an earthly way, and instead to follow his
example as befits one who rejoices in God’s goodness, praying and thinking in a
God-centered way.”[3]
If we are to set our minds on the
things of heaven then the converse must be true that there are things of earth
that could occupy our minds. Paul says we are to put these earthly things to
death. There is clearly a correlation between this instruction and Paul’s
teaching that we have been crucified with Christ and no longer live but that
Christ lives through us (Gal 2:20). Let’s remember that Paul makes the
distinction that the things of heaven are the things of the Spirit and
represent our new, redeemed nature. While the things of earth are the things
that still fall under influence of Satan and his demonic forces and are
represented by the old, sinful nature. Paul identifies the signs of humanity’s
sinful nature or earthly nature in v. 5. The list is not intended to be
exhaustive but is instead intended to be like categorical headings beneath
which all sinful actions and attitudes can in some way or another find a place.
“While Paul opposed the false teachers’ asceticism and regulations, he still
forbade certain activities that had no part in believers’ lives. If the
Colossian believers were to live as examples of Christ, they had to put to
death certain aspects of the sinful earthly things lurking within them—the
sinful nature, the old self. Again, Paul was describing the ‘already’ and ‘not
yet’ of believers’ lives. Although they had died with Christ and had been
raised with him, they were still susceptible to temptation and the evils of the
sinful nature.”[4]
Paul reminds them in v. 6 that it is
because of humanity’s continued sin that God’s righteous anger; His wrath, will
one day necessitate His judgment on those who continue to reject his love
revealed through Jesus Christ and His prescribed way of living. “The wrath of
God is not to be set in sharp contrast with the love and mercy of God. It is
often asserted that if God is truly love he cannot be angry. But wrath and love
are not mutually exclusive. In the NT as well as in the Old, in Jesus as in the
prophets and apostles the proclamation of God’s mercy is accompanied by the
preaching of his wrath. A holy God does not stand idly by when men act
unrighteously, transgress the law, show disdain to him as creator or spurn his
love and mercy. He acts in a righteous manner punishing sin in the present and
especially on the final day. Yet God also acquits the guilty, and only the
person who understands something of the greatness of his wrath will be mastered
by the greatness of his mercy. The converse is also true: only he who has
experienced the greatness of God’s mercy can understand something of how great
that wrath must be.”[5]
It’s safe to assume that most of the
Colossian believers were first generation Christians since this letter was
written less than 30 years after the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Consequently,
they would be well aware of what their lives were like before they became
Christians. Paul makes reference to the sinful way they once lived in v. 7 and
insists, in v. 8, that they rid their lives of anger, rage, malice, slander,
and filthy language. I’m guessing that some, maybe most, of you felt pretty
comfortable after the first list of don’ts in v. 7: sexual immorality,
impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed. But this list hits closer to home, at
least for me—especially that last one. Do you notice something interesting
about these two lists? It’s a subtle distinction but the sins from the first
list serve to destroy ourselves primarily while the sins from the second list
serve to destroy others. Of course sin is destructive for all people involved,
the perpetrator of the sin and the victim of the sin, but some are particularly
destructive for the perpetrator while others are particularly destructive to
the victim. Paul has now covered both dimensions of sin, those we commit that
serve do destroy ourselves and those we commit that serve to destroy others.
Paul says believers should engage in none of them. You know what? I have been,
and still am to a certain degree, guilty of all of them. That last one, “filthy
language,” was a particularly troublesome one for me many years ago. When I was
younger, profanity was a significant part of my every day vocabulary. It was
one of the many things that plagued my character and was prominently displayed
for all to hear—believers and unbelievers. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve made a
concerted effort to purge profanity from my vocabulary specifically because of
this verse. It is interesting to note how many pastors use profanity from the
pulpit. They justify it because Jesus, and sometimes Paul, could be very
graphic in their language. But this served the specific purpose of making a specific
ministerial point. Pastors use it today as a way to connect to their audiences;
to give the impression that they’re no different than the people they are
preaching to. Think about how odd this is—pastors are supposed to be an example
for their congregation to follow not the other way around. Instead of showing
the people a different behavioral pattern they become like those given to their
care for fear of being labeled irrelevant. Honestly, this just make sense to
me. Here’s what I find interesting and something I want you to experiment
with—can you engage in anger, rage, malice, or slander without some form of
filthy language? Go ahead; see how far you get engaged in any one of these
before filthy language flows from mouth or your thoughts. Not as easy as you
thought is it? “Christian speech is not determined solely by whether it is true
or false but by whether it helps or harms another.”[6]
Paul continues to denounce
destructive behavior by forbidding them to lie to one another in vv. 9-10. Paul
uses the language of removing and putting on clothing to describe their
lives. Like an old, shabby piece of
clothing, they have taken off their old lives; the “old self” and put on a new,
finely tailored piece of clothing; their new lives; the “new self.” I’ve lost
count of how many times I’ve read these verses and just realized something that
I missed before. Our old self only got older. In other words, before we were
saved, our sinful lives only got more sinful. However, when we took off our old
selves and put on our new selves something changed—unlike the old that gets
older, those who have put on the new self are continually being “renewed!” The
new are constantly being renewed. Odd enough but Paul then adds a twist of
confusion when he says that believers are renewed in the knowledge of the image
of their Creator. What does Paul mean by this in v. 10? Let me see if I can
give you the short version: You have to go all the way back to the very beginning
of creation. In Genesis 1:27, we are told that God created humanity in His
image. Each of us has been imprinted with God’s image. You may have heard it
referred to in Latin as the Imago Dei.
Don’t think of “Image” as an outward physical appearance. Instead, think of it
as a characteristic—we have been created with divine characteristics! That can
be a hard thing to believe in our world today can’t it? My girls both work in
hospitals and they tell me heart-breaking stories of sickness, addiction,
abuse, broken homes, and death. Throughout the world, hatred, destruction, and
death are on display for all to see. It hardly seems like a world filled with
people bearing God’s image. Well I can assure you the divine image is still
there even though it has been grossly distorted by sin. You see, not long after
God created humanity in His image, humanity sinned and that pristine, divine
image became tarnished. Over time, humanity’s sinful nature became more and
more distorted with no way of correcting that distortion. However, all that
changed when Jesus was crucified and gave us the opportunity to crucify our
sinful nature by believing in Him. Once we make the decision to believe in
Jesus, the divine image within us becomes a little clearer and thereafter
becomes less and less distorted every day. What Paul is saying is that every
day we learn, or perhaps more accurately, re-learn what we were created to be
from the start; what it means to be created in God’s image. “Christ is said to
be the image or likeness of God. There is no difference here between the image
and essence of the invisible God. In Christ we see God. By participating in
Christ man has once more gained the image of God which man was intended to be.
Christ realized man’s destiny to be God’s image which was marred by sin. In
communion with Christ we are transformed into his image.”[7]
Remember I just said that all
humanity has been created with God’s imprint; His image. That means all humanity not just some of humanity.
When people become believers, God’s image becomes clearer in each of their
lives. God’s image is equally divine and valuable in each and every person even
though it may be all but invisible in some. That’s why Paul says in v. 11 that
there is no difference between those who have been redeemed by Christ because
Christ died the same way for all people; He did not die more for those who
believe their sin is greater than others. There is a popular Christian idiom
that goes something like this: It is not possible to look down on the sins of
another while we kneel together in the shadow of the cross looking up at the One
who died on the cross for each of our sins. When Paul says that “Christ is all,
and is in all” he is saying that all of creation is sustained in and through
Christ. Because Christ’s work on the cross has the same power to save all of us
equally, there can no longer be a distinction of value between people who
differ socially, politically, ethnically, economically, physically, or genetically.
“It is precisely because of the cosmic scope of Christ’s work, including above
all his act of reconciliation, that such internal divisions and ways of
categorizing peoples and individuals have ceased to have meaning as
determinants of Christian self-perception, conduct, and relationships…Anyone
who recognizes God in Christ to that extent will find such human distinctions
and boundaries relatively trivial and unimportant. If ‘Christ is everything and
in everything,’ then nothing can diminish or disparage the standing of any one
human in relation to another or to God.”[8]
Paul first spent considerable time
telling the church of Colosse the things they shouldn’t be doing, in the earlier verses, he now tells them how
they should behave in vv. 12-14. Does
the list identified by Paul sound familiar; compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness, forgiveness, and love? Technically, the fruits of the Spirit are
understood to be itemized in Paul’s letter to the Galatians (Gal 5:22-23). However
the list in our Subject Text is not
very different from the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians. Considering
both lists were compiled by Paul, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to suggest that
Paul understood both to be the fruits of the Spirit since all the
characteristics listed are essential qualities found in God—compassion,
kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and love. These are the divine
garments of the new self clearly fit to be worn by one who has been washed
clean by the blood of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 6:11; 1 Jn 1:7) and whose distorted
imprint of God’s image is constantly being renewed. The garments of the old
self, by comparison, are mere torn and filthy rags that no longer have a place
in the wardrobe of any believer. Once the believer has been purified; washed
clean through the forgiveness of their sins, the new self must only wear new
garments. “The first piece in the believer’s fashionable wardrobe is compassion,
which refers to ‘heartfelt sympathy for those suffering or in need.’ The next
item in the believer’s wardrobe is kindness, the friendly and helpful
spirit which meets needs through good deeds. This is the concrete action of
compassion…The believer is to be clothed with humility, which is a
proper estimation of oneself. Humility is not a self-abasing attitude but an
attitude that is free from pride and self assertion. The believer is to be
clothed in gentleness, sometimes translated ‘meekness.’ Gentleness has
been described as ‘power under control’; the picture of a powerful horse under
the control of its master is a helpful image. The attitude behind gentleness is
an attitude of refusing to demand one’s rights. The believer is to be clothed
with patience
which is the capacity to bear injustice or injury without revenge or
retaliation…Believers are to go beyond quiet resignation positively to forgive
whatever grievance [they] may have against one another. Believers have been
fully forgiven by Christ, and the forgiven are obliged to become forgivers…Paul
saves the most important item of clothing for last. Without love,
all the other virtues may amount to mere moralism and little else. When love is
present, there is harmony and unity in the community.”[9]
Application
[1]
W. Robertson Nicoll, The Expositor’s
Greek Testament, Vol. III, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1983), p. 537.
[2]
Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the
Colossians and to Philemon—The Pillar New Testament Commentary, (Grand
Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2008), p. 250.
[3]
Gerald F. Hawthorne, Ralph P. Martin, Daniel G. Reid, eds., Dictionary of Paul and His Letters,
(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), p. 141.
[4]
Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary,
(Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), p. 882.
[5]
Peter T. O’Brien, Colossians, Philemon—Word
Biblical Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2000), p. 185.
[6]
David E. Garland, Colossians/Philemon—The
NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998), p. 205.
[7]
Colin Brown, gen. ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology,
Vol. 2, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), p.
[8]
James D. G. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians
and the Philemon—The New International Greek Testament Commentary, (Grand
Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1996), p. 227.
[9]
Max Anders, Galatians, Ephesians,
Philippians & Colossians—Holman New Testament Commentary, (Nashville,
TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1999), p. 331.
No comments:
Post a Comment