Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3 [NASB]
12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
14Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
17Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

This passage instructs Christians to ‘put on’ the new virtues fitting their position in Christ. We must not only cease to do the evil things we once did, but “we must learn to do well; not only not to hurt any, but to do what good we can to all”(Matthew Henry).

12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;

Because God has chosen us, He has made us holy in His sight. We are holy- ‘set apart’ for the Lord and for His work and have been cleansed from all unrighteousness. With this in view, we are therefore beloved of God. What was true of God’s chosen people, Israel, can now be said of the believers in Colossae, and all those who are chosen of God. Paul therefore exhorts the believers to put on the following virtues:

Compassion – love for and mercy towards one another. Kindness – “Spirit imparted goodness of heart” (William Hendriksen). Humility – lowliness, having a correct estimate of oneself. Gentleness – a meekness of spirit, “the submissiveness under provocation, the willingness rather to suffer injury than to inflict it” (William Hendriksen). Patience – long-suffering in the face of adversity.

Luke 6 [NASB]
35"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
36"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Galations 5 [NASB]
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Matthew 11 [NASB]
29"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.

All of these virtues are characteristics of God which He displays to us in the work and person of Christ.

Romans 13 [NASB]
14But put on the Lord Jesus Christ...

If He has dealt with us in this way, so should we deal with those around us. Paul continues with further instructions:

13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.

We need to (in the exercise of these virtues) bear with the short-comings of those around us, remembering that they are called to bear with our deficiencies. As not yet perfected and glorified there are many areas we fall short in, and so we need to be ready and willing to endure one another. When a brother sins against us we need to be ready to forgive them. This command of Paul is strikingly similar to the Lord’s Prayer.

Matthew 6 [NASB]
12'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors...
14"For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15"But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

We are called to forgive, because the Lord has already forgiven us our sins which are far weightier than any grievances we may have between ourselves. For more on this see the parable of the ungrateful slave of Matthew 18:21-35.

14Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Jesus taught love for one another as the fulfilment of the second table of the Law. The love for our fellow believers which Paul speaks of here is the perfect bond of unity. Bruce interprets this as “the grace that binds all these other graces together”. Henriksen comments “love then is the bond of perfection in the sense that it is that which unites believers, causing them to move forward toward the goal of perfection”.

15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

Knowing who Christ is and what He has accomplished for us, we must therefore let His peace rule - govern or direct us. As Matthew Henry points out “We are called to this peace, to peace with God as our privilege and peace with our brethren as our duty”. There is both a peace which we have before our Redeemer and Judge, and also a peace which governs our relationships with one another. If Christ’s peace rules our hearts, we will be enabled to bear with one another and forgive one another, because we are resting in the knowledge of Christ’s forgiveness for our sins. John Wesley points out that the cause and effect of this passage could also be reversed: “And then the peace of God shall rule in your hearts -Shall sway every temper, affection, thought, as the reward (so the Greek word implies) of your preceding love and obedience”. Either way we can apply this test to great advantage: “let the individual, therefore, constantly ask himself, “Will I have peace within if I do this or do that?” Let him be sure to be at peace with God, for only then can he expect to live in true harmony with his brothers” (William Hendriksen). A body made up of many members must be at peace with itself, must exhibit spiritual oneness.

Paul adds that we are to be thankful. This theme runs through the epistle (1:3, 12; 2:7; 3:15, 16, 17; 4:2). As we are thankful for what Christ has achieved we are enabled and empowered to do these things Paul is calling us to.

16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

The peace of Christ can only rule in our hearts when the word of Christ is richly dwelling within us. This word should richly dwell - take residence, “be always ready and at hand to us in everything, and have its due influence and use” (Matthew Henry), bear much fruit. It should be read, believed, dwelt upon, it should be hidden in the hearts of the believers. For an example of right appreciation of the word see Psalm 119. As a result of this indwelling of the word we can with all wisdom teach and admonish one another. To admonish is to warn, stimulate, and encourage. We must do this in accordance with the rights and duties of our particular office, but note that all Christians are called to teach and admonish in some aspect even if they are not apostles as Paul was or teachers. One of the means of this teaching and admonishing in wisdom is the singing of God-glorifying songs. Let us not look down on this practice as less spiritual or necessary than other more “noble” pursuits. Spiritual songs “fix the interest upon the indwelling word of Christ and carry the attention away from the worldly cacophony” (William Hendriksen).

17Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Paul gives us an overarching command to close this section. ‘In the name of’ refers to “in harmony with His revealed will, in subjection to His authority, in dependence on His power” (William Hendriksen). As Hendriksen gave a test for a decision based on the peace of Christ in verse 15, so F.F. Bruce gives the following: “When faced with a situation, the believer may well ask “Can I do this ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus’ whose reputation is at stake in the conduct of His known followers? Can I thank God the Father through Him for the opportunity of doing this thing?”” We can offer our thanks to God through Him because Christ has atoned for our sins, and now lives as our intermediary. Paul ends this section by pointing us back to the one and only, all-sufficient Saviour, Christ Jesus.


These are but a few short thoughts on a huge section of Scripture, I pray that they may spur you on to put these verses into practice. God bless, Taliah.

Who is God?

“There is none holy as the LORD” (1 Sam. 2:2).

To worship God properly we must know something about Him. True worship must be based on a deep heartfelt appreciation of who God is, what He has done for us, and what He has promised to do: it must be based on truth rather than the inconsistency of our feelings. “They that worship [God] must worship Him … in truth” (John 4:24). Today I just wanted to impress upon you, mainly through scripture verses, one characteristic of God, His holiness. This understanding brings the sinner into a relationship  with God that is founded on Him: His character, His work, His promises.

“Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness” (Psa. 30:4).

“He sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant for ever: holy and reverend is His name” (Psa. 111:9).

“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphims … and one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of His glory” (Isaiah 6:1-3).

The declaration of the holiness of God will ring out in heaven throughout eternity: “And the four beasts … rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come” (Rev. 4:8).

Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!
Early in the morning let songs arise to Thee!
Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty—
God in three Persons, blessed Trinity!
Holy, holy, holy! all Thy saints adore Thee,
Casting down their golden crowns around the glassy sea,
Cherubim and seraphim falling down before Thee,
Which were, and art, and evermore shalt be!

R. Heber

What then do we do with this information? How should it change our perceptions, our actions and our attitude? Go back to Isaiah, hearing the seraphim proclaim in rapturous chorus, “Holy, Holy, Holy”. What was Isaiah’s response to this truth?

“Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5).

However holy Isaiah may have been in comparison to the other Israelites, in the presence of God and His holiness Isaiah became thoroughly aware of his own utter unholiness. So many people, Christian and non-Christian alike, say they are a “good person” and therefore do not deserve the judgement of God which culminates in Hell. If only we would compare ourselves to Him, then we would gain a more realistic assessment of our own sinfulness and see how fitting His judgement is.

Understanding our sinfulness in the eyes of God is not simply a self deprecating experience that ends in despair. No, no! It leads to joy indescribable, appreciation unable to be uttered and a liberty unequalled. In Christ we are no longer held held under the bondage of our sin: we are no longer separated from our Creator. Through the saving work on Jesus Christ on the Cross the relationship God always wanted for us to have with Him is established. When He returns this relationship shall be fully consummated and we shall be as He sees us.

I hope this short study on the holiness of God has been of some encouragement to you. Doing a word study on holiness is a good place to start should you wish to understand this topic in further depth.

God bless,
Laura

PS: On a personal note let me publicly congratulate my dear sister Taliah on the birth of her second child; Elijah James. We are all praying for you and your family (hubby Shane and daughter Abigail) as you welcome this new addition into your homes and lives.

Colossians 3:1-4

1Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
2Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.
3For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
4When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Last study we looked specifically at the heresies which the Colossian church faced, and the answers to these heresies found in Christ and His finished work. This study we are blessed to look at these four short verses which contain incredible truths.

1Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

This language is similar to chapter 2 where through baptism the believers are buried and raised up with Christ.

Colossians 2 [NASB]
11and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

If the believer has been granted these great privileges through the death and resurrection of Christ, then naturally it follows that they should continue to seek the things pertaining to Christ. Hendriksen in his commentary on Colossians states “the verb ‘seek’ implies persevering effort; hence the rendering, “Be constantly seeking,” is not incorrect. This seeking, moreover, is more than a seeking to discover. It is a seeking to obtain... The emphasis, though, is not on the seeking but on the object sought. A precise rendering would be, “the things that are above be constantly seeking.””

Our hearts and minds have been bought by the precious blood of Christ, and so we should be constantly seeking the things where Christ is. Our Saviour is not only the spotless Lamb of God, but He has been exalted to the right hand of God.

Christ Himself made this claim before Caiaphas, the high priest, referencing Psalm 110.

Matthew 26 [NASB]
63But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, "I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God."
64Jesus said to him, "You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN."
65Then the high priest tore his robes and said, "He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy;

Psalm 110 [NASB]
1The LORD says to my Lord: "Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet."

What an encouragement it should be to us to know who Christ is, what honour He has been bestowed, and what He has done for us when we were raised up with Him.

Ephesians 1 [NASB]
3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
4just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him...

For this reason we are told to keep seeking the things above where Christ is.

2Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

The idea behind this verse is that we are to ponder and yearn for these things above. Paul is giving the Colossian believers very practical teaching, this admonition is the answer to all their temptations which they are faced with. Some of the things which are in view here are listed later in chapter 3.

Colossians 3:12-16 [NASB]
...compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing ... forgiving ... love... peace of Christ ... thankful...

If we compare these things with the alternatives of ‘self-made religion’ offered in chapter 2 it becomes clear that if these Christ-like virtues fill our hearts and minds then they shall be of great value against fleshly indulgence.

Colossians 2 [NASB]
23These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.

As Christians we can have assurance that we will receive these things because of the truths in verse 1 - we have already been raised from the dead with Christ, and this same Christ has been bestowed power and authority at the right hand of God.

We are however often tempted to set our minds on the things of earth. Peter walked on water, but began to sink when he looked away from Christ and looked to the wind and the storm around him (Matthew 14:22-32). I so often am dismayed when I am setting my mind on my circumstances and not on Christ. As Meredith shared last week, as Christian we can choose joy in Christ because we can rejoice IN THE LORD. It is in Him that we have these great and magnificent promises.

1 John 2 [NASB]
15Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
17The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

How incredible it is when we see who Christ is and what He has done that we still need to be exhorted to set our minds on Him! May the Lord help us.

3For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Paul repeats here the language of death. We are dead, buried and raised with Christ.

Galatians 6 [NASB]
14But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

These things on earth which we once sought after with our whole being have been crucified to us in Christ. As Matthew Henry states “If we are dead to the earth, and have renounced it as our happiness, it is absurd for us to set our affections upon it and seek it. We should be like a dead thing to it, unmoved and unaffected towards it”.

As the earth is dead to us we are likewise made alive to a new world – Christ. Paul constantly speaks in this way in his epistles.

Galatians 2 [NASB]
20"I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Philippians 1 [NASB]
21For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

Christ is now the “principle and end of the Christian’s life” (Matthew Henry). By hidden we understand that our lives are safe in Him. Our lives are also hidden as He is from this present world. The world did not understand Him and does not now see Him as He is – likewise the believer.

1 John 3 [NASB]
1See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.
2Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

What a hope we have laid up in Christ!

4When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

Our hope is not only for now, but for the future at His second coming. When Christ appears we will be like Him, and so we will be revealed with Him in glory! If we have been raised up with Christ, all of this is our hope. If our life is now hid with Christ it will then be revealed in Him also. Praise the Lord!

Matthew Henry concludes “Do we look for such a happiness, and should we not set our affections upon that world, and live above this? What is there here to make us fond of it? What is there not there to draw our hearts to it? Our head is there, our home is there, our treasure is there, and we hope to be there forever.”

What great things Christ has done for us. He is the Only and All-Sufficient Saviour. He is our hope, our life, our joy.

God bless.

Choosing Joy

Last weekend I had the opportunity to attend a Christian conference promoting life and families. As I have recalled the many sessions held throughout the weekend, covering everything from Haitian adoptions to euthanasia to embryology, one small point mentioned in passing by one of the speakers has stood out to me beyond any other. The woman being interviewed, Mrs. Michelle Duggar, mother to nineteen children, emphasized the importance of choosing joy even when we don't feel like it. She recounted how, during one especially trying season, she would go around her home singing, "The Joy of the Lord Is My Strength" to remind herself of this important truth.

As followers of Christ, we have an inner joy and peace that the world cannot understand, but sometimes in the day to day tasks we can lose sight of our primary purpose and get so easily caught up in the menial tasks of the day. While I should not put on a fake front, I also should not adopt a spirit of negativity in the midst of my many responsibilities. Lately, as I juggle serving my family at home through housework, cooking, and running one of our businesses, homeschooling two of my siblings, trying to "finish strong" as a daughter and sister in my final few months in my family's home, and attempting to be a sweet fiancée to my gracious soon-to-be husband, all the while planning a wedding, I have consistently found myself in an overwhelmed state more often than not. I have felt tremendously guilty that I am not using the final months at home to their fullest.

Mrs. Duggar's words on choosing to be joyful rang true in my heart and have been a source of comfort to me. As I pondered her words of admonition, I decided to study more scriptures on choosing to be joyful, which I have included here with the hope that they may be encouragement to others as well:

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

"Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days." Psalm 90:14

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

"But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you." Psalm 5:11

"Sing joyfully to the Lord, you righteous; it is fitting for the upright to praise him." Psalm 33:1

"Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4

"Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!" Psalm 32:11-12

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." Habakkuk 3:18

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." John 15:11

"...For this day is holy to our Lord. And be not grieved and depressed, for the joy of the Lord is your strength and stronghold." Nehemiah 8:10

"This is the day which the Lord has brought about; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

Many blessings for a joyful new week!