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Established November
2008 Published: May
01, 2020
For this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved,
and to come unto the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:3-4).
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Welcome back to HBS.
Let’s review the previous
Bible lesson.
“But now ye
also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy
communication out of your mouth. Lie not
one to another, see that ye have put off the old man with his
deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge
after the image of him that created him:”
In 3:8-9 Paul
instructed the Colossians’ to physically do something; he said, “put off”
(cease practicing) “anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication
and lying (dishonesty) to another.” Although it’s true their “old man” or
their Adamic nature, was “put off” having been “crucified with him”
(the Lord Jesus Christ) sin in its many forms must be “put to death”
continually:
“Knowing this,
that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin
might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from (the
power of ) sin” (Romans 6:6-7).
“I
am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the
flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave
himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
Our “old man”
or our old selves, as we were in and from Adam is contrasted with the “new
man” (Colossians 3:9-10), which is what we currently are and have in
Christ. The word “our” indicates
what is said is said of and to all those who are positioned in Christ,
which indicates the term “old man” is a federal one (pertaining to all)
and the same is true of the “new man:”
Therefore, when Paul
told the Colossians to “put off” or (put to death) the “old
man” (3:8), he was addressing them as “new creatures” in Christ
because that’s who they are. The “old
man” represented all that they once were by nature because that’s who they
used to be. Paul said they have put
that off (3:9).
********
Please
open your Bible at Colossians 3:10-14.
Don’t You Know Who
You Are?
“And
have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image
of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision
nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and
in all. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy
and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness,
longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any
man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of
perfectness.
Verse
3:10 picks up in the middle of a discussion Paul started in verse 3:9b, where
he said, “seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And
have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image
of him that created him:” (3:10). As
previously stated, in contrast with the old man, the Believer is a new
creature (2 Corinthians 5:17), therefore they ought to live as they are
known by God, i.e., as His “beloved children:”
“For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God”
(Romans 8:14).
“According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love: Having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,” (Ephesians 1:4-5).
In
the Ephesian 1:4 Paul revealed the will of the Father re: the Church, a.k.a.
the Body of Christ, namely, “that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love:” Please know only “in
Christ” can we stand before the Father, as “beloved children” for
only the Lord Jesus Christ has met every demand of God’s righteousness and
holiness. Who we are and what we are is
by divine mercy and grace that has been freely given to us through the death of
His Son.
In
Colossians 1:21-22, Paul said we have been reconciled to God in the death of
Jesus Christ that we might be “holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his
sight,” then in Philippians 2:15, Paul wrote: “That ye may
be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye
shine as lights in the world;” “Holy and without blemish”
speaks of personal sacrifice, i.e., “an acceptable offering,” a message
Paul communicates in Romans 12:1, “I beseech you therefore, brethren,
by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice,
holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
We
find this principle stated again in Titus 2:11-14:
“For the
grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all
men, Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we
should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the
great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that
he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.”
In
Titus 2:14 the purpose of our redemption is brought into the spotlight “…that
he might redeem us from all iniquity (sin), and purify unto himself
a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” These aforementioned scripture passages appear
to emphasize the sanctified saints’ walk.
God who has called the Believer into this new life in
Christ Jesus has made perfect provision for any and all of life’s trials and
tribulations, in His Beloved Son, and the supply of one’s needs is sufficiently
met according to His glorious riches (2 Corinthians 9:8; Philippians 4:19) for
which we give God praise and thanksgiving.
God now asks the Believer to demonstrate the fruit of Christ’s
indwelling in how they live (Galatians 2:20-21, 5:22-23).
Once
again, all of this is possible because Christ dwells within us, which speaks of
our standing before God. This places the
emphasis not upon our “condition” but rather upon our “position.” In Ephesians 5:27 Paul wrote: “That he might present it to himself a
glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that
it should be holy and without blemish.”
Now
we ought to know on this side of glory no Believer lives the perfect life. They are going to be tempted and there will
be occasions when they succumb to sin, such as those Paul listed, “anger,
wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication, lying, and so forth, but
here’s the thing. The sinner saved by
Grace (plus nothing else) is called to live a righteous and godly life, a life
of good works, for which God’s Grace is all sufficient (Romans 6:11-15;
Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:22, 3:16):
“And God is able to
make all Grace abound toward us; that ye, always having all sufficiency
in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
To
that end in Colossians 3:10 Paul said the new man is being continuously
“renewed’ or refreshed. How? In knowledge of the One who “created
him,” that is, Christ Jesus. Knowledge
which is imparted from Christ to the Believer is noted throughout this letter
as being an important aspect of the saved sanctified saints’ new life
(1:9–10, 2:2–3).
That
thought brings to mind Paul’s statement in Galatians 3:26-28:
“For ye are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For has many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there
is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female:
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”
The
phrase “have put on Christ” (v 27) is an ancient idiom for assuming the
standing or position of another person.
To “put on Christ” therefore means to assume (adopt) His standing
or position before God the Father and speaks of adult sonship and confirms what
Paul said in verse 26, “For ye are all the children of God by faith
in Christ Jesus.” Since Jesus Christ
is God’s Son, every Believer in Christ is God’s son or daughter by adoption and
He views them all the same (ye are all one), as His dear children,
there being no religious “Jew nor Greek,” social “bond nor free,”
or sexual, “male or female” distinction (v 28).
The
idea expressed here is that now all those who are positioned in Christ are the
same in God’s sight there is no distinction of nation in His Church; all are to
be regarded and treated as one. What’s
more, there is no place for religious barriers or cultural arrogance in the Body
of Christ. God has united all Believers
in Christ Jesus. This was a startling revelation
back in Paul’s day. The racial,
religious, cultural, and social barriers separating people were as deep-seated
and formidable as any we come up against today.
But God has taken down every man-made barrier and makes Believers into
one new man. Therefore, there is
no place for traditional distinctions in the Body of Christ because Christ is
all and in all:
“Where
there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free:
but Christ is all, and in all: (Colossians
3:11).
Verses
3:12-13.
“Put
on
therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of
mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing
one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel
against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
Starting
in verse 3:5-9 Paul used the analogy of “getting dressed.” He begins by telling
them what they need to “put off,” then in 3:10 he described the
Believer's new identity in Christ here identified as “the new man;”
and instructed them to “put on” Christ-like qualities, namely, “bowels
of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;”
The
virtues Paul mentioned above is not a complete list. They merely represent the kind of life a
saved person in Christ ought to live, understanding all the while that they
begin and end every day with the “old man” (their rebellious nature)
within them no matter how you dress him.
This brings a life-experience to mind.
Several years ago I attended an Easter morning church service. Directly in front of me sat a young
family. They were all decked out in
their Easter finery including their daughter. She looked adorable, until her mother
corrected her, then she became a belligerent brat. She disrupted the church service to the point
where her mother had to physically remove her and she went kicking and
screaming the entire way. This shows the
“old man” within us can be awakened at the most inopportune time and his
earthly behavior stands in opposition to our new nature that also
resides within us. Therefore, all things
being equal, Paul wants the Colossians to understand they are not alone in
their struggles; everybody struggles the only thing that changes is the date on
the calendar.
The
fact Paul urged these Believers to “put on” the virtues cited in verse
3:12 signifies that none of them has arrived at the desired goal, spiritually
speaking. As the Believer develops these
virtues, he or she must be forbearing and forgiving toward their
brethren because they are also involved in the process of practical
sanctification, i.e., acquiring the same virtues of verse 3:12 and therefore
retains noticeable deficiencies and weaknesses, which underscores the need for the
virtues Paul mentioned along with “forbearing and forgiveness,“
bearing this thought in mind “… even as Christ forgave you (past
tense), so also do ye.”
(3:13b).
How
much did the Lord Jesus Christ forgive the Colossians? He forgave them and us everything. Let’s examine this truth more closely. Please turn to Ephesians 1:7:
“In
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”
Paul,
the apostle to the gentiles and the revealer of the mysteries of God to the
Church which is His body, gives only one condition for salvation, belief in his
gospel (Romans 2:16; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
In Ephesians 1:7 the forgiveness of sins is linked with our redemption,
which is based upon Christ Jesus’ shed blood and the riches of His
grace.
Also
notice carefully that the forgiveness of sins is past tense for
the Believer in Christ. They have redemption
and the forgiveness of all their sin the moment they
believe. I have selected a few Bible
verses that teach this biblical truth.
Please note they all come from Paul’s writings:
“But to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness. Even as
David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities
(sins)
are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord
will not impute sin” (Romans 4:5-8).
“And be
ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God
for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Ephesians 4:32).
“In whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the
forgiveness of sins:” (Colossians 1:14).
“And you, being dead in
your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;” (Colossians 2:13).
The above Bible verses
represent the doctrine of forgiveness for the dispensation of God’s grace
(Ephesians 3:1-9). Forgiveness under the
Law is an entirely different matter and does not apply here (See 2 Chronicles
7:14). Therefore, the instructed grace
Believer knows man is by nature dead in their trespasses and sins and as such
cannot merit a place in heaven with God (Ephesians 2:1, 8-9). God has provided forgiveness for fallen man
through the shed blood of His Son (Romans 5:8-9), but it is appropriated only
by faith. Thus, faith in Christ Jesus is
the responsibility which the sovereign God has placed upon mankind in response
to His great love. Christ died for our
sins, was buried, and rose from the dead is the gospel which Paul received from
the glorified, risen Lord and preached throughout the then known world (1
Corinthians 15:1-4). The Holy Spirit of
God then takes the believing sinner and baptizes him or her into Christ, thus
establishing an eternal union (I Corinthians 12:13). This truth is confirmed by our apostle Paul
who wrote: “nothing can separate us from the love of Christ…” because
the Holy Spirit has sealed us until the day of redemption or His coming
in the clouds for the Church. (See
Romans 8:31-39; 1 Corinthians 15:52; Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30).
That’s
what Christ has done for the Colossian saints and for every person who is
positioned in Christ Jesus. With the
idea of practical sanctification in mind Paul instructed these folks to forebear
one another, and forgive one another.
This wasn’t being done in Colosse, obviously, otherwise, why introduce
the subject? In Colossians 3:9a Paul
emphasized the importance of honesty among fellow Believers. There he instructed them “lie not one to another.” In verse 3:13 he added the command “forbearing
one another,” which means: “ceasing; pausing; withholding from action;
exercising patience and indulgence.” Believers ought to treat one
another with kindness and grace and this includes “forgiveness,” as well
as tolerance. It’s a very good thing
that God didn’t require perfection before He saved people. With that thought in mind we are not to demand
perfection from one another. Plainly
said, we need to endure other Believer’s spiritual immaturity and oddities, and
when they fail, we need to be ready to forgive them; just as Christ has
forgiven us. By that I mean to
say, we don’t hold a grudge and remind them of their failures again and
again. For this reason we read in
Ephesians 4:30-32:
“And grieve
not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption. Let all bitterness,
and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s
sake hath forgiven you.”
Paul’s
message to the Ephesians and the Colossians is a matter of the heart. I say this because of what Paul wrote in
Colossians 3:14: “And above all these things put on charity (agape
love), which is the bond of perfectness.”
The
term “perfectness” means: “the
highest degree of goodness or holiness of which man is capable in this life.” In 1 Corinthians 12:31 Paul called love “the
more excellent way.”
In
1 Corinthians 13:8-13 Paul speak of “Charity (that) never
faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail;
whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For
we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a
child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away
childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but
then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know
even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope,
charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”
The
modern Bible translations exchange the word “charity” for love
and in doing so water-down its intended meaning. In the Greek language there are three types
of love; There’s “eros” (passionate love), “phileo”
(brotherly love as in Philadelphia the city of brotherly love), and then
there’s “agape” love. Agape
love denotes the divine love of God toward His beloved Son, human beings in
general (as witnessed on the cross of Christ), and those who are currently
positioned in Christ, a.k.a. Believers.
It is also used to depict the outwardly focused love God expects
Believers to have for one another and put into practice. Charity, therefore, is the highest
form of love. In layman’s terms it means
seeking another’s highest good. Putting
their interest above yours. An example
of this is a fellow soldier putting themselves in harm’s way for the benefit of
others. In verse 3:14 Paul reinforced
this teaching by stating charity is the most important virtue to “put
on” and exhibit.
The
fact that Paul had to broach this subject indicates “charity” (agape
love) was lacking in their church. I
arrived at that conclusion because Paul has mentioned love on three earlier
occasions in this letter (1:4, 8, 2:2) and he mentions it again in 3:19. So please know from Paul’s perspective, charity
brings people together and makes their obvious differences harmonious. Harmony means: “the positive combination of things which
are not exactly the same.” This in
no way implies Believers are perfect or that they do not make mistakes. Instead, just as an orchestra must play
together to make a pleasing sound, charity is the virtue Believers must
“put on” and display in order to live and work together harmoniously.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
All
Rights Reserved
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