At the church where I serve, we
have been examining the issue of racism from the prism of the claims of Christ
and the message of the gospel. Our hope and our prayer as a church is to
demonstrate that the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel provides
the best explanation as to why racism exists and the best solution to the
problem of racism.
This week, I would like for us to look at a section of a letter that
is recorded in the New Testament of the Bible called the book of Colossians. The
book of Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul around 61 A.D. to early
followers of Jesus who lived in the city of Colossae, which was located in what
is now modern day Turkey while he was imprisoned by the Roman Empire. The
Apostle Paul wrote this letter to these early followers of Jesus to address false
and heretical teaching that was occurring in the church.
You see,
some early followers of Jesus were teaching a combination of Jewish legalism, a
Greek philosophy which was known as Gnosticism, the worship of angels, and
asceticism, which views the material as evil and the spiritual as good. Paul responded to this false teaching that was
occurring by writing a letter to these early followers of Jesus to prove the
supremacy of Jesus as the co-Creator of the universe and the head of the
church.
In the first chapter of the book of Colossians, the
Apostle Paul proclaimed the absolute supremacy of Jesus in His character as
being in very nature God who Created and holds the universe together. Then, in
the second chapter of the book of Colossians, Paul proclaimed the absolute
supremacy of Jesus and Christianity over the religious systems of Gnosticism,
legalism, the worship of angels, and asceticism.
After proclaiming the absolute supremacy of Jesus in His
character and in His message and teachings over every other religious system,
the Apostle Paul turned his attention to how followers of Jesus should live out
their faith in light of being rescued by Jesus from the selfishness and
rebellion that separated them from God. And it is in this context that we jump
into this section of this letter, beginning in Colossians 3:1. Let’s look at it
together:
Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep
seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Paul
begins this section of his letter to early followers of Jesus by commanding
followers of Jesus throughout history to keep seeking the things above. Now the
phrase, keep seeking, in the language that this letter was originally written
in, literally means to devote serious effort with a desire to possess
something. What they were to devote serious effort with a desire to possess was
the things above. The phrase “things above” refers to things in Heaven.
The
reason why they were to devote serious effort with a desire to possess the
things that are in Heaven was because that was where Jesus was seated at the
right hand of God. When Paul states that Jesus was sitting at the right hand of
God, this phrase refers to Jesus assuming a position of power and rule over the
universe. Paul’s point to these early followers of Jesus, and to followers of
Jesus throughout history, is that since we have received new life as followers
of Jesus as a result of placing our confident trust in the fact that Jesus was
raised from the dead never to die again, we should have a serious desire to
possess an eternal perspective.
As
followers of Jesus, we should no longer live our lives as followers of Jesus
focused only on the things on earth which are temporary. Instead, we should
have a serious desire to possess an eternal perspective as a result of the new
life that we have with Jesus. And we should have a serious desire to possess an
eternal perspective as a result of a desire to reveal and reflect Jesus to the
world around us. Paul then follows up this first command with a second command
in Colossians 3:2-3:
Set your mind on
the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and
your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be
revealed with Him in glory.
Not only
did Paul command followers of Jesus throughout history to have a serious desire
to possess an eternal perspective. In addition, Paul commands followers of
Jesus throughout history to set their minds on things above. The phrase “set
your mind” literally means to give careful consideration to something. Paul’s
point here is that, as followers of Jesus, we should not consider the things of
this temporary world as being of ultimate importance. Instead, as followers of
Jesus, we are to consider that which are eternal as being of ultimate
importance.
Paul
then explains that the reason why we are not to consider the things of this
temporary world as being of ultimate importance was due to the fact that “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in
God”. But what does that mean? With this phrase, Paul is revealing for us that
reality that, as followers of Jesus, in a mystical and spiritual way, we are
united with Jesus. This is what the letters that make up the Bible mean when
they use the phrase “in Christ”.
As we discovered in the “identity” series, when God the
Father looks at us as followers of Jesus, He does not simply see us. Instead,
He sees us in Christ. Right now, in a mystical and spiritual way, God the
Father sees you, in Christ, in Heaven.
And because we are united with Jesus, because we are in
Christ, we were with Jesus in a mystical and spiritual way when He died on the
cross for our selfishness and rebellion and we are in Jesus as He was raised
from the dead and is now in Heaven with God.
The point behind the Apostle Paul’s command here is that, as followers
of Jesus, we are to carefully consider that we had died with Jesus to the
temporary things of this world as being of ultimate importance and were are to
instead give careful consideration to the things in Heaven as being of ultimate
importance.
Paul then encourages followers of Jesus throughout
history in verse 4 by revealing for us the reality that when Christ, who is our
life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. In other
words, at the end of God’s story here on earth, when Jesus returns to earth, we
will be revealed with Jesus and will participate with Jesus in the glory that
comes as a result of Him ushering in the kingdom of Heaven in its fullest
sense.
Paul’s point is that, as followers of Jesus, we have
security in our relationship with Jesus that should result in us having a
serious desire to possess an eternal perspective that gives careful
consideration to the things that are eternal and that are of ultimate
importance. Paul then gives the members of the church at Colossae, and
followers of Jesus throughout history, a third command in Colossians 3:5-7:
Therefore consider
the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil
desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. For it is because of these things
that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you
also once walked, when you were living in them.
Now
when Paul uses the phrase “consider the members of your earthly body dead” this
phrase, in the language that this letter was originally written in, literally
means to put to death. So Paul here is basically saying “in light of the
reality that as followers of
Jesus, we have security in our relationship with Jesus that should result in us
having a serious desire to possess an eternal perspective that gives careful
consideration to the things that are eternal and are of ultimate importance, I
am commanding you to put to death the desire to be engaged in immorality,
impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed.
Paul here is commanding followers of Jesus to put to
death, or separate themselves, from living their day to day lives in the power
of their old nature that once dominated their lives prior to following Jesus.
As followers of Jesus we are to put to death, or separate ourselves, from a
life that engages in sexual activity that goes against God’s desires for our
lives. As followers of Jesus we are to put to death, or separate ourselves,
from a life that engages in moral corruption, inappropriate and dishonorable
passions or desires, and the desire to have more than one’s due, which is greed
and which reveals a desire to worship something other than God as God.
Paul then explains that the reason why we are to put to
death, or separate themselves, from living our day to day lives in the power of
our old nature that once dominated our lives prior to following Jesus was due
to the fact that for it is because of these things that the wrath of God will
come upon the sons of disobedience. In other words, At the end of God’s story
here on earth, God’s right and just response to the selfishness and rebellion
of humanity will be unleashed upon those are following the footsteps of the
“fatherly influences” of the world and the devil to align themselves and live
out their day to day lives in a way that rejected and rebelled against the
message and teachings of Jesus.
And there was a time, before they were rescued by Jesus,
that the members of the church at Colossae lived out their day to day lives in
their old nature apart from God in a way that rebelled and rejected God. But
now, as followers of Jesus, they had been rescued by Jesus. And as a result of
their recue by Jesus, they were to put to death, or separate themselves, from
living life in the power of their old nature. Paul then further unpacks what a
life that is lived in our old nature apart from Jesus looks like in Colossians
3:8-9:
But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath,
malice, slander, and abusive
speech from your mouth. Do not lie to
one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,
Now
when Paul uses the phrase “put them aside”, this phrase literally means to rid
oneself of something. And what the members of the church at Colossae, and
followers of Jesus throughout history, were to rid themselves of was anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech
from your mouth. Paul here is commanding
followers of Jesus throughout history to rid themselves of the emotions that
flow from our old nature apart from God.
As followers of Jesus, we are to rid ourselves of a
desire to express an emotionally strong displeasure, along with a mean spirited
attitude or disposition toward others. And as followers of Jesus, we are to rid
ourselves of any speech that denigrates, that defames, that is in poor taste,
or that omits the truth or makes intentionally false statements.
Paul then explains that the reason why we are to rid
ourselves of the emotions and speech that reflects a life that is driven by our
old nature apart from God, was because, as Paul points out in the second half
of verse 9, “since you have laid aside the old self with its evil practices”.
As followers of Jesus we are to strip ourselves of our old nature and separate
ourselves from the attitudes and actions that flow from our old nature apart
from God.
But not only are we as followers of Jesus to put to death
and separate ourselves so as to strip ourselves of our old nature and its
attitudes and actions. In addition, as followers of Jesus, as a result of our
relationship with Jesus, we have replaced what we have rid ourselves with
something that is altogether new.
Tomorrow, we will see Paul reveal what we have replaced
that which we have rid ourselves with that is new…
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