Colossians 3

We live in a confusing world, and I'm not talking about things like why people would want to eat asparagus or why little children refuse to take their afternoon naps when they give their left kidneys to have one when they hit their 30s.

I'm talking about more serious things than that. You see, our culture tells you, be yourself, be true to who you really are, don't change, be the authentic you, but be a better you.

You see, the US First Lady's signature campaign is called Be Best. Now, that could be anything. It can mean anything you want it to mean, and that's the point.

Be a better person and be the best at something. Work harder to be better and be the better you that you already are.

At the same time, you can see why there's a multi-billion dollar global industry that wants to help us to be a better you with all kinds of self-help advice, all manners of spirituality, to be more mature, more capable, more healthy, etc.

Which, ironically, is having someone else tell you how to change. It's all very confusing, because it is contradictory.

Do I need to change, do I need to change, or do I not?

And Paul writes here to the Colossian church about this very question, and he tells them, you have to change if you're a Christian.

But more than that, you are changed, because everything changes, because everything has changed, and that's not up for debate, but it's that why of the hell that we need to talk about.

What's the background here? Well, he's writing to this church in Colossae, and he's writing to encourage them, and commend them, and warn them.

Because there is some kind of heresy that they're being faced with, and that they're risking being drawn into, with false teachers telling them something, some kind of belief system, that we don't have all the detail of.

But it seemed to involve some kind of seeking of spiritual maturity, through more spiritually advanced people accessing higher powers of some kind, or things above, that they called it, through worshipping angels.

And at the same time, it seemed like they had all kinds of rules and procedures, things you had to do to become more mature.

You know, you can see in chapter 2, verses 21 to 22, he kind of uses their language, it seems, he says, don't handle, don't taste, don't touch.

So there's some kind of Jewish, syncretistic religion here going on.

But the point is, and we don't have all the details, it seems like it's some kind of philosophy or religion that says, if you do this and do that, if you eat the right foods and abstain from doing that, if you're more spiritual than the next person and have the right insight,

if you can gain access to the higher powers, then you will achieve true spirituality.

This kind of change will give you heaven on earth.

Does that sound familiar?

Now there are many ways you can respond to that.

The question is, what did Paul do here?

And interestingly, for two chapters before we get to this passage that we just read, he's extolled Jesus Christ.

See, the reason we don't know all the ins and outs of what this heresy involves is partly because Paul doesn't go blow by blow, point for point, and respond to it.

Which may be a good thing for us to remember when we engage with the culture around us.

But that's a sermon for another day.

See, he tells them, let me tell you about the one who is more excellent than any so-called wise philosophy.

The one who's done more excellent things than any good deeds.

And there's much there.

And we've got to remember, you know, he's writing to these people on parchment and scrolls that were expensive and scarce.

There wasn't a Xerox machine that you could run off a whole book with.

You had to make your words count.

And he's done this for two chapters before we get here, telling them about Jesus Christ and how excellent he is.

Let me just read you a bit from chapter 1.

There's a very well-known bit from verse 15.

He says, he's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth.

Visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.

All things were created through him and for him.

And he is before all things.

And in him all things hold together.

And he is the head of the body, the church.

He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.

And through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

How does Paul encourage the church in Colossal in this situation they face?

He exalts Christ.

He said, let's begin at the beginning.

Not at your situation.

Not the heretical philosophy of these false teachers.

Let's begin at Christ, the head of the body, the church.

If we're talking first principles for the best life, then let's start with the one who created and sustains all life.

And then he says in chapter 2, verse 20, just before the passages that we read, he says,

If you died with Christ in the things of this world, why do you think working on human understandings of how to be better will work?

They appear wise, but they're self-made religions, and they're useless in stopping the sinful nature that is your real problem.

Verse 23.

See, that's where we pick it up.

He says, if you've died with Christ, you're raised to life with him too.

And that changes everything.

The first thing that changes when we're raised to life with Christ, he says, is our perspective and our priorities.

He says, it's not some abstract philosophical or spiritual idea that we should think about.

It's a very concrete person that he wants us to focus about.

When he addresses this heresy, he says, yes, there are more things in the world that we see.

There are more important things in many ways, but the things above you're looking for is the one above.

In Colossians, in chapter 3, verse 1, if then you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God.

Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth,

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

When Christ wears your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

He turns the tables on these false teachers.

Seek the things above, yes, affirming that there is more than just the things of this world,

using their own phrase, but what they should really seek is the one above.

The Christ who died, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of God.

But there's more to it than that, even.

So you're now one with him.

You realise that?

You've been raised with Christ.

Your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, he says.

If you're a believer in Christ, that is true for you as well.

What is true for Christ is true for us.

Because he lives, we live.

Because he has his being in God, we have our being in God.

Your existence, he says, is hidden in God.

Safe, secure and untouchable by anyone.

And that's why Paul starts by explaining who Christ is.

And how we relate to him in his death and resurrection.

Your perspective and priorities change because of the supreme excellence of the Saviour who died for you

and now reigns at the right hand of the Father.

But it doesn't just stay with perspective and priorities in this passage.

This isn't some airy-fairy pie in the sky, head in the clouds change in perspective that he's talking about.

Exactly the opposite.

See, thinking upon Christ, he says,

Having our being centered on him and our life from him has a very real effect on our actions and attitude.

There is a dangerous line of thinking that Christians have to deal with more and more.

Which even creeps into the church, influenced and strengthened by the world around us.

It goes something like this.

He says,

If Christ accepts me as a sinner and loves me, I don't have to change how I live and what I do.

And yes, it's absolutely true that God accepts us how we are.

We can't ever bring anything to the table to be saved.

And praise the Lord, that is true.

Otherwise, none of us would be saved.

None of us would be here.

But the point Paul is making is that God doesn't want us to stay the way we are.

We should never fall for that lie.

And even if we tell that lie to ourselves, sometimes, maybe subtly,

not in this kind of over-explicit way,

but the things that we struggle with,

that niggling sin that we just can't seem to get rid of,

that can wait for another day.

I think that's possibly the way that it plays out for us.

And here's why it can't stay the way it is.

He says,

If we're united to Christ, as we've seen,

there's no way that can happen.

Notice the order that Paul does this in.

He says,

Since you've been raised with Christ,

He is your life.

And since your life is hidden,

is secure with Him in God already,

you will appear with Him in glory.

These things are past realities

that shape our present

and will continue for all eternity.

There is no way that we can stay the way we were

if we will be appearing with Christ in glory.

And he says,

Be on that path of change

to appear with Him in glory.

And then he says,

Now go and do these things.

Change because you have been changed.

Change is hard.

And it needs to be so fundamental,

so hard that Paul calls it

putting to death sin.

Notice how in verse 5

he goes for the most intimate

and most besetting,

most secret sins in our lives very often.

He says,

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you,

sexual immorality, impurity,

passions, evil desire,

and covetousness,

which is idolatry.

Now all of these have in common

that they're placing our needs,

our desires,

our idea of what we're owed and want

in place of focusing on Christ

as the one who gives us our very lives.

That's why he calls,

he sums it up with,

which is idolatry.

We're worshipping something else.

Ourselves.

And in verse 8 he goes on

and he says,

you know,

it's not just about

your kind of internal sins,

your internal things

that need to change.

This impacts our relationships

with one another.

And the external manifestation

of that focus on ourselves.

And he addresses all kinds of things

about speech to one another.

How we speak to and about one another.

But then in verse 12

is the positive command, isn't it?

Take off these things,

put to death these things,

and put on,

then,

as God's chosen ones,

holy and beloved,

compassionate hearts,

kindness,

humility,

meekness,

and patience.

Bearing with one another.

And if one has a complaint

against one another,

forgiving each other,

as the Lord has forgiven

you,

so you must also forgive.

Put off the old way

of doing things.

Because you've put off

the old self.

Put on the new person,

because in Christ

you are a new person.

Become in practice

what you are

in principle already.

You know,

I don't know if you've heard

people say sometimes,

dress for the job you want,

not the one you have.

You can't keep on dressing

like the intern

with the torn jeans

if you want to be the CEO.

Paul's saying,

dress like the person

you already are.

Wear those attributes of God.

Kindness and humility,

patience,

like the person

united to Jesus,

that you are.

In Genesis 1

we read how God

makes people in his image.

And we know

what went wrong

with the four.

And here we have

this remarkable phrase

in verse 9.

Not verse 9.

Verse 10,

where it says,

you've put on the new self

which has been renewed

in knowledge

after the image

of its creator.

Isn't that staggering?

What went wrong

with the four

is being corrected

every day

in a Christian's life.

As we put off

this old self

and put on

the new self.

And it feels hard.

It doesn't feel that way

every day

when we battle

the sin,

when we lose

our temper again.

when we enjoy

that off joke

at work

slightly too much

or something like that.

But don't give up.

There is a finality

to this.

He says,

put off all of these things

once and for all

and once you've come

to faith in Christ,

sin never has

the same power over you

as it has before.

But there's an ongoing

nature to it too.

we must continue

putting off sin.

We must continue

seeking more and more

to be like Christ.

I don't know

if you saw

the HMS

Queen Elizabeth

on a new aircraft carrier

set sail for America

this week

on a kind of

main and Atlantic voyage.

It's a fantastic ship.

But when it needs

to turn around

it doesn't happen

in a moment.

It takes a while.

But when it starts

to turn

it turns.

And you don't want

to be a sailboat

that gets in the way

of that ship

turning.

And if you're sitting

here tonight

discouraged about

something that you're

struggling with

that you've been

struggling with

maybe for years

maybe all your life

some kind of sin

that maybe someone

doesn't even

someone else

doesn't even know about

take courage

from this.

Your change

to the person

that will appear

with Christ in glory

is more powerful

than that ship

turning around

and is done

by God himself.

You see

Paul is not

trying to rebuke

these Christians

in Colossae

and I'm not

I'm not trying

to do that

tonight either.

Take heart

and be encouraged.

God is doing

a great work

in you

but we will only

see the result

of finally

when he returns

in glory.

See here's how

John Owen

writes about it.

He says

set faith

at work

on Christ

for the killing

of thy sin.

His blood

is the great

sovereign remedy

for sin sick

souls.

Live in this

and thou

will die

a conqueror.

Yeah thou wilt.

Through the good

providence of God

live to see

thy lust dead

at thy feet.

We all look forward

to that.

But there's more

to it than

that needs to change

Paul says.

It's not just

our perspective

and priorities

or our actions

and attitudes

it's our very

identity

and ideology

that changes.

You see

in a few places

we've read some

pretty fundamental

things

about who

we should

think

we are.

In verse 4

he says

Christ who

is your

life?

Verse 9

put off the

old self.

Verse 10

you've put on

the new self.

And then

verse 11

here there is

not

Greek

and Jew

circumcised

and uncircumcised

barbarians

in the slave

free

but Christ

is all

and in all

and he's

talking about

the body

of Christ.

You see

it's so

fundamental

this change

that happens

when you

come to

faith in

Christ

when you're

united to

Christ by

faith.

That all

of these

human

distinctions

all of

these human

divisions

very often

that cause

so much

difficulty

and so much

discord

in the world

that we live

in fall

away.

He's covering

everything

Jew and

Gentile

those who

have the

promise of

Abraham

and those

who didn't

cultured

people and

uncultured

those who

are masters

and those

who serve

those with

social status

and those

who didn't

have any

social status

any value

in society.

Now of course

all distinctions

between human

beings

all the rich

diversity

that God

created us

in

doesn't

immediately

disappear

and won't

disappear

and that's

a great

thing

but it

propels

into

insignificance

he's arguing

compared to

the very

source of

our new

lives

the very

core of

our identity

being a

new creation

in Christ

those things

don't define

us primarily

now you

may ask

why is

this all

that strange

even

if we

know the

culture

around us

get their

identity

from these

things

and what

people do

in a city

like London

one of the

primary

things

that defines

you

we know

mostly

that that's

not true

why does

Paul put

so much

emphasis

on it

you see

it's relevant

for us

I think

because he's

not writing

to a church

that is

struggling

they've not

bought into

this false

teaching

it wouldn't

seem

here's how

he describes

them in the

letter

in chapter

1 verse

4 he

says

we've

heard of

your

faith

in

Christ

Jesus

and of

the love

that you

have for

all the

saints

chapter 2

verse 5

he said

though I'm

absent in

body

yet I am

with you

in spirit

rejoicing to

see your

good order

and the

firmness of

your faith

in Christ

chapter 2

verse 8

see that no

one takes

you captive

by philosophy

and empty

deceit

according to

human tradition

according to

the elemental

spirits of

the world

and not

according to

Christ

implication being

they've not

been taken

captive by

these things

yet

and even

just in

this passage

that we

read

they have

God's

chosen ones

holy and

beloved

and let's not

forget those

words spoken

of Christ

in the

New Testament

and Israel

in the Old

Testament

so that's a

good reference

from the

apostle Paul

for a

church

if a

church

got a

letter

from

Paul

giving them

an appraisal

this is about

as good

as you can

expect

this is not

as good

as they

come

this isn't

the

Corinthian

church

or the

Galatian

church

where Paul

is very

direct

in addressing

their

immorality

their

divisions

or even

their

downright

racism

we need

to be

reminded

of this

ourselves

because

day to

day

it's very

easy to

be influenced

by the

world

around us

in our

thinking

about

who

we

are

just

like

this

commended

church

in Colossum

needed to

be

reminded

of this

and were

at risk

of finding

their identity

in something

the exclusivity

of this

spiritual realm

that they were

able to

access

it's not

even that

our identity

primarily can

come from

being members

of IPC

healing

but it

must be

that we're

members of

the body

of this

one living

saviour

reigning

and ruling

over all

things

at the

right hand

of the

father

the head

of this

body

Jesus

Christ

here's

we've seen

our perspective

and priorities

our actions

and attitudes

and our

identity

and ideology

change

when we're

raised to

life with

Christ

but of

all of

these things

I think

the last

one is

maybe the

most

difficult

and our

identity

and ideology

influence so

much of

what we do

on a day

to day

basis

our actions

unthinkingly

even flows

from those

things

so that

church in

Colossal

with a

glowing report

from Paul

needs to

hear this

maybe we

need to be

reminded of

our common

identity in

Christ as

well

here's a

question

when you're

asked to

describe

yourself

to someone

what is

the first

thing that

comes to

mind

is it

that you're

a redeemed

saved

child of

God

united to

Christ

by faith

I don't

think I

would always

start off

with that

if I had

to write

a short

blurb

about

myself

and it

can be

subtle

it can be

subtle

even at

church

how easy

is it to

only speak

to the

people we

know

the people

we know

we've got

something in

common

with

put on

the old

self

Paul says

put on

the new

self

and that

happens

he tells

us in

verse 15

by letting

the peace

of Christ

rule in

your hearts

to which

indeed you

were called

in one

body

and be

thankful

and let

the word

of Christ

dwell in

you richly

teaching and

admonishing

one another

in all

wisdom

singing

psalms

hymns

and spiritual

songs

with

thankfulness

in your

hearts

to God

isn't it

spectacular

that even

when Paul

calls us

to actively

work towards

Christ

likeness

where

Christ's

image

supersedes

our own

that

Christ's

word

does the

work

isn't

that

grace

upon

grace

see we

can do

this work

because he

does the

work

but we

need each

other to

do this

the church

this church

every Sunday

when we're

together here

models

this very

new humanity

that he's

talking about

and in this

church

in this very

church

we have

English

people

Welsh

people

Americans

Iranians

Canadiens

South

Africans

and and

and

if I give

a number

of how many

nationalities

we have

I probably

have it

wrong

there are

many

we've got

families and

single people

old and

young

wealthy and

not wealthy

people

powerful people

and struggling

people

every Sunday

we model

the fact

here together

that we're

putting on

that old

self

and putting

on the

new self

and change

is hard

fundamental

hard change

is very

hard

identity

change

is incredibly

hard

identity

theft

it seems

it's much

easier

but this

is how

we manage

to change

in such

a way

that we

do

everything

we do

as Paul

calls us

to do

whether

word or

deed

for Christ

by Christ's

own word

changing us

by being

encouraged

through our

singing

together

singing

psalms

hymns

and spiritual

songs

and teaching

and admonishment

and encouraging

each other

to remember

what he's

done

for

and in

and through

us

every Sunday

how often

do we think

about it

like that

when we

get up

to sing

there's

much more

going on

there

than singing

words

of the page

let us

keep

encouraging

and admonishing

one another

to put on

that new

self

day after

day

doing

everything

for Christ

and looking

forward to

appearing

with him

in glory

amen