Colossians Ch3v12-17 - Become who you truly are in Christ!

Thank you, Johnny, and good afternoon, everybody.

If you could open your Bibles, please, to Colossians chapter 3, and starting at verse 12.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

If you're using the Red Church Bible, that's on page 1184, Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

And before we start, let's just pray and commit this time to God.

Father, we believe that your word is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword.

Let it cut through into our hearts right now, and let it expose the sin in our lives.

That sin which takes away our joy in you, and prevents us from becoming who we truly are in Christ.

It's in his name that we ask this. Amen.

Well, let's read from verse 12.

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved,

clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Bear with each other, and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

And over all these virtues, put on love,

which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,

since as members of one body,

you are called to peace,

and be thankful.

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly,

as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom,

through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit,

singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

And whatever you do,

whether in word or deed,

do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,

giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Does that sound impossible to you?

Do you feel that there's just no chance you could be that person,

even just for five minutes of your day,

let alone 24-7?

I do.

Maybe you think,

well, I could be that person,

only problem is this.

All the pressures that I experience in my life,

the exhaustion of work and family,

the health problems that I face,

I just, I can't live this life.

Well, I want to encourage you.

Number one,

it's normal Christian experience to feel this way.

And number two,

you actually can become,

in increasing measure,

that person that you truly are in Christ.

How can we?

And what will it look like?

Well, we're going to find out in our passage today.

In fact, in Colossians chapter 3,

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

the Apostle Paul is writing to ordinary Christians,

like you and me.

Christians who've been given new life in Christ.

And he wants to remind them something really important about their old life.

Look back at verse 3,

in chapter 3.

He says,

for you died,

and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life,

appears,

then you also will appear with him in glory.

So,

that life that you used to live,

before you trusted in Christ,

it's gone.

It's dead.

You've been given a new life.

Christ's life is now your life.

That's your unchanging status.

You can't lose that.

That's your new self.

And that's brilliant.

I mean, we can all get behind that.

But here's your big problem.

And mine also.

We keep falling back

into the sinful practices

of our old life before Christ.

We don't live like we've been made new.

We continue to sin and fail.

In and of ourselves,

we don't have the power

to live the new life

that Christ commands us to live.

How do we account for this paradox?

We've been made new,

but we don't live like we're new.

Well, look down at verse 9.

This is really important.

Paul says,

Do not lie to each other,

since you have taken off

your old self

with its practices

and have put on the new self,

which is being renewed

in knowledge,

in the image of its creator.

So, on the one hand,

we have an unchanging status

in Christ.

We are safe

and secure in him.

On the other hand,

we're not yet made perfect.

We have entered

into this gradual process

of being made like Christ.

And that accounts

for why we continue

to struggle with sin.

We are still becoming

who we truly are.

Thank God that the sin

that we continue to struggle with

does not change our status

of being united with Christ.

Yet,

in this passage today,

God commands us

to become

our true souls,

to become

more and more

like Christ.

And it's a command,

my brothers and sisters,

that we must strive

to obey.

And also a command,

we lack the power

to obey.

So before we learn

what the new life

looks like,

and Paul has

three different marks

of the new self of Christ,

which we're going to look at

in a moment,

Paul must first tell us

where to find the power

to become

who

we truly are.

so he starts by telling us four staggering identifiers for anyone who has new life in christ

first one is in verse 12 have a look down there it says we are god's chosen people

you are chosen by god

he chose us before we ever chose him and if that sounds strange to you look back one chapter

to colossians 2 verse 13 colossians 2 verse 13 when you were dead in your sins and in the

Colossians 2:13 Colossians 2:13

uncircumcision of your flesh god made you alive with christ a dead person can't do anything for

themselves let alone place their faith in someone clearly god chose us he chose us to be made alive

with him before we were ever able to choose him that's a mystery i don't quite understand that

yet but it's what god's word says

and it should stagger us and humble us to think that when we didn't deserve his mercy or his grace

god chose us to receive it wow what a deep security that brings not about me holding on to god

he chose me here's a second identifier

we are set apart for him in verse 12 not only are we chosen god chose us to be holy or set apart for him

his treasured possession and that gives us amazing purpose doesn't it we're not living for ourselves

we are living for the king who has rescued us and that in turn leads to our third reality

we are dearly loved by him now if we've been chosen by him and set apart for him

how much more proof do we need to know that we are so dearly loved by him precious sons and daughters

of the king of the universe there is one more identifier though and it's actually found

in our passage in verse

15

we are members of the body of christ

you have a new family

and this is the church all over the world and right here in our local church we are united together

in christ you're part of the family

your identity is inextricably linked with the brothers and sisters sitting around you right now

we are united together in christ both now and into eternity how amazing is that

so that's who you are

you are chosen set apart loved in the family

and when you think about it isn't that what everyone in this world longs for

to be chosen loved treasured

to be part of a family forever we have it all here in christ don't we

these four identifiers here they are the rock solid foundation for your life

in christ your new life in him

so do you feel them do you know them

because only once you know who you truly are can you start to live out your true identity

and paul also very importantly now tells us the power source

for becoming who we truly are

and that power source is simply christ in us i mean if you remember back to

verse four there we read it at the start

when christ who is your life appears then you also will appear with him

the power source is his life in us now think about it christ is the only person who can

really live the life that we've read about in our passage today

because we participate in christ's life his spirit is alive inside of us and so that means we have all we

need to live this new life christ is empowering us to become like him and i have to warn you

if you don't understand that you're going to be crushed under the weight of the commands coming up in this passage

because you might wrongly think that you must garner some inner strength from somewhere inside of you to live this new life in christ

or you might think oh well it's half my strength half god's no

we can only become who we truly are in christ in the power of christ working through our efforts

so with that firmly in mind let's now look at three marks of that new self

which paul describes

we are to

put on our new clothes of love

submit to the rule of christ

and do everything in the name of jesus firstly

put on

the clothes of love

look in verse 12 it says therefore as god's chosen people

holy and dearly loved

clothe yourselves

with compassion

kindness

humility

gentleness

and patience

clothe yourselves in compassionate hearts

now

i don't know about you but does that not strike you as impossible

i mean

how do you put on

a compassionate heart

if you were to ask me to put on a smile

even when i'm really not feeling like it

i can put on a smile i can fake it right

how on earth am i supposed to put on a feeling

a compassionate heart to be touched by my brother or sister's pain where i just simply am not feeling it

well the only answer is it's a miracle of christ

it's got to be his power

in us

changing us giving us new hearts

and what is the result of that new heart of compassion well

i think acts of kindness naturally flow out of that

kindness towards our brothers and sisters in the body

he goes on in verse 12 clothe yourselves in humility

now i think this is another big heart issue

do we look down on other members of the body

and think in some ways we are better than others

or do you elevate your brothers and sisters above you

in serving their needs first

treating them better than they even deserve at times

that's humility

and then what flows out of that humble heart that god gives us

it's the next thing on paul's list isn't it

gentleness

gentleness towards all not a judgmental or harsh demeanor

but gentleness towards our brothers and sisters

next paul tells us to put on the garments of patience

to be long suffering with one another

and there's a reason why we need to do this

just nobody in this room has been made perfect yet we are

a beautiful but a messy church

so paul calls you to something radical

in verse 13 read it with me

bear with each other and forgive one another

if any of you has a grievance against someone

forgive as the lord forgave you

to bear with our brothers and sisters in their sin

and their mess is to help them on their journey to becoming their true selves in christ

we pass over

all the different wrongs that might be done to us

we don't bring every one of those up

we know that we do need to confront our brothers and sisters at times with their sin

and yet we also pass over

and knowing that there will be times when we

will hurt each other either unintentionally or not

and we must forgive

as christ has forgiven us

and then in 14

let's read it

and over all these virtues

put on love which binds them all together in perfect unity

basically become a loving person in the church

filled with not just any love

christ's love

because christ is your life

you can love like he does

in increasing measure

as you depend on him

so i want to encourage you

if you are in christ today

you have all these clothes of love

in your spiritual wardrobes

in the power of the spirit of christ

keep putting them on

moment by moment

and become

who you truly are in christ

second mark of the new self in christ

is that we

submit to the rule of christ

now we read back in verse one of this chapter that christ is seated at the right

hand of god in the place of authority

and we as a church family

we're to submit

to his loving rule over us

specifically here

christ's peace

and his word

look at what paul says in verse 15

let the peace of christ

rule in your hearts

since as members of one body

you were called

to peace

we're called to submit

to christ's peace

what a wonderful thing to submit to

but sometimes the last thing

our selfish hearts

wants to submit to

how often in the church do we

disagree over

petty things that don't really matter

we grumble and complain about so and so doing this or that

and sometimes

it's not even a primary issue

maybe it's the length of the sermon

what that kid did

which songs were chosen

what way the chairs were set out

all such grumbling

and complaining is not in submission to the peace of christ

christ's

so if we do see something in the church that's

not in a line with god's word

let's go

with the clothes of love

on us and address it

but always with the intention to promote peace in the church

not division

let's not come in all guns blazing

but instead clothe ourselves in compassion

kindness

patience

gentleness

speaking the truth in love

of course we're going to disagree

that's part of

life together as a family

but we can do so peaceably

in the power of christ

one other thing we're supposed to submit to

in verse 16 we're supposed to submit to the word of christ

let's read there

let the message of christ dwell among you richly

as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom

through psalms hymns and songs from the spirit

you know

it's not my word

or your word

actually that's the authority

it's christ's word isn't it

it's

we are to let it dwell

richly among us

don't you love that language

to dwell richly

and what does that look like well

no matter what you feel your main gifting might be

in the church body

here we are all

instructed to teach each other

to do what the word says

and we are all instructed to

admonish or warn one another when someone is not doing what the word says

this should actually be a normal part of our lives together as a family believers

now if you're the one teaching or admonishing

you better come clothed

in love

and humility

and gentleness before you even think about approaching your brother or sister

and likewise

on the flip side

when you're the one being taught

if someone comes to you sharing god's word with you

admonishing you

you also need to be clothed with humility and love

willing to listen

being thankful for your brother or sister who cared enough

to bring god's word

his healing word

to you

yet i think it's clear and you probably noticed this that the context which paul is mainly thinking of

in this passage

is teaching and admonishing one another through our singing

now

that's an interesting one isn't it

because oftentimes we're not mindful

of this main purpose of singing in our gathering

our purpose when we sing is not simply

vertical

singing praise to god although that is a primary purpose for sure

what a joy to sing praise to him but we're also singing horizontally to each other

some sunday mornings i walk in here

and i'm struggling to believe the promises

i'm disappointed i'm weary

on those days

you my brothers and sisters are teaching and admonishing me

by singing the word over me

whether you're young or old you're singing

when i just look around and see you singing

that encourages me that the promises are true

to keep going in the faith

so sing out

and teach and admonish your brothers and sisters around you and let the word of christ dwell richly

among us

become who you truly are in christ

and submit to that peace of christ and the word of christ

lastly

and briefly as part of our new life in christ

we do everything in the name of jesus

read verse 17 with me

and whatever you do

whether in word or deed

do it all in the name of the lord jesus giving thanks

thanks to god the father through him

in becoming who we truly are in christ

our old motivations

our old motivations

often selfish

are replaced with new ones

we don't live to satisfy our own selfish desires anymore

no matter what we accumulate

it's never enough anyway

and we don't live to please people anymore either because

we can never measure up to their standards no matter how hard or how long we tried

instead we do everything in the name of jesus

whether that's doing jobs around the house

sitting around the dinner table with your family

setting down chairs at church

going to work on a monday morning

scrolling through your phone in the evening

no exceptions

every action

every word

do it

do it in the name of jesus

i think that means three things

a

representing him

when people see you

they should see something different about how you speak and act

do they see kindness

compassion

the humility of jesus

you're representing him

when you're doing it all in his name

secondly i think this

could imply that we are also empowered by him

if we're doing it in jesus name that means

we are depending in everything we do

on christ's power to enable us to do it

not on our own strength

and thirdly

i think to do everything in the name of jesus means

to simply do it for him

we make it our aim

to please him

and i think that changes

the way we do the things that we do right

if you're doing those mundane jobs around the house

do it for christ

to serve him

and your family

if you're watching tv

think carefully about what you consume

is it pleasing to christ

is it good for your heart

if you're going to work on a monday morning

don't do a half job on it

give it your very best

do it for christ

do it for christ

aim to please him

and let your boss see your good deeds

if you're setting up chairs and you think

do you know what nobody ever thanks me for doing this job

do it for christ

do it for christ

do it for christ

do it for christ

do it for christ

do it for christ

do it for christ

do everything in the name of the lord jesus

giving thanks

to god the father through him yes

giving thanks in everything

paul fits in one more beautiful item of clothing into this passage

the garment of thankfulness

what a difference it makes to put on

the clothes of thankfulness

in place of mumbling

and complaining

so become who you truly are in christ

and do everything in the name of jesus

giving thanks to god the father through him

to finish

i'm not sure

what challenges you the most from this passage today

but for me

there are some days i'm tired

disappointed

feeling weak

and i actually just give up on those days living the new life in christ

i don't know if you can relate

i just pull on those old clothes of

selfishness

harshness and speech

being a big old grump really

do you have days like that

well this is what got me this week

the amazing news of this passage is that at every moment in your life

you actually have the power to live your new life in christ

because you are always in christ

you can always become more like christ

isn't that just transformative

it's not some special strength you must drum up from inside yourself

it's christ's power

already dwelling inside of you

his spirit

so it's possible

to put on your new clothes of love even when you're tired

disappointed

and suffering

you can

you can submit to that new authority of christ's peace and his word

and you actually are able

to leave your old motivations behind and do everything for jesus

it's all by christ's power in us

so let me encourage you

go

become who you truly are in christ

work hard at it

with christ's power working through you

go and live it

let's pray

oh father

we confess

we don't have the resources to live this beautiful new life

in and of ourselves

thank you

thank you for giving us new life in christ

thank you that

christ is in us

so fill up our weakness with your strength and save us

from depending on ourselves

give us new grace

each day

to live the new life

you have won for us

it's for his sake we ask

amen

we're going to sing a song

which brings together some of these themes we've been talking about

it

it's called there is one gospel and

in the third verse there's something that really struck me from this

it says

now on my savior i fix my eyes

my life is his

and his hope is mine

for he has promised i too will rise

i stand in the gospel of jesus christ

are you standing in that gospel today

are you fixing your eyes on your savior

using this song i encourage you to do that

to place your hope and your trust in him again

let's all stand and sing if you're able thank you

do

do

do

Thank you.