Colossians 3
Daily Bread Colossians 3
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And 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.
Observation:
These are wonderful verses and very descriptive of what the Christian life should look like! Again, whenever Paul says “therefore”, he is summarizing and giving us an application from a previous teaching, often doctrinal in nature. In this case, because of our new position in Christ and our putting to death the things that used to rule us, this is what our new life looks like.
I love the action words Paul uses, “Put on”, “Clothe”, “Forgive”, “Rid yourselves”. A result of our position in Christ and our being God’s chosen people, is that we now choose to throw off the things hinder us, and put on those things (or literally “clothe”) that will show that we are God’s people.
As we exhibit these qualities and forgive each other and bear one another’s burdens, the result is a peace, which rules in our hearts. Importantly it says “Let the peace” and “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you”. Meaning this is something God wants but we must be willing and open to operating in this mode ie. we need to let it happen! As we live out this new calling in this new way, we are able to do everything in the name of our Lord Jesus and be thankful at all times.
Application:
Sometimes these descriptions seem like a “pipe dream”. Can we really operate on this kind of spiritual level? Of course another assumption is that this is happening in the context of community. Notice it says “teach and admonish each other”, and as they “sing psalms and spiritual songs together”. You get the sense this is a very strong and tight-knit community.
Bottom line is the only we can truly practice this new lifestyle is with others in a community of faith. The church is a laboratory of love and learning how to be the body of Christ, first to each other and then to the world. That is why division in a church is so harmful. People have enough stress in their lives, they don’t need to experience it at church.
Also, notice there is a strong sense of “one another”. It is not just the pastor teaching and admonishing, but these believers gave each other the right to speak truth into their lives. There is no way a pastor can disciple the whole congregation, nor should they try. We are called to grow together and at times admonish each other (means strong and persuasive teaching) and also called to bear each other’s burden.
Prayer: God thank you for calling us to be holy and for calling us into a body of others who have been chosen and set apart to reflect your qualities. Help us to learn from each other and be willing to teach and admonish each other as you lead us. May your peace and Your Word dwell in us richly as we pursue this calling, In Jesus’ name, Amen.
12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And 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.
Observation:
These are wonderful verses and very descriptive of what the Christian life should look like! Again, whenever Paul says “therefore”, he is summarizing and giving us an application from a previous teaching, often doctrinal in nature. In this case, because of our new position in Christ and our putting to death the things that used to rule us, this is what our new life looks like.
I love the action words Paul uses, “Put on”, “Clothe”, “Forgive”, “Rid yourselves”. A result of our position in Christ and our being God’s chosen people, is that we now choose to throw off the things hinder us, and put on those things (or literally “clothe”) that will show that we are God’s people.
As we exhibit these qualities and forgive each other and bear one another’s burdens, the result is a peace, which rules in our hearts. Importantly it says “Let the peace” and “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you”. Meaning this is something God wants but we must be willing and open to operating in this mode ie. we need to let it happen! As we live out this new calling in this new way, we are able to do everything in the name of our Lord Jesus and be thankful at all times.
Application:
Sometimes these descriptions seem like a “pipe dream”. Can we really operate on this kind of spiritual level? Of course another assumption is that this is happening in the context of community. Notice it says “teach and admonish each other”, and as they “sing psalms and spiritual songs together”. You get the sense this is a very strong and tight-knit community.
Bottom line is the only we can truly practice this new lifestyle is with others in a community of faith. The church is a laboratory of love and learning how to be the body of Christ, first to each other and then to the world. That is why division in a church is so harmful. People have enough stress in their lives, they don’t need to experience it at church.
Also, notice there is a strong sense of “one another”. It is not just the pastor teaching and admonishing, but these believers gave each other the right to speak truth into their lives. There is no way a pastor can disciple the whole congregation, nor should they try. We are called to grow together and at times admonish each other (means strong and persuasive teaching) and also called to bear each other’s burden.
Prayer: God thank you for calling us to be holy and for calling us into a body of others who have been chosen and set apart to reflect your qualities. Help us to learn from each other and be willing to teach and admonish each other as you lead us. May your peace and Your Word dwell in us richly as we pursue this calling, In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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