Colossians 3 - Whatever You Do Work At It With All of Your Heart!
Colossians 3 - Enduring Word Commentary
Living as Those Made Alive in Christ
3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Paul transitions, as he does in all of his letters, to the practical aspects of living out our faith. In this case he starts with the position we have in Christ, as we have been raised with him. Paul tells us to keep our eyes on Christ, who is at the right hand of the Father. We say this is the Apostle's Creed. Most of all of the language of the historic creeds in the church are directly from the bible. The 3 major creeds are the Nicene, Athanasian, and Apostle's Creeds.
The term creed comes from the Latin word, "credo", which means "I believe". The Church created these creeds to combat false teaching in the Church. The Creed you are perhaps least familiar with is the Athanasian Creed. Here is a brief description of it.
The Athanasian Creed—also called the Quicunque Vult (or Quicumque Vult), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning "Whosoever wishes"—is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. Used by Christian churches since the early sixth century, it was the first creed to explicitly state the equality of the three hypostases of the Trinity. It differs from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the Apostles' Creed in that it includes anathemas condemning those who disagree with its statements, as does the original Nicene Creed. - Wikipedia
As Paul does in many of his letters he focuses on our "mindset". As we keep our minds set on Jesus, we literally keep our minds "out of the gutter" and "on the cross". Paul says,
"For you have died and your life is now hidden in Christ." What does that mean?
That our life is "hidden in Christ" means believers are no longer defined by their old, sinful selves but by a new, secure identity found in union with Jesus. This identity is hidden from the world's judgment and is safe because it is protected by God, with the promise of a glorious future reveal (Google AI)
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[b] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Just because we are a Christian and our life is now hidden in Christ, we still live with an earthly or sinful nature. Paul tells us to "put to death whatever belongs to it." You can see this is an "active" not "passive" process. Paul gives various ways in which our sinful nature rears its ugly head. Though we will not face God's wrath because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, nonetheless God's wrath is coming because of these behaviors.
Again we see Paul using active language when he says things like, "rid yourselves", "take off your old self", and "put on the new self". As we partner with God in our sanctification, we become renewed in the image our Creator. God transforms us from the inside out as we keep our minds, hearts, and lives focused on Jesus.
As Paul says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13
Believing in and being found in Christ erases all earthly distinctions. I.e. Jew or Gentile. Slave or free. circumcized or uncircumsized. What counts is being found in Christ. In Christ we are a new Creation. We are all God's children and part of His family.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Because we are "dearly" loved by God, Paul uses the language of putting on our new clothes.
Each one of the qualities mentioned in this passage express themselves in relationships. A significant measure of our Christian life is found simply in how we treat people and the quality of our relationships with them.
Our love for God is ALWAYS evidenced by our love for each other. This is why when Christians are bickering, fighting and grumbling against each other, it is a terrible witness to unbelievers. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience are all the fruit of the Spirit, which Paul mentions in Galatians 5:22. What God calls us to do, He empowers us to do through the indwelling Holy Spirit, which Jesus came to us at Pentecost.
Paul, as he does in 1 Corinthians 13, extols "love" as the highest virtue. Love is always at the center of Christian community. They will know we are Christians by our love. Paul says in 1 Corinthians, "Love never fails!" What a promise we can cling to when we are going through hard times!
If someone came into your church would they describe it as "loving"? If someone met you would they describe you as "loving"?
The apostle Paul says without love we are only a "noisy gong" or "clanging cymbal". The source of our love is Jesus Christ, who proved his love to us by dying on the cross. Our love for others flows from knowing and abiding in Jesus' love. This is why in 1 John, the apostle says, "His commands are not burdensome." 1 John 5:13
They are only burdensome when we try do it in our power. Sure there will be people we meet who are harder to love than others, but that's when we rely on the unconditional love of Jesus. Often the most "unloving" people have never been shown God's unconditional love. The greatest testimony to our Christian faith is when we love someone like Jesus loved us, by dying for us.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 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. 17 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.
Note we don't force the people of Christ to rule in our hearts, but we "let it". And it is the "peace of Christ". It comes from him and is sustained by him. God calls us to keep that peace in our churches and not let anything get in the way of it. Paul also tells to "let the message of Christ" dwell among us.
How do we do this? You are doing this right now by being in God's word, which is a good thing, but it is even better when we do it together. The Christian life is not meant for "lone rangers". We need each other. We encourage each other when we sing, pray, and listen to God's Word together. When we serve together in church and in the world. And all of it comes from the gratitude we have in our hearts, as we have freely been given the grace of God in Christ Jesus!
Are you part of a church or small group where you are experiencing what Paul is talking about here? We are all busy, but this is essential for every Christian to be a part of a Christian community.
The Proverbs says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Proverbs 27:17
Verse 17 is a great verse to memorize and could be your life mission statement.
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.
The Christian life is not about being an hour in church, or a small group. Those are both great and necessary things, but the Christian life is a whole life experience. Everything we do and say is to be do in Jesus' name for his glory. I know this is a daunting task. I often say or do things that aren't in Jesus' name and don't bring him glory. This is why I need other people like you to encourage and exhort me to this kind of life.
Instructions for Christian Households
18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers,[c] do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
Paul ends this chapter for guidelines for Christian households. Some people have problems with the language here, but you can see that we submit to one another out of love for Christ. We each have different roles to play and behaviors that are associated with those roles. Importantly we are never called to use our authority to denigrate or diminish another person.
Whatever station we are at in life, here is another good motto and memory verse for living our lives in Christ.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
No matter who you serve or work for, it is the Lord Jesus you are serving. That is why there is nothing beneath a Christian. After all we serve a Lord who did not count equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself and became a servant even unto death on a cross.
We cannot outserve God and one day will be reward for serving others out of love for Jesus!
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