Basics For Living In
Christ
(Colossians 3:1-11)
I. SEEK THE HEAVENLY
(1-4)
A. SET YOUR MIND ON
THINGS ABOVE (1-2)
1. Why is this so
important?
a. It is essential if we
desire to be "transformed"
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
b. It is necessary if we
want to be able to "live according to
the Spirit"
“5For they that are after
the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit
the things of the Spirit. 6For
to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is
life and peace.”
2. How do we "seek
those things which are above"?
a. By directing our
minds' attention to such things mentioned
in
“Finally,
brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever
things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there
be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”
b. More specifically, by
setting our attention on the Word of
God, where we find:
1) Christ foreshadowed
and foretold in the Old Testament
2) Christ's life and
teachings in the Gospels
3) Christ's church in
the Book of Acts
4) Christ's fuller
teachings in the Epistles
5) Christ's
encouragement and ultimate victory in the Book
of Revelation
B. FURTHER REASONS TO SEEK
THOSE THINGS ABOVE (3-4)
1. We "died" (3)
a. This occurs when one
is baptized into Christ, which is a
burial into His death in
which we are "crucified with Him"
“Know ye not,
that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his
death? 4Therefore we
are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in
newness of life. 5For
if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also
in the likeness of his resurrection: 6Knowing this, that our
old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed,
that henceforth we should not serve sin.”
b. We "died"
to sin , that we might be free from sin and now
live with Christ
“For he that
is dead is freed from sin.8Now
if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: 9Knowing that Christ being
raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. 10For in that he died, he
died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. 11Likewise reckon ye also
yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ
our Lord.12Let not sin
therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts
thereof. 13Neither
yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but
yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your
members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”
2. Thus, we were also
"raised with Christ" (1)
a. Which occurs when one
comes forth from baptism
“Buried with
him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of
the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
("...in baptism, in
which you were also raised with Him...")
b. We were raised so
that we might "walk in newness of life"
3. Our life is
"hidden with Christ in God" (3)
a. As Paul wrote to the
Galatians: "I have been crucified
with
Christ; it is no longer
I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now
live in the flesh I live by faith
in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave Himself for me."
“I am
crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me:
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
b. We have denied self,
crucified self, so it is now Christ Who
is to live in us!
4. When Christ appears
in glory, so will we! (4)
a. The first three
reasons for us to "seek the heavenly" were
based upon what has
happened in the PAST
b. This motivation is
predicated upon what is promised for the
FUTURE!
[And what a wonderful
promise that is! But to obtain that promise
requires not only that
we set our "minds" on things proper, but that we
properly deal with our
"bodies" as well.
II. SLAY THE EARTHLY
(5-9)
A. WE MUST "PUT TO
DEATH" THE SENSUAL SINS (5-7)
1. Those that appeal to
the "lust of the flesh"
a. Fornication
1) Grk., porneia
{por-ni'-ah}
2) A general term for
any illicit sexual intercourse;
includes adultery,
homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality
b. Uncleanness
1) Grk., akatharsia
{ak-ath-ar-see'-ah}
2) Uncleanness in a
moral sense: the impurity of lustful,
luxurious, profligate
living
c. Passion
(inordinate affection, KJV)
1) Grk., pathos
{path'-os}
2) Used by the Greeks in
either a good or bad sense; in the
NT in a bad sense, it
means depraved passion, vile
passions
d. Evil desire
(evil concupiscence, KJV)
1) Grk., epithumia
{ep-ee-thoo-mee'-ah}
2) Desire, craving,
longing, desire for what is forbidden,
lust
2. Also that which
appeals to the "lust of the eyes"
a. Covetousness
1) Grk., pleonexia
{pleh-on-ex-ee'-ah}
2) Greedy desire to have
more, covetousness, avarice
b. Described by Paul to
be equivalent to idolatry!
1) For covetousness puts
things in the place of God
2) We are to set our
minds on things above (where God is),
but when we covet
material objects we have our minds on
things below, making
such objects our idols!
3. Motivation for
putting these things to death
a. To avoid the coming
wrath of God!
“6As ye have therefore
received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: 7Rooted and built up
in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein
with thanksgiving.”
b. It's one thing to do
these things when we "lived in them",
but in Christ we have
"died to them"!
B. WE MUST ALSO
"PUT OFF" THE SOCIAL SINS (8-9)
1. Sins of the
"emotions"
a. Anger
1) Grk., orge {or-gay'}
2) Movement or agitation
of the soul, impulse, desire, any
violent emotion, but
esp. anger
b. Wrath
1) Grk., thumos
{thoo-mos'}
2) Passion, angry, heat,
anger forthwith boiling up and soon
subsiding again
c. Malice
1) Grk., kakia
{kak-ee'-ah}
2) Malignity, malice,
ill-will, desire to injure
2. Sins of the
"tongue"
a. Blasphemy
1) Grk., blasphemia
{blas-fay-me'-ah}
2) Slander, detraction,
speech injurious, to another's good
name; impious and
reproachful speech injurious to divine
majesty
b. Filthy language
(filthy communication, KJV)
1) Grk., aischrologia {ahee-skhrol-og-ee'-ah}
2) Foul speaking, low
and obscene speech
c. Lying
1) Grk., pseudomai
{psyoo'-dom-ahee}
2) To lie, to speak
deliberate falsehoods; to deceive one by
a lie, to lie to
3. The reason for
putting off all these things: we must
complete
in PRACTICE what we
started in PRINCIPLE
“Lie not one
to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;”
a. When we were
baptized, we "put off" the old man with his
deeds (in principle)
“In whom also
ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the
body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: 12Buried with him in
baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the
operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.”
b. In practice, it does
not occur overnight, thus the need for
such admonitions as:
"But now you must also put off all
these..."
“But now ye also
put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of
your mouth.”
III. STRENGTHEN THE
CHRISTLY (10-11)
A. FOR WE HAVE PUT ON
THE NEW MAN (10)
In baptism into Christ, we "put on
Christ"
“For as many
of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.”
B. FOR THE GOAL IS
"CHRIST IS ALL AND IN ALL" (11)
1. To be renewed according
to the image of Christ!
“For whom he
did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of
his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
2. To become like
Christ, and in so doing, destroy the barriers
that have long divided
man!
