Book of Colossians - Ch. 3, Vs. 12-25 (11/04/2001)

Putting on the New Self: Mercy, Forgiveness, and Charity

All right, David told me to start where I left off, but I'm not going to. I'm going to go back one verse. Back to 12. 1 Corinthians 3, 12. Well, I'm in Corinthians. No, Colossians. Or Hebrews. Hebrews was so good this morning.

I think I'll do it again next week. 12. Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering. Now when it says put on, what do we do, Virg?

What happens when you put on these things, all right? If you put on, it means toward God, not toward man. If you act meek, humble, what else did it say? Longsuffering, humbleness of mind, kindness, that's all toward God.

Now if it's toward him, it'll be toward your neighbor. You can do that toward your neighbor and not God. That's not kindness. So first of all, all of this goes to God, responds back to God, forbearing one another and forgiving one another.

If any man have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Now, so also do ye, Roger, what's that mean, all right? What has Christ done? Forbearing one another and forgiving one another, what does forbearing mean, David?

All right, in spite of their faults, we hold one another in high esteem, forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against any, to forgive them. You must always forgive in your heart, always. It's a different matter to forgive orally, personally to someone that you love, that you care for, and they've done a great wrong, you try your best to get them to admit they've done a great wrong.

And above all of these things, put on charity, which is the bond for perfectness. And above all things, what's that mean, Russell? Above all things, all right? So we should love one another regardless, in Christ.

I love you, Virg, in Christ. I don't like some of your ways, but I love you. And that covers all of the rest. Which is the bond of forgiveness? It is the glue that holds us together, the love of God, the love of Christ.

The Peace of God Ruling in One Body

And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. Roger, explain how you let the peace of God rule in your hearts when you have just received news that something has happened, and you have no control over it.

Does that mean you can just let anybody do anything to you?

Where do you draw the line? Well, it's God has to lead you. He will allow the flesh to get in the way of your...

All right, that's the key. Let God rule. Let him be the umpire. We all know what an umpire is in a ball game. So let... We're saying God, we mean Jesus Christ. Let him be the umpire, the Holy Spirit, to call or not call.

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also you are called in one body, and be ye thankful. Thankful that you're in one body. Are we all in one body? There was only one Christ, wasn't there?

And if we're in one body, it's got to be his. There's only one. To the which also you are called in one body. We have been placed into one body. Virg didn't do it. I didn't do it. David didn't do it. We were placed into one body.

Now, you were placed into that one particular body in a particular way to do a particular work that is required of you. You get in that body and you see so many other opportunities and you want to run over and do all of them.

Don't do that. Peace I leave with you, John 14, 27. Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, giveth I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Letting the Word of Christ Dwell Richly

16. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. Let, that word let, a bookkeeping term, an accounting term.

It means that you let it. Stop not letting it. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom. Virg, how do you let the word of Christ dwell in you? That's right. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.

Paul, is there any wisdom outside of God? Then if you're going to dwell in Christ in you richly in all wisdom, the wisdom that you have comes from God, right? In teaching, admonishing one another in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs.

David, what does admonishing mean? Strongly encourage each other in psalms, hymns, spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. That's the only way I can anymore, is in my heart. To dwell, to be at home, to dwell.

Not only must we be yielded to the word, but we must have a good working knowledge of it. Too many Christians, and I fear there's one or two in this group, in this church, that do not really let it dwell like they should in their lives.

None of you, you're here, you're digging it out. But you must have a good working knowledge of the word, and you cannot get that piecemeal to jump here and here and here. Like the Southern Baptists have become famous for, they jump all around expecting that you have read the Bible.

You can read the Bible through every day and not gain one thing. You can study and gain. As the Holy Spirit guides and talks to us, does he talk to you, Richard, or Russell? Yes. As the Holy Spirit guides and talks to us, he must use the language that we know.

Now, Paul, Brandon, this is where you're going to grow up, but right now you cannot understand everything that the adults say. I would couch that in the fact that you're Paul and Brandon, and I've got a head start on a lot of the others.

When you're talking to people, you use a language in which they understand. God has to do the same thing. Now, if an adult has been a Christian all his life, or most of it, on the front end there was a time that he wasn't, and he hasn't lived all of it, so most of it, he never reads the Bible.

He comes to church regularly, listens to the preacher, and he goes away. What kind of language does he know in the Bible? How would you classify it, David? What? Oh, milk. Like a cow. All right. Now, a person in that situation, I want you to understand the Holy Spirit has to speak to you in that same language.

So it goes to prove that the further you go in your understanding, the more you study and apply the word, the more converse you get in the language with Christ, with God. He can talk to you about deeper things than he can someone that never studies.

As you grow in knowledge, he can use words of deeper meaning. What level of language do you use? And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

You give thanks to God the Father by Jesus Christ. Whatever you do in word or deed, what's the difference in word and deed, Virg? In word or deed. So it has to be the same. You have to speak what you believe.

You have to believe what you speak. Now, he's going to change subjects, but I want to know, is there any discussion on either one of the verses we've been over? Yes. Yes. Verse 18. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands as it is fit in the Lord.

Wives, Husbands, and Children in the Lord

As it is fit in the Lord. What's that mean, David? What does submit mean? David. All right. The modern-day woman hates the word submit. If it had been taught correctly, she wouldn't. She looks to her husband for everything.

So wives, in accordance and according to what is right in the eyes of the Lord, submit to your husband. Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter against them. There must have been some bitterness against some of the wives.

But he says, husbands, love your wives. Why doesn't he say, wives, love your husbands? All right. I'm glad you held it up. I was trying to think of your name. That's so true. And I still can't call your name.

Charlotte. I knew her. Husbands, love your wives and be not bitter against them. If you love them, you won't. Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing unto the Lord. The parents stand as God to the small child.

The child looks to the parents for everything. Children, obey your parents in all things, period. It goes to, it stands to reason that the child would obey the parents as long as it was pleasing to the Lord.

Certainly not to commit murder. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Don't provoke your children. Charlie, how do you do that?

How do you provoke a child? Not being that one day I've angered and let them get mad at the same thing the following day. Keeping them always on an idea of what are they going to do this time. I don't know what to expect.

Always disturbed. Get their mind in turmoil.

That's right. That's a good explanation. Turmoil. Fathers, do not leave your children in turmoil, lest they be discouraged. They'd be discouraged, all right, because they wouldn't know what to expect.

So they go do it how they want it. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh. Not with high service as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God. Servants, we're all servants to somebody.

Obey in all things your masters according to the flesh. So he's talking about according to the flesh, you're a servant of somebody. Not with high service as men pleasers. With high service. Have you ever known someone that when the boss comes around, they get just as busy as they can be?

That's quite an experience, you should. None of you have done that, I see. It's quite a temptation when that's the way you are. Not with high service. That's what that means, as long as they're looking as men pleasers.

But in singleness of heart, fearing God. Do all unto the Lord. And whatsoever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men. How can we, when we cannot see God, we cannot see the Lord, he is not here.

How can I do it as unto him? Charlotte, how can you do something unto the Lord when he's not here? It seems as though from this I get the idea, though, that you can do something without it being unto him.

Is that possible? Did you say yes? Alright. Are you doing, this is out of the text, but are you doing something outside of his will? So where does this doing it heartily as unto him, where does that come in?

Help her out, David. That's a responsibility.

I'll be according to God's will and he will make it all work out for the good, but we won't answer for it. Alright.

Something that we're supposed to do, we're supposed to strive to do, is to do it unto the Lord. Now, it'll be done whether I do it that way or not, it'll be done. I can do it for the Lord or not for the Lord.

It can still be done. Knowing that of the Lord, ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. Knowing that of the Lord, you shall receive the reward of the inheritance.

David, what's the reward of inheritance? The reward of inheritance, is that salvation? Inheritance. Burge, what's that mean, inheritance? Alright. I inherited everything my mother and father had when they died, but they had to die first.

I inherit everything from Jesus, but he had to die first. He died as the man. He was resurrected as the man. It's hard for me to stay out of Hebrews. As the man, he suffered and died and all of our sins were placed on him.

Is that right? Okay. Even the sins that you haven't thought about doing yet. Is that right? And he inherited the seat beside God. God told him to sit here. And he inherited that seat. Now, how could he establish the fact that he is going to inherit?

And then, how could he inherit if he's Jesus? I didn't make that very clear, did I? How can Jesus, the one that died, I can see the death and I benefit by that. But he did too. What one thing brought that about?

Well, that's true, but there's one thing that he did that made it possible that he inherited what Jesus did. That's a little bit, but we didn't go quite far enough. What I'm looking for, and I'm not saying it very clear.

Let me take one more shot. Joy? Alright, let me see if I can ask it different. How can you, how can you inherit something from your father, and then you find out your father's not dead? Do you still, do you still?

The fact that he died. He died, closed the book. We inherited because he died. But he resurrected. Therefore, he inherited also. So, we now have inherited because of what he did, but he did too.

Because he died. That's right. That made us. We would not have been. That's right. Partakers of it, and we would not be.

That's right, that's right, that's right. Absolutely. Did you ever think of that? Let's go on. The last verse. But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done, and there is no respecter of persons.

Divine Judgment, Human Responsibility, and Dismissal

The Lord can judge all mankind while at the same time controlling all events. I don't understand it. Everything that takes place in time and space has been decided by God. I don't understand that. But everything that man does, he does because he wants to.

I understand that. Everything that I do, I've done because I wanted to do it. I don't understand how God can ordain even that that I did. But he does. Rest or dismiss us, would you please?