Life Project Blog

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were 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.

Colossians 3:15-17

God has called us to peace, in community as the community of believers, and in that community is where peace and love and healing should be found in Christ. So, as we enter His presence today, let His peace rule in your heart… and give thanks.  Next, let’s let His word dwell within us, as we teach, admonish and sing spiritual songs to our Lord.  Note the teaching and admonishing are for us to do with one another… as His Body so that all will benefit by it. This isn’t really for the lost; they need the Gospel of the love of God through Jesus Christ.

Finally, whatever we do this day, let’s do it in the name of Jesus our Lord, filled to the brim with thanksgiving and gratitude to God for all that He has done for us, and in our lives.  What a great recipe for living, what wisdom and simplicity for a life that is not only godly, but that is a testimony to the world of what it is to dwell in his love.

You know what?  Whatever this day may bring, I think it’s going to be a good one!

Colossians 3: 5-14

In the last section, we saw Paul tell us how to live our new lives, by setting our hearts and minds on the things that are above, and not on the things of this world.  In this section, he expands on this theme by listing items which are of the old life, and certain items that are of the new life in Christ.  In verses 5-10a we get a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we are to “put to death” in our lives; these are all from our “old selves” and they include… sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed which is idolatry. He says we must rid ourselves of things like anger, rage, malice, slander, lies and filthy language. I’m quite sure that there is no need for me to elaborate on these things, other than to say that when our attention is drawn to any of them, it’s time to set our minds on higher things.

Verses 10 and 11 move in transition to the next part by pointing out that we are to move away from those old practices into a new way of living where there is no Jew, no Greek, nor circumcised or uncircumcised… and no other social or ethnic distinctions: only Christ. Verse 12 provides a summing up and conclusion in an interesting way:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

I hope that you will take notice of two things.  First, who are “God’s chosen people” in the New Covenant?  They are not old Israel; they are the redeemed in Christ.  Recall that in verse 11 there is no longer Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, and in verse 12 “God’s chosen people.”  Next, note the listing of things that are attributes of our new selves.  These are coupled with his admonition in verse 13 to forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us, and then in verse 14 to put love over all of this.

Again, I doubt that I should need to expand this picture any further, other than to point out that love is over all things in the Christian life.  How we interact with others, is all about love.  How we relate to God, is all about love… and the old way of living is loveless, for it is all about self.

Over riding love amongst Christians is where unity can be found.  We often wonder why it seems that the Church is divided; can you see why after reading this section?  It’s because we are more interested in disputes about doctrine, tradition and being first, than we are on loving our brothers.  May we all come to the day when we can live our lives as new creations, when we finally get that “old self” put into the grave for good.

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 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.

Colossians 3:1-4

In the previous several verses, Paul has been writing about things such as the fact that we are dead to sin and alive in Christ, that our old life was buried with Christ and we are a new creation.  Then he went on to challenge us to leave the old things behind and live new lives, free from the old silly rules and traditions.  In these verses, Paul moves from the what to the how.

As these things usually are, the answer is simple: Set your hearts and minds on things that are above, not on earthly things. I’ve been told that this is very difficult, and that only a small number of people can really accomplish this ‘looking above’ kind of life… but I totally, completely and utterly reject that notion.

Does that surprise you?  Does it irritate you?

Have you ever noticed that you usually find what you’re looking for?  Well, OK, yes, sometimes you might look for your keys and not find them, but that isn’t really what I mean.  Have you ever gone somewhere looking for trouble?  How about a fight?  Have you ever gone in search for a bad relationship, bad company… or a good relationship or good company?  OK, if that didn’t grab you, let’s try this one:  Have you ever bought a new car, and then noticed that it seems like everyone has the same kind of car?

See?  You really do find what you’re looking for!

To set your heart and mind on the things that are above, you need to start looking for such things.  Now Paul, in the next sections will get into which things are which, so we’ll be talking more about that as we go, but the quick version is that we can seek His presence by just entering it.  We can focus on the things that are above, by thinking about them and looking for them… as opposed to things of the earth.  Look, if all we think about are our bills, then bills and finances will become our lives.  If we think about the things of God, then what will our lives be about?

This passage ends with the reminder that we died with Christ, rose with Christ, and now our lives are hidden with Christ. Now that we have died with Him, to our old way of living, and arisen with Him as new creations, the focus of our lives, and the very reality of our new lives, are “hidden” with Christ in God. Our new creation status is an entirely new kind of life that isn’t simply physical and biological; it isn’t discerned simply by the physical senses.  It is Spirit and Truth. It is eternal.  It is about much more than bodies, senses and things, it is the life God created humanity to live. As long as we are focused merely on the things of the earth, the world around us and problems and hassles of this world, we are missing out on that which is wonderful in Christ, and… our lives on this earth will be much more difficult as we are pulled in multiple directions at the same time.

For more information about finding God’s presence in your daily life, see the extra section at the end of this document.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:  “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Colossians 2:20-23

My Mom has this great story.  It takes place when she was a high school student in a little town in West Texas over 70 years ago.  It seems that the school had a street dance one Friday night, and all of the kids were there.  There was also a Youth Pastor from a nearby church who was seen there.  Well, as she tells the story, his attendance at the street dance came to the attention of the church board, and since everyone knows that dancing is a very wicked, sinful activity, the Youth Pastor was fired.  To this day, my Mom will have nothing to do with that denomination.  Her reasoning?  If his job is taking Christ to the youth, shouldn’t he be where the youth are?  I can’t argue with that kind of reasoning, can you?

I recall a conversation with an irate lady who was upset because a couple of members of our church were smokers.  She wanted them straightened out or kicked out because smoking is a sin.  When I asked her how she knew that, she replied that it’s a sin because the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  I thought that was interesting and asked her about the context of that verse (1 Cor. 6:19) She had no idea, but everybody knows it means you can’t smoke.  She turned bright red when I pointed out that in context, Paul is talking about sexual immorality in general, and sex with a prostitute in particular.  Sorry, smoking may be crazy, but it isn’t a sin (I’m a non-smoker and always have been).

These are the kinds of things Paul is addressing in this paragraph.  We have all sorts of “rules” that come from culture, from society and from religious traditions that have nothing to do with any Bible teaching.  Now it may be that there are certain things my conscience won’t permit me to do, but that doesn’t make it a “rule” for everyone else. Paul’s logic is simple and clear: We have died to sin, the Law and the ways of this world.  Why do we linger?  Stop it and follow Jesus Christ.

The end of the passage is quite interesting. All of these rules and traditions lack any value in restraining “sensual indulgence.”  Let’s try not to have our minds go straight to the gutter here, for “sensual indulgence” covers a lot more than sex.   Paul gives us some advice on how this can be done in the next chapter, and we’ll have a look at that next time…

Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Colossians 2:16-19

Remember that we left off with God’s triumph over the law, the authorities and powers at the cross, and now we draw some conclusions.  Since we are newly alive in Christ, have died to sin and have our sins forgiven, and since we have the fullness of the indwelling Holy Spirit, we are not to allow people to criticize us for what we eat, drink, or observe, as they might have done under the Law.

Pay careful attention to verse 17: These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. All of these festivals, customs and regulations were at best but a shadow of what was to come in Christ, and we often miss that fact.  Many elements found in the Old Testament are like that, but we want to focus on them… and that includes the Temple itself, according to the author of Hebrews.  Jesus is the reality, and all the old forms were a mere shadow of what He would bring us, and He has now brought us the reality.

In verse 19, Paul refers to the kinds of people who are always critical of a person who has found the liberty that is in Christ.  They are puffed up, falsely humble, etc, etc.  At the end of this brief passage comes the part that will really give us insight about this sort of thing.  People who are hanging on to the forms of religion and seeking to impose them on their brother or sister have sadly been cut off from the Head of the Body.  Since we know that Christ is the Head, these poor folks who seek to impose rules are not growing with the Body, being cut off.  Maybe God has put them in our path so that we can help them get back in touch with the Head.

Oh, that would bring us back to the concept of relationship, love, serving and making disciples, wouldn’t it?

Yes dear reader, most lessons come right back to that.