COLOSSIANS – Part Ten

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

www.godsbreathpublications.com

 

Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul while he was under house arrest in Rome. Epaphras, the pastor of the church in Colossae, came to Paul to share how well the Christians were growing in faith, but also to ask for help to address the issue of false teaching that was threatening the church. Paul responded by writing this letter of encouragement that is packed full of basic doctrine concerning Christ and the Gospel. It is unclear what the exact heresy was that was attempting to creep into the church at Colossae, but it had elements of Jewish observances of the Law as well as paganism and Gnostic beliefs. It is very relevant for us today, for we are surrounded by pagan beliefs and ascetic religious concepts, while at the same time dealing with a new resurgence of Gnostic conceptual influences. Paul in the following passage covers the doctrine of our new life in Christ and how it is so different than the life we had before we accepted Christ as our personal Savior.

 

Colossians 3:5-9

“Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.”

 

In these verses Paul is telling the followers of Christ in Colossae, and us today, to put off the inward and outward passions that seek to control our thought life and behavior. While our old nature was crucified with Christ and we are no longer slaves to sin, we still have the choice to sin if we wish. We can choose to pursue the earthly, fleshly, sinful desires that once ruled our lives. But Paul commands that we do not make this sinful choice. First he lists the inward passions of sexual immorality, impure thoughts, lustful pursuits, evil desires and greed that can be a temptation for our thoughts to focus on. All of these thoughts and behaviors are in essence forms of idolatry for we are placing them as more important than our Lord and Savior. Whenever we place any action, thought or object above the Lord it is idolatry. We worship idols by how we seek them, how we think about them and because we place them above the Lord. Paul also here gives us the reason that the wrath of God rests upon the human race. It is because of the sin in people’s lives and their desire to seek earthly pursuits that are unholy. Paul sums up these thoughts perfectly in Romans.

 

Romans 1:21-25

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised.”

 

When people dwell and pursue earthly, sinful, evil thoughts and desires, these thoughts and desires will manifest themselves in outward passions and actions. Paul lists in this passage the internal sinful motives, as well as personal sins of sexual immorality, impurity, physical lust, evil desires and greed. Then he progresses to the sinful actions that are outwardly manifested by such thoughts which include anger, wrath, malice, slander, abusive speech and lying. Paul is instructing the followers of Christ at Colossae to put to death these thoughts and desires and rid their lives from such evil actions. When we are saved we are holy in our position before our Heavenly Father because of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins and our acceptance of Him as our Lord and Savior. But as followers of Christ we are to “work out our salvation” by practically living as Christ would in our lives. This is the process of sanctification, living out in our lives practically where we are already in our position before God. We are to die to sin because our old nature was crucified with Christ.

 

Romans 6:6-7

“For we know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.”

 

Romans 8:13-14

“For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.”

 

The Holy Spirit’s weapon in our lives is the Word of God, the sword of the Spirit, and it is a critical part of our spiritual armory mentioned in Ephesians 6:17. There are two parallel verses that reveal to us that as we let the Word of God dwell in us through study and application we will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

 

Colossians 3:16

“Let 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.”

 

Ephesians 5:18-19

“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.”

 

We are to kill or bring the flesh under the rule of the Holy Spirit and the new nature we have in Christ. Paul is not advocating the asceticism (a selfish self-disciplined life of physical denial) that he was condemning in Chapter 2. He is simply stating that we are to live as new creations because we are new creatures in Christ. We are to live godly and holy and pure because that is who we are in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 states, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Asceticism seeks self glory and attention by the denial of physical pleasures and comforts. It seeks to bring attention to the person living a life of denial. As followers of Christ we wish to deny our body the sinful lusts it craves because we love Christ and want to give God glory by how we live for Him. We are to offer to God our bodies as living sacrifices to do with as He pleases, which is to our benefit. When we are in full submission to the Lord in a loving relationship with Him, we not only bring Him glory, but we live in joy, peace and contentment because we are living as we should and fulfilling the purpose for which we were created.

 

Romans 12:1-2

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

 

Paul is saying that Christians are to bring the body under control of the Spirit which hits at the dualistic doctrine of the Gnostics that were infiltrating the churches at Ephesus and the surrounding area. The Gnostics felt that the spirit of a person was good and the body of a person was evil. God redeems us by giving us a new nature and He desires for our body to come under the control of our new nature which is guided by the Holy Spirit and His Word.

 

Romans 6:11-14

“In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.”

 

To be victorious in our battle with sin we must first, starve sin by not feeding it, not catering to its influence on us and secondly, by crowding it out with positive graces that we receive from Christ through the Spirit.

 

Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”

 

J.C. Ryle stated the following; “Would you be holy? Would you become a new creature? Then begin with Christ! You will do nothing, until you feel your sin and weakness—and flee to Him! He is the beginning of all holiness. He is not only wisdom and righteousness to His people—but sanctification also. People sometimes try to make themselves holy first—and sad work they make of it! They toil, labor, and turn over many new leaves, and make many changes—and yet they feel nothing bettered, but rather worse. They run in vain and labor in vain! Little wonder, for they are beginning at the wrong end! They are building up a wall of sand; their work runs down as fast as they throw it up. They are baling water out of a leaky vessel. The leak gains on them, not they on the leak. Other foundation of holiness, can no person lay, than that which Paul laid, even Christ Jesus. Without Christ, we can do nothing.”

 

Since our position before God is new because we have a new nature, we are to constantly and consistently put on this new self and live by it by the power of the Spirit. “since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self,” These words bridge the gap between what believers are told to put off (3:5-9a) and what they are to put on (3:12-17).

 

Next time Paul will take us through the calling of the new creature we are in Christ. He will direct us in a lifestyle that reflects a Christ-like thought life as well as a Christ-like lifestyle in our outward actions. It will be challenging to read what God wished to communicate through him to the followers of Christ at Colossae and how it applies as well to us as modern-day believers.