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Colossians 9 – The Message of Christ
“Let the Message of Christ dwell among you richly…”
We need that message dwelling in us everyday. We need the message of Christ to be in everything we do.
Are we familiar with this message? Is it being lived out in love & peace?
You have found your way to Redemption Church of Plano Tx. Hello my name is Chris Fluitt. Greetings to everyone watching online and of course all you good looking people right here in the room.
What kind of Church is Redemption Church? We are the kind of Church that connects with the culture. We are the kind of Church that does not DEMONIZE the culture around us. We don’t sit in our Church building and say terrible things about our society.. We are the kind of church that seeks to bring the message of Jesus to the culture. Sometimes we do this in creative ways. But regardless of how it is accomplished our major goal is put Jesus on display to a culture that has not yet seen Him.
Please turn with me to Colossians 3. I am excited to be in our Colossians study. I really have gotten so much out of this series. I hope it has been good for you… it has been great for me.
CHRIST IS SUPREME
I want you to remember that the theme of the book of Colossians is CHRIST IS SUPREME
Last week we talked about the Jesus Life. It is a glorious life! We ended with this powerful verse declaring Christ to be all and in all. Let’s read that verse again… Colossians 3:11
Colossians 3:11 (NIV2011) Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Colossians 3:12 (NIV2011) Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Colossians 3:13 (NIV2011) Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:14 (NIV2011) And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Colossians 3:15 (NIV2011) Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Colossians 3:16 (NIV2011) 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.
Colossians 3:17 (NIV2011) 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 3:18 (NIV2011) Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Colossians 3:19 (NIV2011) Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Colossians 3:20 (NIV2011) Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Colossians 3:21 (NIV2011) Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
Colossians 3:22 (NIV2011) 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.
Colossians 3:23 (NIV2011) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
Colossians 3:24 (NIV2011) since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Colossians 3:25 (NIV2011) Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
Colossians 4:1 (NIV2011) Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Clap your hands if you are thankful for God’s word!
Colossians 3:12 (NIV2011) Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Did you know that you are chosen?
Chosen/Elected
Eklektos (ek-lek-to’s) – Elect, chosen, picked out
The subject of “ELECTION” is a contentious subject. There are some that believe God only selects certain people. The thought continues that if God selects you then you are saved no matter what you do and if you aren’t selected then you are hell-bound no matter what you do.
I strongly disagree with this view of God. I don’t think it is what scripture declares.
But yet scripture declares right in front of us that there are chosen, elected people… so let’s bring context to this idea.
See if you can tell who this prophecy is about…
Isaiah 42:1 (NIV2011) “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
It’s Jesus. The rest of this chapter is just amazing, but we only have time to look at this first verse. The prophet declares Jesus is the chosen one. Jesus is the elect one.
God delights in him. His Spirit is on him. He brings justice to the nations. Jesus is the elect.
When Jesus was on the cross, scripture describes this.
Luke 23:35 (NIV2011) The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
This Jewish people understood that Isaiah was speaking about the messiah and called him the chosen one. Paul no doubt understands this prophecy as well and somehow the idea of an ELECT CHRIST & ELECT US must correlate.
I present to you the idea that Jesus is the elect one… and that we are elect through Him. Just as Isaiah said God delighted in him… God also delights in us. Just as Isaiah said God would put His Spirit on Him, God has placed His Spirit on us! Just as Jesus brought justice, we too are called to bring justice. None of this is possible without Jesus the elect one… it is only through coming to Jesus do we enter into the elect.
It is not God playing eeny meeny miny moe to pick who is saved or who isn’t. It is that God has ELECTED Christ and we can all become elect through Christ! Other examples… God commands the creation of an ark… whoever gets on board is predestined to be saved. God has a church, a body of Jesus believers, and whoever is in that church is predestined to be saved. The individual people aren’t predestined… the saving vessel is predestined. Get in the ark, it is ELECT of God to go through the flood. Get in the Church, it is ELECT of God to go through judgement and end up in heaven. Be in Christ, because HE IS ELECT, PREDESTINED, to be the savior of all.
Paul says it this way in Ephesians 1
Ephesians 1:4 (NIV2011) For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
Ephesians 1:5 (NIV2011) he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will
We are chosen of God… but only through the vessel, Jesus Christ are we saved. And any one that comes to Christ is chosen of God because Christ is Chosen! The Chosen, Elect, predestined saving vessel, Jesus Christ says…
Matthew 11:28 (NIV2011) “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
All are called by Christ to come and whoever comes finds rest. We are the elected people through the Elect Christ. (1 Peter 2:9 & Revelation 17:14)
Colossians 3:12 (NIV2011) Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Elected people of Jesus.. holy and loved (agape)… God has a command for us. Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience… in other words clothe yourself in Christ. (Romans 13:14)
The command continues…
Colossians 3:13 (NIV2011) Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
We clothe ourselves in Christ… and then we are Christ towards each other. We BEAR & FORGIVE. You want to know who the elect of God are…? they bear & forgive others.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you. We must forgive at the level of Christ’s forgiveness! Think about the level of Christ’s forgiveness… I think we need to raise our level of forgiveness.
Has Christ ever not forgiven you? NO! Are you refusing to forgive someone?
In Luke 7:47 Jesus equates forgiveness to love.
Luke 7:47 (NIV2011) ..her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.”
Forgiven much – Love much
Forgiven little – Love little
Forgiveness is all about love!
Colossians 3:14 (NIV2011) And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Verse 12 told you to clothe yourself… now Paul tells us to put on love! Love binds everything together! It brings everything into perfect/whole unity.
PUT ON LOVE – You can’t do this without love!
The love of God at work within us makes all of this possible. Bearing and forgiving… compassion and gentleness… kindness and patience… you can’t fake this! It comes through God’s love!
Colossians 3:15 (NIV2011) 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 peace of Christ rule
You don’t just need peace of Christ… You need the peace of Christ to RULE. Too often we think having peace. Simply that peace is present with us. BUT HERE Paul declares that peace should be the RULER of your heart!
Brabeuō (brä-byü’-ō) – the Greek word for rule means to be an umpire. To decide, determine, & direct. To govern.
Is your heart ruled by the peace of Christ?
What is ruling your heart right now? Paul wrote about the ruling peace of his heart from a prison cell.. let that sink in.
Colossians 3:15 (NIV2011) Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Verse 14 says that love binds us into perfect unity. Now Paul talks about being members of one body. And that body is called to peace.
We are a peaceful body. We aren’t called to yell at people and attack them. The Bible calls us warriors, but then scripture declares that we don’t war like the world wars. Whatever we do as Christians it must be done in peace.
We are called to peace… and to be thankful!
Thankful is the word Eucharistos and it is where we get the word Eucharist, which some in the body of Christ refer to communion. When you are remembering Christ in communion you are being thankful. Thankful for the body and blood…
Colossians 3:16 (NIV2011) 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.
The Message
We need the message of Christ to dwell within everything we do. What is the message of Christ?
John 3:16 (NIV2011) For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
This is a great encapsulation of why Christ came. God sent Jesus and whoever believes in him shall not perish.
But the message of Christ extends to everything that Christ taught us. The word for message is the Greek word Logos (lo’-gos) which means utterance and cognitive plan. Everything Christ uttered is His Message. We need the teaching of Christ to dwell among us.
He taught us about..
- love & forgiveness
- Mercy & grace
- Prayer & relationship
- The seed of the Word of God
- No-one is so lost that they can’t return to the Father’s house
Colossians 3:16 (NIV2011) 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.
We need the message of Christ dwell among us, the body of Christ.
Then Paul shows us ways for the message to dwell in us…
Teach & Admonish (warn) one another with all wisdom. So we teach with the message of Christ. We admonish with the message of Christ. And we do it all with ALL WISDOM. Have you ever seen someone use the message of Christ unwisely? Yes! We need wisdom in sharing His message.
Through psalms.. Greek word Psalmos which means striking the chords of a musical instrument. I know some in the Body of Christ who have trouble with musical instruments, but here Paul says musical instruments can carry the message of Christ!
Hymns.. Greek word Hymnos, meaning a song praising God. The word is rooted in celebration. Church we need to celebrate.
Spiritual songs… Let’s break this down. Spiritual is the Greek word Pnuematikos meaning, of the Holy Spirit. Pnuema is the root word and it means breath. This is God breathed, inspired by God. And the songs is ōdē which means words being sung. This is a song straight from the Spirit being sung to His church. In a moment of ministry a song could be sung that gets its message straight from the Spirit in that instant.
Hymnos seems like it would be a known song. Everyone knows this song and we all sing it… but Pnuematikos ōdē is a song the Spirit teaches us. When Israel crossed over the Red Sea they sang a song no one had sung before. This may have been a Spiritual song. I challenge you to sing a Spiritual Song…
…Singing to God with gratitude/grace in your hearts.
We need the Message of Christ to be in EVERYTHING we do
And not only that, we also need to do everything in Jesus name!
Colossians 3:17 (NIV2011) 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.
We do everything in Jesus name. We pray in that name, we baptize in that name, we defeat the enemy in that name, we worship in that name…
The Paul gives instructions for the body.
Instructions for the body
Remember Paul told us in verse 11 to have a body with no division. In verse 15 he told us to have one, unified, body. Now He is teaching them to live in unity within a culture that is greatly divided.
Redemption do we live in a culture that is greatly divided? Uh… Yes! We need to seek unity.
Colossians 3:18 (NIV2011) Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Paul addresses wives.
Colossians 3:19 (NIV2011) Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Paul addresses husbands.
Colossians 3:20 (NIV2011) Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
Paul speaks to children.
Colossians 3:21 (NIV2011) Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
Paul speaks to parents.
The bottom line is this. DO NOT do things that divide. Even if society says it is ok… and within your right… you should still seek to not divide the body of Christ.
Then there is this bombshell scripture.
Colossians 3:22 (NIV2011) 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.
This verse has been used in ways that I think would sadden the apostle Paul. People have used this verse to show that God is pro slavery, that the Bible endorses slavery. We need to look at some context.
Context: This ancient culture had slavery. Slavery arrived in Colossae long before the message of Christ arrived. Also this ancient slavery was not like the slavery we had in the USA in past centuries.. the word for slavery is also used as servant… but regardless…
Paul is not preaching that slavery is ok or that it was God’s endorsed ideal. He is preaching something bigger than that.
In a world with division, injustice, unfairness… don’t just live in the culture, LIVE ABOVE THE CULTURE
The culture makes the slave obey the master, but the culture says nothing about the heart. But Paul says to live above the culture. Obey, serve with sincerity of heart & reverence for the Lord.
Obey Your Master …Who Is Your Master?
The ancient culture of Colossae would have made the man the master of his wife.. the parents the master of the child… the slave owner master of the slave. So the wife would work for the husband.. the child would work for the parent.. the slave would work for the owner..
But Paul says something amazing in verse 23.
Colossians 3:23 (NIV2011) Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
Your reward doesn’t come from who the culture says is your master. The societal construct says who you work for, but Paul declares you are working for the Lord Christ!
The human master… your boss, spouse, parent, teacher, government… may treat you bad.
Society tells us the way to respond to bad treatment is to… curse them out, quit, steal, slander..
But the message of Christ tells us to RISE ABOVE THE CULTURE.
You don’t have a human master
My eyes are not on who this culture says is my master, My master is the Lord.
Now you may be thinking… “yeah but they are treating me bad” I will tell you not to stay in abusive situations, but I will ask you as you face bad situations… Where does your reward come from?
Colossians 3:24 (NIV2011) since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.
Do right and you will get a reward from the Lord. But if you do wrong…
Colossians 3:25 (NIV2011) Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
Being a Christian doesn’t give you a right to do wrong. Being a follower of Jesus means you need to live at a higher standard.
And then finally, this last verse we talk about today. The people who twist the verse about slaves need to include this verse in their context.
Colossians 4:1 (NIV2011) Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
This was a revolutionary command. This was so far above the level of the culture.
Master treat your slave right. Provide for them. Do not abuse them. Care for them. Whatever is right and fair, do it!
Masters… people in authority need to remember… that they have a master in heaven. Now I have to ask you… how do you want your master in heaven to treat you?
We covered a lot today. We are about to gather for a time of prayer and worship. As you get ready to come I want to bring you back to verse 16.
Colossians 3:16 (NIV2011) 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.
Is the message of Christ dwelling within you?
Are you living in unity?
Are you treating people right and fair?
Are you rising above the level of the culture?
Come, let’s talk to God.