Colossians 3:5-10
Character - Killing Self
I. \\#1:1-2:23\\ The Person of God Displayed through Christ
A. \\#1:1-12\\ Introduction
1. \\#1-2\\ Paul’s Salutation
2. \\#1:3-8\\ Paul’s Recognition
3. \\#1:9-11\\ Paul’s Prayer
B. \\#1:12-2:3\\ The Person of Christ
1. \\#1:12-14\\ Paul’s Thanks
2. \\#1:15-22\\ Paul’s Message
a. \\#15-17\\ Who Jesus is in Creation.
(1) \\#15\\ Jesus, the image of the invisible God.
(2) \\#15\\ Jesus, the firstborn of every creature.
(3) \\#16\\ Jesus, the Creator of all things.
(4) \\#17\\ Jesus, the One before all things.
(5) \\#17\\ Jesus, the One by whom all things consist.
b. \\#18-21\\ Who Jesus is in the church
(1) \\#18\\ Jesus, the Head of the body.
(2) \\#18\\ Jesus, the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.
(3) \\#19\\ Jesus, in whom dwells all the fullness of the
Godhead.
(4) \\#20\\ Jesus. the Peacemaker.
(5) \\#21\\ Jesus, the Reconciler.
(6) \\#22\\ Jesus, the Presenter.
3. \\#1:23\\ Paul’s Challenge
4. \\1:24-2:3\\ Paul’s Ministry
a. \\#1:24\\ Paul Enduring
b. \\#1:25-28\\ Paul Entrusted
c. \\#2:1-3\\ Paul Expected
C. \\#2:4-23\\ Warnings to the Church
1. \\#2:4-7\\ Don’t Be Beguiled
2. \\#2:8-15\\ Don’t Be (Spoiled) Ruined
3. \\#2:16-17\\ Don’t Be (Judged) Condemned
4. \\#2:18\\ Don’t Lose Your Reward
5. \\#2:19-23\\ Don’t Lose Your Christ
D. \\#2:10-23\\ The Solution is to Remember
1. \\#2:9-10\\ Who Christ is.
2. \\#2:11-15\\ What Christ has done.
3. \\#2:16-23\\ What we should do.
II. \\#3:1-4:18\\ The Person of God Displayed through the Believers
A. \\#3:1\\ A Condition
B. \\#3:2-4\\ A Correlation
C. \\#3:5-4:6\\ Commands
1. \\#3:5-17\\ For A Growing Christian
a. \\#5-7\\ We must kill some things.
b. \\#8-9\\ We must "put off" some things.
c. \\#10-17\\ We must "put on" some things.
2. \\#3:18-21\\ For A Godly Home
3. \\#3:22-4:1\\ For Good Business
4. \\#4:2-6\\ For A Strong Christian Life
We have moved into a new phase of this book. The Book’s theme is the "Exaltation
of Christ." In the first two chapters, Christ was exalted by His person and His
work. In these last two chapters, we will see that Christ is exalted through His
believers.
The commands that Paul gives flow out of the condition and correlation that he
states at the beginning of the chapter.
1. The condition was - If you are raised (saved)…
2. The Correlation was - You will want the heavenly blessings and love the
heavenly One.
3. If you are saved, you will be made like Jesus. The question is will it be
a pleasant journey or a painful one. You can make it more pleasant by
following God’s helpful commands.
I. \\#3:5-4:6\\ Commands
A. \\#5-17\\ Commands for a Growing Christians
1. \\#3:5-7\\ We must kill some things.
a. \\#5\\ Definitions
(1) The word MORTIFY to make dead, to kill.
(2) The word MEMBERS means BODY PARTS or LIMBS.
b. This command is very similar to what Jesus said.
Matt 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee:
for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that
thy whole body should be cast into hell.
30 And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it
is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy
whole body should be cast into hell.
c. Neither Paul nor Jesus want us to mutilate our bodies.
(1) How do I know? Because doing so would not stop the evil
from brewing inside us or even guarantee that we would
stop us acting out the evil in one fashion or another.
(2) The extreme verbiage is used to alert us to the importance
of controlling our bodies.
d. Even so, the word "mortify" or kill has a finality about to it.
(1) \\#8\\ Compare it to "put off."
(2) When one pulls something off, there is always the notion that
it may have to be done again; but when one kills a thing, it
is gone for good.
(3) Paul’s terminology might indicate that these sins are sins
that need to be dealt with in a decisive and permanent way.
e. To kill the members means to destroy the ability to commit these
sins:
(1) fornication-any kind of sexual sins
(2) uncleanness
(a) The word is not just being nasty or dirty but being
morally nasty or dirty.
(b) Moral state of impurity and moral defilement.
(c) It is listed in \\#Rom 1:24\\ as a judgment of God
upon wicked men that leads them to go on to "change
the truth of God into lie" and moves them along to
changing the natural use of women into that which is
against nature.
(d) I believe this is the state of moral decay that comes
BEFORE sexual perversion to justify and condone it.
(3) inordinate affection-wrong loves or lusts which would include
loving the wrong sex.
(4) evil concupiscence-when the flesh is ruling over or has
mastery over the spirit.
(5) covetousness-lust, desire, wantonness towards anything that
is contrary to the will of God.
(6) idolatry-false worship.
f. There is an extreme urgency and finality given with these sins.
(1) Why?
(2) Perhaps because just like they lead to the lost being judged
\\#6\\, they can lead to some kind of judgment coming upon
the believer.
g. The text says to MORTIFY the MEMBERS that are commit these sins.
(1) The single body member that is involved in all of these
sinful actions is the heart or mind.
(2) The heart, whether wicked or pure, controls all of the
other members of the body.
Mt 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for
out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
(3) An effect needs to bring the Christians’ heart under control
of righteousness.
(4) Salvation, the Holy Ghost, and the Word of God are SUPPOSED
to do that and I believe WILL do that if they are yielded
to.
(5) Once that is accomplished the individual body member will
also come under the control of the spirit.
(6) Our mouth, our hands, our feet, our texting and typing
fingers, our attitudes, our thoughts, our words—all will do
right if the heart is brought under control!
h. \\#6-7\\ Paul notes that God judges the lost (children of
disobedience) for engaging in these sins.
(1) Since we know that God judges all sins, the statement implies
that God has a judgment on these sins.
(a) I don’t know of a single judgment IN THIS LIFE that God
places on all of these sins except maybe unhappiness.
Those actively engaged in any sin seem unhappy.
(b) On an individual basis:
i. Sexual diseases often accompany those guilty of
fornication and inordinate affections.
ii. An unclean lifestyle brings reproach. (At least it
used to do so.)
iii. Bondage is upon those under concupiscence and
covetousness.
iv. Those guilty of idolatry have a wrong understanding
and make poor decisions.
(2) However, THE single judgment for these sins is damnation.
(The only ones not directly mentioned in this text are
uncleanness and evil concupiscence.)
1Cor 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God?
Be not deceived: neither FORNICATORS, nor IDOLATERS, nor adulterers, nor
effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, (inordinate affections)
10 Nor thieves, nor COVETOUS, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners,
shall inherit the kingdom of God.
(3) \\#7\\ These were the kinds of things that we ONCE but no
longer.
2. \\#8-9\\ We must "put off" some things.
a. \\#9\\ All of these come under the general heading of "put
off the old man."
(1) As already mentioned, to put something off is likely to
become a continuous action.
(2) Contrary to what some believe, the old nature is not
removed at salvation.
(a) The Bible does speak of it as if it were slain but
the old thing has some kind of resurrection power
of its own.
(b) It keeps coming back.
(3) Some things are just part of our nature require continued
diligence.
b. What are the things with which we are likely to battle?
(1) \\#8\\ anger - Allowing our emotion of justice to
linger or to control us.
(2) wrath - This is anger out of control. Our emotions take
righteousness and turn it into harshness and turn justice to
injustice.
(3) malice - That is the tendency man has to be mean.
(4) blasphemy - Demeaning God’s through an action or word.
(5) filthy communication - Saying things that are vulgar.
(6) \\#9\\ Lie not - Telling falsehoods.
c. I notice the first three (anger, wrath, and malice) have to
do with our way of dealing with problems and people while
the other three (blasphemy, filthy communication, and lying)
have to do with our speech.
(1) No doubt this is just a sampler’s list.
(2) However, the list probably hits two of our biggest problem
areas.
(a) Dealing with people and problems
(b) Controlling our tongue
(3) Even if you get pretty good at these things for a
while, it probably won’t be very long until you fall
off the wagon.
(4) That’s why they have to be "put off" over and over again.
3. \\#10-17\\ We must "put on" some things.
a. \\#10\\ All of these items come generally under the topic of
"put the new man."
(1) Paul gives us a principal.
(a) The new man is "renewed" (that is, strengthened, caused
to grow, empowered) by "knowledge" of and about the
Person that created him. Of course, that is Jesus.
(b) So the more we understand about the Lord, the more like
Him we will become.
(c) That "knowledge" and understanding come through the Word.
(d) For the last few days, I have been thinking about what
kind of "program" would help those in bondage to sin
(alcohol, drugs, sex, whatever). I believe a home
where they could go and have a diet of the Word of God
(preaching, memorization, singing, reading it). That is
what the Roloff Homes were about! Then a slow re-
introduction back into society.
(e) Paul does not explain WHY that is so. He just says it
is.
i. You have heard the expression, "Knowledge is power."
Apparently it is true.
ii. Getting to know Jesus IS putting on the new man.
Iii. Putting the Word of God into us IS getting to know
Jesus.
(2) The term Paul uses here is still to "put on."
(a) So this is likely to be continuous action.
(b) As we will continuously have to take some things off, we
will have to continually put some things on.
(c) There is a lot of consistent work involved in this
Christian life.
b. \\#12\\ Paul makes it clear that only the saved have the power to
do these things.
(1) He calls them…
(a) …the elect of God….
(b) …holy….
(c) …beloved.
(2) \\#11\\ And he points out that Christians, regardless of
their nationality, have Christ in them to empower and bless
them.
c. So what things are we to "put on"?
(1) \\#12-13\\ Put on some new actions.
(a) \\#12\\ bowels of mercy - Mercy is to withhold the
punishment due while giving the grace not due.
(b) kindness - That lubricant that makes it possible for
people to get along without friction, being good to
each other even when it is not deserved.
(c) humbleness of mind - Decreasing our worth in our eyes
while increasing the worth of others.
(d) meekness - Having a right and the authority but not
using it.
(e) longsuffering - The ability to suffer for a long
period of time.
(f) \\#13\\ forbearance - The ability to bear a heavy load.
(g) forgiveness - A willingness to count a wrong as being
paid by Jesus.
(2) \\#14-17\\ But first, "put on" some new attitudes.
(a) \\#14\\ Put on charity
i. Let every thing in our lives be filtered through
the spirit of love.
ii. If we could love people more than ourselves, we
would be able to behave like Jesus.
(b) \\#15\\ Let God’s peace rule in you.
i. That is the peace that God is in control.
ii. Short tempered, impatient people do not really
believe God is in control or they would not be
short-tempered and impatient people!
(c) \\#16\\ Let God’s Word dwell in you.
i. God’s Book is not just something to be read.
ii. It must take residence inside the believer.
(d) \\#17\\ And do everything as unto the Lord.
i. The context here is not working a job but living
your life.
ii. Learn to greet every person, approach every chore,
settle every issue, speak every word as you are
doing them for the Lord and in His presence.
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