BECOMING MORE LIKE CHRIST
Colossians 3:1-17
January 22, 2017
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INTRODUCTION:
1.) There are times as Christians when we have to see where we are at, and refocus our hearts and minds to become like Christ.
2.) These Jewish Christians at Colossae had lost focus of their vision for Christ and had to refocus their lives on Him.
3.) There are times when every Christian also has to refocus on the things of God.
4.) Let us hear now some thoughts and instructions on this from the teachings of the Apostle Paul to the church at Colossae.
I. SET YOUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE
1. Where Christ is seated at the Right hand of God.
A.) Paul immediately draws our attention to Jesus Christ.
aa.) In his attempts to draw these Christians back to Christ, he has repeatedly shown us Jesus Christ, and draws our attention to look at, and to focus on Jesus the Christ.
ac.) This time, the scene Paul gives us of Jesus is there in heaven and at the right hand of the throne of God Almighty.
aca.) As Stephen was being stoned to death he received a vision of this very thing.
.01) Acts 7:55-56
ad.) We are challenged not only to get a vision of Christ in the centre of our minds, but to also picture him at the place of exaltation in heaven itself, just as Stephen had seen and Peter on Pentecost had declared as reality.
ae.) Just before Jesus ascended from this earth he proclaimed that all authority in heaven and earth had been given to Him.
aea.) That is exactly the picture that Paul now shows us. Jesus is now exalted to the right hand of God;
.01) He is now exalted to the place of all authority; He is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords.
.011) That is the title Jesus will bear when he returns to this earth.
.0111) Revelation 19:15
.0112) Even now, that is His position.
.02) Not only is He this, but when we came to Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour we personally acknowledged him as having that position.
.021) Now as these Jewish Christians were starting to turn their backs on Jesus, Paul is reminding them to once more:
B.) Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
ba.) This reason for this: “For you died.”
bb.) At whatever point they had come to faith and were baptized into Jesus Christ the old man had died, and they had put on Jesus Christ.
bba.) They were now new creatures in Christ.
bc.) From that point onward, these Christians, as well as all who bear the name of Christ have put ourselves into Jesus Christ.
2.) When Christ who is your life appears:
A.) As Christians, we have put our lives into the life and person of Jesus Christ.
aa.) Some could look at that as a negative thing to have put your life into another, and yet for one who does so, He quickly finds there is no life like it,
ab.) Not only is there no life like it, there is also no other life that can reward us so much in this life, or in the life to come.
B.) Then you also will appear with Him in glory.
ba.) Colossians 3:4
bb.) But to receive such blessing we need to be surrendered to Christ.
bba.) Sometimes that means there has to be changes in our lives.
bbb.) These Christians may have once made changes in their lives, but now they were going back to their old ways.
bbc.) Therefore Paul has to once more remind them to:
II. PUT TO DEATH, THEREFORE WHAT BELONGS TO YOUR EARTHLY NATURE.
1.) There are many things that are part of our worldly nature.
A.) Sexual Immorality.
aa.) In pretty much every list of the characteristics of the worldly nature sexual immorality comes to the front.
aaa.) God has given the sexual side of our lives as a thing of great beauty and benefit to a couple.
aab.) In the plan of God it is as beautiful as anything else that God has created.
.01) Yes as beautiful as it is, it can also be an area that can overpower our lives into sin when Jesus Christ is not the Lord of our lives.
.02) Satan knows that God has called our bodies the temples of the Holy spirit of God.
.021) He also knows the damage it can do to us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, and relationship wise when he can entice God’s creation into sinning against the Lord by their
own bodies.
B.) Impurity.
ba.) We often think of this again in terms of the sexual, but it does not have to be limited to that area of our lives.
bb.) It can be any part of our lives where our thought pattern is contrary to that of the Word of God for our lives.
C.) Lust.
ca.) When anything or anyone comes to such a level of importance that it consumes every part of our being we have entered into a state of lustfulness.
cb.) In many ways it is a form of idolatry, just as we will also see with greed where we are making something more important that what it should be in our lives.
D.) Evil desires.
da.) Evil desires come when we look at good things, people, events, and things with motives that go contrary to the will of God for our lives.
daa.) Certainly if we are not glorifying God we have already entered into evil desires.
dab.) These desires will only grow until Jesus Christ is again the Lord of our lives.
E.) Greed (which is idolatry).
ea.) When a person has an unhealthy desire for far more of something than what we should have we become greedy, and have made that object an idol we are in fact bowing down to worship.
eb.) Many times the person with such a problem is not even aware of it.
eba.) It slowly creeps into a person’s life as he gives less and less glory to God, and comes to a place more and
more of longing desire for something.
ebb.) If our love for God decreases, we will by our very nature increase in our love for things, or for anything
other than the Living God.
F.) Anger.
fa.) Anger in and of itself is not sinful.
faa.) Even Jesus expressed anger.
fb.) Our anger should none the less a caution flag of warning in our lives.
fba) If we find we have anger quite frequently, and powerfully it might need to be looked at and addressed as
it may be an indication of a deep problem in our lives.
.01) When anger is very common, very strong, and very lingering it may well be an indication that we need
to be turning our lives back over to the hand of God.
.011) It can be an indication of not having a right relationship with God.
.012) There are times it can be an indicator that we are being led by the forces of darkness rather
than by the power of God.
.013) This is particularly true if we have allowed our anger to go to the next level which Paul
describes with the word:
G.) Rage.
ga.) We have all seen people even adults in a fit of rage.
gb.)Rage and fits of rage happen when we have allowed our anger to become so powerful that we are actually being controlled by our anger, rather than the Spirit of the Living God.
H.) Malice.
ha.) There are probably few areas in which a person can be more like the devil than if he is planning ill against another who has been created in the image of God.
hb.) Yet when a person loses touch with Jesus Christ, it is easy to come to such a place of wickedness.
I.) Slander.
ia.) Certainly an area where the devil can really use a person for wickedness is in the area of slander or gossip.
ib.) There is no end to the damage that has been done or can be done by the use of the tongue.
ic.) James even warned about this sin, and the wickedness and danger of such a use of the tongue.
ica.) James 3:8-9
J.) Filthy language.
ja.) It doesn’t take much of an association with people before we will hear some of the vilest of language that could
ever be imagined.
jb.) Many who are so defiled by their tongue do not even realize what is coming from their mouths.
jba.) Even more dangerous with it, is that Jesus said that it is a reflection of the state of that person’s heart.
.01) Matthew 15:11
K.) Lying.
ka.) It is a dreadful thing for a Christian to lie, and yet it happens more often than we would like to admit.
kb.) Paul is reminding the Church at Colossae that such an action comes from a heart that is not surrendered over to Jesus Christ.
2.) As Christians we have taken off our old self and have put on a new self.
A.) Which is being renewed.
aa.) We are told when we have come from the waters of baptism that we are new creatures in Christ, and truly we are.
ab.) Yet what we are in declaration, we are being transformed into as we live for Jesus Christ, and strive to
become like him.
aba.) Though we are made new in Christ when we arise from the waters of baptism, the transformation
process in our minds and hearts takes a lifetime.
abb.) It is something that only happens when we willfully grow n Jesus Christ, and the knowledge of Him.
.01) Colossians 3:10
B.) In this new self, Christ is all, and is in all.
ba.) When Christ becomes our all there is no division over circumcision.
bb.) When Christ becomes our all, there is no longer division because of our nationality.
bc.) When Christ becomes our all there is no longer the divisions of slave and free, or male and female.
III. REMEMBER THAT WE ARE GOD’S CHOSEN PEOPLE.
1.) We need to remember who we are—We are children of God, and as such:
A.) We are holy.
aa.) This is a declaration God first made of the Jewish people as His chosen people.
ab.) That Old Testament declaration of the Jewish people is carried over to Gentiles in the New
Testament.
ac.) That holiness has never come from us, but from God.
aca.) We are made holy by the declaration of God.
acb.) We are made holy by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
acc.) We are made holy as we live our lives to and for Jesus Christ, growing in the knowledge and the
grace of God.
B.) We are dearly loved by God.
ba.) The love of God for each one of us is seen when Jesus died on the cross.
bb.) The love of God for us is seen in God’s willingness to do what he did, through Christ, and His
willingness to adopt us into His family as his Sons and daughters.
2.) We need to have the character of Him to whom we belong.
A.) Colossians 3:12-14
B.) Clothed with compassion.
ba.) If we are to become more and more like Christ we must have the compassion of God for others.
C.) Clothed with kindness.
ca.) The more we become like Christ, the more we will grow in kindness towards others.
cb.) When Jesus was on this earth his kindness to the hurting, the broken, the weary, and the struggling
was given without measure, or limit.
D.) Clothed with humility.
da.) Humility is a special quality to add to our lives.
db.) It is not something that is natural.
dba.) The natural for any person is to think of ourselves, to exalt ourselves, to demand for ourselves.
dbb.) The quality to go beyond the selfishness of self comes only as we give ourselves over to
become more like Christ.
E.) Clothed with gentleness.
ea.) When Jesus was on this earth he sometimes was quite severe with hypocrisy of faith, and false piety,
but with the broken, hurting and weak there was nobody who would have ever showed a greater
degree of gentleness.
eb.) If we are becoming like Christ that same attitude should be expressed in us as well.
F.) Clothed with patience.
fa.) The more we become like Christ, the greater will be the patience we can have with man.
fb.) It is when we see that person as God sees them that we can be patient with the failures, and
shortcomings of man just as God is.
3.) We need to treat each other as God treats us.
A.) To bear with each other.
B.) To forgive whatever grievances you might have against one another.
ba.) We are to forgive just as the Lord forgave you.
bb.) It does not take long in thinking on how much forgiveness that God has given to any of us to realize
how little forgiveness is really required on our part toward others.
C.) We are to put on love.
4.) As we grow to live more and more as new creatures in Christ, we will:
A.) Be ruled by the peace of Christ in our hearts.
aa.) The decision to grow and become more like Christ is a choice that we have to make ourselves.
aaa.) At any time we can choose to become more like Jesus Christ, and glorify Him, or we can choose
as many of the Colossians did to reject Him.
ab.) While the decision to become more like Christ is a personal one that we must choose, the reward for
doing so comes from our Lord.
ac.) Certainly there are many rewards which Christ will give us when we honour Him including the
forgiveness of sins, and the gift of eternal life.
ad.) Yet in our text today it does not speak of these things as great as they are.
ada.) Instead Paul tells us to let the peace of Christ rule over us.
.01) Colossians 3:10
ae.) When the peace of Christ rules over us, there will be significantly less need for nerve pills, and
sleeping pills, and many other health issues.
B.) Be thankful.
ba.) Thankfulness is not something that is necessarily the result of receiving great blessing, but rather
the attitude of the heart to be in a conscious awareness to the greatness of our God.
bb.) I am sure that when Paul was being beaten with steel rods, or with scourges, or when the rocks
being thrown at him were bouncing off of his flesh that he could say Thankyou I feel so blessed.
bc.) Yet through it all, he could still rejoice. because He knew how much Jesus had suffered for Him, and
if he could suffer some for Christ he was willing to do so.
CONCLUSION:
1.) Paul was willing to do whatever it would take to glorify God.
2.) He desired that all men would also have that desire to give glory to God.
3.) Paul closed this section of chapter three with the following words: (17) 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.”
A.) As we leave here today, may that be our prayer as well.
