1. God expects us to view one another as EQUALS.
The church at Colosse must have been a very diverse church. “Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free…” (v. 11a). The distinctions that are so important to the world mean nothing in the church.
Paul is saying, “You are all equal in Christ. It doesn’t matter what race you belong to, what religion you used to practice, what culture you’re from, or what position you have in society, you are all equal in Christ.” Though the Colossians were different from one another in many ways, he calls them all “brothers” in 1:2.
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). The male and female distinction tells us that differences remain among Christians, but these differences are not to become barriers to fellowship.
“We were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink” (1 Cor. 12:13).
Onesimus was Philemon’s slave who apparently had run away. In that day, a slave was not considered a person; he was viewed as a piece of property. In the providence of God, Onesimus met Paul and was saved. Paul wrote to Philemon and asked him to receive Onesimus back “no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother” (Philem. 16a). [It is possible that the letter to Philemon accompanied the letter to the Colossians.]
“But Christ is all, and in all” (v. 11b). “Christ is all.” In other words, He is everything I need. I am spiritually complete through Christ. And Christ is “in all.” Christ lives within every believer. That makes us all equal.
2. God expects us to LOVE one another.
Believers are described as “God’s chosen people” (v. 12). Here we have the doctrine of divine election. [Illustration: When we elect a politician, we expect him or her to serve or represent his or her constituents. We don’t elect that person to do nothing while collecting a big paycheque.] We have been elected/chosen by God for service. We are to be living advertisements of what God’s grace does in people’s lives.
• Love is SELF-SACRIFICE.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believers in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The key word is “gave.” A love that does not give is not true love.
“It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love….so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him…. ‘A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples’” (John 13:1, 4-5, 34-35).
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:9-11).
• Love is the SOURCE of every other Christian virtue.
You will not have compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience toward others unless you love others.
“The commandments, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not covet,’ and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom. 13:9-10).
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Gal. 5:6).
“The fruit of the Spirit is love…” (Gal. 5:22).
“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13).
The tense of the Greek word for “clothe yourselves” (v. 12) speaks of an action to be undertaken with a sense of urgency. We are to clothe ourselves with five virtues, all of which flow from a heart filled with love for others.
(1) Compassion: Pity and tenderness expressed toward the suffering and miserable. “When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things” (Mark 6:34).
(2) Kindness: Gracious sensitivity toward others that is triggered by genuine care for their feelings and desires.
(3) Humility: Allows us to serve others without caring whether it is noticed or not. “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves” (Phil. 2:3).
(4) Gentleness: The willingness to make allowances for others.
(5) Patience: I willing to suffer injury or insult rather than getting even.
Are your relationships with other believers characterized by compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience?
• Love will lead us to be FORBEARING and FORGIVING.
The fact that Paul tells the Colossians to “bear with each other” and “forgive whatever grievances you may have with one another” (v. 13a) reveals that he recognized that Christians are not perfect and will sin. We need to understand that others will test our patience and will sometimes hurt us.
“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’ Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times’ [or “seventy times seven”]” (Matt. 18:21-22).
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you” (Eph. 4:32).
Christ is our model for forgiveness. “Forgive as the Lord forgave you” (v. 13b).
Are you willing to be forbearing and forgiving?
• Love is “the bond of perfection” (NKJV).
The NIV says, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (v. 14). Here are two possible interpretations of the phrase “the bond of perfection” (a more literal translation than the NIV):
(1) It could mean that love is a bond that ties all the other virtues together (the option chosen by the NIV). In other words, we cannot truly exhibit compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience without love.
(2) It could also mean that love bonds the community of believers into one body. This could be the best option. Paul’s main concern in this passage is about diverse individuals (v. 11) being joined together in one community. Love bonds the community of believers into the one body where peace reigns (v. 15) and leads to their perfection/completion/maturity.
3. God expects us to WORSHIP with one another.
As we worship the Lord together, our hearts should be filled with peace. “Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace” (v. 15a). I think that Paul has in mind peace with one another. We really can’t worship properly with one another if there is not peace between us. The peace of God should rule or hearts, not bitterness or anger.
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” (Rom. 14:19).
“Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3).
“And be thankful” (v. 15b). Our worship should express THANK-FULNESS to God. Worship is our response to what Christ has done and continues to do. “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” (v. 16). “The word of Christ” probably refers to the gospel, the message of Christ’s death and resurrection. [“In you” could mean “among you.”] As we “teach one another” about God’s love for us, we become filled with songs of “gratitude.” [Any distinction between “psalms, hymns and spiritual songs” is guesswork.]
Worship is not about us; it’s about God. We shouldn’t come to a worship service thinking, “What can I get out of this?” Instead, as we prepare to praise Him through song and be challenged by His Word, we should ask, “What can the Lord get out of me today?” We should not think that worship is a time when God is supposed to meet our needs. Worship is a time when we give glory to God. Authentic worship gets our focus of ourselves and on God. And remember that worship is not just something we do on Sunday mornings. This is the time when we worship together, but, individually, we should worship God each day.
Finally, Paul writes, “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” (v. 17).
The NT does not contain a detailed code of rules for the Christian…. What the NT does provide is those basic principles of Christian living which may be applied to varying situations of life as they arise. So, after answering the Corinthian Christians’ question about the eating of food that has been offered to idols, Paul sums up his advice in the words: “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Phrases current in worship, like “to the glory of God” or (as here) “in the name of the Lord Jesus,” were given a practical relevance by being applied to the concerns of ordinary life.
The Christian, when confronted by a moral issue, may not find any explicit word of Christ relating to its particular details. But the question may be asked: “What is the Christian thing to do here? Can I do this without compromising my Christian confession? Can I do it (that is to say) ‘in the name of the Lord Jesus’—whose reputation is at stake in the conduct of his known followers? And can I thank God the Father through him for the opportunity of doing this thing?” Even then, the right course of action may not be unambiguously clear, but such questions, honestly faced, will commonly provide surer ethical guidance than special regulations may do. It is often easy to get around special regulations; it is less easy to get around so comprehensive a statement of Christian duty as this verse supplies (F. F. Bruce, NICNT, p. 160).
What will happen when we treat one another as equals, love one another, and worship with one another in peace and thankfulness? We will be UNITED!
Challenge: What can you do this week to promote unity with other believers?
VALUE ONE ANOTHER
Colossians 3:11-17
4. God expects us to view one another as ___________________.
See Galatians 3:26-28; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Philemon 16.
“Christ is all, and is in all.” Christ is greater than our differences and lives within each one of us.
5. God expects us to ___________________ one another.
• Love is ____________________.
See John 3:16; 13:1, 4-5, 34; 1 John 4:9-11.
• Love is the _____________ of every other Christian virtue.
See Romans 13:9-10; Galatians 5:5, 22; 1 Corinthians 13:13.
Are your relationships with other believers characterized by compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience?
• Love will lead us to be ____________________ and ____________________.
See Matthew 18:21-22; Eph. 4:32.
• Love is “the bond of perfection” (KJV).
Possible interpretations:
i. ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
ii. ______________________________________________
______________________________________________
6. God expects us to ____________________ with one another.
Our worship should express ____________________ to God. Worship is not about us; it’s about God.
What will happen when we treat one another as equals, love one another, and worship with one another? We will be ____________________!
Challenge: What can you do this week to promote unity with other believers?
