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Christianity Concise and To the Point – Week 34 / August 20th
“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put
On tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness,
Longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving
One another, if anyone has a complaint against another;
Even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
Colossians 3:12-13
These are the opening words of a passage that concludes at verse seventeen and therefore gives us a concise and powerful understanding of what it means to be a Jesus follower. We would do well to use this passage as a check-list as we can so easily drift away from the things that really are important in our faith. I desire then to bring the following to your attention:
What we are V12a
Paul states that we are the elect of God, holy and beloved. Election is an important teaching in the Bible and it definitely holds mystery. That is, there is no simplistic answer to our understanding of it just as there is no simplistic answer to understanding the biblical concept of Trinity when it comes to appreciating the unity of the Godhead. While we should avoid extreme positions on the matter of election it is true that, from before time, God chose us in Christ to be His. (2Timothy 1:8-9) This means that were are precious and unique! We are also holy and beloved of God. Here Paul is telling us the position that God takes with us once we have made Jesus our Lord and King. How wonderful to know that our Father always sees us as holy even though we unwittingly sin. We should rejoice and never give in to a poor image of ourselves if this is how God sees us! This is what we are.
What we should be V 12b-14
Imputed righteousness is one thing but our dear Lord also wants us to enjoy imparted righteousness. Thus from verse twelve “b” onwards Paul tells us to “put off’ the characteristics of our evil nature and “put on” the image of Christ. This means appropriating “tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering” and love and forgiveness. It must be underlined that Paul commands us to embrace Jesus’ character; this is definitely not a suggestion! In short, since Jesus lives in us we have the capacity to change! Or, to put it another way, do what you cannot do and God will do it for you. This means that with our minds we build spiritual scaffolding and God will pour “the concrete” of His character into our lives. (Ephesians 4:17-24) Do not accommodate carnal behavior in your life. I often hear Christians saying, “Well this is the way I am and thus you will have to bear with my anger.” Yes we do but there comes a time when you have to change and should. Paul says, put off these things and be Christ like. This is what we should be!
What we allow to be V15-17
From verse fifteen onward Paul changes tact again and now uses the word “let.” That is, do not hinder what God wants to bring naturally out of your life like a fountain. Here Paul mentions two things; first of all that we allow (let) the peace of God to “rule” our lives. Because Jesus lives in us His peace protects and guards us like a soldier walking up and down the ramparts of a Castle. (Philippians 4:6-7) We all have this peace and we should obey it all the time. It must rule our lives and so dictate our actions and decisions. Because we are willful we very often “drive rough shod” over it and thereby bring a lot of unnecessary trouble and stress to our lives. Don’t do it! Paul lived by this rule and so when he wanted to go northward in Asia Minor the peace of God stopped him and instead he went over to Macedonia. He acknowledged this by stating that the Spirit forbade him to go north. (Acts 16:6-10) This work of the Spirit was the settled peace that ruled over his heart! What rules your heart?
Secondly, we must let the word of Christ dwell in us; thus inspiring us to sing, rejoice and make melodies in our hearts to our Lord. This is what the life of Jesus in us will produce if we let it! What are you allowing to come forth out of your life?
What we want to be V 17
Finally Paul concludes his concise overview of the Christian life by telling us that we are to be a people who glorify God and give thanks to Him. When we are no longer grateful to God for all that He has done for us, and is doing for us, we run the risk of descending into spiritual deception. (Romans 1:19-24) This simply means that we have become self centered and not God centered. By contrast we want to be a thankful people and by so doing keep our lives in a place that pleases God. Happy are they who live like this. What do you want to be?
Take time to think on these things, read this passage again and ask yourself the questions reflected in the teaching above. It will be worth doing a little spiritual “stock taking.”
Malcolm Hedding
©Malcolm Hedding Ministries
2013Devotional