We have been working our way through the book of Colossians in this series of posts and today we will wrap it up. In the last lesson, we began talking about how we change and grow through a process that is sometimes called the put-offs and put-ons. In this lesson, we’ll look at what it means to let the Word of Christ dwell within us and talk more about the process of putting off the old man and putting on the character of Christ.
At the bottom, you’ll find a complete list of the other posts in this study on Colossians.
Putting on the Character of Christ – Colossians 3.16-4.18
Background
If you are familiar with this epistle, you’ll remember that the church at Colossae was founded by a man named Epaphras. Epaphras had traveled to Rome to visit Paul and share his concerns about the presence of false teachers in his beloved church. The book of Colossians was Paul’s response. In it, he gives a beautiful explanation of the preeminence of Christ, shares amazing gospel truths, and explains how those truths should be lived out in the believer’s life.
If you missed any of the previous posts, here are the links:
The Preeminent Christ & Why It’s Important | Colossians Part 2
What Does Christ’s Preeminence Mean to Me? | Colossians Part 3
A Summary of the Christian Life | Colossians Part 4
The Unfolding Plan of God, Crimes of Passion & Our Hope of Glory | Colossians Part 5
Rooted & Established in Christ | Colossians Part 6
The Danger of a False Gospel | Colossians Part 7
The Power of God in Us | Colossians Part 8
Our Union with Christ | Colossians Part 9
Seek to Be Like Christ | Colossians Part 10
Previously
Earlier in chapter 3, Paul told the Colossians they were to put some things off, those old habitual ways of thinking, responding, and living. He followed that by telling them about the things they were to put on in place of those un-Christlike ways of living. Interspersed with those commands, he continued to remind them of who they were in Christ.
In today’s passage, he continues to show them and us what that should look like.
Let the Word of Christ Dwell Richly within You
Verses 3.16-17:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Kristin Schmucher in the book Rooted in Him says this:
The lives of the people of God should be a liturgy of the gospel that is constantly reminding us of who God is and all that He has done.
Don’t you love that!
The joy and amazement over our salvation should spill out. It’s one reason we should enjoy singing during corporate worship. But that’s not the only time it should be apparent. I’m not saying our lives should look like a soundtrack from The Sound of Music, but there should be an overflow of joy and thankfulness. We should be talking about God often, sharing our testimonies and snippets of God’s work in us personally and in the world around us.
Paul has more to say about this in the book of Ephesians:
15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 5.15-20).
Notice being filled with the Spirit in Ephesians parallels letting the word of Christ dwell richly in us in Colossians. Hearts that are filled with Word of Christ are hearts that are filled with the Spirit of Christ and that affects the way we think, talk and walk.
The results are described the same way … songs and hymns and spiritual songs and hearts full of thankfulness.
Putting Off the Old Man & Putting on the Character of Christ
So what can we learn from these passages about what we are to put off and conversely put on? Look at Ephesians 5.15-20 again.
We are to put off foolishness (v. 17) and wasting precious time (v. 16). And we’re to put on wisdom (v. 15), redeeming the time (v. 16), and understanding God’s will (v. 17).
Verse 18 says, “And do not get drunk with wine … but be filled with the Spirit.” We’re to put off drunkenness and put on the filling of the Spirit.
In the same way that a drunkard chooses to place himself under the control of alcohol, we’re to place ourselves under the control of God’s Word and His Holy Spirit. In the same way that wine (the example Paul uses) or drugs or money or anger or worry or sexual gratification or something else can control the way we think, speak and walk, we’re to let the Word of Christ and the Spirit of God control our lives.
More of the Character of Christ
Earlier in Colossians 3, Paul said:
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices.
Those things used to control the way we live and how we treated others. But now, we’re to put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. We’re to let those things control our lives.
Colossians 3.12-14.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
We’re to forebear with others, forgive like we have been forgiven, and put on love, God’s love working in and through us. That’s what binds it all together. When God’s peace, love, thankfulness, and forgiveness are ruling our hearts we won’t be controlled by anger, bitterness, fear, or a desire for earthly things.
The Importance of Both
It’s important to remember that we can’t just put off the old man. We must also put on those things that God has called us to put on.
We can’t just put off drunkenness. In its place, we must put on being filled with the Spirit. We can’t just put off anger. We must put on kindness, compassion, and forgiveness (Eph. 4.31-32).
The only way to really put off yelling, nagging, and criticizing is to put on speech that is kind and encouraging (Eph. 4.29).
What strengthens and encourages us in this process? How are our thinking and desires changed from the inside out? They’re changed as the Spirit of God renews our minds through the Word of God as we read and meditate on it, allowing it to dwell within us (Col. 3.16). As we come to understand the character of Christ and seek to imitate Him (Eph. 5.1), we’ll grow and change.
Teaching & Admonishing
But it doesn’t stop with us. Look back at Colossians 3.16:
16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another …
We’re to be teaching and admonishing others. These are commands. Let the Word of Christ dwell in you. Teach. Admonish one another.
Teaching is part of the great commission. We’re not to just invite people to church or merely share the gospel. Jesus said in Matthew 28.20, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” We need to be coming alongside those who are new in Christ and help them and others grow.
But what about that word “admonishing”? Admonishing means to “caution or reprove gently or to warn.” Sometimes that’s part of discipleship, too. It’s part of the way we live with one another in the body of Christ. We should also be willing to receive instruction and correction ourselves when necessary.
Wives & the Character of Christ
Both Colossians and Ephesians provide put-off/ons about marriage. Colossians 3.18-19:
18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
As wives, we are to submit to the leadership of our husbands. Instead of being controlled by what feels right to us or the desire to have our own way, we’re to willingly put off or lay down those things and allow God’s Word to control us by submitting to our husband’s leadership.
Ephesians 5.33 widens the scope even more, “… let the wife see that she respects her husband.” We’re to put off disrespect and put on respect. That means the attitude with which we submit is just as important.
There are, however, limitations on submission. If you’d like to read more about them you can check out this post, Marriage Made in Heaven? Part 8 “Submission, the S-Word.”
Husbands & the Character of Christ
19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them (Col. 3.19).
By the same token, husbands are to love their wives and not be harsh. In fact, Ephesians 5 says they are to love us as Christ loves the church and gave Himself up for her (Eph. 5.25-31). Theirs really is a harder calling when you realize they are called to love us in that kind of sacrificial way. They aren’t to be lording leaders but to lead by preferring their wives and children and making decisions for our good.
Peter told those he wrote to in 1 Peter 3:
7Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
When husbands don’t treat their wives right, God says it will hinder their prayers.
How we live together in our marriages matters to God. It’s important for our testimony to other believers and the world. And it’s important to our relationships with God. In fact, our marriages are to be a picture of Christ’s relationship with us His bride (Eph. 5.32).
Letting the Word of Christ Control Our Families
Next, Paul gives instructions to parents and children:
20Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged (Col. 3.20-21).
God calls children to live obediently under their parents’ authority. And us to teach and guide our children, not harshly and not in ways that cause them to become discouraged or in ways that would provoke them to anger (Eph. 6.4) . (If you’d like to know more about the surprising ways we provoke our children to anger, you can read this post, “Christian Parenting & Discipline in a Secular World”)
The Word of Christ in the Workplace
Then Paul addresses our relationships in the workplace:
22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality (Col. 3.22-25).
1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven (Col. 4.1).
You’ll notice that one central theme in all these verses is that whatever we do, we should do it as unto the Lord, seeking to please Him. Not living merely to please men or look good to other people.
It’s not about trying to add a few put-ons without real life change, without allowing the Word of Christ to richly dwell within us, without allowing it to really get down into our hearts and change us.
Prayer
Finally, Paul turns to the subject of prayer and some final thoughts before he closes out his letter.
Colossians 4.2-4:
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
Even his prayer request is instructional. Look at verse 3. He emphasizes the importance of the spread of the gospel and how we need to seek God’s help to be clear and bold as we share it. That should be our prayer, as well.
Paul instructs us to continue steadfastly in prayer. The NKJV says earnestly. And the old KJV says continue. The word means abundance or plenty. Prayer should be a regular, ongoing abundant part of a believer’s life.
We should also be watchful, watching for God’s answers (they are not always what we expect), watching for all that He’s doing, and watching for His return. And we should be thankful people.
Final Thoughts
5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person (Col. 4.5-6).
We won’t know the answer to every specific Bible question. Life is not like Bible Trivia. But we should be ready to explain that the ultimate answer is Jesus. It’s the gospel. It’s about the changes that only He can make in our lives.
The rest of the chapter is rich with nuggets of truth, too. Each word is inspired and profitable (2 Tim. 3.16-17). So even when we read a Bible writer’s opening and closing remarks, we should read them carefully and thoughtfully.
I don’t know about you but I’ve taken away so much from this study. We’ve seen Paul’s heart for Christ’s church whether or not he had met them personally. We have seen how he prayed for the Colossians’ growth in spiritual maturity, seen his concern over false doctrines and their corruption of the pure gospel, and looked at what it means to be in union with Him.
Today I hope you have gained a little better understanding of what it means to put off the old man or woman with our selfishness and our anger and our desire to control things. And to put on the character of Christ.
But let’s end with this passage, one of the most glorious in all of Scripture, about the preeminence of Christ:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross (Col. 1.15-20).
“Grace be with you.”
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Blessings as you grow in Christ,
Donna ♥
Complete List of Posts in this Series
The Preeminent Christ & Why It’s Important | Colossians Part 2
What Does Christ’s Preeminence Mean to Me? | Colossians Part 3
A Summary of the Christian Life | Colossians Part 4
The Unfolding Plan of God, Crimes of Passion & Our Hope of Glory | Colossians Part 5
Rooted & Established in Christ | Colossians Part 6
The Danger of a False Gospel | Colossians Part 7
The Power of God in Us | Colossians Part 8
Our Union with Christ | Colossians Part 9
Seek to Be Like Christ | Colossians Part 10
Putting on the Character of Christ | Colossians Wrap-Up
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