October 23, 2022
Morning Service

2Co 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

            We came to a turning point last week in our study of the letter to the Colossian church.  Paul’s focus has been to reveal to us the divinity of Jesus, whom we are following, but now he turns his focus to us.  This scripture in 2^nd Corinthians gives us a very clear picture that there will be a change in us who have accepted our call from Jesus to “Follow Me.”  “We are a new creation, old things have passed away and all things have become new.” What does the “New You” look like and what changes can we expect?  Paul began last week in showing us our new perspective on life we have been given.  “Set your mind on things above, not on things of the earth.  For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”  If we truly believe the things of the Bible are true, then we will “seek” that truth and live by it.  Last week Paul revealed to us the things in our life that are not pleasing to God that need to be “put to death.”  He had a list for us much like the one he shared with the Galatian church in chapter 5 of that letter.  There he called these things “the works of the flesh,” but we can simply call them sin (actions that are contrary to God’s calling to holiness in our lives).  I encourage you to reread this passage along with the Galatian list and honestly see if any of these attributes are a part of your life; if so begin working to remove them.  That is our working to remove the “old things” from our lives; today we begin to put on the “new” garments we are given.

 

Col 3:9-11 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, (10) and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, (11) where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

            Upon believing the gospel message and accepting Jesus’ invitation, a transformation begins within us.  We begin to “put off” the sinful attributes of this world and begin to pursue God by putting on the “new man.”  It is a process of matching up our lifestyle with our faith.  “Faith comes from hearing and hearing by the Word of God.”  (Rom 10:17) Paul says the “new you” will be renewed in knowledge. As a Jesus follower we are on a continuing education program.  As we increase our knowledge of who Jesus was, what He was like, and the reason He did what He did the more we are changed to be like Him.  This is a lifelong process that keeps us learning more the scriptures and changing our lives to match that knowledge doers not hearers only).  Paul here lists all kinds of people to show that it does not matter who you were or where you came from, Jesus is all that matters.  He, through the Holy Spirit, will mold you into the “new creation” He designed us to be.  We are designed to be like Jesus.  I just finished a book by Max Lucado in which his focus was this; “God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.”  In the book, he focuses in on what the life of Jesus looked like and how we can set it as our goal to change our lives to be more like His.  Let’s now look at the list of attributes that Paul gives us that we need to have more of, but first a quick detour.

 

Col 3:12-13 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; (13) 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.

            The detour is this; I want you to notice the we are the “elect of God.”  To be elected means you were chosen (as the NLT puts it).  In John 15, Jesus tells the apostles (and us) that we did not choose Him, but He chose us (elected us) to go and “bear fruit” (grow, mature and reproduce).  We are following a divine calling as we “put off the old man and put on the new.”  How does that make you feel?  God chose you?  He has called you to be His follower; He did not need you, but He wanted you.

 

Clip from The Chosen:  Jesus calls Simon the Zealot to follow Him.

            The change in our life that occurs is sometimes hard to understand from our perspective, as it was here for Simon, but we are called to follow wherever it is He leads us and change will be part of the journey.  Let’s jump back to the verses we just read and continue. (Reread verse 12-13)

            We are commanded to “put on” these attributes that imitate the One we are following.  To become like Jesus, we must be kind, humble, meek, and longsuffering.  These attributes do not come upon you naturally but are granted to us through the working of the Spirit.  Notice how Paul stresses forgiveness here not as a good idea, but as a command.  We must forgive because we have been forgiven.  Paul now shows us the seed from which these attributes grow in our lives.

 

Col 3:14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.

            It is our love for our Savior that causes us to want to change and that change includes loving one another.  “Love is the bond of perfection.”  We love Him, because He first loved us.  Our love for Jesus is what drives us to strive for perfection in our lives trying to be “Just Like Jesus.”  It is not a sense of right and wrong, following the rules, that motivates us but it is our love that moves this transformation into the “new you.”  “Love Never Fails!” (I Cor. 13) We will fall short in many areas of our life, but it is love that brings us back to seek repentance and restart our journey with Jesus fresh and anew.  “Love will build a bridge between Your heart and mine.” Paul continues with attributes of the “new you.”

 

Col 3:15-17 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  (16)  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.  (17)  And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

            A peace is given to us as we place our new perspective into action.  “Set our affections on things above and not on things of this world.”  We become thankful for all that God does for us and that is to become the primary thought on our mind.  As His Word “dwells in you richly” you find that it brings a smile to your face, a spring to your step, and a song on your lips.  We are singing and praising Him throughout the day, regardless of our circumstances because His grace is raining down upon us.  View every situation you find yourself in as God designed.  Ask Him; “What am I to do here?  What do You want me to learn from this?”  with the purpose of growing closer to Him by lining up our actions with our faith.  We are on a holy journey with Jesus in which He is investing in us, teaching us and preparing us for time such as this.

 Our goal is to reach the point where everything we do and everything we say is done in His Name and for His glory.  That is a lofty goal, but certainly worth the effort.  You can be as close to Jesus as you want and are willing to seek Him.  The things of this world often get us bogged down and we lose our focus, but stay in the Word, listen to gospel music, and engage with those you are traveling the same journey with.  You have died to the things of this world and have risen to become a “new creation” in Christ.  Don’t run from the challenges, but pursue Jesus with a passion to catch Him.

 

Heavenly Father, thank You for calling us to follow.  Reveal to us the changes in our lives that need to be made and grant us the courage, wisdom and desire to be just like Jesus.