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THE SUPREMACY OF CHRIST: Putting on the New Man!
Colossians 3:9b-17
A little boy was attending an Easter service when he began to feel sick. He tapped his mother on the shoulder and said, “Mom, can we go home now?” “No,” she replied abruptly.
The boy waited a minute and tapped her on the shoulder again. “I think I’m going to throw up,” he whispered. His mom looked at him and noticed he looked a bit pale. “Okay. Go out the front door of the church, across the parking lot, and throw up behind the bushes,” she instructed him.
Less than a minute later, the boy came back and sat down again in his seat. His mother whispered, “Did you throw up?” The boy nodded his head. “But how could you have gone all the way across the parking lot, thrown up, and walked back so quickly?” she asked.
“I didn’t even have to leave the church,” the boy proudly replied. “I found a box in the lobby that says, ‘For the sick!’”
When Jesus died, His body was wrapped up in strips of cloth for burial. The entire body was wrapped giving it the appearance of a mummy. When Jesus rose from the dead, did He walk around in those burial cloths? No, He took off the burial cloth and put on new clothes.
Just like Jesus, when we leave the dead man behind we must then put on the new man…not the Neumann.
Today as we continue our study of the letter to the Colossians please turn to chapter 3 of Colossians as we explore the 6 aspects of the “New Man.”
- The position of the new man.
Colossians 3:9b-10a, “since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self,”
At the point of salvation, we die to our old self and are raised, like Jesus, into a new life. We aren’t made perfect in that moment, but we are forgiven. At this point we begin the process called sanctification which is the process of becoming like Jesus.
A sign that we have truly experienced new life in Christ are signs of transformation that come to those in the process of sanctification. We begin to exhibit signs of the fruit of the Spirit, we become kinder, we are more peaceful, we become gentler.
Paul explains in Romans 5 that our connection to Adam came with sin and death, but in our new life in Christ we gain life and righteousness.
So, if we have Jesus why do we still sin? In salvation our spirit is made new, but we still live in our old bodies in which we wrestle against the desires of our flesh. When we go to heaven, we will receive our new body in which we will no long wrestle with the flesh.
Until then, Paul is telling us to put on the new man. Live like we have been redeemed.
- The progress of the new man.
Colossians 3:10b, “which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
In salvation we have new life, but that doesn’t mean we have instant maturity. We still struggle with the flesh.
Our growth comes with our increasing knowledge of the Bible and obedience to its directives. The goal is to become like Jesus. That should be our ultimate goal, not the fulfillment of our desires and wishes.
To many believers still live like Jesus is supposed to be our personal Jeanni, come to fulfill our dreams and make us happy. Jesus came for something even better, our transformation into His image.
- The partnership of the new man.
Colossians 3:11, “Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”
Paul here breaks down all of this society’s barriers. He even includes the Scythians.
Josephus, the Jewish historian, describes the Scythians as little better than wild beasts. Yet Paul includes them in this unlikely grouping of people groups, tearing down all the manmade walls which separate humanity.
To have fellowship with Jews, Greeks and Scythians was unthinkable.
Recently I saw something that reminds me of this when I saw celebrations which included Iranian, US and Israeli flags. I NEVER could have imagined that happening anywhere, but it was happening all over the world.
Paul’s point is then that there is no place for manmade barriers in the church. His words, “Christ is all, and in all.”
Ephesians 2:15, “by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace,”
The body of Christ is one unified body, all equal together.
- The performance of the new man.
Colossians 3:12-13, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Every believer is chosen by God, we are set apart for holy living, we are His beloved.
As one body Paul then provides us with God’s expectations. Last week we saw that we are to put off sin, today we see what we are to put on.
- Put on a heart of compassion. The thought here includes the concepts of mercy, sympathy and even pity. This is how we care for people, all people. Does compassion describe your attitude towards others?
- Kindness will mello all that is harsh.
- A patient person doesn’t get angry at others. It is the opposite of resentment and revenge.
- Bearing with one another. This holds the concept of enduring. We don’t have to endure a pleasant person. We are to endure the unpleasant.
- We are to forgive each other. If God has forgiven us how can we not forgive others?
- The perfection of the new man.
Colossians 3:14, “And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
Beyond putting up with each other, we are to love one another! Love is what produces unity in the church. Love is the beauty of the body of Christ.
By our love they will know we are Christians. Is that what others see in us? Is that what others see in you?
- The priorities of the new man.
There are 3 priorities here. They are:
- The peace of Christ.
Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
The peace of Christ is the rule, the guiding principle. His peace results in one body which results in thankfulness. It’s all linked together.
- The word of Christ.
Colossians 3:16, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”
Is your heart home to the Word of God? The role of the Holy Spirit is to dwell in you. You see, Word dwelling is equal to the Holy Spirit controlling you.
Then, as the Word dwells in you in turn you are able to teach others how to dwell in the Word, how to put on the new man themselves.
Not only must we teach but we must also admonish, which is warning how remaining in sin is devastating, resulting in removal from God’s very presence.
Society doesn’t want believers to point out sin, it’s not socially acceptable and some believers have stopped admonishing it. But if a house is on fire, wouldn’t we scream as loud as we could to get the residents out. Well, let me tell you, the house is on fire.
When we dwell in the Word it not only provides information to sharpen us, but it generates the emotion of gratitude. Do you have gratitude for all that Jesus has done for you? What better day is there than this to enter into a relationship with Jesus, accepting His free gift of forgiveness of sin. If you haven’t will you do that today?
- The name of Christ.
Colossians 3:17, “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.”
To do something in the name of Jesus means we act consistently with the character of Christ. Paul is teaching us that every act we take, every decision we make should all be done in alignment with God’s will for our lives.
How do we know this will? We learn it by reading the Bible and we live in obedience to what it teaches us. That’s the key people!