Epistles – Colossians 3-4
July 16, 2009
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Without Christ in our lives, what would life be like? Have any of us asked this question before? The answers we give would say what kind of person we are. No need for textbook answers. Touch your inner self and give an honest answer.
“Oh Yeah! Finally! I am free… Free! Free to do whatever I want!”
“No more rules…give me pleasure and fun, fun, fun!”
“Let me be who I want to be…sometimes I’m angry, sometimes I lust for things, sometimes I speak rough language…but know what? Who cares?! I’m FREE!”
Can any of us raise a hand to any of the above? Not wanting to sound modest or superficially humble, I was thinking hard to raise my hand, twice. Maybe you, or you, or you there, also felt the same way. If so, Then we haven’t really internalised and appreciated Colossians 3–4.
We’ll carry on to read the 2 chapters today…
Bible Passage: Colossians 3-4
As a closure to our reading of Colossians, it is useful once again to recap. Col 1–2 characteristically dealt with the theoretical and doctrinal matters. Paul saw that it was imperative that he dealt with the dangers that were plaguing the Colosse church. Moving on from the important macro view, Paul goes on now to assume the role of a firm, yet gentle tutor to encourage the individual on his/her Christian conduct.
Micro – but not to grow – soft
Micro perspectives teach the believer to act on the macro understandings. Once we have come into recognition of the importance of sound doctrine and spiritual theory, we need to act on that knowledge in practical faith. This is the gist of Colossians 3 – 4: Are we living our lives with Christ in us? Or is it without Him in us?
To put the initial question in perspective once again: What would our lives be like without Christ? The answer comes in Col 3:5-9. Without Christ, we would probably be like the carnal people of the world, indulging in all our unrestraint passions. We would be backbiters, haters, liars, fornicators, liars; we would be evil.
But no, we are not so. We have been placed on firm, solid foundation. So let us not recede nor regress to the danger zones of unholy behaviour. Let’s not go back to being soft towards the world. Paul’s wisdom from the Lord is meant to go into the micro, minutest aspects of our lives. He appeals for us to be honest, equal, holy, merciful, kind, humble, meek, patient, fore-bearing, and loving; in short, to be the new man in Christ. If any of us are still unconvinced, the secret manual to being a new man in Christ is in the entire of chapter 3. Seeing it as a checklist for my own self, I was grieved to note at how many I fell short of. What about you?
The Freed Slave
When we come to the epistle to Philemon later during our course of this Bible Reading programme, we’ll get to know more about Onesimus. In short however, Onesimus was once a slave who ran away from his master’s house. The estranged slave was converted to Christianity and was later reunited with his master, no longer as a mere slave, but a freed person in Christ.
In my mind, Onesimus symbolically represents who we are. We were not meant to receive the grace, but we did. We were reunited with God and we are now free. The freed slave is an ironic concept, by the world’s fickle standards. But we understand it with spiritual eyes. We are the freed, and we are slaves to freedom in Christ. Isn’t that, just… curiously wonderful?
After knowing this, we have more to do. We can’t just sit in the comfy chair of salvation. There’s much work to be done. As we read Col 4, do we sense a wave of expectation from Paul? Granted that it was directed towards the Colosse believers, but when we take it in an eternal sense, these directions are also pointed at us, and the expectations come from God Himself.
Great Expectations
Dickens might have written his literary classic, but God thru’ Paul has written His timeless truth.
- Col 4:2 “Continue earnestly in prayer”
- Col 4:3 “Pray that God would open the door of the word”
- Col 4:5 “Walk in wisdom, redeem the time”
- Col 4:6 “Let our speech be with grace, seasoned with salt”
- Col 4:12 “Labour fervently in prayers for others to be complete in God”
- Col 4:15 “Do the work of greeting and reception toward all True Jesus Churches”
- Col 4:17 “Take heed to the ministry”
These all come to bear upon us as the New Man in Christ today. It is not easy but these are the things we must set our minds toward. These are things above, things of God, things of His kingdom, things required of the New Man who dwells in God’s love (cf. Col 3:1-3).
Look at the theme picture again. If we call ourselves the New Man, do we have all these “Religious Content”?
Over the course of the last couple of weeks in our lessons on Song of Solomon, we have been hearing about the expectations, desires and hopes of the Shulamite woman and the Beloved.
Many a times I am always the expectant party – expecting that others will do what I want, be what I want and say what I want. And worse still, I realize that there are times I treat God the same way.
So the “Great Expectations” of God are a great reminder for me today as I continue to strive to grow and be the new, free man that God wants me.
Emmanuel.
There is a gospel song by George Beverly Shea titled “Would You?” in which I think the lyric is apt for today’s question. What would life be like without Jesus? Here it goes…
“Would you cherish the loving arms if you’d never shed a tear?
Would you welcome going home if you’d never been away?
Would you treasure guiding hands if you’d never been alone?
I dont think, I don’t think so, I really don’t think so.
Would you act you’re having hope if you’d never known despair?
Would you treasure being safe if you’d hever lost your way?
Would you cherish gentle words if you’d never been a prey?
I dont think so, I dont think so, I really dont think so.”
I am reminded not to over-estimate my ability and under-estimate my weakness, so I toe the line gingerly and not think too confidently of myself lest I fall for life is filled with the unexpected. To want God as the focus in our life is not an overnight achievement. It’s a through a long process in building a relationship with Him, allowing Him to be our master to guide and to chastise, thus He’s able to show us the magnitude of His power and the wonder of His love.
Would I cherish the sanctuary of God’s embrace if I’d never been in the wilderness? I came from a non-Christian background and have non-believing friends who are seemingly living a good and exciting life, free from the “constraints of God’s rules”. But I am not envious. There’s no lasting security and true contentment in that life.
Paul asked the Colossians to pray for he and the other workers that God would open to them a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ that he may make it manifest, as he ought to speak. (Col 4:3-4)
Recently TK started the door-to-door evangelism. In Pr Lin’s training session, he stressed the importance of prayer in evangelism work.
The DTD has given me a new direction for prayer.
Though DTD is not delivering the gospel of salvation full scale, it is the first point of contact to those lost souls. This work is to be taken seriously bec we don’t want to fail anyone their salvation simply bec we r ill-equiped to execute the work of saving soul.
To put on the full amour of God, prayer is the way. The full amour of God is put on piece by piece through prayers.
“Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit” says the LORD of hosts. (Zech 4:6)
Please keep the gospel work in your prayers too.