Text: Colossians 3:12-17
In the preceding verses, Paul has talked about those things that Christians are to "put off." Now he talks about their new wardrobe, what they are to "put on."
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If I were so inclined I might be tempted to believe there was a special detachment of demonic beings sent to hide shoes, Bibles, and keys sometime between Saturday night and Sunday morning.
You know you have at least six pairs of black shoes but none of the six shoes you've found match any of the other five.
Frodo's problems in Lord of the Rings pale beside the task of getting Billy to let you wash his face and comb his hair or convincing your eighth-grade daughter that brushing her teeth is not caving into a male- dominated culture's enslavement.
Sometimes it's a classic Catch-22 situation. You get dressed first so you can then help your children, but by the time you've look under beds for missing Harry Potter shoes or the Princess Fiona sunshades you look like you slept on a park bench. Or, you can get your children dressed first before you turn attention to yourself; but, then, when you're finally dressed, you discover your children decided to wash the dog so he would look good for Sunday, too.
Getting yourself and a baby dressed for church has a Gothic quality to it. You look perfect in that silk blouse your husband/infant-daughter gave you for Mother's Day—after about two dozen hints—as you dress the baby in an outfit so cute even the stuffiest deacon couldn't resist her. You're ready, she's ready— with just enough time to make it to Sunday school on time for once. Your husband is outside warming up the car so the baby won't get a chill—hey, June mornings in Ohio can be brutal. You pick up the baby, snuggle her close, and start toward the door. At this point she decides she didn't really want the last couple of ounces of formula she had that morning.
Paul was no fashion maven but he wanted the Colossians to be properly dressed for church. He wanted the Colossians to embrace the virtues which would enrich their church life and their impact on the world at large.
What he has to say to them will remind us that worship and witness requires lives which reflect crucial virtues.
Let's join the Colossians this Lord's Day morning as we begin...
GETTING READY FOR CHURCH
When I was in school in New Orleans, we were members of the First Baptist Church. Driving to church from the seminary took us through a neighborhood near the corner of St. Charles and Napoleon where lots of people walked to church. There were little girls dressed in beautiful pleated white dresses, women wearing feathered hats, and men in fine suits. It was evident these men and women took going to church seriously. The South, in fact, may be the last stronghold of the notion that going to church means dressing for the occasion. And, I'm sure, even that is changing.
In our more casual culture we don't divide our wardrobe into "everyday" clothes and "Sunday-go=to-meetin" clothes. And that’s probably just as well. Paul would never turn away anyone because of their clothes but he does remind the Colossian Christians that there were certain items which every Christian ought to "wear" to church. (12)
These garments or "virtues" reflect the identity they have through Christ. Such virtues are proper attire for
"God's chosen people"- Those who had been without spiritual identity but now are God's people.
"Holy"-People set apart for God's own purposes.
"Dearly loved"-Those for whom Christ died, for whom the Cross is a continuing reminder of the depth of God's love for them.
How are such people to be dressed?
Just as Christians are to strip off certain negative characteristics, they are to clothe themselves with other positive characteristics. Listen to the elements of this spiritual wardrobe. There is to be...
· "Compassion" also described as "tenderheartedness" or "tenderhearted mercy." This describes an attitude toward others. It is an attitude which would keep us from rushing to judgment.
· "Kindness" Paul probably has in mind the practical outworking of "compassion." Not "random" acts of kindness but thoughtful acts toward others.
· "Humility" Depicts an attitude toward ourselves. It involves "lowliness of mind" toward ourselves. The false teachers did little to promote genuine humility.
• "Gentleness" also described as "meekness." This is not weakness but reflects strength under control. Gentleness is displayed by the one who could 'best' another but does not.
• "Patience" A quality which does not try to rush another on the road to growth and maturity; which does not feel the need to hurry God along in what he is doing.
When these virtues are present we will practice forbearance and forgiveness (13). This is a not so subtle reminder that the folks in the pews are not perfect; we will sometimes hurt others with our words and actions and we will sometimes be hurt by the words and actions of others. The way of forbearance and forgiveness is the way to manage this reality.
Forbearance begins with a willingness to "make allowance for each other's faults," a task made especially difficult when dealing with those who see themselves as having no faults.
The demonstration of this attitude is forgiveness. Paul's indicates this forgiveness is to have a fairly large breadth, "whatever grievances you may have."
McDonald explains how these qualities work themselves out in our lives.
"The forbearing person will remain calm whatever he provocation, and will keep clear of unkind reactions. The forgiving person must go even further, and wipe clean from his heart all bitterness and irritation. Forbearing one another and forgiving one another are then the high charge of Christian duty—the outworking of the virtues put on."
The model for our life of forgiveness is Christ who has so readily forgiven us.
In finishing his directions about what the Colossian Christians are to put on, Paul says, "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
It's hard to imagine Paul listing Christian virtues without mentioning love. Here he gives love a key role in the Christian's wardrobe. Love is like the sash or belt which holds the varied articles of clothing together. Love is the virtue which controls the expression of all the others.
And love is also the virtue which holds the church together.
A jacket and tie might be optional for a properly dressed Christian at church. These virtues aren't optional. If you ever hear of a church spoiled by contention and strife, if you ever hear of a church which has split, you may be sure a significant number of people in that church have abandoned these virtues.
Now that we're dressed we're ready to go to church. Once we've arrived there are some goals to keep in mind as we are...
II
CONDUCTING OURSELVES AT CHURCH
(15-16)
Recent archeological discoveries suggest that the first building actually functioning as a church may date from the end of the first century. That means church buildings were in use about two hundred years earlier than previously thought. Interestingly, that first-century church was a remodeled house.
What Paul has to say to the Colossians and to us aren't instructions for behavior inside a church building. They are instructions for the people who are the church. What does he have to say?
1. While we are being the church we should make "peace" a priority. (3:15)
We often think of "peace" as inner tranquility, calmness, freedom from worry. Christ gives such peace but that is not the kind of peace Paul has in mind here. This peace is the peace generated by Christ who has brought together such a diverse group of people as the new people of God (3:11).
This peace results from Christ's work and is to be a natural part of being in the Body of Christ.
This peace is to "rule" in our hearts. The word means "arbitrate" or "umpire." Paul is saying that any behavior on our part ought to be weighed in light of its impact on the peace, unity, or harmony of the church. This is not "peace at any cost" for that isn't real peace; this is a spirit which is willing to lay aside personal grievances and resentments for the sake of peace. At times it may even mean surrendering our "rights" for the sake of the church's unity. Paul modeled this when he wrote to the Corinthians that he was willing to give up eating meat if eating it offended his fellow Christians.
Henry links the two ideas of peace when he writes, "We are called to peace, to peace with God as our privilege, and peace with our brothers as our duty."
How can we live like this?
The virtues which Paul listed earlier ready us for the task of making peace our priority.
2. While we are being the church we should be enriched by the wisdom of "the Word of Christ". The "word of Christ" is probably both the word about Christ and the word from Christ. It is to permeate the church's corporate life. This word is the source of real wisdom, real insight, real understanding. As a church we are to be Word-enriched as we
It would be hard to underplay the importance of the teaching ministry of the church. Unless we pass along what Christ taught and what has been taught about Christ the very future of the church is threatened.
As a church we should seek to make clear what we believe. Too many of Christians are confused about the doctrines of the church. I've known some church members who are so poorly grounded in Christian teaching that they actually believe the distortions of Christian doctrine in the media are accurate. As a consequence, they are ashamed and afraid to declare their allegiance to Christ.
The church has an obligation to each new generation to proclaim and explain what it believes. Only then will we give believes confidence and hope in the midst of challenging times.
As a church we are to be Word-enriched as we admonish.
It maybe just a little arbitrary to separate the tasks of teaching and admonishing because the Bible never shows the church teaching simply for the sake of passing on knowledge, there is always an effort to apply the truth to life.
In any case, I think this is what Paul has in mind here. Some translations render "admonish" as "advise." Ultimately, I believe Paul sees the church drawing from the wells of God's word to challenge and correct God's people.
We need challenge and correction to our erroneous ideas and behavior.
How do the virtues Paul wants us to "wear" to church play a role as the church carries out its ministry of teaching and admonishing believers?
We need patience and forbearance as we deal with those who have had the principles of an erroneous world-view so deeply ingrained into their thinking.
We need compassion, gentleness, and forgiveness as we deal with those believers who have fallen prey to the temptations of an unsympathetic culture.
We need humility as we are confronted by our own erroneous thinking and our own failures. As a church we are to be Word-enriched as we sing.
Throughout the history of the church the faith of believers has found expression in song, songs born out of gratitude for what Christ has done for his people.
The three terms Paul suggest the source and the character of what the early Christians sang.
1. "Psalms "—The Psalms were regularly sung in Jewish worship. Many of those psalms were seen as foretelling the coming of Christ. The use of the psalms reminds us that the church never lost touch with its roots. This also suggests the importance of the content of our songs. They should be scriptural in content and message.
2. "Hymns"— Matthew's Gospel (26:30) refers to Jesus and his disciples singing "a hymn" at the conclusion of the Passover meal. This would have been one of the Hallel Psalms (115-118). So, "hymn" may be synonymous with "psalms" but not necessarily in the context of Colossians. These "hymns" may have been compositions by gifted Christian writers and composers. Some may have even been preserved in the New Testament. For instance, many believe Colossians 1:15-20 was such an early Christian hymn.
3. "Spiritual songs "—These may have been simple musical pieces inspired by the Holy Spirit. They may have been spontaneous expressions of the Spirit's activity in the heart of a believer. F F Bruce defines them as "unpremeditated words sung 'in the Spirit' voicing praise and holy aspiration."
Whatever the source and content of these songs, Paul reminds us that our singing is directed "to God." This is not an excuse for church music to be shoddy or ill-prepared but it does remind us that worshipful singing is not the same as a performance on a stage.
If we are properly dressed for the occasion, when we worship in church, whether we are singing a centuries-old hymn or a chorus fresh from the publisher, we will focus our praise on God, we will rejoice in who he is and what he has done.
And when the song ends, enriched by God's word, we will be ready to step out of the church...
III
INTO THE WORLD
For each of us there comes a time when we must leave the Bible study, the sweet music, and the fellowship of like-minded people to step back into the world. What do we do then?
One thing we don't do is rush home to change clothes. The same virtues we brought to church we are to take into the world.
Paul puts is so well, "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."
This command contains a principle for living in the world.
Every action and word is to be done in the name of Christ. Jesus is Lord both in the church and outside the church.
This command gives us a perspective for seeing what we do in the world.
This new perspective sanctifies a variety of what might be considered mundane behavior while it sets boundaries on behavior which would dishonor Christ.
Some of those to whom Paul wrote would walk away from the Christian fellowship were they were treated with respect and equality and go to places where they were treated as drudges. As they carried this new perspective with them, they would no longer allow the demeaning attitudes of those for whom they worked to make them forget that they were part of "God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved." For that they could give thanks to God.
At the same time, they would approach the most menial of tasks with a fresh vision. No longer were they simply sweeping streets, mucking out stables, selling cheap pottery, they were finding ways to bring honor to Christ.
All of this is a result of our relationship with Christ, the relationship which belongs to all who seek to live their lives "in his name." One writer has summed it up in this way:
"Jesus' Name will hallow every ordinary thing and give significance to the small and meaning to the monotonous.
"As Jesus he belongs to the real world of human concerns. For he worked as a carpenter and lived in an ordinary home. He knows all about the talk and toil of everyday life, and he showed us how life is to be lived and its affairs conducted. It is this same Jesus who in the Christian's Lord. In the everyday world where we labor and love, we place ourselves under the lordship of Christ. To do anything which would bring disgrace on the fair name of Christ is to compromise his sovereignty. Rather, we are to aim every day and in every way to honor the name of the Lord Jesus."
CONCLUSION
There's nothing like putting on a set of fresh, clean, new clothes. It makes you feel great, ready for anything.
Paul invites us to put on a set of clothes which will make us ready for the great tasks which belong to "God's chosen people."
We will be ready to worship and to witness.
Are you dressed for the occasion?
