Tomorrow is Sunday, and I am excited to gather with my faith family in worship of our resurrected King, Jesus Christ!
The last few weeks — the whole month of May, really — have been sort of a whirlwind for me. This is not to say they have been bad, just to say that it has been a lot, one thing right after another or multiple things all at once. One passage has come up time and again throughout the business: Ephesians 4:17-24, especially verse 20.
Here’s what that passage says:
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Like I said, verse 20 — “But that is not the way you learned Christ!” — has been on my mind; really, it has been convicting me. Years ago, that would be my go-to verse to lob at others whose holy living needed a good kick in the rear, but the more I seek to know Christ and to put Him on (Ephesians 4:24, Colossians 3:12-14), the more I find myself giving the kick to my own rear. This has increased more as I have been studying and writing the last few sections of the Refresh & RestoreBible study on Colossians. I cannot write about what God wants for His people to do or to live like without realizing first that it is what He has called me to do and live like.
There is a quote from the MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Colossians that has stuck with me: “It is difficult to see how Christianity can have any positive affect on society if it cannot transform its own homes.” Essentially, if we profess that our dead hearts have been made alive in Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5, Colossians 2:13-14), then our lives are to be being transformed by Christ, too. If not, that is “not the way [we] learned Christ…assuming [we] have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:20-21).
My hope for Christ Community Church tomorrow and for all time is set fully in Jesus — in His transforming and saving work and ability. I pray that the preached Word will penetrate hearts and illuminate truth by the power of His Holy Spirit. We don’t have programs or gifting that can convince people to no longer live in futility and ignorance and sin or to move them any closer to God than they are (Ephesians 4:17-18). No, only Jesus can do that. Jesus can take those who are walking in the “futility of their minds” (Ephesians 4:17) and renew the “spirit of their minds” (Ephesians 4:23). Jesus can put away our “old self” and give us a “new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22, 24). And it is Jesus we will point people to tomorrow.
We will sing to and about Jesus.
The subject of our preaching will be Jesus as revealed in His Word.
The substance of our hope is this Jesus whom His Spirit will testify in our hearts.
So, tomorrow, you are invited to hear about Jesus, to be taught in Him, “as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:21). We have no other move, no other hope. There is nothing that can compare or substitute.
1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
20Our soul waits for the LORD; He is our help and our shield. 21For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy Name. 22Let Your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us, even as we hope in You.
***NOTE: We are revising the lyrics of this song to better reflect the love of God — that which we read about all through Scripture, that which was “made manifest” as we read in the verses above. Many might be familiar with the Greek word agape that describes the unique love of God; the Hebrew word for that type of never-ending, never-failing, never-stopping, never-giving-up love is chesed. It is often translated “steadfast love” in the Old Testament. This is a word God uses to describe Him and His love over 500 times!
This is an opportunity for the theology of what we sing to more specifically reflect the Scriptures, and therefore more accurately reflect the love of God as He shares it with us in His Word. The word “reckless” in the original lyrics was meant to show that God lavishly pours out His love for us. He does! He has poured out His love on us and made it manifest through the gift of Jesus Christ for our sins. Let’s praise God for and sing about His steadfast love!
15 Look 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, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Ephesians 5:15-21
We are heading back to our everyday lives – back home. Today’s passage helps us with that. All week long we have studied and meditated on what it means to walk with Jesus and to share Him with others. It is time for the rubber to meet the road, literally because we have a long ride ahead of us but also in the sense that it is time to do as an old pastor once told me, to put shoes on the gospel!
Walking with Christ does not mean we will be perfect. No, we will fail (sin). We will step off the path (trespass). But it does mean we will not be alone. Jesus has given us His Spirit. We can “look carefully” at our walk with Him and be guided toward what is “wise” and good instead of “unwise” (Ephesians 5:15).
He has also given us His Church. We can have help in these evil days and be on mission together. When things get hard, we have our brothers and sisters with us as we walk with Jesus. Ephesians 5:19-21 describes how we can encourage one another, namely through worshiping God together. This can be through song as we see in Ephesians 5:19, by celebrating what God is doing in our lives as in Ephesians 5:20, or by caring for one another and lifting each other up as Jesus has done and is doing for us in Ephesians 5:21. So, whether you are reading this before the mad dash to pack up or sitting on the bus, look around at those God has placed in your life and be thankful. Do not let the end of a trip be the end of what is to be a beautiful and continual relationship.
Application:
Now, let’s go home and seek the “good works” God has prepared “beforehand” for us to walk in there – together (Ephesians 2:10)!
17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
Ephesians 4:17-24
Today is our “fun” day, but hopefully, meditating on this passage can lead to some good gospel conversations along the way. Note that meditating here is not the criss-cross-applesauce-hummmmm sort of meditation you see on TV. It is a Bible term that means to think on or occupy one’s attention with something. This passage is good for us to occupy our attention with and think about.
Ephesians 4:17-24 builds on our first passage, Ephesians 2:1-10. We know what it means to be made alive in Christ after being dead in our trespasses and sins, but it is important that we know what it means to live the life that Jesus gave us.
First, it means that we are different than the world – not just outside differences that can be seen or sometimes faked, really different from the inside out. We do not get to do whatever we want to do in ignorance anymore. We are no longer alienated (or separated from God) like we were before and given up practicing whatever kind of sin we enjoy and get away with it willy-nilly. If that is our life, we are dead. Paul makes it clear: “that is not the way you learned Christ! – assuming that you have heard about Him and were taught in Him, as the truth is in Jesus” (Ephesians 4:20-21).
That leads us to the second part. We must take off the old, dead self and put on “the new self” that Jesus is making us into being (Ephesians 4:24). We are not strong enough to just stop sinning and be like Jesus. We are strong enough to sin – enough to earn us death. Only Jesus is strong enough to give us strength for the “good works” He has prepared for us (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Ephesians 2:10). When He makes us alive in Him, the old, dead life does not satisfy. Little by little, as the “spirit of [our] minds” get “renewed” (Ephesians 4:23), we become more like Jesus. More and more the “once walked” (Ephesians 2:2, 4:17) becomes less still struggling.
How does this happen? Jesus works through His Word and His Spirit, like He is doing right now during this quiet time. That’s good news!
Application:
Meditate on what it means to be different from the world as in Ephesians 4:17-24. How does being made alive in Christ produce a change in us that goes beyond what can be seen to change us from the inside out?
Think about the illustration Paul gives about taking off the old self and putting on the new (see also Colossians 3:5-17). What does this mean, and how do we do it?
Reflect on the significance of having our mind renewed by the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? How does our mind being renewed contribute to our being transformed to be more like Jesus?
1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
Ephesians 4:1-3
Summer youth trips are always exhausting. You drive hours and hours away from home. Sleep less than you know you should after staying up late laughing, talking, and playing. You get tired and, let’s face it, a little bit grumpy. If we are not careful, we can let our grumpiness or our hangry-ness to affect things or those qualities in others to affect us. There’s a lesson in that.
We looked yesterday at the difference between death and life, namely walking in our sin and whatever our heart devises and walking according to what Jesus has for us. This part of Ephesians builds on that. Today, we see Paul – who is in prison because he participated in the “good works” God had “prepared beforehand” for him to do (Ephesians 2:10) – urge the folks in the church at Ephesus to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which [they had] been called” (Ephesians 4:1). We are going to look briefly at what that means and what that means for us.
To walk “worthy” of one’s calling in Christ is a simple idea. If one has been saved, Jesus has made them alive, like when Jesus stood at His friend Lazarus’s tomb and called him out of death by his name (John 11:43-44). We looked yesterday at how part of His saving us is Him having a plan for our lives and having work for us to do. The idea of walking – or living a life – worthy of that calling is for our walk to be impacted by what He has done for us. This does not mean perfection; it means pursuit. If a husband is living a life worthy of his wife or vice versa, it means that the relationship impacts the way that life is lived. For us, that means that Jesus saving us – making us alive and putting His Spirit within us – impacts the way we choose to live our life. This is something we must do actively, not something that just happens to us.
Application:
Paul is specific in what he urges the Ephesians to do, and that goes for us, too. To walk in a manner worthy of our calling – worthy of reflecting our relationship with Him, he gave us some qualities. Let us consider how we can live out these qualities today:
“humility” – Having a correct view of ourselves by putting others first (Philippians 2:3-4).
“gentleness” – Having self-control and kindness in how you treat others (Galatians 5:22-23).
“patience” – Having a long-fuse, meaning that you are not quick to anger (James 1:19-20).
“bearing with one another in love” – The love you have for a person means you treat them with love despite wrongs done to you (Colossians 3:13).
“eager to maintain unity in the Spirit in the bond of peace” – Jesus saves us and adopts us into His family, which is an unbreakable bond and worthy of seeking peace over strife. This peace is won by His love (Colossians 3:14, 1 John 4:19-20).
1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins2 in which youonce walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walkin them.
Ephesians 2:1-10
To walk with Jesus, we must first be saved. The Bible makes it clear that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23) and that because of our sin we were (or still are if not saved) “dead in the trespasses and sins in which [we] once walked” (Ephesians 2:1-2). Look at that language: dead. And what killed us? Sin. Trespasses. Living lives of disobedience. Living in pursuit of our passions and desires. Living out whatever sin our minds and hearts dream up. You cannot just do whatever you want to do and live however you want to live and expect no consequences. Our sin puts us on death row.
There is a phrase that originated from the practice of escorting death row prisoners to execution: dead man walking. That is the way of sin. But God! If we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus, He makes us alive “in Him” (Ephesians 2:4-5)! We no longer have to march toward our death because of the sentence of sin; we are freed to walk in Christ and with Christ! There is definitely a difference between death row and being freed from prison.
As we looked at above, before Christ we are dead men and women walking in our sin and whatever ugliness our hearts and minds can come up with. Jesus saves us – makes us alive – to have something different. He has a plan for our lives. And His plan is marked by His life. He has “good works” that He has “prepared” for us to do and participate in. We are supposed to no longer walk toward death (how we “once walked”) doing whatever we want but instead walk in life toward what He wants. Think about it this way: the God who saved you had planned for you to be on this mission trip before you were ever born or born again! Let that sink in and walk with Him and what He wants today.
Application:
Think about the imagery of being a “dead man walking” in the context of our sin and disobedience. How does this affect the way you understand the consequences of your sin?
Consider the difference between being “dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked” and being “made alive” in Christ. How does this transformation impact the way we walk or live our lives?
Think about the significance of God having a plan for your life and having “good works…prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” How does this fit in with your thoughts about being on this mission trip?
Pray for at least four of our youth and two adults on the trip and ask that God make the “good works” He has planned for you and them clear today.
This year, our CCC kiddos and chaperones are going to be partnering with the Great Passion Play in Eureka Springs, AR again to help with work they need done, act as extras in the play, and to share the gospel with people who are visiting the Jesus statue and other attractions during the day.
This is a good opportunity for our kiddos and chaperones, not just to serve the Lord but to grow closer to Him as well. Each morning — just as we would if we were at camp, we will be walking through a specific study in our individual quiet times. We want to share that with our faith family back home as well. This allows for good conversations when we get back, but primarily, it gives people an opportunity to specifically pray for our kiddos, knowing what they are studying and praying about while on mission.
This mission trip is going to be a wonderful time of fellowshipping with one another, serving the Lord, and growing together in our individual walk with Christ. Let that last part sink in: growing together in our individualwalkwith Christ. Just like one of us could not pull this mission trip off by ourselves – and especially not without the Holy Spirit, we need each other. That sort of togetherness is called the Church!
This week, we are going to all be on the same page – not just united in our work but literally on the same page of the Bible together as we are studying the same passage each day for our quiet time. This will be time spent alone between each individual and God, essentially making time for Him and hearing from Him in His Word every day. This will bring us closer to Him and closer to one another! Our passage for each day, Monday-Saturday, will come from the book of Ephesians and teach us something about what it means to walk with Jesus (Colossians 2:6-7). You see, walking with Jesus comes out of believing in Him. It is active and daily. It is a term that means our lives reflect a relationship with Him and that we act increasingly like Him and continually progress in what we know about Him – how we know Him. Walking with Jesus is living in our relationship with Him. No relationship thrives without time spent together. Lord willing, by the time spent with Jesus in His Word and with His people, our walk with Christ – our relationship with Him – will become stronger.
Here are links to each day’s reading and devotion:
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 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.[1]
Colossians 3:15-17
Greetings Sojourners!
I am hesitantly excited about today’s Bible study. Really, I am excited about it, just hesitant to publish it because of how divisive the subject can be among church folks. The subject of today’s Bible study is worshiping through singing.
Some people are almost militant in their divisiveness regarding the subject of singing in church. There are camps made and battle lines drawn. In some cases it is “traditional” v. “contemporary”. In others, it is we only sing this or that. There are Southern gospel camps. There are hymnal camps. Sometimes, these camps draw battle lines. Articles are written. Social media posts are lobbed out like grenades. Pastors are fired or hired. Churches split. The casualty is often the act of worship itself when the object of our worship, our resurrected King – Jesus Christ, is often far from the conversation.
I want to avoid camps and battle lines here today and help us see that while what we sing matters, why we sing and especially who we sing to matters, too, and perhaps matters more.
Why do we sing?
We sing because God ordained it. In Ephesians 4:19, we see most of the same wording as our passage today in Colossians 3:16, but we see the Holy Spirit add to the letter to the church at Ephesus the words “singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart”. He moves us to sing and inspires our song. If God had not wanted us to sing, He would not have told us so. He definitely would not have “breathed out” (2 Timothy 3:16) and inspired the longest and largest book of the Bible – the Psalms – to be a song book. God wants us to sing.
We sing because we have something (someOne) to sing about. In Exodus 15, we see Moses and the people of Israel standing on the far side of the Red Sea. God had divided the sea and brought them across on dry ground with walls of water on either side of them while they were being pursued by the Egyptian army (Exodus 14:22-23). Israel made it across, and God inhibited the Egyptian army – who were marching and riding across that same dry ground – from catching Israel or retreating from Him. The entire army was terrified and cried out in fear because “the Lord fights for [Israel]” (Exodus 14:25). God told Moses to stretch his hand out over the parted waters, and God crushed the Egyptian army (Exodus 14:16, 26-29). Israel “saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians” and “feared” and “believed in the Lord” (Exodus 14:31). Moses sang (Exodus 15, cf. Psalm 106:12). God wants us to sing to Him and about Him.
We sing because God sings. There is a beautiful verse penned by the prophet Zephaniah:
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)
God is going to sing over us. Think about the comfort a parent’s singing gives to an infant or young child. Those children are not critics of the music or drawing battle lines over the choice of lullabies. They are soothed. The sound of parental love brings peace. Mama is there with them in the midst of discomfort. Daddy is near making it safe to close their eyes in darkness. For us, Abba (Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6) is singing the good news of Who He is, all He has done, and everything that will be. God wants us to sing that over each other, too.
Hear me again: God wants us to sing! But as I mentioned above, He also gives us guidance on what to sing in our worship gatherings. Colossians 3 is one of the places He gives that guidance. Lord willing, I will avoid making this Bible study into a camp or drawing battle lines. I plan on being clear where Scripture is clear and gracious in clarity here. It is my intent to offer a Bible study that helps and does not unnecessarily divide. What follows is my feeble effort to point us to Christ in what we are to sing when we gather together.
What to Sing: The Word of Christ Dwelling Richly (v. 16)
Our last Bible study focused on how the Word of Christ – the Bible – is supposed to be the substance of our preaching. Looking at the context of Colossians 3:16, we see that it is not only focused on the preaching. The Bible is where we find all that can be known about God.[2] The Bible is where we learn of God and all He has done for us in Christ. Also, as mentioned above, the Bible contains an expansive resource of songs that were sung by those in the faith who have come before us – men and women who experienced the work of God and, like Moses, turned and expressed their worship and devotion and awe of God to Him in song.
If the Word of Christ is to dwell richly in our singing, our songs must be tested against the Word. This is important because what the church sings has historically “been one of the most powerful means by which a church is taught”.[3] This can be seen in the way that Wayne Grudem includes hymns and praise songs at the end of each chapter of his Systematic Theology; he believes that the study of theology “at its best will result in praise”.[4] The praise that results from studying Scripture and forming theology should exhibit that theology. An example of this is how an old hymn from my childhood formed the basis of how I understand the atonement of Christ: “There to my heart was the blood applied; glory to His name!” Another example comes from a modern hymn that shows God’s heart toward and power to save sinners who turn to Him: “My sins they are many; His mercy is more!”
This leads on to how we should look at the contents of what we sing in the same way as the preaching that we sit under. The example of the Bereans fits here, too. They were eager to hear, but that is not what set them apart. They were considered “more noble” because they did not let their eagerness take the place of “examining the Scriptures daily” to see if what Paul was teaching matched what God’s Word said (Acts 17:11). If our songs are going to teach us theology, we need to be careful that we are not willingly singing false teaching. There are resources that can help with this like The Berean Test, but you should dig into the Scriptures yourself. At Christ Community, we work through the songs we sing and provide lists of cross-references for every song we sing and provide access to them (almost) weekly through our “Songs for Sunday” posts, but none of that is any good if no one checks the Scripture to see if these things are so.
You might be asking why this even matters or if it really is a big deal. The short answer is yes. The long answer points us back to our passage.
What to Sing: Psalms, Hymns, and Spiritual Songs
Here comes the controversial or at least the point where people typically begin to divide. It is the subject of a lot of conversation, more than a little bit of social media fodder, and is the basis for a lot of opinions that get shared on the subject. The issue for divisiveness here is largely due to opinion – along with tradition or preference. I have neither the interest nor the emotional bandwidth to wade through those issues here. What I am interested in is what Paul told the Colossian church. I am interested in how the content of our worship is meant to flow out of taking off the flesh and putting on Christ. I want to see praise as a response of our theology as well as seeing our theology ensuring that our praise is biblical.
Paul gives the church at Colossae – as well as the church at Ephesus (Ephesians 4:19), our local churches, and the Church from the writing of the New Testament until Christ’s return – three categories of songs for us to sing: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Now, no song is necessarily one of these categories but more likely a mixture. What I want to do here is, as I said above, to see what these terms given to us by the Holy Spirit through Paul mean and how we can use them to check the contents of our worship through singing.
Psalms
The psalms are the easiest to define because we recognize it as the name of the longest book of the Bible: Psalms. It is the collection of songs written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to exalt, praise, and worship the Lord for all He had done for Israel. The way the Biblical Theology Study Bible describes the book of Psalms is very helpful to us here:
“The book of Psalms (or the Psalter) has been the hymnbook and prayer book for countless generations of Jews and Christians over the centuries. It contains the entire range of human emotion, from the highest points of joy and thanksgiving to the lowest points of depression and loss and everything in between. The psalms are timeless—hence their popularity among believers in all times and all places. Their presence in the Bible instructs the faithful in the best ways to praise and thank God, and they model legitimate ways to grieve and to address God boldly and directly in the midst of pain and sorrow. The psalms are transparent, passionate, emotive, personal, and genuine, and they provide believers with language with which to express their own deepest emotions and passions.”[5]
The existence of the psalms gives us good guidelines for what our worship is to look like, whether it be learning to call out to God in times of distress and mourning, rejoicing when He has blessed us, crying out from a position of defeat or desperation, or worshipfully reflecting on who God is and all He has done.
The word here in Colossians 3:16 (Gr. psalmos) basically means “Songs”, while the title of the book in Hebrew (Tehillim) meant “Praises”. The Greek form of the word also carried with it the idea of singing being accompanied by music, specifically strings being plucked (like a harp) or played with a plectrum or pick (like a lyre or lute).[6] But ultimately, what we need to understand for today is that the first (and arguably most important) category of songs for us is singing Scripture. This of course includes the 150 psalms we have in the Bible, but it also extends to New Testament passages like Colossians 1:15-20 or Philippians 2:5-11. This illustrates that, in order for the “word of Christ to dwell in you richly”, the contents of our singing is better to contain Scripture than to merely reflect or be inspired by it.
Hymns
This is going to be where some disagree because of the prevalence of hymnals, especially how important they were in churches for the last few centuries. However, there are many songs in hymnals that would fit the other categories as well; examples of this from the 2008 Baptist Hymnal include singing Scripture (psalms) like in Hymn #431 where it is the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6:9-13 to music, as well as a number of “spiritual songs” which we will get into in the next section. The word here in Colossians 3:16 (Gr. hymnos) means a “song…in honor of God” or a “direct address of praise and glory to God”.[7]
One might interpret hymns in the more modern context as songs that sing doctrine. If psalms is singing Scripture explicitly, hymns are inspired by Scripture or are used to explain what Scripture is saying. Both are important. But, hopefully, this helps us see why it is so important to sing songs that are faithful to Scripture and contain good, solid biblical theology. I will give an example of an older “hymn” and a newer song to illustrate this. The song “Just a Little Talk With Jesus” talks about a “prayer wheel”, which is Buddhist and has no ties to Christianity at any point in church history. That is dangerous. A more modern example can be seen from events recently in the meetings of the United Methodist Church where they not only abandoned clear biblical teachings on sexuality but joined together singing a “hymn” called “All Faiths Lead to God” which contradicts the Bible’s teaching that Jesus is the only Way to the Father (John 14:6).
Hymns can help us to put good biblical theology in our mouths and in our minds (or bad theology if we are not careful with some). Examples of solid hymns that come to my mind are “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation”, “It is Well”, “How Great Thou Art”, “Come Ye Sinners Poor and Needy”, “In Christ Alone”, “How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”, or “Before the Throne of God Above”. This is most definitely not an exhaustive list, but each of these songs is an ode to God’s might and power and points to Him. These songs contain gospel truths and clear doctrine. The age of the song matters not (the songs in the list above range from the 1400s to the early 2000s) because Jesus is eternal and there are nearly 2,000 years of the Church spread out on every continent, which is how it should be because the Church is bigger than just us in our local congregation.
Spiritual Songs
In this final category, we see an example that gets to be a bit more personal. The word in Colossians 3:16 (Gr. ode) is where we get the English word “ode” that describes poems or songs written about/to someone or something. In this case, ode refers to singing in honor of what God has done and might contain confessions of what we have done in sin or praise for what God has done in saving us. These are songs of testimony. For these “spiritual songs” sung in corporate worship, they are songs of shared testimony, singing and testifying things that are common to every believer.
These “spiritual songs” carry common themes like redemption, salvation, justification, the breaking of chains, the removal of sin, repentance, etc. Every Christian to ever be born again shares certain biblical similarities in their testimonies. All Christians were dead in their trespasses and sins, but God made us alive in Him. All Christians were lost until Jesus sought us out and found us. All Christians were slaves to sin but redeemed by God and adopted as His child. These are common themes that resound with all of us. Again, some of these overlap, take “How Great Thou Art” from the list of hymns in the previous section. It is clearly chock full of doctrine, especially in verse three, but that proclamation of doctrine is also a testimony: “And when I think, that God His Son not sparing, sent Him to die; I scare can take it in. That on the cross, my burden gladly bearing; He bled and died to take away my sin!”
Another beautiful truth about “spiritual songs” is how they carry with them the idea of new songs.[8] In Revelation 5:9 and 14:3, the ode is used to talk about the “new song” sung to the Lamb and in Revelation 15:3 to describe the “song of the Lamb”. God is still saving people, giving them new life and a song of gratitude in their hearts, and people are still moved to write songs that make much of Jesus, like the descriptions of heaven in Revelation where crowns are being laid down, palm branches are being waved, and recognition of the singular worthiness of the Lamb is proclaimed constantly. This also agrees with Psalm 149:1-3 that commands God’s people to praise Him and that new songs should be sung because people are “glad” in their Maker, “making melody to Him” with instruments and voices.
So, to take the categories in Colossians 3:16 and simplify them, we are to sing Scripture, we are to sing doctrine as found in Scripture, and we are to sing as an ode to God and a testimony for all He has done and is doing for us.
Wrapping Up
Letting “the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” is no small task, especially as we gather together to worship with our local church. But no task worth doing or goal worth reaching is easy or simple. Making sure that our worship – through preaching, listening, reading the Word, or singing – is biblical is a difficult but necessary task. The result hinges on Him in whom we put our trust. Do we trust Him enough to do things His way, or will we rely too heavily on our own traditions or personal preferences? Are we willing to chuck out songs that are shallow or unbiblical just because that’s what we like or grew up on? These are hard questions, but, again, they are necessary.
It also needs to be said that writing on this does not mean that I have it all figured out or that I am not still changing and growing in this. I’m no longer a young man, and I find tradition and personal preference weighs more heavily in my mind and heart than in previous decades in my life. I find myself convicted when I realize that something I have sung or a song I have always loved and/or grew up on is not biblical.[9] But if I spend time in the Word and with the Word, Jesus, I am not satisfied with lesser songs. I need to worship God as He prescribes, not as I prefer. That is a lesson I am still learning and will likely continue to learn for the rest of my life, until I stand before Him on the throne and cast my preferences aside and all I can do is worship my Lord and King.
So, how do we apply this?
Well, most simply, we guard what we sing and test it according to the Word. In some cases, songs will need to be thrown out. In others, parts or lines can be rewritten to fit with Scripture. But, ultimately, we need to desire to worship the Lord and to have His Word “dwell in [us] richly”. We need to hunger for Him and realize that worship is all about Him and nothing of us (other than confessing our sinfulness and need for Him).
Jesus is worthy.
Jesus is Lord.
Jesus is God.
Let us make sure we worship Him for who He is and how He told us to in His Word.
[1]The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Col 3:15–17.
[9] I want to make a specific statement regarding some of the songs we sing, but it did not fit well in the exposition of Colossians 3:16. We need to be increasingly careful of the sources of our music. Some of the most popular songs today are from churches like Hillsong, Elevation, or Bethel. In many ways, these three churches have departed from orthodox Christian teachings in certain areas and in the case of Bethel have gone to underhanded lengths to simulate or fake the presence of the Holy Spirit. We need to be careful when drinking from tainted wells. At the same time, we need to be vigilant in checking all of our songs. Some older songs fit that bill as well. Do your research and see if songwriters or hymnwriters are part of a local church – whether or not they have accountability as a church member with pastors and people discipling them. We need to be vigilant regarding the Word content of the songs we let in our minds because, again, it helps form the theology coming out of our mouths. We raise our children with songs to warn of danger like “Be careful little ears what you hear”; may we warn ourselves with “Be careful little flock what you sing.”
This weekend was our youth’s CCNow – our very own D(isciple) Now weekend filled with service and worship and studying God’s Word. I love to get to watch these kiddos and their leaders worship and serve the Lord and to get to share in that with them.
The messages this weekend have been from the book of Daniel and looking at what God did in and through four young men who suffered much but worshiped God more! As John was preaching through Daniel 1 and in the young men’s small group after, emphasis was given to the fact that these young men were faithful in the small things before there was faithfulness in the big things — that their relationship with God did not begin in the fiery furnace (Daniel 3) or in the lion’s den (Daniel 6) but before Babylon and at the king’s buffet.
It is clear in the Bible that persecution and suffering have been historically and are still being “experienced by [the] brotherhood throughout the world” (1 Peter 5:9) and that “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). What Daniel, Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael went through was clear, too (Psalm 34:10, Isaiah 43:2). This can be a scary prospect — truthfully, it is a scary prospect. But here is the foundation of Daniel’s faithfulness, the foundation of the boldness to turn down the lavish buffet of forbidden food at the king’s table for vegetables and worship (Daniel 1:8-16), the boldness to respectfully refuse to bow to the king rather than God (Daniel 3:16-18), the boldness to walk freely into the burning fiery furnace with assurance in the worthiness of their God (Daniel 3:23-26), the boldness to kneel in prayer as he always had even though the powers-that-were decided to make it illegal (Daniel 6:10), the boldness to descend into the den of lions rather than kneel to forsake the God who had been faithful for decades and onward into eternity (Daniel 6:16-23): the foundation is God’s faithfulness. Those four young men could stand or kneel — whatever the need called for — because they could be sure that the LORD their GOD, “the Holy One of Israel”, their Savior had redeemed them (Isaiah 43:3). He alone is worthy of praise. He alone is worthy of service. He alone saves. He alone sustains. He alone strengthens.
These young women and men who follow Christ will indeed face persecution. The older women and men who are leading and discipling these younger ones will, too, and already are facing some. But the worship of Jesus in the little things – in the random Mondays and CCNow weekends and regular, everyday life – will lead to worship when the chips are down and the call to bow to false gods is raised and the furnace is stoked and the angry jaws of our adversary who is already prowling “around like a roaring lion, seeking” to devour (1 Peter 5:8). Jesus is worthy now. He is already worthy for then. Let us desire Him and seek Him and serve Him. Let’s lift our hearts and bow our knees to Him now and remember – just as Daniel and his friends did – that “He who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).
Hallelujah, and amen!
Here are our Scriptures and songs:
Scripture | Psalm 34:1-10 —
1I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. 2My soul makes its boast in the LORD; let the humble hear and be glad. 3Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together!
4I sought the LORD, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears. 5Those who look to Him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed. 6This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. 7The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.
8Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! 9Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints, for those who fear Him have no lack! 10The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
Song | Jesus Messiah — Scripture Inspiration: 2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 2:8, Psalm 136:1, Acts 17:3, Luke 2:11, Philippians 2:9, Job 19:25, Isaiah 44:24, Matthew 1:23, Matthew 28:20, Isaiah 61:1, 1 Timothy 2:6, Philippians 2:10, Luke 22:19-20, Romans 5:5, Matthew 27:51, John 3:16, Romans 5:3-4, 1 Peter 1:3, Jude 25, John 8:12, Isaiah 59:1-2
Song | The King of My Heart — Scripture Inspiration: Isaiah 9:6, John 12:15, 1 Timothy 6:13-16, Revelation 17:14, Revelation 19:11-16, Deuteronomy 33:29, Psalm 3:3, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, John 4:10, John 7:37-39, Psalm 40:3, Psalm 91:1, Matthew 20:20-28, 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 23:6, Lamentations 3:25, Nahum 1:7, Luke 18:19, Psalm 19:12-13, Psalm 139:1-4, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Acts 2:3-4, Romans 5:4-8, 2 Peter 3:9, Psalm 30:5
Scripture | Isaiah 43:1-3a —
1But now thus says the LORD, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, you Savior.
Song | Forever Reign — Scripture Inspiration: Psalm 73:1, Nahum 1:7, Romans 3:10, Romans 3:23, 1 John 4:8, Romans 5:8, 1 John 3:16, John 1:4-5, John 8:12, 1 Peter 1:3, 1 Peter 2:24, Deuteronomy 33:27, Luke 15:20, Ephesians 2:4-5, Proverbs 3:15, Philippians 4:6-7, John 14:6, Philippians 4:4, Habakkuk 3:18, Psalm 13:6, Job 23:11-12, Psalm 16:2, Romans 1:19-20, Colossians 2:9-10, Matthew 28:20, Psalm 138:1, Acts 4:12, Philippians 2:9-11
Song | King of Kings — Scripture Inspiration: Proverbs 4:19, John 3:19-21, Ephesians 2:1, Philippians 2:5-11, Matthew 5:17, Isaiah 7:14, Luke 1:31, Isaiah 9:6-7, Luke 2:7, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 8:1, John 1:14, Psalm 136:3, Matthew 28:18, Revelation 19:16, Matthew 13:24-52, 2 Corinthians 5:18-21, Isaiah 53, John 3:16, Romans 5:6-10, Galatians 3:13, Colossians 2:14, Titus 2:14, Acts 4:33, 1 Corinthians 15:3-8, Matthew 27:52-53, Luke 15:7, Acts 2:1-4, Matthew 24:35, Ephesians 1:7, Galatians 5:1, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11
Invitation | Battle Belongs — Scripture Inspiration: Romans 8:37, Matthew 17:20, Matthew 21:21, Psalm 23:4, 1 John 4:18, Joshua 1:9, Psalm 27:1, 2 Corinthians 10:4, Ephesians 6:18, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Corinthians 15:57, 2 Corinthians 2:14, 1 John 5:4-5, Revelation 12:10-11, Romans 8:31, Genesis 18:14, Jeremiah 32:17, Jeremiah 17:9, Isaiah 61:3, Galatians 2:19-20, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Corinthians 15:14-17, Ruth 2:12, 2 Samuel 22:3-4, Psalm 3:3, Nahum 1:7, Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4
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.
In this Refresh & Restore Bible Study, we look at suffering, weakness, and hope through the lens of Scripture. Life is full of limitations, burdens, and afflictions, but for those who belong to Jesus, suffering is not the end of the story.Hebrews 12:1–2 reminds us that there is a race set before us and that we run by laying aside every weight and looking to Jesus. Philippians 4:10–13 shows us that Christ strengthens us in abundance and need, not by making us self-sufficient but by teaching us to depend on Him. And 2 Corinthians 4:7–18 reminds us that we are jars of clay, weak and breakable, so that the surpassing power would be seen as belonging to God and not to us.Our afflictions may feel heavy now, but in Christ they are light and momentary compared to the eternal weight of glory He has prepared for His people. Jesus is the joy set before us, the strength within us, and the One who keeps us from shattering.If you would like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with Scripture references, you can find it here.
It seems that as I grow older (although not yet old), it seems that things take a little longer. As Indiana Jones says, “It ain’t the years; it’s the mileage.” This has been especially the case with our Bible studies. Essentially, I mean that I am getting to a stage of life where I am more convinced – maybe convicted – that if something is worth doing, it is worth doing well. Part of that is, as I grow older and my responsibilities and opportunities grow, too, is that I do not have to get everything done. I do not have to check every box on my to-do list. The Lord knows what He wants me to do and how much time each task of His will take. So, I trust that as I spend my time each week nothing is wasted if I spend that time pursuing Him and looking to serve Him well in all areas of my life. Part of that is daily choosing to take off the old self and put on Christ. Just as each day starts with rising from bed, taking off the bed clothes, rinsing off the old in the shower, and putting on what I need for the day – deodorant, clothes, a decent volume of hairspray, bifocals – I must consciously lay out in my mind and meditate on what it means to put on Christ before heading out to meet the day.
My wife is a pro when it comes to laying out what needs to be put on the next day and how what is taken off is to be cleared away. The kids and I are blessed to have her remind us, more of them than me as their trainability leaves her more hopeful, to lay out our clothes for the next day and to remove the old to be washed or discarded as needed. When we do this, there are no distractions or detours when it comes to getting ready. When we listen to her and follow instructions, we can get up, take off the old, and put on the new. It just works. When we get off course, it seems like everything goes awry. Socks cannot be found. Shoes have been misplaced. Questions of whether we even have pants to wear or if homework is in the backpack instead of on the coffee table or if everyone’s teeth are brushed…. It never fails that precious time has been wasted, we are close to running late, or something has been left. It would all be so simple if we just laid out what we need to put on and take with us the next day. Could it be that walking with Christ is somehow similar?
Our past few Bible studies (The Tough Love of Colossians 3, Be Killing Sin & There’s No Such Thing as Imitation Fruit) have walked through the parts of Colossians 3 that tell us how we need to take off the old self and remove the sin that clings to us like dirt. We have also studied who we are supposed to be – “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” (Colossians 3:12) — Who are You? parts one & two Now, we are getting to the practical part of walking with Christ: what to wear.
Because of its practical nature, this Bible study has been hard for me to complete. I want it to be clear. I need to be clear, especially considering that this list of things to “put on” is not a list of practical tips for a better life. In fact, they cannot truly be put on if one is not saved. I do not say this to exclude people. I also do not say that to include. I say it to invite people to come to Christ. I also say that to hopefully help you understand that the Christian life – a life that has been taken from dead in sin to alive in Christ – cannot, hear me canNOT be lived apart from Christ. The commandments will beat you down, suffocate, and smother you because they are meant to be accomplished through God’s power given by His Spirit to those who have put their faith in the Son. So, a big part of this study is helping you understand again what it is to be in Christ. If you find you are not in Him, I would love to help you come to know Him! And if you are in Christ, dear Sojourner, I want to help you lay out what you need to put on, namely Christ, so that you can build helpful habits (not self-help but continual parts of your relationship with Him) that will strengthen your walk with Christ and fulfill what Paul prayed for the Colossians (and I for you) in Colossians 1:10, that you may “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God”. So, what to wear?
What to Wear (vv. 12-14)
Those three words – what to wear – can be either a question (as in what should I wear? or what I am supposed to wear?) or an instruction telling us what we need to wear for a certain occasion or for a certain event or activity. This ain’t that, but the analogy is helpful. Our righteousness (because of our sin) is the equivalent of putting on dress clothes after wallowing in mud – without taking a shower or so much as hosing off. The dress clothing will obviously be made dirty because we ourselves are unclean. We can compare putting on Christ then, at least to a small degree, to putting on fresh clothes after being cleaned by Him. In this analogy, Jesus is the one who cleans us and provides us with the clothing to cover us. Jesus justifies those whom He saves and covers their sin and shame with His blood, making them clean.
Paul explained to the church at Ephesus that learning and being taught in Christ helps us learn what it is “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, …and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:21-24). That is the image Paul is trying to get across to us throughout Colossians 3:5-14. Our sinful flesh belongs to the way we used to be before Jesus saved us. We need to take it off. That old life is our grave clothes. Think about it like this: do you think Lazarus (who had been dead in his tomb long enough that his decomposing body had begun to stink – John 11:39) kept on wearing his grave clothes? That would have surely been lovely and appetizing at Martha’s dinner party the week before Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection (John 12:1-2). Nothing says, “Let’s eat”, like the smell of something dead. No, the grave clothes had been discarded – Lazarus went from death to life and came out of his tomb at Jesus’s command (John 11:43-44)! Grave clothes are for the dead. The old self and its former manner of life are products of the wages of our sin – death (Romans 6:23). It is time for those who are alive (Colossians 2:13, Ephesians 2:4-5) to put on Christ. But what does that even mean?
First, we need to understand that putting on Christ is not something that we take on and off. Salvation and the new life that comes from Jesus saving us – from Him taking us who were dead in our sins and making us alive in Him – are reality. They are more than change in status; they are change of nature and our state of existence. Salvation is not something that can be lost because it was not accomplished by us. I know it sounds weird, but salvation is kind of a paradox. Those who are born again have been saved, are being saved, and will be saved by Jesus. There is the moment of salvation when the Spirit convicted of sin, and we repented of that sin and confessed Jesus as Lord. He is continually sanctifying us (a Bible word that the Holy Spirit is supernaturally making us more like Jesus in the new self and less like the old self) and saving us in our daily lives. And He will ultimately save us by taking us from this life into His presence!
Second, putting on Christ means that there will be evidence – fruit – of a relationship with Jesus. This is something that we have looked at in earlier sections of Colossians. In Colossians 1:10, Paul spoke to the Colossian church telling them what he had been praying for them, namely that they “walk in a manner worthy of the Lord” and bear “fruit in every good work”. Their continual walk with Him grows them, provides them opportunities to serve Him, and produces fruit in their lives. In Colossians 2:6, Paul told them that they are to walk in Christ as they received Him. Again, the walk – the life – bears fruit that proves it. This is like our talking about putting on Christ and taking off the grave clothes. Dead people have no sign of life. They are dead. Think about what we refer to as vital signs: pulse, respiration, etc. They are vital to life because without them we are dead. In that same way, the fruit of Jesus changing our lives is the vital signs of our walking with Him. He took our heart of stone and gave us a heart of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26). His works are not written on stone tablets but on and through our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3). James made this clear by saying that our faith will be proven – not earned – by works (James 2:14-26). There are outward signs of inward change, or we are dead.
This is important, and I do not want you to be able to miss this. Putting on Christ is not putting on a show. As I have already told you, trying to do the things that come from new life in Christ will weigh you down and beat you down if you have not been saved. That is what religion is and can be. Nothing will burn you out and make you want to quit quicker than trying to accomplish what only God’s Spirit can accomplish. If there is no fruit, there is no life. Jesus told His disciples a parable about a fruitless tree in Luke 13:6-9. A man owning a vineyard had a fig tree that was of fruit-bearing age for three years, yet it never produced a single fig. The vineyard owner told the worker in charge of the fig tree to cut it down because it was a waste of space and soil. The worker convinced the owner to give it one more year, a year where he would try all he could to make the tree healthy and produce fruit, but if at the end of that year there was no fruit, the tree would be cut down because it was dead. So, it is with us. Those connected to Christ – connected to the Vine – produce fruit because of the life He gives (John 15:5). But any who profess to be alive in Christ who are altogether fruitless, they are still dead in their sins (John 15:6).
I know this might sound harsh and judgmental. This section in particular is most of what has taken so long for this Bible study to develop because I do not want you to be beat down with a religious argument. I do not want you to think that I am putting qualifications on you that you cannot meet – or thinking that I am able to give you things to do in and of myself. So, if you are looking at your life and do not see any fruit of Jesus saving you, this is not me trying to hurt your feelings; it is a gift from God if you can come to realize that you are dead in your sins. Turn to Jesus and be saved (Isaiah 45:22)! Behold, “now is the favorable time”, “now is the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2)! Religion can beat you down, but the mighty hand of God can lift you up (1 Peter 5:6). If you see no fruit of Christ in your life – if you see none of His life and only yours, I beg and plead with you to look to Him, repent of your sin, confess Him as Lord, and believe on Him. He will surely save you.
If you look at your life and see fruit, no matter how small, let us look and see what He would have us wear.
What We Put on When We Put on Christ (vv. 12-14)
This is our wardrobe if we put on Christ: compassion, kindness, humility, patience, enduring care, forgiveness, and love. They stem from what we see in Jesus. Each can be clearly associated with Him, just as the sins of Colossians 3:5-9 are clearly associated with us in our sin. So, I want to treat these words – these articles of clothing as they are presented here – similarly to how we walked through the sins. In those verses, and today’s, I used the same lexicon and Greek dictionary for all the words to present their definitions fairly and not whitling the context to fit any agenda. Even when there are not quotations in the definitions, the information comes from Spiros Zodhiates’ The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament[1]. More importantly, I want to show you every verse in the New Testament (and a few from the Septuagint, a Greek translation of the Old Testament from the 3rd century b.c.) that contains these words. As I said in that earlier section, this may seem nerdy and/or boring, but I want you to see what the fruit is supposed to look like. I want you to see what the new life in Christ is supposed to be. I want to show you Him:
“compassionate hearts” οἰκτιρμός (oiktirmós) — This word is “the pity or compassion which one shows for the suffering of others”. It is not as strong as the word usually used to describe God’s mercy, ultimately because we are not capable of such. But it is a result of having received mercy! The word for hearts here is essentially the word for our insides, meaning that this compassion is not just something we show. As above in mentioning compassion because of receiving mercy from Jesus, this compassion comes from inside of us – out of the new life in Jesus. It is fruit.
Romans 12:1 – I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
2 Corinthians 1:3 – Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort….
Philippians 2:1 – So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy….
Hebrews 10:28 – Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses.
1 Chronicles 21:13 (Septuagint[2]) – Then David said to Gad, “I am in great distress. Let me fall into the hand of the Lord, for His mercy is very great, but do not let me fall into the hand of a man.”
2 Chronicles 30:9 (Septuagint) – For if you return to the Lord, your brothers and your children will find compassion with their captors and return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away His face from you, if you return to Him.”
Psalm 50:3(Septuagint) – Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Zechariah 7:9 (Septuagint) – “Thus says the Lord of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another….
“kindness” χρηστότης (chrēstótēs) — This word is translated as “good”, “kindness”, and “gentleness”. It is kind of hard to explain this word with a simple definition. This word is a byproduct of having received grace. The grace of God spreads through one’s whole self, softening the sharp edges of our personalities and mellowing out what was once harsh. It is the word used in Luke 5:39 to talk about why the old wine is better – because it has mellowed with age. This word is not really describing actions but is a description of character. It is fruit.
Romans 2:4 – Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Romans 3:2 – All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”
Romans 11:22 – Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
Galatians 5:22 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness….
Ephesians 2:7 – …so that in the coming ages He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Titus 3:4 – But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared….
“humility” ταπεινοφροσύνη (tapeinophrosúnē) — We all think we understand humility or being humble, but sometimes we are falsely humble. Zodhiates does a good job with this explanation by saying this word is the “esteeming of ourselves small, inasmuch as we are so, the correct estimate of ourselves”. To illustrate, this sort of humility is seen in the sinner who realizes he or she is unworthy of the grace of God, confesses that sin to God, and repents of it. This word is especially important to the Colossian church because a fake religious version of this was already mentioned in Colossians 2:18 and 2:23 with the word “asceticism”. This was a fake humility that was meant to make people look holier than they were. The genuine form of this humility cannot be faked. It is fruit.
Acts 20:19 – …serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews….
Ephesians 4:2 – …with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love….
1 Peter 5:5 – Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
“meekness” πραΰτης (praǘtēs) — There really is not a good translation of this word since “meekness” in English is usually associated with being weak or coming from a position of weakness. This ain’t that. Prautes comes from a position of power. It is a heart and mind that demonstrates gentleness and grace because the person knows who they are – more importantly whose they are. It is a confident action. It is fruit.
1 Corinthians 4:21 – What do you wish? Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?
2 Corinthians 10:1 – I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ – I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!
Galatians 5:23 – …gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
Ephesians 4:2 – …with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love….
2 Timothy 2:25 – …correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth….
Titus 3:2 – …to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.
James 1:21 – Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
James 3:13 – Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
1 Peter 3:15 – …but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect….
“patience” μακροθυμία (makrothumía) — This word is different than we might typically think of regarding patience. Or at least it differs from how we mean patience sometimes. It is less about endurance – just getting through something – than it is about faith or respect for others. It is what the KJV translators called long-suffering – a sense of “self-restraint before proceeding to action”. It is the quality one would have if they were able to avenge themselves after being done wrong but instead refraining to do so. It is fruit.
Romans 2:4 – Or do you presume on the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?
Romans 9:22 – What if God, desiring to show His wrath and to make known His power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction….
Galatians 5:22 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness….
Ephesians 4:2 – …with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love….
Colossians 1:11 – …being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy….
1 Timothy 1:16 – But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display His perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in Him for eternal life.
2 Timothy 3:10 – You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness….
2 Timothy 4:2 – …preach the Word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.
Hebrews 6:12 – …so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
James 5:10 – As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
1 Peter 3:20 – …because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through the water.
2 Peter 3:15 – And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him….
Flowing out of these qualities or attributes are some that are written out in phrases or sentences rather than in words we can break down easily and define. The first of those is “bearing with one another” (Colossians 3:13). The compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience are to be shown to others, especially to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and especially in the context of the local church. There are so many factors and factions in this world competing with and antagonizing the local church. May it not be so that we are warring against one another inside the local church (or that we claim Christ and are not a part of a local church). Yes, churches are made up of people – sinners saved by grace, but sometimes we live and act as if we have never received the grace and mercy of Christ ourselves. This is part of what Paul is talking about here. The fruit of receiving grace and mercy is extending it to others. Oh, what our faith families would be like if we showed grace to one another regularly instead of just when there are extraordinary burdens that need bearing!
Part of bearing with one another is the next quality: “if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other” (Colossians 3:13). This one is tough! So often, we want to look at how we are to confront people (biblically or sinfully), but it is clear here that is more fruitful to just forgive. I think about times, especially a few of recent that I find myself suddenly convicted of, when I wanted to confront someone over some slight or hurt against me. How arrogant and selfish I am sometimes! What gives me the right to confront and call folks to the carpet when Jesus has been so forgiving – so merciful to me? That is part of forbearance: passing over sins. But to do that means that we must “in humility count others more significant than” ourselves (Philippians 2:3). Forgiveness is not easy. It is not meant to be. It is meant to be fruit of Jesus forgiving us – “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:13). That kind of tears down our selfish and prideful arguments of who deserves better or who needs to know ___. Paul tells the Colossian church, and us today, that we must forgive, not should forgive, or could forgive if ___. This is imperative. This is fruit.
Wrapping Up
The last item of clothing or last part or quality of putting on Christ really brings the whole outfit together. It is kind of like how my school kids pick at me when I am dressed well (which is not very often). They tell me I need to do a “fit check”. It is usually when I wear a sport coat or a vest that draws attention to my clothing – that item takes the clothes and makes an outfit (again, as I am told by knowledgeable and well-meaning sophomores). Love, Paul tells us, should be “put on” above all the others (Colossians 3:14). The Greek word translated “love” here is one you are likely familiar with: agape. This is the love with which God loves. We only know it and can show it if we have received God’s love – that John 3:16 sort of love where God “gave His only begotten son that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” This is the love that God demonstrated “in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). It is unexplainable. But, then again, isn’t all love too complex to put into words? Thankfully, those who are putting on Christ have His Word to depend on and explain Him to us and others. Just as John 3:16 and Romans 5:8 show us some aspects of God’s agape toward those He saves, it serves us well to look at the Word to see how His love bears fruit in our lives and helps us to love others. I am tempted here, because I have gone longer than originally planned, to snip at some verses, but as Dane Ortlund rightly says, “the safest way to theological fidelity is sticking close to the biblical text.”[3] So, we will take a good-sized chunk of 1 John 4 – not to break apart for more Bible study but to build us up to see why agape “binds everything together in perfect harmony” (Colossians 3:14). Look at 1 John 4:7-19:
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.
Love, complex and simple. But in the context of putting on Christ, it is fruit. 1 John 4:19 sums that up aptly. We are capable of agape only if we have received agape. Those who are chosen of God, holy and beloved (Colossians 3:12) can have compassion welling up within them because God has had compassion on them because He loves them. They can be kind because God, in His love, has been kind to them. They can humbly look at themselves for who they are because who they are is loved by God. They can demonstrate grace and mercy appropriately because God in love pours grace and mercy in immeasurable proportions into their lives. They can patiently endure ___ because God has been, is, and will be patient with them because that is what He does for His beloved. We can bear with others and forgive them because Jesus loved us enough to forgive us and continues to do so as we need it.
Putting on Christ, then, is taking the love He gave us and turning it back toward others. Putting on Christ is showing the love and care Christ has for His Bride, the Church, toward our own local churches. Putting on Christ is showing His gospel love to the world by sharing His gospel so that people will come to know Him. Putting on Christ is more of Him and less of us until we get to the point where we see Him face-to-face – the point where we will not need to put on Christ because He will be right there with us!
[2] The Septuagint is a Greek translation of the Old Testament in the 3rd-2nd centuries BC by Jewish scholars who understood Hebrew (and Greek) better than anyone who has lived in the last 1,800 years.
[3] Dane Ortlund, Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2020), 14.
9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved….[1]
In this Refresh & Restore Bible Study, we look at suffering, weakness, and hope through the lens of Scripture. Life is full of limitations, burdens, and afflictions, but for those who belong to Jesus, suffering is not the end of the story.Hebrews 12:1–2 reminds us that there is a race set before us and that we run by laying aside every weight and looking to Jesus. Philippians 4:10–13 shows us that Christ strengthens us in abundance and need, not by making us self-sufficient but by teaching us to depend on Him. And 2 Corinthians 4:7–18 reminds us that we are jars of clay, weak and breakable, so that the surpassing power would be seen as belonging to God and not to us.Our afflictions may feel heavy now, but in Christ they are light and momentary compared to the eternal weight of glory He has prepared for His people. Jesus is the joy set before us, the strength within us, and the One who keeps us from shattering.If you would like to see a written version of this podcast, complete with Scripture references, you can find it here.
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve last opened the Word together, and I am excited to continue in this section of Colossians. As I said in our last study together, this section between the what-to-take-off (sin – Colossians 3:5-9) passage and the what-to-put-on (Christ – Colossians 3:12-14) passage helps us to see who we are in Christ – and make sure whose we are.
These past few weeks have really made me look hard at both who and whose I am. You see, as I write these devotions, they affect me as well. Sometimes that’s more enjoyable than others. I remember being a teenager and looking forward to the days when the choices would be easier, and I wouldn’t have to make principled stands or decisions so regularly. I had no idea. The older I get and the longer I walk with Christ the closer I grow to Him (not in perfection but in dependence and worship). The closer I grow to Him the less I can adapt to the world or to others because I just don’t fit in here. My friend Shane Viner tells me that a lot of what causes me anxiety boils down to an incompatibility of my worldview – that is getting more “rooted and built up in [Christ] and established in the faith, just as [I was] taught” (Colossians 2:7) – with the fallen world around me. I am learning that what God has for me is better than what the world offers. I am learning to be satisfied with Him and what He has for me rather than the fleeting pleasures of sin and the world. I am learning that because His is who I am. But notice I said learning.
This takes us back to our last Bible study and an important point I want to make sure I reiterate here today: the Christian life is impossible apart from being in Christ (born again, saved). This is why I am so thankful for this little passage in between the take-off and put-on passages in Colossians 3. It is too tempting sometimes to try and stop certain behaviors under our own strength or to think that stopping behaviors means that we do not need salvation. By the same token, it is also tempting to try and do good things under our own strength and equate that with not needing salvation. The more I study the book of Colossians, the more I realize – the more I am learning that it is God’s Spirit and Word that convict me of sin and where I find the desire to stop sinning at all (John 16:7-8). And it is through the prompting of the Spirit through the Word that gives me the desire to do good, too (Ephesians 2:10).
Our last Bible study’s focus was making sure we know what it is to be a new creation – making sure we understand that it is only by Jesus meeting us where we were, dead in our trespasses and sins, and making us alive in Him by giving us new life that only He can give. Just like Ephesians 2:10 follows Ephesians 2:1-9, good works come out of the new life in Jesus and are accomplished by His strength. Salvation comes by grace through faith so that we cannot boast in ourselves. Good works are fruit of His Spirit working inside of us so that we cannot boast in ourselves. It’s not about us.
That’s why the focus of this particular section is the question “Who are you?” and “Whose are you?” The answer to these questions matters. Just as we stated in the last Bible study’s introduction, who and whose you are is answered clearly in Colossians 3:9-11. Just like a hinge makes the working of a door possible, who we are in Christ and whether we belong to Him matters. We have already looked at Colossians 3:9-10 and how those who are in Christ have a “new self” made “after the image of its creator”. Today, we will screw in the other two hinges by seeing who we are not as a lens for whose we are (Colossians 3:11) and realizing that all those who are in Christ are “God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved” (Colossians 3:12).
I Am Not Who I Was (v. 11)
How do you feel about your past self?
I have talked to many people over the years who struggle with feeling as if they are always judged by what they did in their past – of people remembering and defining them by past sins. Their testimony of Jesus changing their life by saving them and making them a new creation always seems to be minimized by the shadows of their past, or at least it seems that way sometimes or to some people. Praise the Lord, it is not that way in Christ.
In Colossians 3:11, Paul tells the church at Colossae, who if you remember had false teachers convincing them they needed Jesus plus Judaism, that their past selves (essentially, who they were before they came to Christ) are no longer their identity. Those who were dead in their trespasses and sins are now alive in Christ if they have been saved by grace through faith in Him. What could be a more drastic change than that? For the members of the church at Colossae, it did not matter whether their former heritage was Jewish or Gentile – what mattered was whether they had been saved. The focus was whether they were a new creation by Jesus rather than if they had been circumcised.
He was reminding this church that consisted of people from various cultures, regions, or sides and statuses in society regarding their new and lasting reality in Christ. If you think your church is made up of a motley crew, look at the Colossian church. Some of them were considered “barbarians” because they lacked the learning and culture that only true Greeks possessed.[2] Some were Scythians, people who lived along the Black Sea and were known for their uncultured, uneducated, and sometimes unruly ways of life.[3] Some lived lives of slavery – indentured servitude because they had debts they could not pay or were paying the penalty for crimes they had committed. Some were free and had people pay the debt owed them through the slavery and servitude we just mentioned. The whole list, basically their entire membership roll – Greek, Jew, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free – was made up of people who had been labeled by categories that ostracized rather than welcomed.
Paul makes it clear that no such divisions exist in Christ’s church. That’s good news! You see, the Church is Christ’s bride! No, the divisions come from us, and all such divisions exist to elevate some and insult others. To put this in modern language speaking against the cultural, religious, and ethnic divisions people set up in churches today: Here there is not black and white, mainstream denomination or non-denominational, not raised in church culture, rough around the edges, struggling with clinging sins, or raised in a family that genuinely reads the Bible and prays together; but Christ is all, and in all.
I do not want to be cliché or lax here. This is serious because the true division is whether one is saved or lost, alive in Christ or dead in sin, new creation or not. This is not a means of saying we need to just go along and get along. It is saying that the Church is made up of those saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It is saying that those who once were “separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope” have been “brought near by the blood of Christ” which broke down “the dividing wall of hostility” between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians (Ephesians 2:12-14)! It is saying that “there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him” (Romans 10:12).
Being in Christ is bigger than that. His blood paid the adoption price by which we were redeemed and adopted as children of God (Galatians 4:4-5). His blood cleanses from sin and presents His Bride – the Church – to Himself without spot or blemish (Ephesians 5:27).
Praise God, we are not who we were if we are in Christ. And there is opportunity to come to Him rather than remaining dead in our sin.
Who are you? Whose are you?
I Am Chosen, Set Apart, and Loved by God (v. 12)
Those who have been saved by grace through faith in Christ alone are made new creations. I know I have said that often, especially as of late, but it needs to be said and said often! The old self and the death that comes with it has been cast aside, behold the new has come through the indwelling and work of the Holy Spirit. But sometimes, we just do not feel that way.
For Israel in the Old Testament, at least from the outside looking in, it seemed easy. They messed up repeatedly, and they repented repeatedly. Through God speaking to them by the mouths of prophets, they were warned ahead of time what the punishment for sin and rebellion against God would be. Through their own life experiences and the stories of what God had done in the lives of their ancestors, they knew that what God warned would actually come to pass. But they knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that when God’s people humbled themselves and repented that God would take them back. They knew this because He had “set His heart in love” on them and “chose…them…above all peoples” (Deuteronomy 10:15). They knew that God had set them apart from all others to be “a people holy to the Lord [their] God” and that they were “His treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6). They knew God was their Father and that He would give them “a heritage most beautiful of all nations” (Jeremiah 3:19).
But what about the Christians, especially those of Greek, barbarian, or Scythian heritage? This language would seem foreign to them. It might even seem to exclude them from being chosen, set apart, or loved by God – which is exactly what the false teachers were trying to get them to believe to add their fruitless religious practices.
This is why it is important to know who you are. This is why it is important to know whose you are.
There is something to be said for knowing that you have a Father who loves you – a God who set His affection on you and set you apart. This is the point of taking off sin – not to keep us from doing things we enjoy but to help us receive all that He has for us. If you are in Christ, He died for you – you specifically – and has known you since before the foundation of the world. He loved you and gave Himself for you despite the sins you would commit – sins He knew you would commit (Romans 5:8). Not only did He set His affections on you and loves you, but He set you apart to be different and live for Him – to excitedly and willingly serve Him and be His hands and feet in the world!
The language in these verses – chosen, set apart, loved by God – are all terms that God used to describe His people in the Old Testament, but they are the exact same terms He uses for His people in the New Testament. These three terms “are transferred from the Old Covenant to the New, from the Israel after the flesh to the Israel after the Spirit”[4] and help us to remember that we are God’s people, that He has set His affection on us, that He has adopted us into His family. The assurance that Israel had in their wanderings and wayward times is the same assurance we can have today. If we are in Christ, we know that we have a good Father who loves us and cares for us. Of course, there is discipline when we sin, but it is through God’s chastening and discipline that we can know we are His children (Hebrews 12:5-8)! He chooses us because He loves us. He sets us apart because He loves us. He. Loves. His. Children.
This is such a beautifully humbling truth. God did not choose, set apart, and love us based on our wisdom or strength – nor is it dependent upon our ethnicity (1 Corinthians 1:26). No – and I speak from personal experience here that is evidence of what the Bible says, God chose me despite my lack of wisdom, strength, and worthy or noble heritage so that people will boast in what Jesus did and does in me (1 Corinthians 1:27-31). This does not bother me. I know I am a sinner. I know that apart from the grace and mercy of Jesus that I would hopelessly continue in the wages of my sin (Romans 6:23). I am humbled that God would choose to love one such as me. But I am much more thankful that I get to know who I am because of whose I am.
It is my prayer that you know that, too.
Wrapping Up
Sometimes, when people act foolishly, they get asked “Who do you think you are?!” It is meant as a call to think about what you are doing and how you think you get to act that way. It is often directed toward people who are showing out in a bad way or placing their own desires above the people around them or those in charge. In the context of today’s passage, I ask you, dear Sojourner, who you think you are considering Christ.
If you claim to be saved, are you living in new life in Christ or are you still walking as dead people in your trespasses and sins? Do you claim Christ and live like Hell? Does your life bear the imprint of His choosing you, loving you, or setting you apart?
These are tough questions and not meant to make you doubt. They are tough questions that we should be asking ourselves because this is something we want to be sure of. Before we get into what aspects of Christ the new life puts on, we need to understand that these are not works that earn salvation but imprints of salvation.
I do not know your heart, but you do – and God does. But I do know this: it changes one’s life to be chosen by God, set apart by Him, and loved by Him. It is a game changer to understand that it is a beautiful thing to be adopted by Him into His family despite whatever sinful past we bring to the table. And there is no greater status change than going from death to life.
All of that comes only from Him. It is my prayer that, if you are in Christ, you are encouraged to live the life He offers – to be different – to have Him seen in you so that you are recognized as little Christs. But, if you are not in Christ, it is my prayer that you are not able to operate as if you were. I do not want to be so clever as to mask the reality that eternal hope lies only in Christ and the Bible makes it clear what being in Christ looks like – and what it does not look like. I pray the same thing for my faith family at Christ Community. I pray the same thing for my family. I pray for the same thing for me. May God make His presence in our lives clear, or may He save us and draw us near if we do not know Him.
Just Keith Harris 