Thank you guys for leading us again. Thank you for the good worship and songs. We are continuing our study in the book of Colossians this morning. And we're in chapter 3. And we come to an application section where Paul tells us to put on several things that are consistent with who we now are in Christ. 

And we have to go back and set the context, I think, beginning in verse 1 to remind ourselves of the basis, the truth, the foundation that Paul lays down before we come to the imperatives here, the commands in working out these truths through the members of our body. So let's begin in Colossians 3.1. And just look at that together. It says, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 

Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all in all. 

So again, we see several truths, vital truths, in these verses concerning who we are, and what we have in Christ, what God has done in us in salvation. We see that we were raised with Christ. We see that we died, and our life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, we also will appear with him in glory. We are to consider the members of our body, controlled by indwelling sin, as dead, as we looked at last week. 

We produced fruit unto death through our members when we lived in the flesh. We have put off the old man. We have put on the new man. And we are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created that new man in regeneration. There's a lot of profound truths here, things that are true of you and me, if we are in Christ, if we have placed our faith in him. 

We noticed last week that this passage is very similar to Romans 6. And all of these great truths of our death, and burial, and resurrection with Jesus to newness of life, free from the controlling power of indwelling sin, free from the bondage of the law, free from the fear of death. We are no longer in the flesh, but we are in the spirit. Paul uses all of these contrasts to illustrate the transformation we have undergone in the new birth, in our union with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection to new life. 

We see this contrast as Adam versus Christ in Romans 5. We see it as slaves to sin and free from sin and slaves to righteousness in Romans 6. We see it as under bondage to the law or freedom from the law and life under grace by the spirit in Romans 7, 1 to 6. And we see the contrast of flesh versus spirit in Romans 8. 

I want to look at that last contrast with you and show you something we were studying on Wednesday night in our Bible study. My main purpose here, again, is to define this term flesh and understand this contrast and what it means to be fleshly. So we see one of the clearest definitions of this term flesh in Romans 6, 6. We've looked at that often, where Paul uses this phrase, the body of sin. That is this physical body, these members controlled by indwelling sin. 

He says, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with or rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. So the purpose of our death with Christ, according to Romans 6, 6, and our resurrection with him to a new life, is so that the body of sin, this body controlled by indwelling sin, might be done away with, rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 

Paul gives us the picture of the old man in this condition in Romans 7, 5. He says, when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death. So we see here that when we were in Adam, when we were lost and slaved to sin in the flesh, whatever descriptor you'd like to pull out of these chapters, this was our condition and our resulting experience. 

Sin was aroused by the law, and this sin worked in and through our members, the members of this physical body, to produce acts of sin's fruit unto death. We see such a condition, the man in Romans 7, 23, who says he's a slave to sin, who says he wants to keep the law, but he sees another law overpowering him and his members, causing him to produce this fruit of death, always continually doing what he hates, never ever doing what he wants to do. 

He's controlled. He's enslaved by indwelling sin, and this sin produces unrighteousness out through the members of his physical body. He is in the flesh. When we get to chapter 8, we see Paul start to contrast the spirit with the flesh, and he says that in Christ, the spirit has made us free from the law of sin and death. 

We're no longer slaves of sin, because that old man died, and now we live in the spirit. We see this contrast in 7, 6, 5, and 6, but in 6, it says, but now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve. We should live now in the newness of the spirit and not in the oldness of the letter. 

So we used to live under the law. We used to live in bondage to sin and always produce fruit that was unrighteous through our members, but now we live in the spirit, having died to sin and law and death. And my brothers, my sisters in Christ, it is the spirit who now gives life to our mortal physical bodies and produces righteousness out through our members.

Romans 8, 11 says, if the spirit of him raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal body. And the whole context of that entire section is how we walk, how we live. We do not live or walk according to the flesh, but we live, we walk according to the spirit, who is the power strengthening our inner man to produce holiness out through our members. This is the definition of being in the spirit, walking in the spirit. 

And the definition of being in the flesh is a condition of indwelling sin, controlling the members of my physical body, and producing sin. So to walk in the flesh or after the flesh would be to yield my members to that indwelling sin. Paul consistently frames life lived out through the members of our body. In the old man, it's indwelling sin controlling the members, producing fruit unto death. In the new man, we must see that it's the Holy Spirit in us in agreement with our new spirit made alive in Christ that is producing the fruit of righteousness out through the physical members of our body. 

Now, we see Paul building this same argument, stating these same truths in our text in Colossians 3. He lays down all of these truths that we died, that we were raised with Christ, that we have put on the new man, that we have put off the old man, that we are being continually renewed in the spirit of our mind. We are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. All these facts, these truths about the believer, and then he says this, therefore, put on. 

We will see that this imperative to put on speaks to our outward expression of the inward reality of who we are by the power of the Holy Spirit in us. Putting on is talking about the working out through our members the righteous life in us, consistent with our new spirit, our new man, in Christ. So this is the text before us this morning, beginning in Colossians 3 at verse 12. He says, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another. 

If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But of all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God the Father through him. I've given you six points this morning. Set apart, put on the bond of perfection, called to peace, be thankful, and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. 

Well, first, we see that God has set us apart for a purpose, to be conformed to the image of Christ, to glorify God. This is God's will for all who are in Christ, and he will bring it to pass. We studied this in Ephesians chapter 1, such a tremendous passage, Ephesians 1, 3 to 6. He says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies. Just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, chose us for what? That we should be holy and without blame before him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons. 

That's glorification. That's a full position as sons by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, by which he made us accepted in the beloved. We see these same truths here. God, before the foundation of the world, chose that those who are in Christ should be holy and blameless. Holy speaks of being set apart for God's purposes. And he chose us in Christ that those who are in Christ would be made like Christ and would be holy and blameless. 

And he predestined those who believe to experience the fullness of salvation when Christ, who is our life, appears, Paul says, we also will appear with him. We will experience the adoption as sons. That is the full sonship. We are co-heirs with Christ. We will be glorified together with him. So Paul wants us to see this election, this choosing by God for those who are in Christ, that God has saved us for a purpose and his will shall be brought to pass. 

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy, set apart, beloved by God, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 

Now, doesn't that sound nice? I mean, if we were religious people, we would not read that and say, oh, here we go. Here's my list of things I have to do, right? I read that, and I think, man, that sounds nice, right? In the body, the body functioning, loving, forgiving, kind, tender towards one another. That's who we are. Paul has clearly laid the truths of our salvation, of God's plan and purpose for us, and why it is that he saved us. 

All that is true of us in Christ, because we are in him. And then he writes these words, put on, based on the profound and amazing truths of who you are and what you have in Christ, because of the grace of God, put on. The word here translated put on was used of clothing, changing one's outward garments. Paul uses this as a metaphor for our outward living through the members of our body. 

Thayer commenting on the use of this verb in Colossians 3.10, where he says, put on the new man, defines it as follows, to become so possessed of the mind of Christ as in thought, feeling, and action, to resemble him, as it were, reproduce the life he lived. Wiest comments saying that to put on is to become totally enveloped and immersed in. 

Put on these, tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another. Clark comments, if something is tender, it is sensitive to touch. The apostle would have them to feel the slightest touch of another's misery. And as their clothes are put over their body, so their tenderest feelings should be always within the reach of the miserable. Kindness is defined by one author as when your neighbor's good is as dear to you as your own.

It's the word used in Matthew 11.30, where Jesus said, my yoke is easy and my burden is light. We can say that humility is a parent of both meekness and long-suffering. Meekness shows how humility will affect my actions towards others. I will not dominate, manipulate, or coerce for my own ends, even if I have the power and the ability to do so. Long-suffering shows how humility will affect my reaction towards others. I will not become impatient, short, or filled with resentment towards the weakness and sins of others. That's a mouthful, isn't it? 

My brothers and sisters, this is how God deals with us. This is grace. This is love, as God deals with us, relates to us. And so the admonition is to put on Christ, put on Christ's likeness, to have my outward actions be consistent with the inward reality of who I am. This is Romans 12, 1 and 2. Turn to that passage, and look at those words, Romans 12 1 and 2. I noticed something here I hadn't seen before, I'd seen but didn't didn't notice or realize. 

Romans 12 1, Paul says, I beseech you therefore, and again this is based on all that doctrine that he's been laying down in the last 11 chapters, I beseech you therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, those truths that you present your bodies, I caught my attention, you know, in the context of all these things we're studying about the body and the physical members of the body and the spirit working through the body, Christ being manifest through our body, God being glorified, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 

I don't know if we ever really get a hold of that. It's logical, the word logic's in there, it's reasonable that you would live a holy life because of who you are. It's easier for us to believe the opposite of that, isn't it? And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 

And I just wanted to revisit Weiss' comments on verse 2 and this word conformed and transformed because I think it's so excellent for our understanding. He says the word conformed refers to the act of an individual assuming an outward expression that does not come from within him, nor is it representative of his inner heart life. Stop being conformed to the world is what Paul says here literally, it's after a definite thing. 

The verb is present imperative with a negative which construction forbids the continuance of an ongoing action. Paul exhorts the Saints, stop assuming an outward expression which is patterned after this world, an expression which does not come from, nor is it representative of what you are in your inner being as a regenerated child of God. Instead of masquerading in the habiliments of this age, Paul exhorts the Saints to be transformed. 

This word metamorphome, which speaks of the act of a person changing his outward expression from that which he has to a different one, listen to this, an expression which comes from and is representative of his inner being. Be who you are, live out the truth of who you are, believe who you are according to God's Word. It's reasonable, it's logical, it's your spiritual act of worship to present your body to him. 

And this new life is all wrapped up, tied together, bonded in perfection by love, agape love. This is the new motive that we see in these words and the instructions as to what we are to put on, what our outward life out through our members is to look like, and this is all set in the context of the body, the church, the community of believers. 

All of these words speak of relationships, we're going to see him get specific starting next week with relationships and how this new life affects all of our relationships, but here he's talking broadly of the community of believers, the body, how we act toward and with one another. He says, verse 13, bearing with one another, forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. 

But above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. How is it in this salvation experience and justification, regeneration, God's plan and purpose, that Christ related to you, to his body, his church, in self-sacrificial love? Grace. Grace upon grace. We are in Christ, he is in us, we live as he lives, we love as he loves, and that is the picture here, we are putting on Christ, he is living his life through us as we abide in him by faith, and my attitude toward my brothers and sisters in Christ is love, is grace, forgiving one another, even as Christ forgave me. 

Bearing with one another, right? We all need a lot of grace. A lot of us are kind of a pain. We need grace, right? Bearing with one another, forgiving one another, this is how my Abba Father deals with me. He's long-suffering and patient, seeking my good. This is who we are, this is the very life and power in us, the motive of love, the sphere of grace, this is how we must relate to one another in the body, because this is who we are. 

And love is the bond of perfection, that outer garment that ties it all together, that holds it in place, the motive of love, the sacrifice of love, grace and unmerited favor. And it is this basis, this sphere of grace in which we live, exist, have our being that brings peace, unity, peace in the body, peace with God, peace with men. 

Turn over to Ephesians 2.11. He says, therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh who are called uncircumcision by what is called the circumcision made in the flesh by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope without God in the world. 

But now in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ, for he himself is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. 

And he came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near, for through him we both have access by one spirit to the Father.

Now therefore you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit." 

In Christ, we have peace with God, and we have peace with men. We are at peace in the body, the union of believers, with Christ as the head, and this peace not only refers to individual tranquility of heart, but extends to peace among the members of the body in their relations to one another. Alford says, "...oneness of body being the sphere and element in which that peace of Christ was to be carried on and realized." Expositor says, "...disunion in the body is incompatible with the peace of the individual members." 

We have peace with God. Jesus is our peace. We have a clear conscience before God because of what Christ has accomplished on the cross, therefore we have peace with one another in the body, in the church, because the same basis on which God relates to us, grace, forgiveness, long-suffering love, is the basis on which we relate to one another in the body. It is the indicatives, the truths that undergird give basis for the imperatives to live out the inner truth of who we are. 

So how does this work out practically in our lives? Even as I preach these words to you this morning and these truths and the work of the Holy Spirit stir your heart and encourage and inspire you and set your mind in this sphere of truth and cause you to be thankful and to worship in your heart, how can we keep this mind, set our mind according to truth, see all things from our seat in heaven with Christ in God? How is it that we can consistently think God's thoughts according to his truth, his word, and the reality of who we now are inwardly, and thus then live in consistency outwardly for his glory? 

Verse 15, let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom, teaching, admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord, and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. The word rule speaks of a judge or an umpire, literally. Lightfoot says wherever there is a conflict of motives or impulses or reasons, the peace of Christ must step in and decide which is to prevail. Vincent comments, literally be umpire. The previous reference to occasions for meekness, long-suffering, forbearance, forgiveness, etc. indicates a conflict of passions and motives in the heart. Christ is the one who adjusts all these so that the metaphorical sense is appropriate. Into the enjoyment of this peace, the saints are called. 

John 14 27, Jesus said, peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. What is it that might trouble my heart? Circumstances, the world, fear, selfishness causing conflict. Jesus is our peace. He gives us peace in our hearts as we judge all things according to reality, according to truth, his word, and let his peace rule in our hearts. 

That is, to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom. Here's the answer to how this works out practically in our lives, to thinking God's thoughts, to experiencing and living grace and peace and thankfulness to God. Again, the idea here is to be immersed, enveloped in, to put on the truth of the word of Christ and let all things, all thoughts, all emotions, the thoughts and intents of our hearts be judged, be regulated, adjusted by truth, by Jesus who is peace. 

This is the instruction of Paul. Take every thought captive. Walk in the Spirit. Walk by faith. Know, reckon, present. Present what? Our bodies, our members to him. Did you notice in Romans 12 1 and 2 we see this most consistent teaching? Again, present your bodies. A living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. It's through this body, these members, that the fruit of righteousness is worked out by the power of the Holy Spirit, by the life of Christ in us, lived out through us. 

In this, as we completely immerse ourselves, renew our minds continually to the Word of God, letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly, so that every thought is according to truth. Every circumstance, I'm thinking God's thoughts, seeing things from his perspective, thus seeing all things, earthly, worldly, heavenly, spiritual, God and man, present and eternity, all things from God's perspective, thinking rightly, judging according to truth, and settling my heart by that truth. 

This will undoubtedly manifest righteousness, right behavior, out through the members of my body as I walk one day, one moment at a time, in utter dependence on him, in faith in him, according to his truth. Let me ask you, in light of all these things, where shall my effort be applied? At what point should my striving be in this Christian life? Paul talks about striving, agonizing, extending himself fully in all effort. Where? How? 

Is it legalism? A list of laws or rules to live by? Is it mysticism? Some higher knowledge, secret way to be learned? Is it asceticism? Some discipline, some ritual, some deprivation of the physical body or shunning of the physical world? Where is it that I should give maximum effort in order to glorify God in this life I live each day on this earth until the Lord comes to take me to be with him forever? 

My brothers and sisters, Paul gives us the answer right here. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, soak you, immerse you, infiltrate every part of you. Our effort must be to know him by knowing and believing his word and living according to truth. The truths are profound and amazing on every page of this book. It's the only book that God ever wrote. 

Have you ever gone and applied effort, spent time, wrote some things out, did a little grammar, pondered on it, and you weren't crazily rewarded? It doesn't matter where in this book. It's all about Jesus. This will change our lives. How life-changing this would be if we would simply study the Word, renew our minds, believe what God says, thank God's thoughts and trust Him and His life and power for us in all the details.

That's the simplicity of Christ. We talk often about the why, why we can live a new life that brings glory to God, and this is the major key, most of the New Testament, to know the truths of our salvation, who we were in Adam and all that this entailed, and now who we are in Christ by the grace of God and salvation, what happened to us in regeneration, our death, burial, and resurrection with Jesus, the fact that now the Holy Spirit and Jesus Himself live in us and give life to our mortal bodies under righteousness. 

The why is so vital. We must know and understand and believe the why, and God spends so much time on these truths. But there's one passage that I think approaches the how as well. We'd like to see God spend a lot more time on the how, wouldn't we? We like the how. What we'd really like is just a list of rules, things to do that we could meet and be done for the day. But of course, this is not how it works, right? This is futility to reduce this amazing, abundant new life in Christ to legalism. 

So there's predominantly the why in the New Covenant Christian life revealed in the Word of God, but let's look at one passage that I believe approximates the how, how we live this new life out through our physical members, our bodies on this earth, how we put on Christ and all the virtues wrapped up in love, and it comes in the form of a prayer from Paul in Ephesians 3, verse 14. Ephesians 3, 14. 

How is it that these things can work out in my life? Paul says, for this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, amen. 

In Ephesians 1, Paul prayed that we would understand and know and believe the great truths of our salvation and the power that works in us, the very power that raised Jesus from the dead. Here he prays that the full Trinity is at work in our lives, that the Holy Spirit by God's design and salvation would impart strength to our inner man. That Jesus would be at home in us, working in and through us, living His life out through the members of our body, producing the fruit of righteousness. 

That we would comprehend, begin to know and understand the love of Christ which passes knowledge and that we would know the exceeding greatness of His power working in us for it is God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or think by His great power that works in us. 

And why is God by His grace according to His plan and purpose through His mighty power working in us, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, by all the resources He possesses, for His glory? To Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus. 

God wants us to spend a lot of time striving to know and understand and believe the why in His Word, why I can now live a new life, because of what He's done. But when we think about the how, the how is His life and His power and His grace and His love working in us, it is God who accomplishes His will and purpose to make us like Christ as we abide in Him by faith. 

And this for His glory. He's manifesting now His life and power through the church in this world. But the world does not know us. These truths are hidden, our life is hidden with Christ and God, even we see dimly, but the glory does shine through in the lives of believers walking in the Spirit by faith. 

And when He appears, there will be a glorious revealing when we appear with Him and our righteousness will shine forth. We will be like Him for we will see Him as He is in His full glory and the world will see and the angels will see and the demons will see, and in the church God will be glorified for all eternity according to His very purpose and will. 

These are all truths that God's going to accomplish. What can you say to that? Amen and thank you. Right? Thank you. What's our response to this super abounding grace? Thank you. Thank you, Jesus. And how can we live but by this? Thank you. Thank you for your love and your grace in Christ. 

We need to have the truth of God's Word, the truth of Christ, the truth of who we are settle our hearts and allow us to think His thoughts so that we can see everything rightly and have peace in the midst of this insane world. And in that there's glory for God. 

Let's close in prayer. Father, we thank You again just that You continue to teach us, that You just keep working and showing and revealing and we thank You that You do that through every facet of our lives and all of our experiences and the things we learn from Your Word and the interactions we have with people and just that we see You more and more. 

Just this morning the sky was on fire to the east when I went out to do chores and I looked up and I thought, wow, what's it going to look like when Jesus comes? And we know that we will come with You. Thank You. Thank You for Your grace, Your mercy, Your love. In Jesus' name.