Put Off, Put On, Pt. 2

Every human being on earth is created in God's image, and Christ is the one who empowers us with this new nature to fully walk with God and fulfill our destiny as His chosen people.

Put Off, Put On, Pt. 2

"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 nor free, but Christ is all and in all."

(Colossians 3:5-11)

Part of my Father's Day message I am preaching on Sunday is dedicated to admonishing men to put off certain things that hinder them in their walk with God.

Commenting on verse 5, one commentary reads, "Despite the power of their having been identified with Christ in his death, there were still things, parts of their old lives, habits of hand and mind, which tied them "to the earth" and hindered the outworking of the "mind set on what is above." (Dunn, J. D. G. (1996). The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: A Commentary on the Greek Text, p. 212.)

The wrath of God in verse 6 is a topic the Bible speaks of often but one we hardly hear about, even in churches, where the main goal these days, it seems, is to make sure everyone is happy and positive and made to feel special. Paul does not hold back. He challenges all believers to put off certain things, and later he commands us to put on other things.

What are we to put off? Verses 8-9 tell us. Remember that Paul is writing to the church at Colosse. He is writing to believers, so we modern followers of Jesus should also take heed.

Verse 10 reminds me of 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Paul begins the transition to what we are to put on. We have been made new in Christ who has saved us. Our relationship with Him is strengthened as we renew our minds in Him. We are created in God's image; we can fellowship with God, we have a moral nature, a spiritual nature that was marred in the fall but is now renewed in Christ, our Lord.

Verse 11 points out that every human being on earth is created in God's image, and Christ is the one who empowers us with this new nature to fully walk with God and fulfill our destiny as His chosen people.

I enjoyed this commentary on verse 11:

"In Christ, distinctions are removed. These include national distinctions (Greek or Jew; Jews called all those outside their nation Greeks; cf. Gal. 3:28); religious distinctions (circumcised or uncircumcised); cultural distinctions (anyone foreign to Greek culture was a barbarian, and a Scythian was a wild, savage nomad); and economic or social distinctions (slave or free). If a Greek, an uncircumcised person, a barbarian, a Scythian, or a slave became a believer, he was a 'new creation' (2 Cor. 5:17), a 'new self' (Col. 3:10), just like a Jew or free person who became a Christian. For Christ is all, and is in all. That is, normal human distinctions are overruled and transfigured by one's union in Christ.

"All barriers are destroyed in Christ, and all believers are truly 'created equal.' So it is to be expected that each believer—regardless of his nationality, former religion, culture, or economic standing—should do away with his former sinful practices and should live in accord with his 'new self.'"

(Geisler, N. L. (1985). Colossians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, Vol. 2, p. 681.)

I know this is a heavy dose of theological truth. But what a blessing it is to read God's Word and grow in our relationship with Him. Let us all as followers of Jesus throw away every enticement to sin and pursue Jesus with passion.

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Podcast of the Week

Reaching Hindus with Christ's Love and the Gospel

Pastor Danny welcomes his friend Velu Kadirvel, a long-time member of Great Hills Baptist Church, where he is currently chairman of the deacons as well as a connect group / bible study leader. Velu shares his testimony of being raised Hindu and coming to Christ as an adult. Because of his background, Velu has a deep passion for reaching Hindus with Christ's love and the Gospel. To that end, he and his family have recently partnered with the ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism), with Velu serving as the Southwest regional director and coordinator of the Heart Mind Soul Seminar for Hindus. You won't want to miss Velu's powerful testimony and hearing about the great work he is doing today!

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