The true believer is united with Christ in a union which can never be broken and by virtue of that union he is justified, sanctified and yet to be glorified. Since, as to his standing, his true life is hid with Christ in God, it is his business to mind the concerns of that world to which Christ has ascended, making heaven his scope and aim, and manifesting to those about him, his title and qualifications for heaven, by a consistent Christian life.
Colossians 3
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
16 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.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
Colossians 3 Intro – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:1 – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:2-4 – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:5 – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:6-8 – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:9-11 – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:12 – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:13-16 – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:17-21 – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:22-25 – J. Vernon McGee
Colossians 3:1-11 – Seeking the “Things Which Are Above”
Let us repeat the glorious truth, which was doubtless the heart of Paul’s teaching, that our old nature has been nailed in Christ to the Cross, and laid in the grave; and that our real self, the second Adam, has entered the new world of resurrection. We belong to the world on the threshold of which Jesus said, “Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended” (John 20:17). We must guard against the defiling touch of the world, of sin, and of the old self-life. We stand between two worlds, each solicits us: let us yield to the influences that pull us upward, and not to those that anchor us to this sinful and vain world. Our eternal blessedness has begun, let us walk in it.
In Christ we profess to have put off the old man, i.e., the habits of our former life, Colossians 3:9; now let us actually do so, in the power of the Holy Spirit. We profess to have put on the risen Christ, Colossians 3:10; now let us don the attire and habits of the new man. Too many Christians resemble Lazarus, quickened from his death-sleep, but still arrayed in grave-clothes. Too few array themselves in the radiant beauty of the risen Lord, which is the common heritage of all who believe in Him, whatever their rank or nationality. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Colossians 3:12-17 – Love, Peace, and Praise
The articles of the Christian’s dress are enumerated here, and we need to refer to this list continually in order to be sure that none of them is missing from our spiritual wardrobe. We must not always live in the negative of avoiding wrong, the positive has a clear claim on us; and in each circumstance of trial or temptation we must advance to meet it, arrayed in Christ. As the Lord acted, so must we. We must partake of the family likeness. When a Christian friend manifests over the breakfast-table some ugly feature of the old life, we may fairly urge him to return to his room and complete his dressing. Love is the girdle of the Christian attire.
Let the peace of Christ rule within. Let the word of Christ dwell in the innermost chambers of the soul. Let there be mutual love and wholesome glee, the song in the life, and the grace in the heart. Whatever is wrong will shiver to pieces like a glass when the name of Jesus is spoken over it. The thought of Him is the touchstone of trial as well as the talisman of victory. A thankful heart makes a victorious and attractive character. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Colossians 3:15—Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called.
The peace of God is the peace of the Divine nature—the very tranquillity which prevails in the heart of the God of Peace. It was of this that Jesus spoke when He said, “My peace I give unto you” (John 14:27); for his own being was filled and blessed with it during his earthly career. In each of us may be a sea of glass, reflecting on its pellucid and tranquil bosom the untroubled calm and rest, which are unspeakable because eternal and Divine. “The Lord of peace himself give you peace always” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).
There are three things against which we must ever be on our guard, lest they rob us of our peace. First, unconfessed sin; second, worry; third, the permission of an unrebuked selfish principle. As on the Sabbath the good Nehemiah carefully excluded the Tyrian fishwives from Jerusalem, lest they should mar its spirit of rest by their cries and traffic, so we must preserve an unbroken Sabbath-keeping within. “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9).
The apostle says, Let it rule. Whenever there is a doubtful issue to be decided, and by one course your peace may be disturbed, by another it may be maintained, choose those things that make for peace, whether for yourselves or others. Let God’s peace act as umpire.
At the same time, this does not mean peace at any price. When the cause of truth is assailed, or the rights of others invaded, we must stand up boldly and strongly for Righteousness. Then the effect of Righteousness will be Peace. Melchizedek was first King of Righteousness, and after that King of Peace. —Our Daily Homily
Colossians 3:18-25 – Home Relations
From these high flights into the eternal and divine, Paul turns to the daily duties of the home, and demands that in the simplest domestic concerns the disciple should ever keep in mind the high claims of Christ. No act of life can be left outside the sacred enclosure of His everlasting love. As the moon affects the tides around the world, even in the smallest indentations of the coast, so must the power of Christ’s resurrection make itself felt in the behavior of the servant and the child. —Through the Bible Day by Day