Increasing in the
Knowledge of Christian Behavior
Book of Colossians
3:1-11
Behavior simply is
our manner of behaving. How are we to behave as Christians?
In our hearts, most
of us know how we are supposed to behave but the truth is, only when
we are right with God will we know how to behave!
When we see the word
"if" then there is a condition that must be met. This is
another word that teaches us how to study the Scriptures.
We need to watch out
for the "therefores" and the "wherefores" and the
"ifs" and the "buts" and other words where the
Bible itself will teach us how to study it.
The word "if"
also sometimes ask the question "whether or not".
One of the questions
we should always ask is, who is the speaker and who is the speaker,
speaking to.
So, let’s begin:
*****Col 3:1 "If"
ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
We would be rude
here and we would ask; are you saved? To be risen with Christ is to
be saved!
Rom 6:4 Therefore
we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
should walk in newness of life.
This means we are
not to walk like we use to walk before me met Jesus Christ!
If we have been
baptized by the Holy Spirit, then our old flesh is dead, just as
Jesus Christ was raised by the Holy Spirit, we are also raised by the
Holy Spirit to new life, and we should walk in newness of life!
When the Lord Jesus
Christ was raised in that glorified body, after 40 days He ascended
back into Heaven, where He is sitting on the right hand of God,
because He is the right hand of God.
Eph 1:20 Which he
wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at
his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Eph 1:21 Far above
all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name
that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come:
Eph 1:22 And hath
put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all
things to the church,
Eph 1:23 Which is
his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all.
So, to answer the
question, "IF" we are now Christians we need to seek those
things from above and not seek any of the things of this world!
In a "new life"
in Jesus Christ we are to be dead to this world and it should show in
our behavior.
We should remember
Paul is dealing with some false teaching that has entered into this
church at Colossae.
The answer always
for the Christian can be found in Jesus Christ, who is always just
rejected or set aside as a prophet or an angel or some other lower
class and not the Creator who is God, by those who know no better!
To walk in newness
of life is to follow in the ways of Jesus Christ!
So, everyone who can
say they are a believer should ask themselves, "am I risen with
Jesus Christ"?
If so then we are to
look toward Heaven with our prayers and help with our Bible study.
*****Col 3:2 Set
your affection on things above, "not" on things on the
earth.
Paul reminds us all
the commandment of the Lord.
Mat 22:37 Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is
the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these
two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The Lord Jesus
Christ said you could throw away all the 613 laws to the Jews and all
the laws of mankind, if we would only obey these two laws.
We see these two
laws are not hard to understand.
Our affection should
be that of love and not just any love, but the love that Jesus Christ
has shown to us.
We should also know
that all the things that remain in Heaven are perfect!
Psa 19:7 The law of
the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD
is sure, making wise the simple.
Psa 19:8 The
statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment
of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
Psa 19:9 The fear
of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD
are true and righteous altogether.
Psa 19:10 More to
be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also
than honey and the honeycomb.
Psa 19:11 Moreover
by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great
reward.
In other words, we
must think like Christ thinks.
Php 2:5 Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
We sometimes just
forget the marvelous miracle of our salvation and it is a miracle!
Eph 2:4 But God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
Eph 2:5 Even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by
grace ye are saved;)
Eph 2:6 And hath
raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus:
Eph 2:7 That in the
ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his
kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
How can we ever
think that the things of this world can compare to Heavenly things?
*****Col 3:3 For ye
are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
We may ask, how can
this be?
First, we must
realize the wages of our sin:
Rom 6:23 For the
wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is "eternal life"
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Next, since the Lord
Jesus Christ has already paid these wages with His own life then we
are alive forever but still dead to sin according to this Scripture.
When we put our
faith in Jesus Christ, then we are joined to Him in such a way that
we are separated from our former self and dead to the world!
In one way it is
dead to the world and in another way, it is a resurrection to a new
life (born again) that cannot die!
2Co 10:3 For though
we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
2Co 10:4 (For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
pulling down of strong holds;)
2Co 10:5 Casting
down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against
the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to
the obedience of Christ;
2Co 10:6 And having
in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is
fulfilled.
It was the death of
Christ that paid the debt of our own sin!
It was the
resurrection of Christ that raises all believers up to new life!
It was by the
ascension of Christ that we received the gift of the Holy Spirit!
**The resurrection
of Jesus Christ gives us the power to live victorious lives.
Rom 8:11 But if the
Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he
that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Rom 8:12 Therefore,
brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
Rom 8:13 For if ye
live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do
mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
**The resurrection
of Jesus Christ guarantees our own resurrection.
Rom 6:5 For if we
have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be
also in the likeness of his resurrection:
**The resurrection
of Christ, gives us the assurance that God will judge this world by
His Son, Jesus Christ.
Act 17:31 Because
he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in
righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath
given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the
dead.
**The resurrection
of Christ gives us a "living hope", the hope of glory.
*****Col 3:4 When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with
him in glory.
Since we are dead to
this world and no longer condemned to the wages of sin, then we are
to look up and seek the things of Christ and of Heaven.
Rom 8:1 There is
therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who
walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Rom 8:2 For the law
of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law
of sin and death.
Since we are hid in
Christ, then God can only see the life of His Son when He looks upon
us!
Without these things
we can never know the Living God!
Isa 43:10 Ye are my
witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye
may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there
was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Isa 43:11 I, even
I, am the LORD; and beside me there is no saviour.
There can be no
doubt that God and the Lord and the Savior are all one and the same
person!
Since the Lord is
already in the presence of God, and when God looks upon us He sees
that we are hid in Christ, "then God has already accepted the
fact that we will one day be in His presence!
All these things are
true so, when we are still left upon this earth it is to tell the
world "How Great Is Our God"!
We know that God
takes many of us home whenever He decides it is more important for
them to be in Heaven, but when God takes the Church home as a group
it will happen very quickly!
1Co_15:52 In a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and
we shall be changed.
This change takes
place if we go by the rapture or if God takes us home one at a time!
What does the Lord
Jesus Christ promise to us all that believe upon Him?
Joh 8:51 Verily,
verily, I say unto you, If a man keep my saying, he shall never see
death.
But notice again
that word "If", which is a conditional word. "If"
we keep the sayings of Jesus Christ.
We this does not
just mean the red letters in our New Testament.
But this kind of
blows all religions out of the water who reject Jesus Christ as the
God of the Bible!
As believers, God
says just wrap your mind around these things and live like you
believe it to be true, because it is!
Those that go to
Heaven one at a time will simply return with the Lord when He returns
to get His Church!
1Th 4:13 But I
would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which
are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th 4:14 For if we
believe that Jesus died and rose again, "even so them also which
sleep in Jesus will God bring with him".
To sleep in Jesus
only means that old body of flesh that went to the grave when the
soul returned to the Heaven!
All other graves are
full of old men's bones that will not rise until the "white
throne judgment".
Rev 20:11 And I saw
a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for
them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw
the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the
sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man
according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the
lake of fire.
This day will be so
sad because each and every one of these had made a personal choice to
reject the Lord Jesus Christ, the God of the Bible!
So, what does God
tell us to do until He returns?
*****Col 3:5
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness, which is idolatry:
Col 3:6 For which
things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
Notice that word
mortify, this word is the thought behind the word "Mortuary".
A mortuary is a place to make plans for your own funeral and view
those dead bodies of flesh.
God says to go ahead
and treat that body of flesh like it is dead to this world and dead
to sin.
Our bodies of flesh
are to be dead to fornication. Fornication is all sort of sexual
intercourse outside the bonds of marriage.
This term can also
be used symbolically in forsaking God and following after idols.
Our bodies of flesh
are to be dead to uncleanness. Uncleanness can be said to be anything
that defiles us in the eyes of God.
This would include
all manner of immorality!
Our bodies of flesh
are to be dead to inordinate affection. Inordinate affection could be
an inordinate affection for the things of this world. An inordinate
passion, or a zealous attachment to this world.
It can also be a
desire for fame, but it can also mean vile affections for others.
Our bodies of flesh
are to be dead to evil concupiscence. This is to covet after, lust
after, desire the things of this world, but it can also include an
irregular desire for sexual pleasure.
Coveting carnal
things rather than moral things. That word evil makes these things
even worse.
A person who already
has bad qualities has also become concupiscent.
These are those who
have specifically chosen to live a life of evilness!
Our bodies of flesh
are to be dead to covetousness which is "idolatry" and an
extreme desire to obtain something that belongs to someone else and
placing these things above the Word of God, which says do not covet!
God is very specific
about these things and all we see today is a world dominated by these
things!
We can see that God
has high demands for the Christian.
God has already told
us what this world consists of: 1Jn_2:16 For all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride
of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
God has now told us
that these are those who are disobedient! Ignoring the Word of God
and rejecting the "Gospel of Jesus Christ".
The Church will not
see the wrath of God, so these are those who will be left on this
earth after the Rapture of the Church!
What a world to live
in. Satan, the coward, will finally come out into the open as the
Antichrist to rule these who are left behind!
He did not want
these people to see him flee for the steadfast Christian!
Then the Lord says
look back at what you once were and how you have grown to distance
yourself from all these things!
To be a Christian
does not make us any better than anyone else, but by the "Grace"
of God!
*****Col 3:7 In the
which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
Col 3:8 But now ye
also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy
communication out of your mouth.
We certainly should
be able to describe a sinner because each of us are still sinners but
now saved by the "Grace" of God.
As Christians we
must never see sin as pleasure but only as deadly poison because this
is a better description and yes this means your own little pet sin,
no matter what it is!
This includes sins
of the heart!
Some of us do not
see anger as a sin but it can be if you allow it to simmer.
Eph_4:26 Be ye
angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
When anger becomes
wrath or malice, it is certainly sin.
When we are angry,
our wisdom is lost.
When we angry, we
just do not think right.
When we are angry,
we will quench the Holy Spirit, who lives within us.
There are also all
sorts of sins of the mouth.
Evil speaking such
as slander is also sin.
Blasphemy is any
words we say that can cause injury to someone else.
Certainly, filthy
communications and lying are sin
Perfect love will
cast away all these things! The love as Jesus Christ loves, and the
love like the love of God for this evil world.
The Bible says: for
God "so loved" this world He sent His Son
*****Col 3:9 Lie
not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his
deeds;
Col 3:10 And have
put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of
him that created him:
We tend to always go
back to the Ten Commandments which is great, but we also seem to
forget how the Lord has simplified all the commandments in the Word
of God and all man-made laws.
Mat 22:36 Master,
which is the great commandment in the law?
Mat 22:37 Jesus
said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
Mat 22:38 This is
the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39 And the
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:40 On these
two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
The Lord has taken
great pains to ensure that we have the truth and it is a slap to His
face, when we tell lies to anyone, but especially our brothers and
sisters.
We must never forget
these words of Jesus as He describes His enemies.
Joh 8:44 Ye are of
your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He
was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth,
because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh
of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.
Joh 8:45 And
because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.
Having put off the
old man of sin and having put on the new man, why would we still lie
and do the things we have vowed to Jesus that we would not do?
When we accept the
Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts, we are to accept His character,
His ways and His words!
Remember, The Lord
Jesus Christ is the "express image" of His Father in Heaven
and as Christians, we are "Born Again", renewed in
knowledge after the image of him, that created him!
Eph 4:22 That ye
put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is
corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
Eph 4:23 And be
renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Eph 4:24 And that
ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness.
We cannot yet be
perfect, but we can be in a mode of continuous renewal.
2Co 4:16 For which
cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward
man is renewed day by day.
That old outward man
that we went to the mortuary to make plans for his burial should not
now interfere with what we do daily. he should have no influence on
our new life!
We must remember
what God said when He made man.
Gen 1:26 And God
said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth.
Gen 1:27 So God
created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them.
When we experience
the new birth just like the Lord Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit
then we are "Born Again" by the Holy Spirit.
Christians are
regenerated by the Holy Spirit.
The Son of God has
given life to all believers!
Joh 5:21 For as the
Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son
quickeneth whom he will.
So, then the Holy
Spirit regenerates God's people!
Tit 3:5 Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he
shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being
justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope
of eternal life.
We should understand
that all the prophecies of the Messiah had a purpose in our own
renewal.
We must understand
that every step that the Lord Jesus took when He was upon this earth
had a profound purpose in restoring us to be in harmony with God.
Therefore, the
truest statement to the unbeliever is still these words:
Joh 14:6 Jesus
saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh
unto the Father, but by me.
It is all these
things that being "Born Again" is all about. Christians
returning to the original plan of God!
Before the tower of
Babel there was only one people. When they rejected the Lord, God
caused them to be many separate people in order for them to learn
from the mistakes they had made.
As Christians we
again all become one people!
*****Col 3:11 Where
there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision,
Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
As Christians it
matters not what we used to be!
It matters not what
we are external!
Circumcision matters
not, uncircumcision matters not, because the Laws of Moses have been
fulfilled by Jesus Christ.
The circumcised were
the Jews.
The uncircumcised
were the Gentiles.
The Greeks were the
Greeks. (philosophers) 1Co_1:22 For the Jews require a sign, and the
Greeks seek after wisdom
The Barbarians were
those Gentiles, who were not Greeks.
The Scythian were
the most barbarous of all Gentile barbarians.
Those in bondage
were slaves to anyone.
You see the ground
is level at the cross because Jesus Christ is all we need and because
when Jesus Christ comes into our hearts we are all one people in God!
1Jn 5:19 And we
know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.
1Jn 5:20 And we
know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding,
that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true,
even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
When we have come to
this point in our new lives, it is then that we can be of the most
use to God!
Amen
