COLOSSIANS 3:12-172006 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Colossians 3:12-17

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2006. Here as we continue on in Colossians chapter 3.

We're really continuing what we started last week as we started chapter three and looked at verses one through 11. Paul gave us three things or three ways that we must respond to what we have learned about Jesus Christ.

Paul took the first two chapters of the book of Colossians to teach us the doctrine or the truth about Jesus Christ. He taught us who he is and what he has done for us. And the summary of that, or maybe the climax of that, we looked at in verse nine of chapter two, where Paul told us that we are complete in Christ.

In Christ Jesus, that in Christ Jesus, we have everything that we need for salvation, for life, for instruction. Everything is found that God desires for us in Jesus Christ. All of God's plan for us centers around Jesus Christ. It's all about Jesus.

Now, as we continue on now in chapters three and four, Paul is dealing with the application. Since you know who Jesus is and what he has done, since you understand what he has accomplished, and since you've learned about the doctrine of Jesus Christ, Paul says, here's how you should live. Here's how it should impact your life. Here's the way that it should change the way that you behave. Last week, we saw three ways to respond effectively.

The first one was to set your mind on things above. Since you know that Jesus Christ is God, since you know what he has done for you and that you are complete in him, Paul says, set your mind not on the things of the earth, not on the things of this life, but set your mind on the things of eternity, the things of heaven where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. The second way that we respond, that we're called to put into practice what we know and understand of Jesus Christ is

is we are to put off the old nature, the sinful nature, our flesh, as the scripture calls it. Paul tells us to put it off.

Since we learned that we were included with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection, we've been circumcised in him. We also learned in chapter two of Colossians were to put to death, Paul said, the members of our fleshly body were to put off the things of the flesh, the sinful lifestyle that we once lived. And we're to put off the old man or the old nature, the old ways that we used to be.

The third way that we respond to who Jesus Christ is and what he's done for us is we put on the new man, the new nature that Christ gives us, the nature of Christ. Now, I must share again the warning that I shared last week. The only way that this passage can mean anything to you is if you really do believe the word of God.

It can only be meaningful to you if the Word of God is what you base your life upon. If it's the foundation for what you do, your actions, your words, your thoughts, everything.

Everything about you. That is the role and the place that the word of God is to have in our lives. And it must be so in order for this to take effect. No matter how you feel, you must believe God's word. No matter what your mom taught you as you were growing up, you must believe God's word and hold to that above everything else. It doesn't matter what Oprah or Dr. Phil says or or what you think or your opinion.

What is important is what the word of God says. You must believe it wholeheartedly and absolutely and live by it in order for this passage to take effect in your life. If you remember, 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17, I shared this with you as well last week.

For those who are here, 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. This is so important for the understanding of today's portion of Scripture. You must believe that this verse is true.

You must believe that by putting your faith in Jesus Christ, there is something real that takes place. There's a real death, a real passing away of the old things and a real new birth.

Jesus Christ he says if you're in Christ you're a new creation not hypothetically not philosophically it's not just another perspective or another viewpoint there is something real that has taken place you've been born again by the Spirit of God by putting your faith in Jesus Christ and the old things have been taken away they've been washed away they've been buried included with Christ in his grave and

And all things have become new because you were included with Jesus Christ in his resurrection, that you might walk in newness of life in the character and nature of God, of Jesus Christ and not your old lifestyle. And so we've looked at how to set our mind on the things above and to put off the old nature. The third part we just touched on last week, which is to put on the new nature. And that's what Paul continues saying.

And verses 12 through 17, the verses that we'll be looking at this morning. This is what we're called to do. Now, God does not just call us to stop doing the things of the flesh, but instead to replace our old habits and attitudes with the characteristics and the new nature that we have in Jesus Christ.

Paul illustrates that in Ephesians 4, verses 25-32, where Paul is dealing with a similar subject, in fact, the same subject, the putting off of the old and putting on of the new.

And he tells us there to put away lying, to stop lying, but not just to stop there, just to not lie. But then he says to speak the truth in the place of the lying that you were once involved in. Now, speak the truth. It's God's will and what God desires for you.

In that portion of scripture, he also says to steal no longer. But it's not just to stop stealing, but also in its place to labor, to work with your hands that you might be able to give to others. He says, let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but not to stop there and just don't say anything bad. But instead, he says, stop.

Let your mouth be full. Only let out what is useful, what's good, what's edifying, what builds up and what's necessary for people to hear. We're called to replace those old things, the old lifestyle, the old ways, not just stop doing them, but to put on the new nature that we have in Christ. Now, as I shared last week, obedience to these things is simply by faith.

The terminology to put on is the idea, and it carries with it, the idea of putting on clothing. That's how it's usually used. But to put on the characteristics of Christ, it's not as simple as putting on a jacket. If it were, then it'd be very easy for us. But what we must do is put these on by faith. And the way that we do that is we receive what God's Word says, we believe it, and we live by

As if we believe it's true. We need to live as if we believe God's word is true. These things are available for us. God has all of these things in store for you. You are complete in Christ Jesus. You have everything that you need.

But will you live as if you believe that? And will you put these things into practice? As we look at the characteristics of the new man today, you'll want to say, our temptation will be, I can't do that. I'm just not that way. I've tried. It's completely opposite to who I am. But God says, no, you're not. It's you. You are a new creation in Christ Jesus.

You must walk by faith, not by sight, not by your understanding or how you feel. You must believe God at his word. You are a new creation in Christ. Now this morning you might be here and maybe you've never been born again. Maybe you've never accepted Jesus Christ as your savior and Lord. Maybe you're not even sure what that means. Well, for you, that's not true. You can't do these things. You can try real hard to put these things in practice and do these things, but you can't. The only way to do it

Is to believe in Jesus Christ. To be included with him in his death, burial and resurrection. And to allow yourself to become a new creation in Christ Jesus. Because of the work that he did on the cross for you 2,000 years ago. Let's begin this morning in verse 12. Paul says, Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness and long-suffering.

Paul starts out by reminding us who we are in Christ Jesus. Do you know who you are in Christ Jesus?

Do you know what you have in Christ Jesus? Now, if you do not know who you are in Christ, then there is much room for you to be concerned about whether or not you can put on the new nature and whether or not you can do the things that God is asking us to do in this portion of Scripture. If you don't know who you are in Christ, yeah, there's going to be some problems. There's not going to be any ability to

To accomplish these things and walk in them faithfully. But if you know who you are, if you believe God's word, who he says you are in him, then you'll be able to put on the new man. And so, again, it's essential for you to believe. Now, you were included with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. And as a result, Paul gives us three aspects of.

Of who we are in Christ. Because we are included with him. There's three things Paul says right here in verse 12. That we are in Christ. Things that we need to know that are important. For us to carry out what God is calling us to do. The first one he says. Therefore as the elect of God. The first thing we see about ourselves. Who we are in Christ. Is that we are the elect of God. That word elect it means chosen. Chosen.

You are the chosen of God. You can put on the new nature. You can put on the nature of Christ because you were chosen. Let that sink in for a moment. God picked you. God chose you. He selected you. He made a choice and you were it. God says, I want that person in my kingdom.

I want that person to have new life in me. I want that person to be conformed into my image. I want that person to spend eternity with me. God chose you. You are his elect. You didn't accidentally happen upon salvation. It wasn't that God was trying to save everyone else and somehow you slipped in. Bummer. He chose you. He wanted you.

He said, I pick you and I choose you to partake in my kingdom because I love you. Now, we might justly so wonder why he chose us. We may not understand why he chose us. You may think you know why he chose you, but that's pride and you better repent of that. In honesty, we realize, why would God choose me? Why would God want me? Why would he select me?

And we may not know why. We will not know why. Because we don't deserve it. But the reality is, even though you don't deserve it, even though you're not worthy, He chose you. You are His chosen one. His elect. We say, I'm not worthy. And God says, I disagree. I chose you. In Revelation chapter 17 verse 14, it tells us that He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And those who are with Him are called chosen and faithful.

First of all, you need to understand that you are the elect of God. You are chosen by God. The second thing Paul says you need to understand is that you are holy. The word holy, it means to be set apart. Now, please, verbally, audibly, agree or disagree. We are all sinners, right? We all know that. Everybody knows we're sinners. Yet here, God calls us holy.

Does that mean that we are perfect? No, of course not. Does it mean that we do not sin? No. The word holy means set apart. And so here God is saying, I have set you apart unto myself. No, you're not perfect yet. You will be. I'm working on that. But you're set apart to me. You're exclusively for my use, for my purposes. You're mine. No one else can have you.

No one else can use you without my permission. You're mine. You're set apart for me, unto me. This word holy, it's the word that's translated saint all throughout the New Testament. Now, some consider saints to have a super special connection to God and a relationship with God. And you know what? They're right.

But what we need to understand is, in Christ Jesus, you and I are saints. God calls us saints all throughout the scriptures. We're his saints. We're holy. We're set apart unto him. And we have a super special connection with God and an intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

We must understand that we have been chosen, but also that we've been set apart. And finally, thirdly, in order to put on the new nature, Paul says, you need to remember that you are beloved. You're beloved of the Lord. This word beloved, it's a form of the word agape, which you are probably familiar with. It's the perfect love, the love that God has for us.

But this word beloved, it indicates a direction of the will, number one. And number two, a finding of one's joy in something. And so let me break that down for you. Number one, it means that God has chosen to love you. But it also means that he finds his joy in you. Did you know that? God gets excited about you. He is so joyful that you have chosen him.

To draw close to him and get to know him. He gets ecstatic because you're going to spend eternity with him. Oh, you're so special to him. You're his beloved. He chose to love you, which means that, you know, you can't do anything to change it. No matter how far you run, no matter how hard you try, God has chosen to love you. It's not based on your performance.

It's not based on if you're at church on Sunday or not. He loves you. He's chosen to love you. And he finds his joy in you. He gets excited because you walk with him. Because you're going to spend eternity with him. Now these three things tell us who we are in Christ. And remind us that we have everything that we need so that we know we can walk in his nature.

Because God chose us. We are chosen. We're set apart. We're beloved of the Lord. Peter tells us the same thing in 1 Peter 2, verse 9. He tells us you're a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and his own special people. That is who you are.

And so understand and know that you are complete in Christ, that he has chosen you, that he has set you apart, that he loves you so intimately and so dearly. He finds great joy in you. And so you have everything that you need to be obedient to his word, to put on the new nature and to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ. So Paul says, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on obedience.

And he goes on now to list the characteristics or the nature of Christ. But let's stop on this word put on for a moment. The term, as I shared in the beginning, is usually used with clothing. It means to to clothe or to wear. But it's also a command, which means it's something that you must do. Like we looked at last week, these things that we'll be studying do not come naturally to us.

They don't just happen automatically in your life. It's not our natural tendency. You must make a choice to believe God at his word and put on the new nature and put into practice the things that God has called us to do. You have to believe God that you are included with Christ in his death, burial and resurrection. And specifically the resurrection is what we're looking at so that you can walk in newness of life as a new creation,

With the character of Christ. And so he goes on now to list eight things, eight characteristics of the new nature that we have in Christ Jesus. I must stress to you, these are things that we have, not things that we have to conjure up or try to work up within ourselves, try to manufacture. No, we have them in Christ. All we have to do is believe God at his word and put them on, live them out.

Live in obedience to him. Number one, we find tender mercies. He says, put on tender mercies. This word for mercy, it's a great word. It's a word that emphasizes not just an act of mercy. Because you can do an act of mercy and really not be merciful and really not have a lot of mercy in your heart or in your life. But it's the heart of compassion that

That this word emphasizes. Of course it's demonstrated in acts of mercy. But the real issue with this word. To put on tender mercies. Or literally bowels of compassion. Is that you feel. What others are going through. You feel compassion.

You understand and you sympathize with a person's pain and suffering. You can identify with their sorrows. God calls us to be tenderly merciful, to have compassionate hearts, to see what others are going through and experiencing and to have our heart break for them and to feel and understand the things that they're going through. God says, put on compassion.

Feel the pain, the hurt, and understand what the people around you are experiencing. The second thing we find is kindness. We're to put on tender mercy, compassion, but also to put on kindness. This word kindness, it means the mellowing of all which would have been harsh and severe. The word is also translated gentleness throughout the New Testament. To be gentle, to be kind, to be

Mellow, all which would have been harsh or severe. If you could imagine, if you had something with jagged edges and things that would stick out and poke and prod and cut deep, this word kindness is to mellow those things out, to wash those things away, to make them soft and gentle so that they would not hurt or inflict pain. It's gentleness in our action and in our words.

The softening of the harshness of our personalities sometimes. Or the way that we act and the things that we say. We're to soften the things that we do and be gentle. So put on kindness. Treat people with gentleness and do not be harsh. The third thing we find is humility. Humility, very simply, is an accurate view of yourself. It's a real estimate of who you are.

Now, an accurate view of yourself involves something like this. I acknowledge my absolute dependence, that I have nothing of my own, and I receive all things from God. That's humility. It's what Jesus talked about in John chapter 15, verse 5.

Where he tells us that I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. Humility is believing what Jesus said.

That I can do nothing without Christ. That I have nothing without Him. That I have no basis, no reason to stand before God without Jesus Christ. I'm not able to accomplish anything of eternal value without Jesus Christ. Everything that is good done through me and by me is by the strength, the power, the working of God and not myself.

Humility is not walking around with the attitude, the heart, you know, I'm so stupid. God hates me because I always blow it. I'm absolutely nothing. That's not humility. Humility is I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4.13. It's a bold statement, but it's a humble statement because the reliance, the dependence is upon God, is upon Jesus Christ and not ourselves. It's an accurate view of yourself.

And so put on humility. Recognize who you are and how much you need God and then look to him for all things. Put on tender mercies. Put on kindness. Put on humility. And fourthly, we find meekness.

We're to put on meekness. Now, this word is also usually translated gentleness throughout the New Testament. But it's another word that's great. It specifically speaks about the way that we receive whatever may come. We're to be gentle in the way that we receive things. Now, quick side note. Do you see the character that God wants us to have? Tender mercies or hearts of compassion where we feel the pain of others. Kindness where we...

soften the blow or we soften the harshness and the severity of the things that we do and say humility where we have an accurate understanding of ourselves and and meekness that we respond in gentleness god wants us to be soft gentle meek kind you might think well that sounds like a sissy well then god wants you to be a sissy it's his nature it's the new nature that he is giving to you

that he has given to you in Christ Jesus. It's who God has called you to be. Now, kindness that we just looked at, it's gentleness in our action, in our words. It's the softening of the harshness of what we do. But meekness is the softening, the gentleness of reception, of receiving whatever may happen, whatever situation or circumstance is presented to us.

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to tell someone something and you were terrified about how they would respond?

You know, it just tears you up. Man, I have to tell them this. I don't know what's going to happen. I don't know how they're going to react. Maybe you blew it, you know, at work or something. You got to tell your boss you messed up or tell a client, hey, you're not going to get your checks for another two weeks. I mean, back in the payroll business, not payroll, back in the loan business, I had to do that a couple of times. And man, it's just, oh man, you hate to tell them such things. Just yesterday, I

Since I'm getting ready for Okinawa, I was packing all my things and I was looking around for something special that my wife bought me for my birthday this last year. She spent a lot of money on it and I could not find it anywhere. I still can't find it, so please pray that it shows up. So I'm looking for it all day yesterday and looking for it everywhere and thinking, oh my goodness, and now how do I tell Kim? I mean, I could just say, you know, just...

Not say anything. Should never ask for it, right? And just kind of hide it. But now I'm like, oh, I got to tell her. And so I'm thinking about how do I do this? Well, how's it going to come out? I mean, how's she going to react? And so it's like one of those things where you just kind of say it quickly and then just cringe, you know, wait for the explosion. She doesn't do that. But just in case, you got to be prepared. Meekness, it describes how we handle, how we respond to situations with gentleness, with softness, with understanding.

If you want a good picture, think about how Jesus handled the adulterous woman who was brought to him. Here she is. She deserved the death penalty, but she was brought to him and he handled it. He responded with gentleness, with care, with compassion, with love. And that is how we are called to be put on meekness. Respond with gentleness to people in your life and situations that come across your path. Don't flip out or freak out. Be gentle.

Fifthly, we have longsuffering. Longsuffering, it's a patience or a self-restraint of the mind before it gives room to action or passion. Now, this patience is specifically with respect to persons as opposed to endurance and trials or circumstances. Longsuffering can refer to, you know, you're just going through rough times and life's hard, you know, there's difficult situations and things.

But specifically here, God is saying, here's what you need to put on. Long-suffering with the people around you. It's patience, long-suffering towards the people that really bug you, to the people that hurt you, to the people that irritate you, perhaps disappoint you or anger you. God says, put on long-suffering. Have self-restraint and patience with the people around you. Number six, we find in verse 13,

Begins by saying, bearing with one another, bearing with one another. This is similar to long suffering. It means to put up with, to endure. But it also means to keep from giving up. And I like that aspect of this. We're to put up with one another, to endure one another, not giving up on those around us.

Paul says, put on bearing with one another. Don't give up on the people around you, hoping the best and believing that God is going to work in them. Put up with them and don't give up on them so that you can continue to shine the light of Christ, to be an example and to share with them what God has done for them. We're to put up, we're to endure, to bear with one another. The seventh thing we find also in verse 13 here.

He says, forgiving one another, forgiving one another. Now, this word forgive, the root of this word is charis, which is the word that we know to be grace throughout the New Testament. Grace, as you know, is undeserved favor and kindness. And so this word forgive, it means to graciously pardon a person's sin, even if they don't deserve it.

Even if they haven't earned the forgiveness. You know, a lot of times we like to make people work for their forgiveness, don't we? Well, I'm not satisfied yet. You haven't suffered like I suffered. I'm not going to forgive you yet. Sometimes we have a reluctant forgiveness. Kind of a distrustful, well, I'll forgive you this time, but I'm keeping my eye on you. I know what you're up to. That's not this forgiveness. This forgiveness is a gracious forgiveness. It's a gracious pardoning. Hey, you're forgiven.

You don't have to earn it. You don't have to deserve it. I forgive you. It's gone. It's passed. Now, I think this is probably one of the hardest characteristics. And it seems that Paul thought so, too, because he reinforces it with the example of Christ. He says, forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

And so we can look at the example of Christ, of how he forgave us, and understand that is how I am to forgive others when I have a complaint against them. You are chosen. You're set apart. You're beloved. Because of what Christ did for you and his forgiveness towards you. So put on the same. Forgive one another. Graciously pardon everyone that you have complaints against, just like Christ pardons you.

We find the eighth and final thing here in verse 14. It says, but above all these things, put on love, which is the bond of perfection. Put on love. This word love is the word agape that you're probably familiar with. It's unconditional, self-sacrificing love. Now, this type of love is not shown by doing what the person loved desires, but

But what the person who loves deems as necessary. That might be confusing, but let me illustrate. God loved us. And so he didn't give us what we desired, what we would have asked for. He gave us what we needed, which was a savior. He gave us Jesus Christ, his son.

We wouldn't have asked for a savior, but it's what we needed the most. And so God loving us gave us what we needed the most. And so to love then, agape love, is to act in the best interest of others, even if it's at your own expense. Just like Jesus who loved us and he gave us what we needed, but at his own expense. It's the love that you and I are called to demonstrate to those around us.

Loving them, giving them what is best, even if it costs us much. This type of love, Paul says, is the bond of perfection. It's the bond that holds all these characteristics that we've seen. The first seven that we've seen, love is what holds them together, gives them power. It's all done with the motivation of love.

It's also the bond of perfection and holding us together, the body of Christ, people in your life and relationships that we have together. It's the bond of perfection. It's what keeps us together. It's what holds us in place. Put on love. Act in the best interest of the people around you. It's what God did for you.

And so these eight things, God says, these are what I want you to put on. These are the characteristics that Jesus demonstrated while he walked on this earth. And they're characteristics that God displays towards us continually. And so if you're lacking in any of these areas, where you need to go to is the source. You go back to your relationship with God, to your relationship with Jesus Christ, and you find everything that you need in him.

for tender mercy, for kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another, and for loving one another. Notice that they're all in relation to each other. God is very concerned about how we treat one another and how we deal with one another. Again, they will not happen automatically in our life.

God says, obey it. Choose to obey it. Demonstrate these things. Whether you feel like it or not, you have what you need to show tender mercy. You have what you need to be kind and meek, to be humble. Whether you want to or not, you have what you need. So walk in it and be obedient to it. We must, by faith, believe God at his word and live as if we believe it was true.

Put it into practice because it's what God said to do. Verse 15, and let the peace of God rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body and be thankful. This word peace, it's the idea of tranquility as well as harmony. It's a peace within as well as a peace with others around us. It's the peace that Jesus promised to his disciples in John 14 verse 27. He says, peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you.

It's peace that God has given to us. And it's this peace that is to rule in our hearts. Now, this word rule, it's the word that would be used in the Greek competitions for an umpire.

And so the umpire would make decisions about situations and circumstances and plays that would go on and who would be qualified or disqualified and so on and so forth. The referee, the umpire, that's the word that this word rule is. And so the idea is that the peace of God is to be the umpire of our hearts for the turmoil within, the times that we're troubled, that we're discontented, that we're confused, that

We're to allow the peace of God to make decisions for us, to call the shots within our hearts, but also within our relationships with each other, because he also says to which also you are called in one body. And so when there's contentions and problems between us within the body of Christ, the peace of God is to be the umpire. In other words, that we pursue the route of peace.

Rather than insisting on our own rights, the peace of God needs to be the judge or the referee. Now he says at the beginning here, let the peace of God rule in your hearts. And that's an important word, to let the peace of God rule. It means to yield or to allow the peace of God to rule.

When I was young, I would often be in my backyard and we had a swimming pool and my cousin would come over and he was much younger than me and he was just a skinny little kid, barely had anything on his bones at all. And

He was great because I could just toss him around and have a lot of fun with him. And so we'd be in our little spa with the pool right next to it. And I'd sneak up behind him when he wasn't paying attention, wasn't looking. And usually he'd have his floaties on. And I'd sneak up behind him and I would pick him up and I would throw him over my back into the pool. And so here he is minding his own business. And the next thing you know, he's flying through the air backwards and he's in the pool and he gets he's freaked out. I mean, he's just.

And he would get so upset, and I loved it. We had a great time. Well, he would want to get back at me. And so there was this one time, I'm standing next to the pool, and he wants to get back at me so bad. And so he runs with all he's got, and he pushes his whole body against me to try to get me into the pool. But he had nothing on him. I mean, it was just like, what are you doing? He's just hugging my legs and all. And so, you know...

He's there and he's trying to, and he's getting so frustrated. He's pushing with all his might. He's trying to use his weight and everything he has to get me into the pool. And he finally gets so frustrated. He walks into the house. And in the house, he goes to my mom. He says, Aunt Turtle, that's what my cousins call my mom, Aunt Turtle, Jerry won't let me push him in the pool. I had to allow him to push me in, to yield to him. And that's the term that's used here.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. The peace of God. It's not going to happen automatically. You're going to hold on to your troubles and your stresses and all the things within. On the out and the conflicts with each other, you're going to hold on to your rights and what you think. But you need to just yield to the peace of God. To a trust in God. And allow the peace of God to rule, to be the umpire in your hearts. Verse 16 says,

He says, 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.

Here we have the word let again. Same idea, same concept. You have to yield to. You have to allow the word of Christ to dwell in you richly. It's already there, just like the peace of God. It's already there. But you have to allow it. You have to make a choice to allow God's word to dwell in you richly. The word of Christ, it means his teaching, his doctrine, specifically the Bible, because John said, John 539, Jesus said actually,

The whole book is about me. This is the word of Christ. And you need to let it, you need to allow it to dwell in you richly or abundantly, overflowing. Does your life overflow with the word of God? You know, every thought, every turn, is it reminding you of things of the scriptures and what God has said?

Every choice, is it based upon the word of God? Is it just abundant in your life and in your heart within you? No matter what's taking place, you're thinking about it. And on your mind and on your heart is God's word. Is it abundantly within you?

Paul's telling us we must allow God's word to be within us abundantly, to overflow our life, to let his word fill us completely. Now, in our society, in the United States today, we have an abundance of God's word. You probably own several Bibles. We have K-Wave and other stations that teach the word. We have constant teaching and access to the word online and MP3 files of thousands upon thousands and just incredible, almost infinite opportunity online.

To hear the word of God. We have an abundant supply of God's word. But the question is, are you allowing any of that abundant supply to dwell in you abundantly? Yes, the opportunity is there. The abundance of the word is there. But is there an abundance in you? Is the word of God in your life and overflowing into everything that you do?

Now, when the word of Christ dwells in you abundantly, Paul says you'll be able to teach and admonish in all wisdom. This is one of the ways that it overflows to teach. It means to teach doctrine. It's to teach the truth about God, about Jesus Christ, about sin, about man. It's to teach the truth of God's word. It's when God's word dwells in you abundantly.

That you'll be able to overflow and teach the truth about God. And that's why I encourage you to join with us in reading through the Bible in a year. To learn the whole counsel of God. That it may be in you abundantly. That you may be true to the word of God. And to teach the doctrine of God. But also to admonish, which means to correct or exhort. And so before you can teach doctrine or correct or exhort others, you must allow the word to dwell in you richly.

The second part, he goes on to say that the second aspect of overflowing is singing. He says, when the word of Christ dwells in you abundantly, then you'll sing songs, hymns, spiritual songs in your heart to the Lord. Two phrases I want to point out here real quick. He says, in your heart.

That is something that is real. It's taking place within you. It's not singing in a church service because everyone else is and the words are on the screen. It's singing when nobody else is, no matter what. It's in your heart singing to the Lord. It's the response of the word of God working in you. It's the response of the truth.

Of what the Bible teaches. Man, when you study the word of God, when it dwells in you abundantly, it will overflow within you and you will not be able to help yourself but to worship God and to sing in your heart to him. It doesn't matter if it's at church or in your car or at home, wherever. It's just going to be an overflowing of worship to God, of rejoicing, of thankfulness, of gratitude, of praise, of surrender. I'm yours.

It's something that must take place within your heart. It's more than singing. Oh, it involves singing, and that's an important part. We saw that in the Psalms. But it must be within your heart as a result of the word. But it's also in your heart. But the second part is to the Lord. It's an audience of one. You're not singing and making melody to anyone else. It's to the Lord. He is the only one that matters, and he is the object of your affection.

So you must allow the word of Christ to dwell in you abundantly to the point that you overflow in teaching and admonishing others and singing in your heart to the Lord. And finally, verse 17. 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. Paul finishes this section with an all-inclusive statement.

Do all that you do in the name of the Lord Jesus. Whether it's something you say, some action that you're performing, do it in the name of Jesus. Now, what does that mean to do something in the name of Jesus? It does not mean that we just say Jesus, you know, as we walk around, as we drive, as we do things, and then we're doing it in the name of Jesus. No, that's not what it means. To do something in the name of someone else means that you're acting on their behalf.

It means that you represent them. You're an agent doing what they would do if they were there. He says, whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Do it all as if Jesus Christ was there in your shoes with that situation in word or deed. Say, do what Jesus would do.

Act like Jesus would act. Represent him and act on his behalf. Whatever you're doing, remember, you were included with him in his death, his burial, and his resurrection. So follow Galatians 2.20. The life that you live, you live by faith. It's no longer you who live, but Christ who lives in you by faith in the Son of God. Live in newness of life by putting on the new nature as Christ would.

It's like the craze that we all went through a while back. What would Jesus do? It's really how we're to live. We're to put on the nature of Jesus Christ. To walk as he walked. To demonstrate his characteristics. But here's the key. You're complete in him. It's not something you have to conjure up yourself or manufacture yourself. It's something you receive from him and you put it on in obedience.

Living it out by faith. This morning, we've seen the things that we're to put on, the things that we're to let, and the things that we're to do. Eight puts, two lets, and one whatever in all things. Demonstrate the character of Christ. You can do it. You know why? Because you are God's elect. He chose you for this purpose. He chose you to be conformed into the image of his son.

He's set you apart unto himself and for himself. You're exclusively his. You're his beloved. He has chosen to love you and he has such great joy in you. This morning as we prepare our hearts for communion, something we need to remember. It's because of Jesus Christ and his work upon the cross that all of this is possible. If I could have the worship team and the ushers come forward and prepare for communion, I want to challenge you this morning.

Paul said in 1 Corinthians chapter 11 to examine ourselves before we partake of communion. We need to test ourselves. Where do we stand in our relationship with Jesus Christ? And all of these things, where do we stand? Now the important point, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, the whole point of communion is that we would remember the Lord. And that's what we need to do this morning. We need to remember the Lord and remember what he has done for us. But not just that.

Remember that you were included with him in his death, burial and resurrection. And so since that's what we're to remember, our response is the same as what Paul has been sharing with us the last two weeks. Here's how we need to respond as we prepare our hearts for communion this morning. We need to set our mind on things above. Set your focus on eternity. Set your focus on Jesus Christ.

Put off the old nature. If there's areas of the flesh that you've been allowing to prevail and live in your life, if you've been indulging the flesh, now's the time. Partake of communion with us, but settle that with God. Take it to the Lord and ask him to forgive you. Let him take care of the sinful nature. Believe God at his word and put it off. Take it off and put it out of your life so that you never return to it.

And as you prepare your heart, put on the new nature. Believe God at his word. And remember, it's all possible through Jesus Christ. You are his elect. He chose you. You're holy and set apart unto him. You're his beloved. That's why he died. And that's what he wants us to remember this morning. Now this morning, if you've never been born again, it's a great opportunity for you. I invite you to partake with us if you desire to become a Christian.

If you need to rededicate your life to be born again, it's as simple as believing Jesus at his word. He said, believe in me and you'll have everlasting life. And that means to believe the word of God, that you were included with him, that he died on your behalf in your place for your sins. And if you will put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, he will make you born again.

Old things will pass away. Behold, all things will become new. You'll have new life in Christ Jesus. And you'll be able to put on all of these things and live the life that we've been talking about this morning. And if you desire to do that, I invite you to partake with us. I invite you to take of the bread and the cup. The bread represents Jesus's body, which was broken for us. The cup represents his blood that was shed for us.

It's not actually his body, nor is it actually his blood. It's a representation so that we remember, Jesus, your body was broken for me. You died for me that I could be set free. Your blood was shed that I could be forgiven and that I could have right relationship with God. And if you want to do that, partake with us. Make that statement in your heart. And for all of us, let's examine ourselves. Where do we stand in our relationship with God?

It's only through Jesus Christ, through the work of the cross. And so let's remember what he has done for us as we worship the Lord. They're going to pass out the bread and the cup, hold both portions. We'll partake together at the end. But let's worship the Lord and prepare our hearts. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.