Text: Colossians 3:1-11 (NKJV)
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Devotional Thoughts and Commentary:
This section represents the third focus in the letter of how Jesus Christ is totally superior in every way to all things. Here Jesus is identified as superior compared to the things of this world system.
The first section of verses (1-4) consists of a logical plea from Paul for the Colossian Christians to not focus on the things of this world but on the eternal things of Heaven. Life on Earth is short, but we have the hope (promise) of eternal life in Heaven with Jesus. Since that is the case, there should be no reason to be preoccupied with worry or get focused on the affairs of this life.
Next, Paul turned his attention to commanding the believers to, quite literally, put to death the parts of their lives listed immediately following. Lustful passions and a general lust in our mind are condemned. I want to focus briefly on the idea here of covetousness. The underlying term (πλεονεξιαν) here is very strong and set off from the rest of the list by an article, transcending our normal understanding of this English word. The idea is that, in desiring things for ourselves, we set ourselves up as deity, deserving of all good things. Notice in verse 7 that Paul assumes that, as Christians, these Colossian readers had stopped doing these sins (see also: verses 9-10 and 2 Corinthians 5:17).
There now follows a list, pictured in the Greek as filthy rags, that the Christians are supposed to stop. Apparently, these are actions that permeated the Colossian church but must be stopped. The first several are pretty straightforward, but I want to take a moment to focus on what is translated here as "filthy language." The Greek word αἰσχρολογιαν occurs only here in the New Testament. When it comes to what words are "naughty words" in the Bible, the two major focuses are that one is not to take God's name in vain or curse another person. Communication is supposed to be pure. However, how does one know what English words in 2011 America are OK and which ones are not? Well, let's look at the purity thing. Basically, your communication is to be above reproach, so if your conscience tells you that it is questionable, you should just avoid it. That being said, I don't think it is good to judge the specific words of others with the criteria of our conscience. For some, saying "shoot" as an interjection or in anger is just short for a widely accepted cuss word; however, others may not see it that way. I would mostly suggest in this area to focus on our own speech and train our children after our convictions but not to be harsh towards others without that specific conviction. Anyway, back to our passage. The term used here is probably the most sound argument against cuss words that do not misuse God's name or not used to curse another person. The term reflects low, filthy language with a connotation of being abusive. Exactly where this line is drawn within different languages, cultures, generations, and situations will vary, but what is constant is that our speech should be pure and above reproach.
Verses 10-11 provide an awesome passage of hope. People throughout history have been born into situations beyond their control. Some are born slaves in abysmal conditions, whereas others are born into royalty. Some were born into the chosen race of Hebrews, but most were not. One of the great things about Christianity is that none of that matters, since all are equally welcome. Furthermore, if one sets their mind on things above as dictated at the start of the chapter, their life situation is seen as temporary. Nothing is hopeless or without escape. You might have to be a slave for 60 years, but that will be insignificant 1,000,000,000,000 years into freedom in Heaven with God.
Application(s):
Focus your mind on the spiritual situation, not the immediate physical one. See things in the light of God and eternity. Take hope in eternity in Heaven!
Cut off the sins mentioned in this passage. I specifically focused on covetous (self-idolizing) and filthy speech, but there were many others listed.
Consider your communication. Is it pure? Is it above reproach? Set your standards high, but be careful not to judge others on matters of conscience.
Other Studies from Colossians
No comments:
Post a Comment