Well, good morning. If you have your Bibles, I'd ask that you open them to Colossians chapter three. This is where we were last week. We're going to be picking up where we left off. Colossians chapter three. We'll get to our reading in just a moment. There's a common phrase and you've heard it, I'm sure you have. It's dress for success. Dress for success, that's a phrase which suggests that what we wear matters. The clothing that we wear matters, specifically with that phrase in regards to the workplace. If you want to succeed in a particular profession and you want to look the part of a businessman, then you need to dress like a businessman. And so we have this phrase, dress for success, but we, We use this phrase in a variety of other ways. For instance, we tell our kids, we had to this morning, in fact, we tell our kids to dress appropriately for the weather, right? If it's hot, then you need to take that into consideration. If it's cold, you need to be putting on clothes considering that it's cold outside. Or if you're going to be going to church, you might have particular clothes that you're wearing versus if you're playing or doing some kind of hard labor, you are You are putting on clothes that deal with a particular situation. You are mindful of what you are wearing. In fact, most of us, if not all of us, are always mindful to some extent of what is fashionable, of what is stylish, even if you don't think so. I'm sure that you are a little bit more fashionable than what you think. If you don't believe me, then look at a picture, say, from the 60s or the 70s and how people dressed and see if you're dressing like that now. Which, weirdly enough, fashions tend to cycle, don't they? Right? The fashions tend to change. The trends are always different. They're always going to something new. We are constantly seeing new fads and new styles of clothing coming out that we think, well, now I've got to do that. Now I've got to dress this way. Now I've got to dress that way. And that's the problem, isn't it? What we wear might be stylish now, but eventually it's not going to be stylish anymore. What's fashionable and trending today will probably be outdated tomorrow. They can change quickly, but not only just over time, but styles and fashions can change from culture to culture. They can vary from country to country. You might think one thing is stylish here, and you go to another country, and all of a sudden, you're sticking out like a sore thumb. You look completely different from everyone that's around you. Why? because those things change. However, for the Christian, what was in style in the first century, for the Christian, is still in style in the 21st century. What we were expected to dress like as a Christian in regards to our Christian clothing, we'll say, is still in style today. In fact, it's in style any place, any time, anywhere. There are essential pieces of Christian clothing, of godly garments that we are to wear that Paul is talking about in this passage, and he speaks of it elsewhere. For instance, in Ephesians 4, as we read earlier about this putting off and this putting on. It's the language of putting on clothing. That's the idea, right? In fact, some translations say, clothe yourself. But there are certain things that we are to clothe ourselves with, and we see that in our text. But real quick, I want to go back and just do a quick run through of where we were before we read our text today. Paul began Colossians chapter three by noting that we have been set free in Christ because we have been raised with him. And so because of that, we are to keep seeking the things above. We are to set our minds on the things that are above. We have been raised with Christ, which is why we can seek those things that are above. And because we've been raised with Christ, we are also hidden with Christ. And someday in the future, we will be manifested with Him in glory. And so because of all of that, we're to consider dead our earthly members, right? That's what we're putting off, that clothing, that worldly clothing that we are putting off. And instead, we are to put on the new man, the new garments of a Christian that are in accordance with that resurrected life. Now we saw last week there were certain things that Christians should be putting off, a wardrobe that we're no longer to wear, but we don't just take those things off and leave it at that. That would just be a form of moralism where we're just trying to be externally good-looking. We don't want to be bad. But it doesn't end there. We don't just take those things and put them off. We don't just put anger and wrath and malice and sensuality. We don't just put those things off. There's something that we are to put on. And so this is where our passage today comes into the picture. Paul is telling us exactly what it is that we're to be putting on, what spiritual clothes it is that we are to be wearing. But before, again, we get to the text, I just want to remind us of the few points that we had looked at. So last week we saw that Paul was calling Christians to live in accordance with their resurrected status by being heavenly-minded, right? That is, by seeking the things above, by setting your mind on the things above, essentially seeking Christ. That is the emphasis there. But then also by putting off the old man and killing the sin that is in our lives. And then finally, we saw briefly last week that we are to live in accordance with our resurrection status by being renewed. And so I want to pick up from that. But before I do, let's go ahead and read our passage. So Colossians chapter three, if you would please stand for the reading of the word. Colossians chapter 3 I want to read it in its entirety so starting in verse 1 Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you died, and your life has been hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is manifested, then you also will be manifested with him in glory. Therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. On account of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, and in them you also once walked when you were living in them. But now you also lay them all aside, wrath, anger, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another since you put off the old man with its evil practices and have put on the new man who is being renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the one who created him, a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian Scythian, slave, and free man, but Christ is all and in all. And in our text today, so as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. Above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell richly in you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God. 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. Father, sanctify us in the truth. Your word is truth. Amen. You may be seated. So I want to pick up from my last point, I have that benefit since I get to preach two Sundays in a row, there were things I left a little bit unsaid or I didn't delve in as deep as I wanted to, so I want to pick up from that final point, and that is that we live in accordance with our resurrected status by being renewed. So look at Quickly at verses 10 and 11 we see that there's this new man that we're putting on and it says that it is being renewed to a full knowledge according to the image of the one who created him a Renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew circumcised and uncircumcised barbarian Scythian slave and free man, but Christ is all and in all So we are putting on this new man and we're going to examine that new man more in depth, more closely in just a moment. But we are told that this new man is being renewed. It is being renewed. Well, what does that mean? Well, certainly to renew can mean to make new. And that is certainly true of Christians. Christians are those who have been made new. In fact, 2 Corinthians 5.17, Paul writing, he says, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, the new has come. And so we see that we are indeed, as Christians, made new. So we've been made new as believers the moment that we were regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We expressed faith and repentance towards God. We turned away from the old and we have been set on a new trajectory in life. We have been made new. Now, of course, this is a moment where we consider our salvation, right? Because if you have not been made new, then you have no new man to put on. You have no new man that is being renewed, right? Salvation is trusting in Christ. It is repenting from your old life, your old ways, your old sins, and turning to Christ in faith. Right? You are turning away from the old and turning towards the new and pursuing that because you have been raised with him to new life. We no longer then identify with the old because we have been made new. However, this passage in Colossians says that our new man is being renewed. And so while it's true that to be renewed can mean to make new, I don't think that quite fits here. I don't think that's the meaning that we see in this passage. Because it just, it doesn't make sense because our new man doesn't need to be made new. He is new. Right? And so what does it then mean to be renewed as a new man? Well, in the context for our new man to be renewed means that we are continually being conformed to the image of Christ. We are continually receiving that new life, that God has given us. Because we've been raised with Him, we are now pursuing and seeking those things that are above. We have our minds set on Christ and we are setting aside all those things that weigh us down and running with patience and endurance that race that has been set before us. We are constantly being conformed to Christ. In other words, the union that we have in Christ is what makes us all in all as we read about this renewal. It says that there's a renewal which there's no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free man, but Christ is all and in all. That union that we have with Christ is shared, as I mentioned last week, it is shared by all of those who are also in Christ. So consider Paul's words. Look over, if you would, just a few pages back to Ephesians chapter 2. Because Paul, I think, paints a beautiful picture here for us that shows us how Christ is all in all and how there is, because He is all in all, there is now no distinction between Greek and Jew. Ephesians chapter 2, starting in verse 11. Paul says, therefore, remember that you formerly, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called the uncircumcision by the so-called circumcision, which is performed in the flesh by human hands, remember that you were at that time without Christ, alienated from the citizenship of Israel, and strangers to the covenant of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. Do you see how there is division, how there is distinction? Right, you were alienated, you were separate, you were cut off. But then you look in verse 13, it says, but now in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who made both groups one and broke down the dividing wall of the partition by abolishing in his flesh the enmity, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in himself he might create the two into one new man, making peace. So you see, because of Christ and what He has done, the division is gone. We have been brought into Christ upon our salvation. We have been brought into Him and made one in Christ. How many times do we want to separate and distinguish, and we want to divide over worship styles, and we want to say, well, I don't like that particular style of music, and I don't necessarily like loud preaching, or I don't like quiet preaching. I don't know if you've ever heard of a Lerman, but it's a lecture sermon. And sometimes you'll have a man who gets up to preach the Word of God, and he can seem in himself, his own personality, so dull, so dry. And I've heard men like this, but the word that they are preaching is rich and good. But there's some people that are like, I can't stand the quietness. And then there's some people that are like, I hate the screaming and the shouting. And so you get people who are dividing over all these things. We have been brought into Christ in unity. There's no division. And those are minor, simple things. We're talking about racial divides. We're talking about ethnic divides here. We're talking about Greeks who were not a part of the community of God being brought into the community of God. I could go on, but the rest of Ephesians chapter two, again, beautifully illustrates this. Let me just read the last two verses, or rather, let me start in verse 20. having built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building being joined together is growing into a holy sanctuary in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Do you notice some of the present language in that? You are being built. It doesn't say you were built, like it's done. No, you're being built. You're being joined together. This is a process, and that's exactly what we see back in Colossians chapter 3, which you can go back to if you've not already. Christ has brought believers together. He has abolished that division between us. It no longer matters what your ethnic background is. It no longer matters how light or dark your skin is. It no longer matters if you speak one language or another. It no longer matters if you are rich or poor. It no longer matters what your status is in society. We are now in Christ. And the reason I'm bringing this up now is because I think it's important to see this renewal because of the verses that follow, right? So in the process of our renewal, we are becoming more and more like Christ. We are also growing in community and fellowship with other believers. Because we've been brought together in Christ, we are being built up, we are being joined together, we are being made new together, and so together, we put on the new man. We're going to see that as we live according to that resurrection status, We are doing so in community with others, and we see this throughout verses 12 through 17. And so this brings me to the fourth way, the fourth way that we live according to our resurrection status, and that is by putting on the new man. We see this in verses 12 and 13. Now, we've already discussed putting off the old man last week, but now we see the flip side to that, right? The counterpart to putting off the old man is putting on the new man. We aren't called, as I mentioned earlier, we aren't called to just put off and leave it there. We also put on something else. And so look at what Paul says in verses 12 and 13. So, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, bearing with one another and graciously forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. So we're to put on this new man, and this new man was first mentioned back in verse 10, but Paul is now describing in detail what this new man looks like, what the specifics are that we are putting on. You could think of this as individual pieces of Christian clothing that we are putting on. Or if you want a similar metaphor, you think of the armor of God, right? You have the armor of God that you're equipping. Well, this is your Christian clothing. These are Christian virtues that we are putting on because we have been made new. So before we get to the details though, let's consider who it is that's putting on this new man. Notice how verse 12 starts. So as the elect of God, holy and beloved, this new man can only be put on by those individuals, those who are the elect of God, or your translation might be God's chosen ones or those chosen by God, and who are holy and beloved. Notice how verse 12 starts. So, or your translation might say, put on then, or it might just say, therefore. This is all the same word. It's the same word that we saw back in verse five. It's the same word that we saw back in verse one. In verse one, therefore, if you have been raised up. Verse five, therefore, consider the members of your earthly body as dead, right? So now we see in verse 12, when it says so, it's saying therefore, so we ought to immediately say, Oh, this is tying us back to the previous verses. Now, I'm not gonna preach that sermon again. You just need to go back. That's why I read the text. That's all I'm gonna do, okay? But we need to go back and we need to look and say, okay, well, this new man that we're putting on is grounded in the previous verses, all right? We are to do this because of what Paul has already argued. And so if you have been raised up with Christ, this is what you're to be putting on. If you've been made new, you need to obey this command. I don't want us to miss this connection because it is those who have been raised up with Christ who are the elect, who are holy and beloved. Now these are titles that were originally designations for Israel in the Old Testament. Elect of God, holy, beloved. And then when we come to the New Testament, we see that these are also titles given to Christ and subsequently to us as believers. So we then, as believers, are the elect of God. We are chosen. We are called. Consider Paul's words in Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8, verse 28, a very famous passage. Many of us know it probably by heart. But it says, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose, because those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, He also justified. And those whom He justified, He also glorified. God's purpose for believers from before the foundation of the world was and is for us to be like Christ. We are being conformed into the image of His Son. We are called to be conformed to the image of His Son. We are called to be like Christ. God has chosen us to be like His Son. The commentator John Phillips says this. He says, God has set us apart from the unsaved. His purpose is and has been from all eternity that we should be like his dear son. Accordingly, those who accept Christ as Savior are constituted holy. This is done by God's own sovereign will. It is not the result of human merit or attainment. Listen, your status as the elect of God gives you no grounds for boasting except in Christ. What can you boast about? Can you boast about your own wisdom, about your own volition, about how you were smart enough to recognize your sin and you were able to make the decision to, you know what, I need to trust in Christ to be saved because I see that myself out of my own wisdom and my own insight. No, you recognize you are a sinner because Christ has opened your eyes. He has opened your heart so that you may see your wretchedness. And he has taken out then that heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh. He has chosen you and called you and regenerated you. And it is because of that that you are the elect of God, holy and beloved. It's not because you were special or had some kind of untapped potential. I think of, for instance, Moses' words, technically God's words in Deuteronomy through Moses to the people of Israel. In Deuteronomy 7, verses 7 and 8, Moses speaking to the children, he says, Yahweh did not set his affections on you, nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples. For you were fewest of all the peoples. but because Yahweh loved you and kept the oath which he swore to your fathers. Yahweh brought you out with a strong hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Now we might ask, did the Israelites save themselves and deliver themselves from Egypt? Of course not. God brought them out. Right? And it's not because of anything that they did. It's not because of how special or lovely or how numerous they were. In fact, we're told in Scripture that God chooses the weak things, the foolish things of the world. So next time you think you have something to boast about, remember, if you are a believer, God chose you because you were weak and foolish. You were nothing. You are only anything because of Him. It is only because of God's sovereign grace and His own purposes. We see that in Ephesians chapter 1, verses 3 and 4. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless. Do you see that? That, there's a reason, a purpose. He chose us from before the foundations of the world. Why? That we would be holy and blameless before Him, in love, by predestining us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He graciously bestowed on us in the Beloved. So in verse 12, Paul is reminding the Colossians of who they are in Christ. They have been raised up with Christ because God chose them for His own purposes to be conformed to the image of His dearly beloved Son. And these intimate designations then, elect of God, holy, and beloved, they should not only encourage us to cast off, to abandon that old way of life, But they should also inspire us then to embrace the new, to put on the new Christian garments that we are to be wearing, to be more like Christ. So what is this new way that we are to live? What does this new man look like? What are the characteristics of someone who is being conformed to the image of Christ? Well, he says it in the rest of verse 12, to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and graciously forgiving each other. Whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. Now, something to note about what Paul has listed here is that they are interpersonal virtues. These are things that are expressed within the community of believers. Remember, we are growing in communion and fellowship with others because Christ is all and in all. But also these virtues are in contrast to the vices that we looked at previously that we're to be putting off. In order to look like Christ, we not only need to take those things off, kill those sins in our lives, and put on these virtues that are listed. The things listed here help bring us into conformity with Christ. They make us look on the outside like we have already been made on the inside. We are new creations, and so we are supposed to act like it. I think of Paul in Philippians, he says, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work within you, both to will and to work for his own pleasure. In other words, there is an outward manifestation that we are to do, we are to act this way, we are to act the part that we have been made inside. Instead of letting wrath and anger and malice and slander and abusive speech, instead of letting all of those things shape how we interact with others, because if you'll notice, most if not all of those things are things that are interpersonal as well. When we get angry, what are we angry about? Normally it's with another person. When we're expressing malice, it's towards usually another person. When we are slandering, we're not slandering inanimate objects, we're slandering people. When we use abusive speech, what are we doing? We're putting other people down. We're not to be shaped by those things, our interactions. We should approach our relationships with a compassionate heart, with kindness, with humility, with gentleness, with patience. Now, what all do those things entail? Well, if you have a heart of compassion, think of this as love in action. If you just want a very simple base definition. Consider Jesus, for instance, who was so moved with compassion that he wept for people, he fed them, he healed them. Christians should be the greatest helpers then of the poor, the blind, the sick, the needy. We should be people who are defined by compassionate hearts. And then also kindness. This is a virtue of someone who is looking to the needs of others. How many times do we put ourselves before others though? I think of the Good Samaritan, for instance, in Luke chapter 10. He came upon this man who had been beaten, and this man just also happened to essentially be his enemy. And he takes this man, and he binds his wounds, and he takes him to an inn, and he provides for him. He spends a significant amount of his own money, and he cares for him, all at a personal cost to himself. We also see humility. I think of Philippians chapter 2 where Paul says, we all have this mind in Christ. And this mind is a mind of humility. It's a mind that we see demonstrated most fully in Christ and His incarnation when He came down and He humbled Himself and became a servant. We are esteeming others better than ourselves. We also see gentleness. This is, you could think of strength under control. Some translations have the word meekness, and I think that's accurate. It's a willingness to suffer injury rather than to inflict it. We also see patience. Have you ever prayed for patience? From the chuckles, I imagine you were very quickly frustrated after you did. because the Lord always loves answering prayers that are in accordance with His will. When we pray for patience, oftentimes we get tested so quickly, but this is a word related to how we respond to people, not to circumstances. We are called to be long-suffering, and I like that word long-suffering because it has the idea of suffering long. And I think when we consider that, we can say, well, I feel like I'm being patient. Yeah, but are you suffering long? I've been waiting in this drive-through for two minutes. I mean, okay, then no, you're not being patient. God brings people into our lives that give us opportunities to express all of these virtues. Essentially, we should view people the way that Jesus did when He walked amongst us. He had compassion for people. He spoke and acted in kindness. The very act of setting aside His glory and coming and dwelling amongst us was an act of humility. And when we approach people with these attitudes, we also see them in action. And you can look there in verse 13. bearing with one another, and graciously forgiving each other. Whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as the Lord graciously forgave you, so also should you. Look, if you are putting on those virtues that are listed in verse 12, then you are going to be acting the way we're called to act in verse 13. You're going to bear with one another. You're going to be forgiving of one another. Right? I mean, you think of the idea of bearing with one another. It means that we are enduring hardship or difficulty with or for someone or because of someone out of a concern for the well-being for their soul. We forgive each other and that sometimes might seem like the hardest thing for us to put on as Christians. But it's also one of the most important because without forgiveness, we ourselves would be dead in sin. But it's because Christ forgave us that we are to demonstrate forgiveness to others. Forgiveness is an action based on choice, not on emotion. Not every relationship that has had hurt and pain will be restored, but every relationship needs forgiveness. And if you fail to forgive, not only Do you carry this unnecessary reminder of your hurt which can lead to bitterness and anger and wrath, but you are also falling short of God's command to forgive? That last phrase in verse 13 I think is the key. Listen, we are never going to forgive anyone as much as God in Christ has forgiven us. How much did God forgive us for our sins? He forgave us completely. So if we live then according to our resurrection status by putting on the new man which demonstrates these qualities, we will be living resurrected lives. but we also live a resurrected life by being unified in Christ. And really, I could make this point be the summary of all of what we're reading, but I'm narrowing it down a little bit. We see this in verses 14 through 16. Look there if you would. Above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God. Now on top of all these virtues that we've went over, we're to put on love. You could think of this as the overcoat maybe, right? You're putting on this overcoat over everything. It's kind of binding it all together. It's holding it all together. It is that outermost piece because of the way love is tied to every single thing. We sang about this earlier in our song, The Gift of Love. Listen to what Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verses one through three. He says, if I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. All right, so you can immediately see how this is tied to what we have already been looking at, right? We've put off what? Slander and abusive speech, right? Well, even if you start talking nicely to other people, if you start giving compliments and encouraging people, but you're not doing it with love, it's pointless. He continues, he says, if I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but I do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, Immediately, this should point us right back to what we've been seeing with hearts of compassion and kindness and humility and gentleness and patience and bearing with one another and graciously forgiving one another, right? If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, if I am as compassionate as a person can be, if I am as kind as an individual can be, if I surrender my body to be burned, in other words, if I am willing to even die for what I believe, but I don't have love, it profits me nothing. Love undergirds these virtues and makes them meaningful. So then love is displayed in our lives when we have put on these virtues and love is binding it all together in perfect unity and you see it in the body of Christ. Love is displayed in all our lives when we put these things on. If you're going to live in community with other people... How many of you live in community with other people? Every hand should have went up. Let me say this. How many of you don't live in community with other people? It should be nobody, right? You've got to pay bills. You've got to reach out to individuals in some way, right? And just the fact that you are here shows me that you're in community with people. If we're going to live in community with others, then love has to be present amongst us. Otherwise, listen, you will not be in community You will be in conflict. You will be stirred up to anger. You will be tempted to slander. You will be tempted to speak down to one another. But love ties all those positive virtues together so that we truly care for one another. Why? Because Christ so loved us. to maintain that unity which love bonds together, we have to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. Again, it is through the Spirit of God that we are able to exhibit any of these virtues that we've listed, that we've named. So because then we are raised with Christ, because we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit, because we have been made new, set on a new path in life, It is because of that that we can have peace with others. Romans 8, verse 6, Paul says, For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit... Now again, this is the kind of mindset that we saw last week that we're to have. The mind that is set on the Spirit. The mind that is set on the Spirit is life and peace. According to Paul, the peace of Christ isn't supposed to just be an afterthought in our lives. Rather, it's to rule in our hearts. Our default attitude then should be one of peace. We should be seeking peace. In fact, in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew chapter 5, when you go through the Beatitudes, we get down to the end and it says that we are peacemakers. Blessed are the peacemakers. Listen, we are called to be those who make peace. Why? Because peace ought to be ruling in our lives. Why should we be so concerned about peace? Because, praise God, through Christ, we have peace ourselves with God. This peace that we have is not just some kind of inward personal peace. I'm not talking about sitting down and going into some kind of meditative trance and trying to find that inner solitude and some kind of transcendental moment that I am surpassing everything else and I finally reach that state of Nirvana. I'm not talking about that. I'm not seeking some transcendental peace of mind for my own sake. Rather, I am seeking peace for the sake of the body because of Christ. The peace of Christ should govern us as believers. But how often do we want to quarrel with one another? How often do we want to fight with one another? How many times have you heard about churches splitting? How many times have you heard about people getting upset within the body and leaving? And sometimes there is valid reason for that to happen. But so often it is pettiness because we are not bound together in love and letting peace rule in our hearts. And so the members of the body must work in harmony with one another. in order to be of any benefit to the advancement of the kingdom. And this is possible, again, because of the peace that we have with Christ. Because He stood in our place, and He took upon Himself the judgment that we rightly deserved. And because He has done that, we now have peace with God. Those who have trusted in Christ then have great reason for Paul's command at the end of verse 15. You see what he says? It's almost like this thing that's just inserted in there. Some translations make it its own separate sentence. But he says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. And be thankful. Thankfulness is to be expressed not only to God for all that He has done, but also amongst the community of believers. And we as a body ought to corporately express our gratitude towards God. And how can we do that? Look at verse 16, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. Now what does that mean? Well, I think it certainly means that we are to be reading and studying and meditating and memorizing and obeying the Word of God. But I think this is also a way of saying that we should be filled with the Spirit. That we should let the Spirit of God fill us through the Word of Christ. I say that because this particular section in Colossians parallels a passage in Ephesians. In Ephesians chapter 5, Paul is writing and he says, And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit. speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father, and being subject to one another in the fear of Christ. And then he goes on and talks about husbands and wives. And just as he does here in Colossians, which we're not getting into, he goes on to talk about husbands and wives and the family relationships. And so there's this connection, right? The Word of Christ is dwelling within us. And so there's this correlation between the Word of Christ dwelling within you and being filled with the Spirit. So we can think of them, I think, synonymously. Because as you are filled with the Spirit, you will certainly be letting Scripture saturate your being. And as you're dwelling on the Word of God and absorbing it, you will be filled with the Spirit. And both of those things, being filled with the Spirit and letting the Word of Christ dwell in you richly, they both lead to the same outcome. They both are going in the same direction. As the Word of Christ dwells within us, we are, with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God. Again, we see the unity of the body and mind here. In a healthy church, there's going to be instruction and correction toward one another, and there's also going to be a worshiping of God together. What's amazing is that as we sing every Sunday morning, as a body of believers, we are doing what we are called to do here. We are instructing and admonishing one another with these songs. Now, I don't want to get into a distinction between psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. Obviously, we know what psalms are. When it says hymns and spiritual songs, these could just be another way of saying psalms, or it could be referring to just doctrinally rich songs. But either way, the point is that we are living in community, worshiping together, and instructing and admonishing one another with these things. We sing then for the benefit of the body. Do you realize that? When we are singing corporately, earlier when we were all standing and the music was playing, the words were on the screen, that was a moment for you to participate in what we are called to do here. We sing for the benefit of the body. So we live according to our resurrection status, by putting on the new man, by being unified in Christ, and finally, by doing all to God's glory. We see this in 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. Now, I'll be brief on this final point, because I think in some sense it's rather self-explanatory. However, this does not mean that it's less important. On the contrary, it is vitally important to every other point that I've made, both this week and last week. Everything that we do should be done in the name of the Lord in such a way that it is glorifying to God, that it is expressing gratitude to God. And we can summarize this, I think, simply by saying that everything we do should be done to His glory. There's a Latin phrase, and I'm sure several of you know it, but it's soli deo gloria, and it means, to God be the glory. Everything we do should glorify God. Paul says this in 1 Corinthians 10, he says, whether then you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. When we consider the fact that we are risen with Christ to new life, and that we should live accordingly, we might ask ourselves, how then should we live in our day-to-day life? Well, when you go to do anything, ask yourself this, is what I'm about to do or say glorifying to God? How many things would you not do if you asked yourself that? How many times would you say, is it glorifying to God to be angry at this person? Is it glorifying to God to slander that person? Is it glorifying to God to eat this meal? Is it glorifying to God to take this job? Is it glorifying to God to miss this church opportunity of service? Right? If you asked yourself that continually, do you think that your actions would be different? It reminds me of the old bracelets that everybody used to wear, had four letters on it, W, W, J, D, right? What would Jesus do? It's a very similar concept. Ask yourself, are your conversations glorifying to God? Is your work ethic glorifying to God? Are your eating habits glorifying to God? Are your recreational activities glorifying to God? Now the list could go on and on and on, but you get the idea. Are you taking off the old and putting on the new? Are you dressing for success in the Christian life? Why? because God deserves all glory and all praise. Because of His great love and His rich mercy, because He put on flesh and came and dwelt amongst us and lived the life that we should have lived, and He died the death that we rightly deserved, and then He was raised again on the third day, giving us new life, He deserves all glory, all praise, all worship. If you have never trusted in Christ for salvation, then you need to recognize today that you are in sin, that you are lost and without hope. You cannot do it on your own. I've tried emphasizing that all throughout these messages. This is not something that you can do. It is only because of the work of God in you. And so you look and you think, am I trusting in Christ? Do I believe that He gave His life to pay the price for my sins and to give me new life? Am I willing to set myself aside and ask God to have control of me? Am I willing to turn myself over completely to His Lordship, recognizing that He has all authority? You can never in your own power be good enough to earn favor with God. It is only because of what Christ Jesus has done on the cross of Calvary that you can have hope and a reconciliation with God. So I implore you, trust in Him today. Glorify God as the great Savior of sinners. And if you have trusted in Christ, then glorify God by living the life that you were called to. He has told you to put off the old and to put on the new, and He has given His Spirit to empower you to do so. So cling to Christ and ask Him for the strength and the endurance to run the race that is set before you. Let's pray. Father, we come to you so grateful for all that you have done for us. Lord, in recognizing that we, in and of ourselves, have no, Lord, have nothing to boast about. We have no power, we have no wisdom, But God, you who are full of mercy and grace and love, Lord, who gave your son so that we may live. Lord, we praise you and want to glorify you. So we ask that you would help us. Help us to live accordingly as this passage has instructed us. Grant us the power to do what you have commanded. And God, we love you and we praise you for your sacrifice and for your spirit. And we ask these things in your name. Amen. Would you stand?