Well, I expected to resume our study in Colossians beginning at chapter 3, verse 12. But the first word of verse 12 threw me for a loop. Verse 12 begins with the word, therefore. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another." So the apostle gives us these instructions, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bear with one another, forgive one another. But he introduces these instructions with the word, therefore. And by that word, he indicates that he issues these instructions on the basis of what he has just finished saying. And so as I began to prepare for this morning, I was directed back to verses 9 through 12. And as I contemplated these preceding verses, I realized that I had left a lot unsaid that is meant to prepare us receive the instructions given in verse 12. Put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another, forgiving one another. And so I want to take the time this morning to unfold more of the truth revealed in verses 9 through 11 so that you are encouraged and better prepared to receive the instructions of verse 12 following. Through his apostle, the Lord Jesus Christ himself has given you this help, and I don't want to deprive you of it. You are instructed to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering, to bear with one another, to forgive one another. So with obedience to these instructions as our aim, let's return again to verses 9 through 11. In these verses, we have the command, do not lie to one another. Now, the apostle could have simply said, do not lie. I mean, that would be good instruction, wouldn't it? But he doesn't. He says, do not lie to one another. That addition indicates that the Apostle at this moment in the letter is thinking primarily about how we relate to one another within the church. Do you see that? His focus is on the behavior toward one another within the community of believers. Do not lie to one another. And then the Apostle does two things at once. He does that in the words appended to the command. Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man and have put on the new man. In these words added to the command, the apostle does two things. First of all, he explains how we are able to obey this command. We are able to obey this command because we have put off the old man and have put on the new man. These realities enable us to do what he commands. And then with the very same words, the apostle is explaining why we ought to obey this command. Obedience to this command is consistent with who we are. now that we have put off the old man and have put on the new man. He's calling us to live in a manner consistent with who we are. And so with these words added to the command, the apostle explains both how we can obey and why we should obey. Now, the last time we looked at this passage, we did spend some time examining the apostle's concept of the new man. But I think we need to expand on what was said. And hopefully, as we do so, we will clarify our understanding, and we will more fully appreciate the truth of this doctrine. And that appreciation will serve us well as we seek to put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and long-suffering. So let's think about this a little more. The apostle says in verse 10 that you have put on the new man. Then notice he himself offers a further description of the new man. Actually, he offers two descriptions of the new man. The first description completes verse 12. You have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him. That's the first description. The second description comes in verse 11. The new man where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all." Now it's that second description that I want to focus our attention on. You have put on the new man where there is neither Greek nor Jew. The Apostle is using rich metaphorical language here. In fact, he's blending two metaphors together, which means we have to work a little harder to understand what he's saying. The first metaphor is the reference to the new man. And in a few moments, as promised, we'll focus our attention on that metaphor. But right now, I direct your attention to a second metaphor. Notice that the apostle introduces this second description of the new man with the word where. You have put on the new man where there is neither Greek nor Jew. You see it? Here, the word where is used metaphorically. The apostle does not have a geographical location in his mind. So this is our second metaphor. Metaphorically speaking, the new man is a location. A location where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free. So the apostle invites us to conceive of the new man as a place where there is a plurality of people without alienating distinctions. Let me repeat that. The apostle describes the new man as a place where there is a plurality of people without alienating distinctions. And that description can be broken down into two parts. First, the new man is a place where there is a plurality of people. And second, the new man is a place without alienating distinctions. Let's think about the first thought for a moment. The new man, the new man is a place where there is a plurality of people. That's a difficult thought to wrap our heads around. It's kind of a jarring use of a metaphor. You may want to ask, why would the apostle choose to bring these two metaphors together? What in the world is he talking about? Well, if we read this passage in the context of the whole letter, I think it becomes a little easier to grasp his point. So let's turn back to Colossians chapter 1, in verse 18. And he, that is Christ, is the head of the body, the church. Christ is the head of the body, which is the church. Now the emphasis in this statement is that Christ has authority over the church. He calls the shots. He is the head. But that assertion rests on the underlying assumption of the union between the head and the body. Together, the head and the body form one man, one new man. Now turn to Colossians chapter 2, verse 19. Colossians chapter 2, verse 19. The apostle warns of those who are not holding fast to the head, who is Christ, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with a growth with the increase that is from God. So here, the underlying assumption of chapter 1, verse 18, is brought to the forefront and stressed. The focus is on the vital union. between Christ and all the members of his body, between Christ and all the members of his church. In terms of the passage we're studying this morning, they form one man, one new man. So in the light of these two passages, let us consider once again how the apostle describes the new man. The new man is a place with a plurality of people with Christ as their head. I want you to think about that for a moment. If the metaphor of Christ as head with the church as his body speaks of the vital union of Christ with his people, and it does, then how much more does this term, the new man, speak of Christ's solidarity with his people? Why do I say that? I say it because this expression does not even make the distinction between the head and the body. The identification between Christ and his church is complete. There's just the new man. You know what thrills me about that thought? Paul is speaking as an apostle of Jesus Christ. He is speaking for the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle is communicating to us how our Savior thinks about his relationship with his people. Our Savior thinks of himself with his people as one new man. In the very next sentence of our text, we will be told to put on humility. But here in verse 10, I call you to marvel at the humility of our Savior. He identifies himself so completely with his people that there is just the one new man. Is there anything in that to melt your heart? So we've considered the simple expression, the new man. Now let's consider the statement in which it occurs. You have put on the new man. The apostle is describing As we said last time, the apostle is describing what happens at conversion, at the moment someone puts his faith in Christ. What happens at that moment? You have put off the old man with his deeds, and you have put on the new man. If you have been truly converted and saved from your sins, then you have put on the new man. Now, we need to think about this statement in light of all that we've learned about the new man this morning. Who is the new man? It is not just Christ, by himself, divorced from his people. When the apostle speaks of the new man, he refers to Christ and his church as a single entity. they are joined together as one in the new man. Do you see the practical implications of that? Remember that as we talk about putting on the new man, we are talking about what happens at conversion. Can you now see that putting on Christ, enveloping yourself in Christ, entails enveloping yourself in his church. Conversion not only clothes you in Christ, conversion clothes you in his church. Why do I say that? It's because as far as Christ is concerned, the two have become one. As far as Christ is concerned, there is just the one new man. You cannot separate what Christ has joined together. You cannot separate Christ from his church. They are one flesh. They are one man. And it is that one man that you put on a conversion. You have put on the new man. And so you cannot put on Christ without at the same time putting on his church. Can you see that? And do you understand what that means? It means that when you deny yourself membership in a church, you deny your own conversion. By holding the church off at arm's length, you are saying that you have not put on the new man. And by that denial, you are denying your own conversion. You are denying that you have clothed yourself in Christ, who identifies himself so completely with his church on the basis of our text. How can your decision be construed any other way? Remember, this is the mind of Christ on the matter. And at the very least, when you don't join the membership of a church, you're working against the grain of your own conversion. And what happens when you don't work with the grain as you sand a beautiful piece of wood? What happens when you sand across the grain You mar the beauty of the wood surface. And so it is with you. When you don't join the membership of a church, you cut across the grain of your own conversion, and it mars its beauty. And thereby, you mar the beauty of the new man, which is to say, you are obscuring the beauty of Christ. Can you live with the knowledge that you are obscuring the beauty of Christ? And I must say that as far as your own welfare is concerned, that's the best case scenario. The situation could be far worse than that. Listen to what R.C. Sproul has to say in his little book called Why Should I Join a Church? Sproul says, I've heard countless people say, look, I'm a Christian. I'm a religious person. But I am not a member of any institutional church. I don't need to be a member of an institutional church. Sproul goes on. If you say that, then it is possible that you are a Christian, but it's not very likely. Why? Because when we look at the New Testament, even a cursory reading tells us that when Christ redeems an individual, he never leaves that individual in isolation." Certainly our text here in Colossians chapter 3 verse 10 supports Sproul's assessment. And so I want to encourage every believer here to join the membership of some faithful church. It may not be here, but we hope it will be. But you need to join a church and commit yourself to that body. Confirm the reality of your conversion. Work with the grain of your conversion, not against it. Now we must move on. Let's return again to the Apostle's second description of the new man found in Colossians chapter 3 verse 11. You have put on the new man where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free. Remember how we rephrased this description earlier. We saw that the Apostle describes the new man metaphorically as a location. And we said that the apostle invites us to conceive of the new man as a place where there is a plurality of people without alienating distinctions. The apostle is confronting an assumption that is often made in the church. He's confronting the assumption that the new man is a place where these distinctions, these privileged cultures and classes, these categories of superiority still exist. And the apostle denies the validity of that assumption. On the contrary, the new man is where these distinctions no longer matter. Think of how relevant this particular description of the new man is to the church in our culture. Right now, our nation seems to thrive on making all kinds of distinctions that alienate us from one another. And yet our nation is not thriving. It's tearing itself apart at the seams. In how many ways do we distinguish ourselves from one another in order to ridicule the other and assert our own superiority? We alienate ourselves from one another on the basis of so-called race, when in reality there is only one race, the human race. On the one hand, we have white supremacists. On the other hand, we have those who clamor on about white privilege, who think that to be white is to be wrong. We alienate ourselves from one another on the basis of our native cultures. We divide ourselves into classes, the rich, the poor, the middle class, and every class finds fault with the others. We divide ourselves into victims and oppressors. And oddly enough, people seek to assign themselves to as many victim classes as possible because victimhood itself is considered inherently virtuous. We have the civilized and the uncouth, the elites and the deplorables, city folks and country folks, and on and on it goes. We have this mad thirst for alienating distinctions and categories of superiority. And yet it's plain to see how all these fissures are fracturing our society and causing the disintegration of our nation. This is the place where we live. But here's the good news. The new man is a new location where there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave-free. Location, location, location. How important is location? The new man is where Every barrier is torn down. The new man is where all are reconciled and where peace is found. The new man is where God's new creation has already begun. God is making all things new and it starts here in this location, the location of the new man. The Apostle is coming back around to this truth he stated in Colossians chapter 1 beginning at verse 18 where he says, For it pleased the Father that in him all the fullness should dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross. Christ as head of the church is the beginning of the new creation and he is the one whom the Father has designated to reconcile all things to himself and Christ makes peace through the blood of his cross. The Apostle expounds the same doctrine in greater detail with regard to the division between Jew and Gentile in Ephesians chapter 2 beginning at verse 14. Ephesians chapter 2 Verse 14. For he himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in his flesh the enmity that is the law and commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in himself one new man from the two. thus making peace, and that he might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. Christ himself is our peace. He has torn down the wall of separation. He has abolished in his flesh the hostility so that he might create in himself one new man from the two. And in this way he has brought peace. This is true not only with respect to Jew and Gentile, but also with regard to every other hostile division. The new man where Christ brings peace through the blood of his cross. How we need to appreciate that fact. Always remember what it cost our Savior to tear down every wall that separates us. His own blood. And don't you dare attempt to erect a wall that Christ has torn down. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, those are all attempts to build the walls. Put them all away. Do not lie to one another. Now, that brings us back to where we started. You have put on the new man. where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another. There is one new man, a new creation, a new location. There are a plurality of people with no alienating distinctions. There is no room here in this new location for anger, wrath, malice. Slander. This is a place of blood-bought peace and harmony. So respect your surroundings. Remember that the blood of Christ was shed to bring reconciliation and peace to this location, the new man. Remember the mind of Christ with regard to the new man. Consider how completely he identifies himself with his church. And then put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long-suffering. Bear with one another. Forgive one another. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which also you were called in one body. Let's pray. Father, we know that peace on earth depends, first of all, on peace with God. So we pray for anyone here who still alienated from God. We pray, Father, that they would seek to be reconciled to you. And Father, we pray for those of us who know you. We thank you for this passage. We thank you for this great truth that Christ so completely identifies himself with us. Father, we ask that you would help us to remember this and to be guided by it in our dealings with one another. And may the world see in our relating to one another the work of God wrought on Earth. Peace on Earth be gone. And may they be attracted to the one who is our peace, the Lord Jesus Christ. We ask it in Christ's name.