The New Man at Church – Colossians 3:15-17

Lesson # 22 – Colossians verse by verse. This message covers 3 key principles for the New Man and his relationship to the local church.

1. The rest of this chapter covers what we could call “The Relationships of the New Man.” We see how the new man is to behave in the 3 main areas of his life:
   • Church Life (Vs. 15-17)
   • Family Life (Vs. 18-21)
   • Work Life (Vs. 22 – 4:1)
2. All of these commands are achieved through the sufficiency of Christ in our lives (2:9-10)
3. In these verses there are 3 clear principles for the New Man’s Church life.

Submission (Vs. 15-16a)

To the Peace of God (15)

1. The Definition of Peace (15a)
   1. ‘peace’ = “Peace is that inner calmness of emotions and thoughts which rests on the assurance that God is too good to be unkind and too wise to make mistakes.” (Gromacki)
   2. “of God” = peace that is Divine, a fruit of the Holy Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith.” (Gal. 5:22) Note: If there is a lack of peace in our lives, it means there is something wrong with our relationship with the Holy Spirit of God.
2. The Operation of Peace (15b)
   1. ‘rule’ = to umpire. Background: Judge presiding over athletic games. “The Lord’s peace, received and enjoyed, is to decide every internal debate between self and God, self and others; to give its casting vote always on the side of holy love.” (Handley Moule)
   2. ‘hearts’ = the inner man, the seat of the emotions & thoughts
   3. Psalm 94:19 “In the multitude of my thoughts within me thy comforts delight my soul.”
3. The Position of Peace (15c)
   1. Called to peace in salvation
   2. Unified through peace in one body
4. The Companion of Peace (15d)
   1. ‘thankfulness’
   2. A key theme of the Epistle & Paul’s Epistle’s in general

To the Word of Christ (16a)

1. It dominates our lives: ‘dwell’ = to be at home in
2. It permeates our lives: ‘richly’ = abundance, quality
3. Note: The quality of our devotional lives will affect the quality of our worship life as a church. It will have a profound effect upon the spiritual tone of the local church body.

Singing (Vs. 16)

1. The Foundation – The Word of God. (16a)
   1. John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
   2. True worship cannot be divorced from conformity to Scripture.
   3. Note the parallel passage in Eph. 5:18-25 and the command to “be filled with the Spirit.” The Word and the Spirit work together in our inner lives to produce godly worship.
2. The Aim – Instruction (16b)
   1. ‘teaching’ = instruction, biblical content
   2. ‘admonishing’ = to warn, exhort
   3. “one another” = others centered as opposed to me centered. Literally “yourselves”
   4. “…let all things be done unto edifying.” I. Cor. 14:26
3. The Medium – Psalms, Hymns & Spiritual Songs (16c)
   1. Psalms (yalmoi:V) – O.T. Psalms with instrumentation (See Lk. 20:42; 24:44; Acts 1:20; 13:33) James 5:13 “Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.”
   2. Hymns (u{mnoiV) – Songs of praise. Matt. 26:30 – Christ & His disciples sung a hymn on Passover night just prior to His crucifixion.
   3. Spiritual Songs (wj/dai:V) – Songs in general but qualified by the word ‘spiritual’ distinguishing them from carnal/fleshly. From Rev. 5:9, they seem to emphasis personal testimony.
   4. Note: Consider the limit & the scope of these
   5. Quote: “The new-paradigm church has caught the wave of our times and has created a church for the entertainment age. Rather than expose and correct the superficiality and wrong mindedness of a generation addicted to fun, amusement and self, the modern church has all too often chosen to go with the flow and give ‘them’ what they want…it is very difficult to distinguish what the modern church is offering from what the secular world is offering.” (Gary Gilley, This little church went to market, p. 33.)
4. The Motive – the heart filled with grace (16d)
5. The Focus – the Lord (16e)
   1. Illustration: Revival of temple worship under Hezekiah – “And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the instruments ordained by David king of Israel. And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped.” (II. Chronicles 29:27-29)
   2. The Lamb was the focal point of this worship service!

Service (Vs. 17)

1. Forms of Service (17a)
   1. ‘word’ = what we say (our lips)
   2. ‘deed’ = what we do (our limbs)
2. Quality of Service (17b)
   Note: As we think of serving “in the name of the Lord Jesus” we learn something of what is to be the quality of our service.
   1. Service that focuses on Christ
   2. Service that glorifies Christ
   3. Service that conforms to Christ
   4. Note: Doing all things in the name of Jesus, will act as a spiritual filter that removes carnal, man-centered service. It is to act in a way that conforms to Christ’s character and Divine will.
3. Spirit of Service (17c)
   1. “giving thanks” = part of our Christian walk (1:12)
   2. “God and the Father” = The focus of thanksgiving offered in the local church
   3. “by him” = Christ is the mediator of our thanksgiving
   4. Note: Thankful hearts are usually serving hearts!

Conclusion

1. What dominates our inner lives? Is it the Peace of God & the Word of God?
2. Is there any output/flow through in our Christian lives to others in the worship life of the local church?
3. Are we engaged in service for Christ in the local church? Who is the focus of our service? Does it glorify Christ?

Sermon 22 of 28 in Colossians Series

Sermon Audio Id: 123162126550