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Epistle of Paul to the Colossians VIII
Fred R. Coulter—January 22, 1994
Now, this brings us to Colossians 3:17—we left off
last time with v 16, and we want to cover all the way through and into chapter
four today; and this will probably be the last in the series. And it gives us a
total of eleven [transcriber’s correction] study lessons altogether
in the book of Colossians.
Colossians 3:17: “And in everything,
whatever you may be doing, in word, (whether in speech or written
communication) or in work (any deed or endeavor), do all things in and through
the name of the Lord Jesus, our Master and Ruler, giving thanks and praise of
gratitude to God, even the Father, by and through Him.” We’re going to take
this particular section and amplify it quite a little bit.
But, first of all let’s go to Mark, the twelfth chapter,
because the most important thing that we need to realize is that Christianity
is not a religion—though it is defined as a religion by people in the
world; though it is defined, sometimes by us as a religion in comparison to
other religions. So in that particular sense it is a religion inasmuch as
people think of religion as when you are worshiping God or when you are
studying His Word and things like this. But true Christianity is more than a
religion. It’s just like this, Colossians 3:17: “…and in everything whatsoever
you may be doing in word (whether in speech or written communication) or in
work (any deed or endeavor), do all things in and through the name of the Lord
Jesus, our Master and Ruler, giving thanks and praise of gratitude to God, even
the Father by and through Him.”
That’s just another way of expressing Mark 12:30, where it
says: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart…”
So, what we’re doing here in understanding about
Christianity, as we have heard in the past: it is a way of life—but it is
a way of life which gives us direction in everything that we do. So, in other
words, when we say ‘Amen’ at the end of Sabbath services, that does not end our
responsibility; nor have we fulfilled our responsibility to God by just being a
warm body someplace on the Sabbath, because we know it’s the Sabbath day. It is
a whole way of life and it involves everything we think and everything we do,
and our whole attitude toward every minute of every day, if we could look at it
that way.
That’s why Jesus said—and this is the great and
overall and first primary commandment—“…‘you shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and
with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment…. [and we know
the rest of it] …And the second is like unto it…” (vs
30-31)—and so forth.
Now, let’s go back to Colossians 1:27, because here we are
going to see the way that this is possible. Now, it’s not possible for people
in the world to do this, because they don’t have the Spirit of God and they
don’t have Christ in them. So it makes it much, much more difficult for them.
But here is the whole premise. Here is the whole thing concerning the book of
Colossians. We’re just going to take the very last bit of it, “…which is Christ
in you the hope of…glory.” That’s the whole focus of this book: Christ in
You! If Christ is in you, with the Spirit of God:
- then you can love
God,
- then you can serve God,
- then you can worship
God,
- and then you can,
with everything you do—whether it’s in word or deed, or in speech and
communication—give thanks and praise to God the Father.
And this then is how we glorify God. This is
how then God works through us and in us and develops the character of Christ
that He wants us to have. So this then is what we are going to carry forward on
in, past this physical life into the Kingdom of God and by the power of the
resurrection from the dead.
So, it involves a whole way of life. Now, I’m going to give
you a little bit of an assignment here that you can do in studying the Epistles
of Paul. I want you go ahead and survey the Epistles of Paul and I want you to
go ahead and look at all of the sections. He’s got a section in almost every
epistle, giving instruction on this day-to-day, how do we then love God
and serve Him and do everything to glorify Him. There’s a part of
chapter in almost every Epistle of Paul.
Now, let’s go to Romans 12 and see exactly what I’m saying here;
because Rom. 12 is that part of the book of Romans which does this. It gives us
the day-to-day:
- The instructions on
how to get along with each other.
- The instructions on
how to grow and overcome.
But also notice how it starts out in Romans 12:1: “I
[beseech] exhort you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God… [so he is
entreating, he is beseeching. Notice, it’s not with the whips of God.
It’s the mercies of God.] …to present your bodies a living
sacrifice… [That’s what it means. In ‘whatever you do in word or in deed, do
all in the name of the Lord Jesus.’ We’re a living sacrifice.] …Holy… [We’re
Holy because of the Holy Spirit that God has given to us. We’re Holy because
we’re sanctified in Christ; we are sanctified in the Father; we’re sanctified
by His Word of Truth.] …and well pleasing [acceptable] to God, which is
your [reasonable] spiritual service.”
Then he goes on to explain how we do this—v 2: “Be not
conformed to this world…” Oh, that the Churches of God would understand that!
Right now the biggest problem we have within the Churches of God is that they
are trying to be conformed to this world; accepted by this world; thought well
of in the world. Well, if you’re going to serve Christ, Jesus said that the
world will hate you. And don’t be surprised at that! So, we should not go and
try and be accepted by the world, conformed to the world, adapt our whole
lifestyle to the world. And along those lines let’s understand something that
was just announced in one of the major Churches of God which is that: the
Passover should no longer be called the
Passover but it should be called the Lord’s Supper. Now that, brethren, is conforming to the world! God says don’t be conformed to the world.
Now every other so-called Christian religion in the world calls what they do in
their counterfeit Passover, they call it the Lord’s Supper or the Eucharist. So
if a Church of God does that then, they are conforming to the world.
But here’s what we need to do on
an individual basis, and on a collective basis, and on a church basis: “…but be you
transformed… [and ‘transformed’ means to be changed in a process. And
this process is]: …by the renewing of your mind in order that you
may prove what is well pleasing and good, and the perfect will of God.”
So, notice how Paul always gives this kind of introduction; very similar to
what he did back in Col. 3:17. Here in Rom. 12:1-2, this is how he sets the
stage for the whole rest of the chapter; that we are to have our minds renewed;
and that is, obviously, with the Spirit of God. And we are to be constantly
proving ‘what is good and what is acceptable and the perfect will of God.’
Now, let’s continue on, v 3: “For I say through the grace
that was given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think… [would that would be the motto of all the
ministers in the Churches of God. and remember, the Apostle Paul had certainly
the right attitude on that, and he said this: there is nothing that you
didn’t receive. And that is true the more I think on that, and the
longer I really let it dwell in my mind, the more I realize that there isn’t a
single thing that we didn’t receive of God! The problem is in the situation
that the whole structure that has been in the Church that we’re familiar with,
has always been one of comparison, one of who is of this rank or that rank, or
whatever it may be, and then they get to thinking more highly of themselves
than they ought to. Now, how did Paul think of himself? He said, ‘I’m the least
of all the saints, and that I should be called an apostle. I am the sinner. I
persecuted the Church.’ So the Apostle Paul set us the example in that.] …but
to think with [soberly] sound-mindedness… [and that means properly] …as
God has divided to each one a measure of faith. For even as we have many
members in one body… [that is the whole church] …but all members do not have
the same function [office]… [and that means the function and participation in
the body] …likewise, we, being many, are one body in Christ, and each one
members of one another” (vs 3-5).
And this is always important for us to remember because
ministers and deacons and members are all brethren together in Christ! And if
we keep that in mind, then we’re not going to get the over-lordship; then we’re
not going to create a hierarchy; then we’re not going to have the things then
which separate each other within the Church. And it’s quite a shame—and
I’ve experienced this, and you’ve experienced it—you’ve gone to attend
Sabbath services in a congregation and the church is divided. You have this
group over here and this group over here and this group over here and some
people are included, and some people are excluded. And the reason being is that
they’re making a difference one with another, and they are really not
understanding that God has called us all into one body and we are all brethren.
Now v 6 shows the difference—and there are some
differences: “But each one has different gifts according to the grace that is
given to us… [Notice how these gifts come. They come by the ‘grace that
is given to us.’ Again, whatever we have we have received. It is not
something to say, ‘Well, this person has this; and this person has this great
personality and all this sort of thing, therefore, he ought to be thus an such.’
Well, every time I’ve seen that done, where men are ordained and hands laid on
them for whatever reason, and they are looking at the physical things, I have
seen that they collapse, spiritually, somewhere down the road; because whatever
we have it’s]: …according ‘to the grace that is given to us—whether
prophecy… [and that means inspired preaching or teaching] …let us prophesy…
[can also mean prophecy, too.] …according to the [proportion] measure of faith…” Now, what this does, this helps us to really
understand that whatever the grace is, whatever the gift is, whatever is done,
it’s according to faith! And then
- it must be exercised
in the spirit;
- it must be exercised
in faith;
- it must be exercised
with the humility that God wants us to have.
Or, v 7: “Or service [ministry or deaconing—that is
the original Greek there: ‘diakonos’] …let us tend to service; or the
one who is teaching, let him tend to teaching… [concentrate on that] …or
the one who is encouraging, let him tend to encouragement… [exhort, to
help, to uplift, to bring the body of Christ, through inspiration of God’s Holy
Spirit, into the perfection that God wants it to be] …the one who is giving, let
it be with [simplicity] generosity… [liberally—and that has got to be
from the heart as God motivates and inspires the person to do it.] …the one who
is taking the lead [oversees], let it be with diligence; the one who is
showing mercy, let it be with cheerfulness” (vs 7-8). And that’s a
challenge—isn’t it? We go to God and we beg for mercy for us; and if
someone asks mercy back from us again (as we saw last week) sometimes we don’t
do it that way. So, “let it be with cheerfulness.”
Verse 9: “Let love be without hypocrisy
[dissimulation]… [Now there’s a whole lesson to learn. There’s a whole challenge—isn’t
it? In other words, you don’t hate someone in your heart and put on a pretense
and dissimulate and pretend that you like and love someone. That’s what Judas
Iscariot did; and he came and betrayed Jesus with a kiss, which is the greatest
hypocrisy and dissimulation if there ever was one.] …abhorring that which is
evil and cleaving to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned
toward one another in brotherly love. Let each esteem the other more
highly than himself [preferring one another]…. [So again, these are almost like
New Testament proverbs—aren’t they? They are short. They are quick.
They’re right to the point. They have meaning. And they have practical,
everyday application in what we should be doing.] …Be not [slothful]
slack in business. Be fervent in spirit. Be timely in serving”
(vs 9-11). This is one way to overcome the blahs. You be fervent in spirit and
realize that whatever you’re doing is serving God. Just like we learned here in
Col. 3:17.
“Be rejoicing in hope. Be patient in tribulation….
[And that’s a difficult thing.] …Be steadfastly continuing in prayer….
[Now, we’re going to cover a little bit more about prayer when we come to Col.
4; but ‘continuing instant in prayer’ means this: Whenever you have a
situation—regardless of what it may be; during the day or
whatever—that you be instant to pray to God for help, to thank Him, to
love Him, to pray for someone who needs help. And too many times we sort of
avoid praying the way we ought to because when we pray we want to do it up
really right. Well, you just remember: ‘continuing instant in prayer’—you
don’t have to wait until you’re the best; you don’t have to wait until you’re
in the mood. You pray whenever it’s needed.] …[Distributing] Contribute to the
needs of the saints, and strive to be hospitable. Bless those who
persecute you; bless, and do not curse” (vs 12-14). Now that is a tremendous
challenge to do—isn’t it? That’s the exact opposite of this world! They
curse their enemy and bless themselves! Now, the Apostle Paul really understood
this—didn’t he?—because he was persecuting the Church, causing true
Christians to be murdered and executed before he was called. And now then,
after being called, and after being an apostle and serving the Gentiles, he was
hated wherever he went by those Jews who wanted to cling to Judaism. So he
understood it! And it is the most difficult thing to bless when you are cursed.
“Bless those who persecute you; bless, and do not curse.
Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep… [and I tell you,
these things are all qualities, brethren, that flow from the Spirit of God. Too
many times the congregations of God are what I would call ‘uptight.’ You walk
in and the minister’s all dressed out with his suit and his tie and he’s very formal
and he’s very rigid and the people are very rigid, and it would be nice to see
someone like that once and awhile just really have some compassion and just do
what it says here]: …Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who
weep… [and that ties in with Phil. 2, where it is that we are to have ‘bowels
of compassion and mercy one to another.’ That’s just another way of expressing
it here in v 15.] …Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set
your mind on high ambitions; rather, be [condescend] accommodating with those
of low estate. Do not be wise in your own [conceits] eyes” (vs 14-16).
There’s an awful lot here for us to learn—isn’t there? Yes, there is, because the wisdom of this world is just ‘filthy rags’
with God—it’s meaningless. We need the wisdom of God; and the ‘wisdom of
God’ is something that He gives; it’s not something that we have. Again,
“according as the grace that has been given.
“[Recompense] Do not render to anyone evil for evil… [we’re
going to see that on Sunday at the Superbowl—right? They’re going to be
one against the other. It’s going to be war. It’s going to be ‘go get the
quarterback and kill him’ and all this sort of thing. That’s the way of the
world.] …but be prepared to do what is right [provide things honest] in
the sight of all men. If possible, as much as is your part, be at peace with
all men…. [Now, sometimes that is most difficult. You do the best you can, and
then take it from there and put it in God’s hands.] …Beloved, do not avenge
yourselves; rather, leave this to God’s wrath… [In other words,
get out of the way; you don’t have to worry about doing it] …for it is written,
‘“Vengeance is Mine!…” (vs 17-19). And I tell you the best way and the most
effective prayer that you can give toward a situation that you know falls into
this where there are difficulties and problems, you put it in God’s hands and
you ask God to take care of it; and who knows, maybe that enemy of yours may
even be called. Now you think about that!
Let’s put the shoe on the other foot for just a minute. What
if you were one of the relatives that had your aunt or your uncle or brother,
your sister, your father or mother arrested by Saul? The Rabbi sent by the high
priest to arrest and take true Christians and to have them executed and bound
and put in prison? That’s the one who became the Apostle Paul. How many prayed
and said, ‘Oh God, that man is evil and rotten and no good, but please call him
and convert him’? Now that would be a tough prayer. So Paul is speaking from
experience, here—isn’t he? Yes, he is.
“…I will [repay] recompense,” says the Lord.’” (v
19). And the way that God repaid the Apostle Paul for what he did was to have
him turned around and do just the opposite he was doing. Instead of killing and
persecuting, he had to teach, he had to preach, he had to show them Christ, he
had to write the words of God. So sometimes what we think is a good and a
proper sentence and execution against someone, maybe God has something better
in mind than we would think. “God is going to repay,’ says the Lord.”
“Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is
thirsty, give him drink; for in doing this you will be heaping coals of fire on
his head…. [in other words, if he truly stays your enemy after that, then God
is going to take care of him; and God is going to take care him in the way that
is right and proper and He’s going to rescue you.] …Do not be overcome by
evil, but overcome evil with good” (vs 20-21). That’s why Col. 3:17 is so
important in everything that we do.
Now, let’s come back to Colossians 3 and let’s continue on
from there. And we’re going to see that this is merely a parallel section in
Ephesians 5 & 6. Now let’s read from Colossians 3:18-25 and we’ll come back
and coordinate that with some of the other Scriptures as we go along. “Wives,
be subjecting, submitting and subordinating yourselves to your own husbands,
(having the type of conduct and attitude) that is fitting, proper and becoming
in the Lord. Husbands, be loving your wives (with Godly Divine love);
with compassion, understanding and tenderness and do not be not bitter (or
oppressively demanding and with a heavy hand; or be rash, harsh, tyrannical or
overbearing) toward your wives. Children, be obeying your parents, be in
compliance in accord with their wishes because this is well pleasing to God. He
accepts this behavior with pleasure and delight. Fathers, do not be
provoking, irritating or frustrating your children, so that they will not be
discouraged and lose heart, or feel rejected and unwanted. Servants and
slaves, be obeying and be in compliance with your masters in this physical
life; never with eye service (only while you are under scrutiny or inspection),
as only men pleasing; rather, be doing all things in the simplicity and
sincerity of your heart, fearing God, and pleasing Him. And whatsoever you may
be doing, be working heartily with zeal and motivation from within, exactly as
if you were working directly for the Lord, and not just for men. Always knowing
and understanding that from the Lord you shall receive the recompense and the
reward of the inheritance (the spiritual inheritance from God); because in
reality, you are serving the Master and Lord Jesus Christ. On the other hand,
anyone who is doing wrong, who is living his life contrary to God’s way (as He
revealed it to us), shall receive a just recompense for whatever he has done
wrong; and there is never respect of persons, or partiality or favoritism with
God.”
Now let’s come back to v 18—and Paul doesn’t pick on
the wives first (I want you to understand that) because he also touches
everything in relationship to the family: wives, husband, children, fathers and
servants. This parallels right along with Eph. 5. Let’s turn to Ephesians 5 and
we will see exactly how this is done. And let’s understand something concerning
marriage, which is very important. And that is: marriage is a type of the
relationship between Christ and the Church. So therefore, as we live
our lives as husbands and wives, it’s very, very important that we understand
that relationship; and we understand the foundation of the whole creation of
male and female, and the whole relationship between the Church and Christ. And
when I get the parallel on this and put it in written form, I’m going to
parallel Eph. 5 with Col.. 3 and then we have somewhat the same thing in the
book of Philippians.
Ephesians 5:20—and here’s how we do
everything: “Giving thanks at all times for all things to God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ…. [Now, notice how similar that is to Col. 3:17,
and then he comes right along in the next verse talking about almost the same
situation.] …Submit yourselves to one another in the fear of God…. [and
this is the Church overall in the whole Church] …Wives, submit yourselves to
your own husbands, as to the Lord… [and I tell you, that is a tremendous jewel
in the sight of God if that is done. And if any man has a wife who does that,
and he doesn’t love her and is not kind and understanding to her, then God is
going to take care of you! But here’s the reason for it; it’s not because women
are lesser human beings. It’s not that they are to be put down. It’s not that
they are ‘second-class citizens’ in the Kingdom of God—we understand
that! But it’s a matter of proper order. It’s a matter that God has made things
that way. And God has, by creation made]: …the husband is the head of
the wife, even as Christ is the Head of the Church… [which means
then, there’s no dispute] …and He is the Savior of the body” (vs
20-23)—not the overlord, not the harsh handed; but the Savior.
“For even as the church is subject to Christ, in the same
way also let wives be subject to their own husbands in
everything. Husbands, love your own wives…” (vs 24-25). And this is a
tremendous and important thing that needs to be done; because too many men go
around—and because they’re the head—they say, ‘Well, I’m the head
and you submit to me and therefore, when you do, everything will be fine.’
Well, I tell you what, why don’t you humble yourself and see if you can love
your wife in the way that Christ loves you, and then you’re going to see some
things change, I’m sure. I know a well-noted evangelist that used to brag from
the pulpit that he would ‘spank’ his wife. Well now, that is not in the Bible.
Nowhere does it say…I think that’s in the book of “rod-handed” chapter one and
verse one in family relations: ‘Thou shalt spank your wife.’ NONSENSE!
NONESENSE!
It says, “Husbands, love your own wives, in the same way
that Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it… [and you go
back and you study the life of Christ, and you study how He worked and served
and everything He did was for coming to the crucifixion, so that there would be
the Church; because without that there wouldn’t be the Church.] …and gave
Himself for it; so that He might sanctify it… [that is make it Holy] …having
cleansed it with the washing of water by the Word” (vs 25-26).
And that’s why it’s so important with the action of the Holy Spirit, which is a
type of water with the Word of God that is in our minds, that constantly we are
being cleaned, we’re being washed, we’re having out minds set in order by the
Word of God. That’s why the Sabbath is Holy. And that’s why the Holy Spirit is
Holy. So we come together on the Sabbath and we learn the Holy things of God by
His Spirit.
- to wash us
- to cleanse us
- to uplift us
- to encourage us
- to inspire us
- to strengthen us
Verse 27—here’s why Christ did it all. “That He might
present it to Himself as the glorious church, not having spot or
wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it might be Holy and without blame. In the
same way, husbands are duty-bound to love their wives as their own bodies….
[You have an obligation to God] …He who loves his wife loves himself; for no
man has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as the
Lord does the church” (vs 27-29). That’s a tremendous thing for us,
brethren:
- that God loves us
- He’s nourishing us
- He’s cherishing us
- He is creating that
whole situation there for being resurrected and being in the Kingdom of God
- being spirit beings
- being the Bride of
Christ
Verse 30: “For we
are members of His body—of His flesh and of His bones.” Now, when I read
that several years ago, I was wondering: What does it mean ‘of His flesh and of
His bones’? So the only thing I could figure out was this—and I think
that this is correct: ‘of His flesh’: that is through the crucifixion; because
that pays for our sins; forgives our sin. And ‘of His bones: Now, Christ is
called ‘the second Adam’—isn’t He? Yes, He is. How was the wife of
Adam made? From what was she made? She was made from his rib! And so
here we have an analogy between the first Adam and the second Adam. Just as the
first Adam had his wife Eve created for him from one of his bones—his
rib—so the Church is from the innermost being of Christ coming, as it were, from His bone. So this becomes very important for us to
understand, that Christ is creating the Church from the innermost part of His
being. In other words, that’s how He loves the Church. He willing gave Himself. He willing provided Himself as the sacrifice for
the Church. ‘From His bones.’ So we are to have that close relationship with
Christ for all eternity.
Verse 31: “For this
reason shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his
wife; and the two shall be one flesh.” Now, I might mention here that Carl
Franklin is doing some research on The Lord is One. But he’s discovered
a very clever slight of hand, which is this: The Lord is one—one is an adjective. It is not a noun. It is not a not a cardinal number, being one as a noun. It is one as an adjective—which means that that helps
us understand, in a more clearly defined Elohim, which is plural. So just like
this—it says right here: “…they two shall be one flesh”—that is a
descriptive condition. That’s what they will become: one flesh. They’re
still two separate individuals, but they become one flesh. And so,
that’s exactly how God is—God the Father and Jesus Christ—and
that’s exactly how the Church and Jesus Christ will be.
Verse 32: “This is a
great mystery; but I am speaking in respect to Christ and the Church.
Nevertheless, let each one of you love his wife even as himself; and let
each wife see that she reverence her husband” (vs 32-33).
Hold your place
right here because we’ll come back. Let’s go back to Colossians, the third
chapter, and let’s see how this ties in. Verses 18-19 have to do with
husband/wife relations; and there are others you can put there: 1-Peter 3:1-7.
And it’s very interesting, where it says there—let’s go to 1-Peter 3,
because this is important for us to understand; important for us to realize
that there is a tremendous thing concerning our lives and having prayers
answered and so forth.
1-Peter 3:7—I just want to cover this
one situation here: “Likewise, you husbands, dwell with your wives according to knowledge, as with a weaker vessel, giving them honor as women,
and as joint heirs of the grace of life so that your prayers may
not be [hindered] cut off.” So in other words, if there is a situation where
there’s a lot of fighting and hassling and going back and forth and all this
sort of thing, the prayers of both are going to be hindered. What good is it
going to do to have a fight with each other and then run off and
sanctimoniously pray to God and not repent and not confess your sins and not
ask God to help you and help your wife or help your husband. Your prayers will
be hindered. So if you feel that there have been some difficulties with getting
through with some of your prayers, well, maybe examine that area.
Colossians 3:20: “Children, be obeying your parents,
be in compliance with their wishes, because this is well pleasing to God. He
accepts this behavior with pleasure and delight.” We have so many things in the
world which are distracting and taking away our children. And it’s happened to
almost everyone. And it’s because the way that the world is set. And so, when
you find a child who really has this kind of loving and obedient attitude it is
really a jewel! Now, a lot of children may feel—because of their carnal
nature—that this makes them less of a human being, because they have to
obey their parents. But, you see, this is not so. It makes you a better person.
It makes you stronger in the eyes of God because you do so.
Ephesians 6:1—because it tells the reason why that
this is important. And you look at all the way that the world is; you consider
all the things for children and teenagers today. They’re ending their lives in
suicide; drugs; rock music; and their so-called great idols that they follow,
like Michael Jackson—is nothing but a perverted wretch of a human being,
who is part of this world and instrumentality of Satan the devil and not even
worthy of consideration to watch or anything. We hope and pray that in God’s
way and His time that He’s going to work with people like Michael Jackson and
bring them to repentance and into the Kingdom of God, but maybe it’s not the
time now. But in the meantime, why should we take this evil and set up as the
idol and the guide for our living? Why not take God and His way and set that up
as the true worship of God and the true way to live and the blessings of God?
And that’s what Paul brings out here in Ephesians 6:1:
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.” That’s why
it’s so important that parents then, on the other hand, not get all
sanctimonious and conceited in their great authority as parents, and become
overbearing and harsh and all that sort of thing against their
children—which Paul warns against here, as we’ll see in the verses right after
this in Col. 3.
Now then, he quotes the Scripture—v 2: “Honor your
father and your mother, which is the first commandment with a promise,
that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth”
(vs 2-3). Now, that’s really something, isn’t it? Think on that!
Now, my son Stephen was in a car wreck. He was doing things
that he shouldn’t have been doing. And he survived it and he is most thankful
that he has survived it. And his whole attitude and everything has changed
because he could see that if just a couple of other little things would have
happened, he would have been gone! And he was out doing things that he knew
that we would not approve it. But since he’s 21, he can get out and do those
things, and of course, the society says the parents have no control. Well,
we’re thankful to God that He spared him. We’re thankful that there was no
lasting injury. We’re thankful that he is turning his life around, and this is
going to be a very important thing. So that’s why we need to really come to God
and just ask Him to work with our children in His way, in His time, and to help
bring them back to Him.
Now, I think, in the Churches of God that we know of, we
drove off many children. Oh, we tried to have the programs and activities for
them; and that became a corrupted mass of politics, and even in some cases,
near sexual orgies—and the parents were told to stay away. That doesn’t
work either. It’s got to stay right within the family.
Hold your place there in Eph. 6 (we’ll be back to it) and
come here to Colossians 3:21—and this is so true. We had a whole way of
childrearing—didn’t we?—where we spared the love and we wielded the
axe, and we caused a lot of this that Paul says not to do. “Fathers, do not be
provoking, irritating or frustrating your children, so that they will not be
discouraged and lose heart or feel rejected or unwanted.” And all of that goes
back to the whole premise that a human being is born perfect. No, a human being
is not born perfect. A human being is born—as sweet and lovely as little
children are, and infants and babies are—they’re born with the ‘law of
sin and death’ in them. And since it is in them you can’t beat it out of them.
You can do more by loving them to help them overcome it than you can by beating
them. But unfortunately, we had a whole way of childrearing, which was really
not in compliance with what God teaches in the Bible. And we put spanking
first, beating first, depravation first, and we caused a lot of difficulties
with our children. I’ll be the first to admit that in trying to zealously
follow along with what we were taught, I did a lot of things which v 21 says
not to do. And I just pray that God will help me and help them so that we can
overcome the difficulties that have come along.
(go to the next track)
Ephesians 6:4: “And fathers, do not provoke your children
[to wrath]; but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Now notice, it says nurture.
- Nurture is caring.
- Nurture is helping.
- Nurture is loving.
Now, there needs to be discipline when there needs to be
discipline. That’s not to take that away. But I tell you what, if there was
more nurturing and less beating then children are going to be a whole
lot better off. But you can’t discount the discipline when it really needs to
be. Then when it is, because you are nurturing and you are loving, then
whatever discipline you have is going to be a whole lot more effective; and
then you end having to correct less. Because if you “bring them up in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord,” that’s the way that it should be.
Let’s come back to Colossians 3:22—there are many
Scriptures that we can tie in with this, so we’ll go through and we’ll read
this section here and we’ll tie in the Scriptures. “Servants and slaves, be
obeying and be in compliance with your masters in this physical life; never
with eye service (only while you are under scrutiny or inspection), as only
pleasing men…” That is the whole premise of unions. You just do well while
you’re being watched. And if you aren’t being paid what you think you ought to
be—and of course, unions have served some good; but on the other hand
then we have strife, we have all of one against the other and competition. And
companies now are learning that you get along better if everyone is a part of
it, and you don’t oppress, and you don’t put down, and you don’t provoke your
employees; but you all work together—they’re finding that works a whole
lot better. So, that’s just following a principle in the Bible; that is truth:
“…rather, be doing all things in simplicity and sincerity of your heart,
fearing God, and pleasing Him.” So the whole purpose of v 22 is this: that God
knows! God knows every hair on your head. He knows what you’re doing. He knows
what your thinking, and so forth. So, if you’re doing it to please God, then
you’re surely going to please your boss. And you might even be surprised how
well that will work.
Let’s come over here to Ephesians 6:5—the parallel
account: “Servants, obey your masters according to the flesh with
reverence and trembling, in singleness of heart, as unto Christ; not merely with eye service… [there’s the politician. And if you work with a company that
has their politicians; they go along and stroke the boss. Every time the boss
comes around it’s almost like a panting dog that hasn’t had water for days and
days, and here comes the boss. I’ve seen that in the ministry. And brethren,
let me tell you something. In the ministry of the Church of God we are paying
the price and reaping the harvest of what that kind of political eye-service
and stroking in ranking and everything has reaped upon the Church.] …as do pleasers of men; but as servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. Do service with goodwill, as to the Lord, and not to
men; knowing that whatever good each one has done, this shall he receive
from the Lord, whether bond or free” (vs 5-8).
There are some very practical things for working, for doing
as we ought to. Let’s come back here to Colossians 3:23—and here again,
it just re-iterates what we had there in Eph. 6. “And whatsoever you may be
doing, be working heartily, with zeal and motivation from within...” And that’s
the whole thing of everything that we do. When you are motivated from within,
when it comes truly from your heart, whether it is serving God or serving
someone else, then it’s an entirely different matter. I tell you one thing: If
you are motivated from within to do what God wants you to do, do you need a
schedule? Do you need a list of priorities? No, you don’t.
I’ll never forget. We had a management class in the advanced
classes there at Ambassador College, and they brought in a management fellow
and he was an expert. We had him for the whole day. We had him from nine till
noon and then from one to four. So we had him for six hours, and he went
through and showed how what you need to do is: you need to prioritize
everything that you have. Make a list and then prioritize the list: A, B, C, D
or 1, 2, 3, 4—whatever it may be. And then work on A or work on 1 and get
that one done and then do B and get that one done, and then everyday kind of
move everything up the line—and you get done what you need to get done.
So he went through and spent the whole day telling us how we can be the best
managers in the world, etc., etc. Then, the last twenty minutes he said, Now I
want to tell you one thing: If you’re truly motivated from within, you don’t
need any of these lists; you will automatically do it. You will automatically
prioritize the things. The only reason you need a list is so that you can
understand what you need to do and not forget it.
So, isn’t that something! Isn’t that the way it is with
Christianity. If you truly, from within, love God and serve Him:
- Do you need to be
beaten to pray?
- Do you need to be
beaten to keep the Sabbath?
- Do you need to be
beaten to love your neighbor?
- Do you need to be
beaten to love your wife?
- Do you need to be
beaten to love God?
No! All the shouting
and verbal abuse in the world isn’t going to change unless you do it from
within! That’s the whole point!
Let’s continue on—and then we’ll get
into chapter four—Colossians 3:24: “Always knowing and understanding that from
the Lord you shall receive the recompense and the reward of the inheritance
(the spiritual inheritance from God)…” So all of these things then relate to
being Christ in us, doing everything the way God wants us to—and these
are some practical, everyday things that Paul has written down. And remember,
go through and find the section that every one of the Epistles of Paul where he
brings these day-to-day things:
how to grow
how to change
how to overcome
—which you can call New Testament proverbs of daily
living.
Let’s come to Colossians 4 and move right along (we’ve
already covered the last two verses), but before we do I want to give you some
other Scriptures you can take down, and these are found in the
Proverbs—this all has to do with being diligent; the hand of the
diligent, and so forth; Prov. 10:4, 26; 12:24-25; 21:5.
Now, I want to finish off this one section; let’s go to
Hebrews 11:6, which tells us how we need to operate our whole life—not
only just what we would call, as people would call, the religious part of their
life; because we’ve seen there’s no such thing as the religious part of our
life. It’s a way of living and it’s all tied to this one verse in Hebrews 11:6:
“Now without faith it is impossible to please God….
[This is very important for us to understand when we realize that you can’t go
out and do a work and compel God to accept that as accounting to spirituality
unless you do it in faith; unless you do it because you’re motivated to
pleasing God; unless you do it because you’re motivated, because you love God.]
....For it is mandatory for the one who comes to God to believe that He
exists, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
Now, when we have these things deep in our heart and our
mind, then we will pray, then we will study, then we will do what the Apostle
Paul says: ‘In whatever we do in word or deed, do it all in the name of
God’—and serve God; realizing then, as it says here in Col. 3:25: We
don’t need to worry about the other person, because the one who’s doing the
wrong, God is able to take care of.
Colossians 4:1—Then he talks again to the masters, or
those who had slaves: “Master, give to your servants that which is just and
right; even that which is fair and equitable…” So this whole thing of the
depiction of slavery that they like to depict in the modern media today is not
the kind of slavery that God intended. God intended that there would be people
who would serve. They could be freed. There are provisions for freeing them.
But some people need to learn; they need to grow; they need to change; they
need someone to lean on, so they could go an indenture themselves to a person,
to what would be called a master; and serve them. And, you know, if they
had a program similar to that, they could sure solve a lot of problems today.
Can you imagine how they could really change things around if they would take
some of these welfare recipients and say, ‘Okay, now we’re going to have such
that if you promise you won’t have any children, any more children—you’ve
got these one or two or whatever it may be. And if you promise to get your life
straightened around. Instead of giving you welfare, we will let this family
over here take care of you. You live with them; you help them; you serve them;
you go to school; you learn; you change your life; you get it all worked
around; and they’ll take care of you—instead of having the welfare department
do it.
Now, don’t you think that that would work a whole lot
better? Don’t you think it would work a whole lot better if we had a system
where if someone, unfortunately, because of economic circumstances, lost their
job, didn’t have a home—don’t you think it would work a whole lot better
if you had it where there were homes where they could go, where they could
live, where they could get their lives straightened around; where they could
develop their skills; where they could have a nice place for their children and
things like that? I think that would work a whole lot better than this so
called great system of liberty we have today, because it’s not liberty. What
happens? It enslaves and chains every one of them to the government, and
they become a slave of the government; they become a vassal of the government; and
so forth. They don’t have dignity; they’re not uplifted and taught the way they
need to be. So, if we had this kind of society and system, it certainly would
work a whole lot better as far as I’m concerned.
Verse 2: “Be steadfastly continuing in prayer and entreaty
to God (being alert and awake; not slackening up or falling asleep) and always
be praying in an attitude of thanksgiving and grateful praise.” Now, I brought
in certain things there. Remember the disciples, when Jesus said, ‘Pray.’ What
happened? They fell asleep. Always being alert! Awake!
Now, if we’re really serving God
in a way that we ought to; if we’re really loving God; then prayer will become
something that you don’t have to beat yourself to do. And I remember years ago,
they said, ‘Now, you’ve got to pray an hour a day.’ So you get out there and
you set the clock and you pray, and you pray, and you pray, and you repeat, and
you pray, and you pray,’ and you think you’ll never get through that whole hour
of prayer. Why? Because you’re tying
to do something spiritual by physical means! That’s
why everything has to start out that you love God first; that you have faith in
God first; and that you believe Christ first! And then your prayers will be a
whole lot better! Won’t they? You won’t have any trouble worrying about being
instant in prayer and constantly praying.
Let’s go to 1-Thessalonians, the
fifth chapter. Let’s see where Paul continually—again, here’s another one
of these chapters where he’s got the daily living for the brethren to do.
1-Thessalonians 5:17: “Pray unceasingly.” That doesn’t mean that you go around like
some of these Buddhists and you have prayer wheels that you spin, and every
time it spins the prayers are wafting off to heaven. It means that you never
allow your prayers to be interrupted by your own activities. In other words,
that your own activities become so important that you neglect God. That’s what
it means, “continuing in prayer.” And it also means “pray without ceasing.” And
so, that’s what it means.
Let’s go to Luke 11; let’s learn something very
important—and I have learned this, and I’m sure you have, which is: not
every prayer’s answer is yes. And not every answer is the one that you
want. Because maybe the one you want may not be what God wants you to have. God
is going to give you what He’s going to give you. And if your heart, your mind,
your attitude please Him, then it will be right; then it will be fine; then it
will be good.
Luke 11:1: “Now it came to pass that as He was
praying in a certain place, when He finished, one of His disciples said to Him,
‘Lord, teach us how to pray, as John also taught his disciples.’ And He said to
them, ‘When you pray, say… [Now, here is the outline prayer]: “Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name…”—when we focus in on
- the righteousness of
God,
- the goodness of God,
- the love of God,
- the faith of God,
- the greatness of
God,
- His fantastic
creation.
And when we do that, and the reason that He has us start our
prayers this way is so that we get our minds off ourselves. Because too many
times when we start praying, our minds are not in gear to pray because they’ve
been on the things that we have had our minds on. So that’s why it’s very good
in praying…And I think it’s very helpful, in many cases, to go ahead and turn
to the Psalms. Maybe begin your prayers by reading a Psalm or two, so you get
your mind on God. And if you have to, just ask God ‘to help me really get my
mind on praying to You and loving You and serving You because Your way is so
fantastic, and You’ve given me Your Spirit’—and all of that’s included in
this first part of hallowing God’s name.
“…Your kingdom come… [Now that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s
going to come in the time you think; but for you—you have to keep your
mind focused in on the Kingdom.] …Your will be done… [and too many times, in
our prayers, we’re going to God to try and make Him do our will. NO!]
…as in heaven, so also upon the earth…. [Then we get to the things we
need.] …Give us our bread as needed day by day… [And after we’ve seen
the earthquakes out here, you know how important that is, because things can
change from one day to the next. So that’s the way it needs to be in our lives.
‘God, help us today. God, provide for us today.’ And He will.] …and forgive us
our sins… [that’s so important. As we covered last week, forgiving our sins]
…as we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us… [God will also
forgive us] …and lead us not into temptation… [God never leads us into
temptation. This means don’t let us be led into temptation] …but rescue
us from the evil one”’” (vs 2-4). And there are plenty of things out in the
world to tempt and to be led away. So that’s why we should pray in this
particular way.
Then it shows in Matthew 6 that
we are to then close our prayers in the situation concerning the praise and
honor an glory back to God. Now, another Bible study assignment for you. Go
ahead and take the outline prayer—either here in Luke 11 or in Matt. 6:12—and
break those components of the prayer down: God’s name, thanking God, loving
God—all this sort of thing, and outline some of the Psalms. And you’re
going to see that the Psalms follow exactly the outline that Jesus gave on how
to pray.
Also, I’m going to give you
another assignment here, which is Daniel, the ninth chapter. You go through and
you read how fervent in fasting and seeking God, confessing sin, that Daniel
was; and the answer that he got. His prayer so inspired God, and the attitude
there of just confessing his sins to God and the sins of the people and the
things that had happened to the Jews, to be carried away into Babylon, that God
was inspired and motivated then to bring in the prophecy of the coming of the
Messiah. Now that is something, isn’t it? Let’s hope and pray that our prayers
will be more like that.
Now, let’s come back to
Colossians 4:3: “And at the same time, continue praying for us, in
order that God may open a door (provide the occasion and opportunity) to speak
the Word, to announce the message of the mystery of Christ, on account of and
for the sake of which (the good news of the Gospel) I am bound and imprisoned…”
He needed the door of the prison opened, too, didn’t he? And he did. He was
released from this imprisonment and apparently he went to Spain after this, and
then came back and was arrested and crucified later. But we can pray the same
thing.
And I think, brethren, one of the most important things we
need to do—and I was talking with someone the other day which is this:
how many ministers are out there, Protestants and also Churches of God, with
what they view is the Ezekiel Message: You need to be the watchman on the wall
and warn the people. And as I mentioned to him, I said there have got to be at
least a dozen Ezekiels sitting out there on the wall. But I said, where is the
Ezekiel sitting on the wall to warn the people in the Church of God? So there
needs to be that. So I’m not going to try and play Ezekiel. I don’t want to be
that. If you want to be Ezekiel, you go back and read what he went through. You
think about that again, especially there in the first couple of chapters where
he was told to mix up all this evil and abominable stuff and put it in human
dung; and he said, ‘Oh, Lord God, not human dung!’ And God said, ‘All right,
I’ll let you substitute cow’s dung. But you go eat this before the people, to
let them know of their sins.’ So anyone who wants to be Ezekiel, try that on
for size!
But at least, brethren, what we can do is to help and serve
and love the brethren and warn them and help them restore themselves back to
God. And the best way we can do that is show them the love of God and what
they’ve been missing by playing religion instead of really serving God.
Paul was in prison because of that, and he said, v 4: “That
I might make known, manifest and reveal it with understanding as it is ordained
and appointed for me to preach and proclaim…. [Now, the parting words—and
the rest of it is pretty much just admonitions, as we’re going along; and of
course, he would write this being in prison, not knowing whether he would see
them again or not—and all chances, he didn’t.] (v 5): …Be walking (that
is conducting your lives and affairs) with wisdom and understanding toward
those without (those who have not been called into the Body of Christ, the
Church) redeeming, buying back and rescuing the time (which so easily slips
away)” (vs 4-5). And that’s what we need to do: redeem the time; while there
is life, redeem the time! Buying back and rescuing the time.
As we have said before, it’s kind of like Matt. 25, the
church bazaar is opened. Go buy. Go sell. Go find those who are doing whatever
God is inspiring them to do and then you make sure you get your life right with
God. And be as the “wise virgins”—not as the foolish.
Verse 6: “Let your words, your speaking and
communication, in every circumstance, always be with grace and dignity,
seasoned and sprinkled with salt… [with bits of wisdom and understanding]… that
you may know how you ought to answer every person.” Now, there’s a whole
challenge, isn’t it? Because sometimes we don’t answer them the way we ought
to.
Now, let’s just finish up chapter four and we will be done
with the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians: “All things concerning me and my condition
and how I am fairing will be made known by Tychicus, the beloved and dear
brother, even a faithful and loyal minister and fellow servant in the Lord.
I sent and dispatched him to you for the same purpose, that he might know and
understand the things concerning you, and how you are fairing and what is your
condition and that he might encourage and uplift your hearts and minds. I am
sending with him Onesimus, who is one of you, having come from that region; he
is a faithful and loyal minister and servant, even a beloved and dear brother.
They will make known and show you all things which are done here. Aristarchus,
my fellow prisoner, sends greetings; and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas,
concerning whom you have received commandments, (so then, if he comes to you,
receive and welcome him” (vs 7-10).
And it’s interesting that Mark was the scribe then who
probably helped finish compiling and writing all the books that we have in the
New Testament. That’s another whole topic, but I’ll just mention it here in
passing.
“Also Jesus, who
is called Justus, who are of the circumcision. These are my fellow workers and
co-laborers for the Kingdom of God who a consolation and encouragement and
comfort to me (otherwise I would have felt deserted and abandoned)” (v 11). In
other words, he’s saying these are the ones who came to him while he was in
prison, otherwise he would have just had no comfort or encouragement at all.
“Epaphras… [Epaphras was the minister there in
Colossae] … who is one of you, having come from your region, salutes and greets
you. He is a minister and servant of Christ who is always striving and
agonizing, in his prayers and supplications to God for you; as if carrying a
burden for you, exerting special care and effort on your behalf…” (v 12). This
also shows us, again, how we need to be praying. And again, it shows that if
your prayers are from the heart, that’s how you’re going to be praying.
Brethren, that’s my prayer for you. And I look out and I see
all the brethren of God who have been beat upon and everything with playing
religion, and authority, and everything that has happened to them. And
brethren, we ought to have that kind of prayer and concern for them. And I hope
that this book: Lord, What Shall I Do? is really going to be helpful for
them; because it’s going to give them some clear things to think about. And one
thing I don’t do in there: I don’t say ‘come and join us’—because I know
that they have to choose God first. And I hope and pray that they choose God
first. Now, they may not be able to be with us. That would be nice if they
could. But it just may not happen. But if we can help them into the Kingdom of
God, that’s what we ought to do; because it’s not a matter of numbers and it’s
not a matter of money; it’s a matter of serving God and that’s the way that it
needs to be.
“…that you may be able to stand, being spiritually mature
(growing up in Godly perfection) and that you may fulfill and complete (in
every thought, and action and attitude) every wish and desire of the will of God”
(v 12). So there is the perfect goal to shoot for, brethren.
Verse 13: “For I am bearing witness of him, testifying on
his behalf, that he has a great abundance of zeal, ardent favor and generous
affection for you, and for those in Laodicea, and those in Hierapolis. Luke,
the beloved physician, and Demas salute you and send you greetings. Give my
salutations and greetings to the brethren in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the
church which meets in his house…. [So even at that time there was a small little
church, just like we have here with this communication we have. I’m preaching
into two houses. And there are brethren there assembled and that assembly is
the Church—just as Paul points out here.] …And when this epistle has been
read in the presence of all of you, make sure and cause it also to be read in
the church of Laodiceans; and that the epistle from Laodicea likewise be read
to all of you…. [That one epistle we don’t have. God did not see fit to put it
into the New Testament. But He gave a message to the Laodiceans in Revelation.]
…And be sure to remind Archippus, to take heed and be careful, and pay
attention to the service and ministry which you have received, which has been
graciously given to you by the Lord, and that you fulfill this sacred service.
The salutation and the signature of my own hand, by Paul. Be remembering (in
your prayers) the bonds of my imprisonment. The grace (God’s Divine blessing
and generous gift) be with you [all]. Amen” (vs 13-18).
So that has really been wonderful being able to complete
this on Colossians. Now, my goal is—and I hope and pray that we can do
it, and I would like to try and get it done by the Feast of Tabernacles, but
we’ll just have to see how things fall—is to take the Amplified, Expanded
Version of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians and the recorded cassette
sermons to go with them and to have it all complied into a harmony-like study,
just like the Harmony of the Gospels and to put that all together with
the introduction, with the background and everything for each book; and to put
it into a book which would be entitled Paul’s Inspirational Epistles for
Christian Growth. That would be nice if we could have that ready for the
Feast of Tabernacles. But if not, that’s one of the long-term goals that I want
to do. And this has been a major, major step in getting that done, by being
able to give the study extra, above and beyond, by doing it through the phone
communication here.
All Scriptures in New
Testament from The N.T. in its Original Order, A Faithful Version
- ·
Exception: Colossians: Expanded Amplified Version
Old Testament
Scriptures: King James Version
Scriptural
References:
1) Colossians 3:17
2) Mark 12:30-31
3) Colossians 1:27
4) Romans 12:1-21
5) Colossians 3:18-25
6)
Ephesians 5:20-33
7) 1-Peter 3:7
8) Colossians 3:20
9) Ephesians 6:1-3
10) Colossians 3:21
11) Ephesians 6:4
12) Colossians 3:22
13)
Ephesians 6:5-8
14)
Colossians 3:23-24
15)
Hebrews 11:6
16)
Colossians 4:1-2
17)
1-Thessalonians 5:17
18)
Luke 11:1-4
19) Colossians 4:3-18
Scripture
referenced, not quoted:
- Philippians 2
- Philippians
- 1-Peter 3:1-7
- Proverbs 10:4, 26; 12:24-25; 21:5
- Colossians 3:25
- Matthew 6:12
- Daniel 9
- Matthew 25
Also referenced:
- The Lord is One by Carl Franklin
- Lord, What Shall I Do? by Fred R. Coulter
- Harmony of the
Gospels by Fred R. Coulter
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