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Colossians 3:12-17

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12 d Put on then, as e God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, f compassionate hearts, g kindness, h humility, meekness, and patience, 13 h bearing with one another and, i if one has a complaint against another, g forgiving each other; g as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on j love, which k binds everything together in l perfect harmony. 15 And let m the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called n in one body. And o be thankful. 16 Let p the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, q singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, r with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And s whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, t giving thanks to God the Father through him.

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Main point summary

Put on good brotherly works inspired by the way Jesus forgave, and above all put on love, which will bear fruit of peace and works of thankfulness in the name of Jesus Christ.

editing

Discourse

Colossians 3:12-17

d (You) Put on then,

as e God’s chosen ones,

(chosen so that you be) holy and beloved,

actionpurpose

comparison

f compassionate hearts,

g kindness,

h humility,

meekness,

and patience,

series

ideaexplanation

h bearing with one another and,

i if one has a complaint against another,

g forgiving each other;

g as the Lord has forgiven you,

so you also must forgive.

actionmanner

conditional

And above all these put on j love,

which k binds everything together in l perfect harmony.

And let m the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,

to which (peace) indeed you were called n in one body.

And o be thankful .

Let p the word of Christ dwell in you richly,

teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,

q singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,

r with thankfulness in your hearts to God.

And s whatever you do,

in word or deed,

do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus ,

t giving thanks to God the Father through him.

actionresult

progression

mine

discourse

Small Group study outline

Colossians 3:12-17 Have you ever been so disgusted with yourself that you resolved to do better "from now on"? Jesus knows all about real lasting life change. He warned us in Matthew 12:43-45 of the danger of removing evils from our hearts without replacing them with something good. Gloriously, Colossians tells us not only what to put off in Colossians 3:5-10 but also what we must put on instead. Here is a wardrobe fit for a prince of our King! [Read passage] Christ reveals the wardrobe of the believer. Our text follows a rousing charge to those who have been raised with Christ (v1) based on Christ who is our life (v4). The following verses leave no doubt about those earthly fruits which must perish before they cause us to perish (vv5-11). Here then in v12 is the wardrobe before which the undressed believer stands, looking for the progression (natural flowing result) of sanctification in Christ. The first part of v12 reminds us why the believer can be so bold as to dress up like Christ. "As God's chosen ones" reveal God's purpose in choosing, so that his people would be holy and beloved. We go on to peek at the hangers inside this bold wardrobe, and we find the following clothing: Define (compare to fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-24): Compassionate Hearts: mercy and pity in relieving sorrow and want Kindness: good gentleness Humility: lowly modesty, absence of ego Meekness: sometimes translated gentleness (especially gent. of mind) Patience: fortitude in enduring evil Bearing with one another: to suffer or put up with Forgiveness: to extend grace, to cancel a debt Love: active agape love which God's people have for him and each other Peace: harmony, tranquility Thankfulness: being grateful and mindful of benefits, state of kindness and favor toward someone Do these definitions leave something unclear? Have we missed something in this passage that we shouldn't miss putting on? Take some time to discuss how these fruit should blossom and come to fullness. How does one dress like a prince? The most style-savvy among us can wear almost anything and make it (and them) look good. How does the believer assemble an outfit fit to be seen out and about - as a child of the King!? v13 gives us some fashion sense, in sharing how (in what manner) we should put on. First bearing with one another, and if the bearing leaves so much as a complaint against another fellow believer, then we must forgive, as the Lord Christ has forgiven us. So as we pull on our pants and don our shirt, let's set our pose with a healthy dose of humility, because we ourselves have been forgiven so much. And above all these put on love! Here then in v14 is the main action that we've been leading up to. Following our wardrobe metaphor, this love is the cap that sits on the top shelf, just waiting to be pulled down to gloriously complete our spiritual dress-up. This is the kind of love that "binds everything together in perfect harmony" (v14b). All dressed up with places to go. The resulting actions, which as we've seen are firmly grounded in the person of Christ and motivated both by God's choosing and our imitating Christ, follow in the remaining vv15-17. We find two activities suitable for the outfit the believer finds him or herself now sporting: let peace rule (v15a) and be thankful (v15c). This peace will settle us as we take our place in the body of Christ, his church. Thanksgiving in action. The way in which we show our thankfulness is headlined in v17 and then fleshed out in v16. Essentially we see that in whatever we do or say, we are to do it in the name of Jesus with thanksgiving to God the Father. v16 is an example of two of the primary actions of the believer - teaching (admonishing, prophesying) and singing all manner of spiritual music! Again, our outfit should sparkle with the manner we've set it up to - with love, patience, and thanksgiving all in the name of Christ! Let's review the big picture. So then, we find imperatives for us to put on all manner of good brotherly works, inspired by the way Jesus forgave us our own sins. This dressing up culminates in the main imperative of our text - to put on love! The waterfall results of this love are then explained for us, which are peace and works bathed in thankfulness (examples given are teaching and singing) in the name of Christ. All for the glory of God as he chooses and sanctifies his children for his Kingdom!