In chapter 3 of Colossians Paul reminds the ancient church at Colossae of who they are in Christ and how they are to live in light of this identity. Those who have been raised with Christ were once dead in sin and have been brought to life because of the gracious initiative of Christ. How then should we live in this new life? Join Pastor Tommy as he walks through this treasure trove of gospel truth, encouragement and practical pastoral guidance.
Living God, help us to hear your holy Word
that we may truly understand;
that, understanding, we may believe, and, believing,
we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience,
seeking your honor and glory in all that we do;
through Christ our Lord.
Amen.
“Every Christian has the responsibility, before God, to investigate the lifelines of whatever sins are defeating him personally, and to cut them off without pity. Better that than have them eventually destroy him… When a tide of passion or a surge of anger is felt, it must be dealt with as the alien intruder it really is, and turned out of the house as having no right to be there at all, let alone be giving orders.”
N.T. Wright, Colossians and Philemon
“I suspect that one of the reasons why there are so many exhortations in the New Testament for Christians to love other Christians is because this is not an easy thing to do.”
D.A. Carson
“The commonsense wisdom of today says that you are responsible for creating and designing yourself. You determine how you want to define and display yourself. You set the standard, you figure out what’s right or wrong for you, and then you pursue your strongest desires, as long as you don’t hurt anyone else… the Bible starts off by saying you’re already created, designed, and defined. And yes, being created means there’s a Creator. Being designed means there’s a Designer. Being defined means there’s a Definer.”
Trevin Wax, Rethink Your Self
“Its proper manifestation on earth is a life rightly lived in the fivefold relationships described in this entire section. Its power is seen in a holy life, a united congregation, a happy Christian home, a situation at work that reveals something of the Spirit of Christ, and in effective witness to the outsider. It is in this, and only in this way, that we can reflect Christ’s glory on earth today.”
Dick Lucas, Fullness & Freedom: The Message of Colossians & Philemon
“What matters supremely is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it – the fact that he knows me. I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. He knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is not a moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.”
J.I. Packer, Knowing God
