Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons


Colossians

Christian life in the world. 3:12-17

[Seed logo] Introduction
      As is typical of Paul's letters, he concludes with a section on practical Christianity. He has detailed matters of theology and he now follows these up with applied ethics. He presents this ethical teaching in the terms of abandoning the evils of the past and of adopting the new life-style of a believer. The believer must "put off" the old cloths of their past life of sin, 3:5-11, and "put on" the new garment of a follower of Christ, 3:12-17. It is his exhortation to "put on" which serves as our passage for study.

The passage
      v12. Through faith in Christ a believer gets to stand before the living God as one of his "chosen people." God's intention is to gather to himself "a people for his own possession out of all the peoples that are on the face of the earth". This chosen, called, elect, people of God, now takes shape around the one faithful child of God, namely Jesus. In Christ they stand before God as his "holy" (perfectly pure) and dearly loved" "chosen" people; they stand by grace through faith. Paul's encouragement to "God's chosen people" is that they shape and exhibit, in their lives, the holiness they possess in Christ - that they "clothe" themselves with the qualities of holiness. Paul lists some of these qualities.
      v13. Mutual tolerance and forgiveness are essential qualities in the life of the Christian community. In the same way that God in Christ has forgiven us, so we should strive to forgive one another.
      v14. The greatest of all qualities we are to "put on" (as one puts on a piece of clothing) is that of love. "God is love" and so love is a natural fruit for those who have found their new standing before God, by grace through faith, Gal.5:6, 22. It has the power to unite God's people.
      v15. Paul goes on to link peace with love. Through Christ the believer has peace with God - we are no longer rebels before him, but rather friends. This reality should be exhibited in the Christian community. Paul adds to this, "be thankful." Let us recognize the one who is the source of all our blessings, both spiritual and physical.
      v16. In this verse Paul encourages two activities of Christian fellowship, first "teaching and admonishing (instructing)", and second "singing". Although Paul may be encouraging personal study of God's word, it is more likely that he is asking his readers to give the greatest opportunity for the instruction of Christian teaching in their gatherings. Such teaching must be based on the "word of Christ", ie. it must be based on the teachings of Jesus. The congregation is to let that word "dwell in you richly". They are to hear it, give heed to it, accept its authority and apply it in their daily life. As for singing, the link with teaching may be that the songs should teach scriptural truth.
      v17. Paul ties up this subsection with a basic principle of Christian conduct which can be used to cover all ethical situations, particularly those which arise within the Christian fellowship. It is similar to his word to the Corinthians when he told them to act "to the glory of God." Our actions, or words, should be done "in the name of the Lord Jesus". We are to test our behavior to see whether it affects the reputation of Jesus. Does this action of mine bring dishonor to my Lord? Our behavior can bring dishonor to our Lord in the same way as a child's behavior can bring dishonor to a home. So, Paul has given an ethical rule-of-thumb for the Christian fellowship - an ethical principle rather than a set of rules.

Caring for the Christian community
      Theology is the determinate of our behavior; what we believe to be true dictates our actions. Most often we do not actually work through the right or wrong of our actions, we just live them out because of our predetermined views.
      How we function in church, and how we expect others to function, is determined by our theology of church. For example, if we see church as primarily an evangelistic organization, then our behavior and expectations will be colored by this view; we will expect the services to be primarily evangelistic, and we will expect the organizations of the church to support this function. If this expectation is not realized, we will end up frustrated and angry.
      Today there is great confusion as to the function of the church. Believers are often not quite sure what it is and what it is supposed to do. As far as the New Testament is concerned, a church is a worshipping community. Put in other words, the church is a fellowship of believers meeting with Jesus and recognizing his presence in their midst. Of course, we can perform this function using many different styles, from devotional to celebratory.
      Our passage for study focuses on relationships within the church. It tells us how to get on together, and in doing that, it tells us something about church. Church is primarily a community, a fellowship of believers. Elsewhere Paul will call it "the body of Christ", a people "growing up into him who is the head, that is Christ." We are reminded how important it is to express this reality in our love for one another - that we realize body-life. And second, we see again the purpose of our coming together, that we meet with Christ, recognize him, worship him, that we hear him and praise him. This is the center from which the community will grow, the center from which love will flourish.

Discussion
      1. Discuss how the exhortations to right living are related to the doctrine of justification by grace through faith.
      2. Give a practical example of the exhortation to "bear with each other".
      3. We are to "let the peace of Christ rule in" our hearts. How does this exhortation affect the Christian fellowship?
      4. What is the importance of teaching within the Christian fellowship?


Notes

Textual notes   Abbreviations,   Bibliography
 
      This passage is a piece of ethical teaching. It is typical of most of the Apostle's teaching on behavior. Having established theological principles, he moves into the practicalities of the Christian life. In fact, he bases his ethics on theology. The substantial point he makes in v12 is that our right standing in the sight of God naturally prompts right living.
      As a gift of God's free grace, appropriated through the instrument of faith, we now stand in the presence of God as "holy and dearly loved" children. We are his chosen ones, and this simply by trusting Jesus. We often don't feel holy, nor do we display holiness in our day to day living, but holy we are, for we stand with Christ the only holy child of God. As we are his children, it is only natural for us to seek to live in a way which expresses the new "holy" person we are in Christ. It is on this basis that Paul encourages his readers in the Christian life. He encourages us to be what we are.
      Of particular interest in this exhortation is the stress Paul places on Christian relationships. Paul will often speak of a believer's personal walk with Jesus, at other times he will speak of outreach to the world, yet his stress is always on the Christian fellowship, it is always on the church. Paul's focus is on "body-life."
      So, in our passage for study Paul details behavior which builds body-life. In v12b he lists five qualities that enhance personal relationships: "compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." Then in v13 he encourages us to carry each other's load and to forgive when necessary. The "each other" he speaks of here is clearly the Christian fellowship. The letter itself is addressed to a church, and Paul is into the business of building the church through caring relationships. In v14 he underlines the key to caring relationships, namely, love, and then in v15 he encourages peace. In v17 he concludes with a rule-of-thumb, namely, that our actions bring honour to Christ rather than dishonor. All these ethical qualities, when applied in the Christian fellowship, will build up body-life; they are the tools which shape community.
      In v16 Paul focuses on the business-end of Christian community. The Christian fellowship doesn't just exist for introverted fellowship; it's not a "back-slap" club, or a mutual niceness association. The development of body-life is not an end in itself. The church comes together to face the living Christ, and the one whom we face has promised to be present when two or three meet in his name. The essential function of the Christian community is worship: to recognize the presence of Christ, to hear him, thank him, praise him, confess him, pray to him. Fellowship, unity, community, grows out of worship. Body-life must express our union with Christ.
      So, in v16a Paul tells us to let the word of Christ take root in our lives as we give heed to and apply the teaching ministry of the Christian fellowship. In simple terms, he tells us to hear Christ. There could be no clearer statement of what we should be about when we meet together as a church. Preaching for edification is central to the life of a Christian community.
      Then, in v16b, Paul focuses on praise and thanksgiving "to God", of which music is an effective vehicle. Certainly in the Western tradition we use music as the vehicle of praise and thanksgiving. Mind you, we have lost much of our dynamic in this department both through the introduction of chorus singing (more sensual than spiritual) and the preservation of "Victorian" hymns (more "sentimental" than praise). None-the-less, Paul underlines the business end of church, of the gathering of God's people, as confronting the living God present with us in his Word.

v12
      "Be merciful in action, kindly in heart, humble in mind", Phillips.
      eklektoi adj. "chosen" - elect. The sense of "elect" is possibly "picked", as Phillips, but is more likely a designation for God's set-apart people, the membership of which is by grace through faith.
      oiktirmou (oV) "compassion" - God is the "Father of mercies" and his children should try to exhibit this quality.
      crhstothta (hV) "kindness" - God is "kind to the ungrateful and ungenerous" and a disciple should show similar kindness.
      tapeinofrosunhn (h) "humility" - humility, lowliness in spirit.
      trauthta (hV) "gentleness" - Jesus was "gentle and lowly in heart".
      makroqumian (a) "patience" - long-suffering. God is patient in that he forgives his people and delays the day of judgement. His friends should show similar patience, one toward another, Eph.4:2, 1Thess.5:14.

v13
      anecomenoi (anecomai) pres. part. "bear with each other" - forbearing, enduring. The participle probably functions as an imperative, as a command, so NIV and most translations. The present tense indicating ongoing action. "Put up with each other", CEV.
      carizomenoi (carizomai) pres. part. "forgive" - show favour toward. Note how Paul links the forgiveness of God with our forgiving others. Our forgiveness of others is prompted and empowered by Christ's forgiveness of us. We stand in God's presence forgiven and approved, and it is natural for us to respond in forgiveness, having been washed ourselves by God's mercy. Jesus often reversed this order to teach a different point, namely, that if only a forgiving person can be forgiven by God, then we are in dread need of a saviour who can save us from the consequences of our unforgiving heart.
      ean + subj. "-" - if [may have]. 3rd class condition where the condition is viewed as a possibility. That is, it is more than likely that disputes will arise in the Christian fellowship. "If, as is most likely, some cause for complaint emerges within the fellowship, then ......."
      ouJtwV kai uJmeiV "forgive" - as also you. For the apodosis, the second part of the conditional clause, the imperative "forgive" is implied. "If .... then let us ....." "So must you forgive", Moffatt.
      kaqwV "as [the Lord forgave you]" - just as. The "just as" is unlikely to imply "forgive to be forgiven", but certainly moves toward, "forgive because you are forgiven." None-the-less, comparison is best; "forgive as freely as the Lord has forgiven you", Phillips.

v14
      epi + dat. "over" - above, over, on, to. The sense is either i] "above all you must be loving", Moffatt; ii] as NIV, in the sense of "on top of all the previous virtues mentioned"; iii] "to", in the sense of "added to", "and to all these qualities add love", TEV. O'Brien opts for iii.
      toutoiV thn "these virtues" - these things.
      oJ estin "which" - which is [a bond of perfection]. Possibly explanatory, "that is", but more likely referring to the antecedent, namely, the putting on of love; "by loving one another, you bind yourself together as though you are one and this is just as it should be", TH.
      thV teleisthtoV (hV htoV) gen. "in perfect unity" - of perfection. The sense of the genitive is unclear. O'Brien suggests "the bond that produces perfection", but the genitive could simply be descriptive as NIV, even epexegetic, explaining something of the bond, ie. a bond that expresses itself in perfection. The first option seems best; "you must clothe yourselves in love, which holds all the other qualities together and completes them", Barclay.

v15
      brabeuetw (brabeuw) pres. imp. "let [the peace of Christ] rule" - let arbitrate / administer, control, rule. Lightfoot suggests the idea of "arbitrate", so, "let the peace that Christ can give keep on acting as umpire in your hearts", Williams. Most commentators opt for "rule". "Let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts", CEV.
      hJ eirhnh (h) "the peace" - Note Barclay's interesting paraphrase of "peace" in the terms of Christ's "unifying power"; "Only Christ can enable people to live in a right relationship with each other. It is this unifying power of his which must dictate your every decision", Barclay.
      tou Cristou (oV) "of Christ" - The genitive is possibly descriptive of a Christ-like peacefulness, but is more likely a subjective genitive identifying "the peace that comes from Christ", CEV.
      en taiV kardiaiV (a) "in [your hearts]" - in the hearts [of you]. The heart being the center or rational thought, so "in your decisions", REB.
      hJn rel. pro. "since [... you were called]" - [to] which [peace]. The relative pronoun is probably causal, as NIV, "because". "For you were meant to be one body", Barclay.
      en + dat. "as members [of one body]" - in, with, by, to [one body]. Possibly locative, "called together in one body", RJB, but more likely expressing attendant circumstances, as NIV; "the peace to which you were called as members of a single body", REB.
      eiV "to peace" - to, into, for [which you were called]. Probably expressing purpose, to this end, "in order that you may experience/possess peace."
      swmati (a atoV) "body" - The presence of "one" probably indicates that Paul has in mind the universal church, even now gathered in the presence of Christ, consisting of believers, past, present and future. Yet, the local congregation is a valid representation of the eternal congregation, such that both are rightly the "one body" of Christ.

v16
      tou Cristou gen. "[the word] of Christ" - The genitive is possible descriptive, "the message about Christ", CEV, even subjective, "the message that Christ proclaims", so Lightfoot, but better, objective, "the message that centers on Christ", O'Brien.
      enoikeitw (enoikew) pres. imp. "let .... dwell" - let dwell, live in, indwell.
      en uJmin "in you" - The sense is unclear, so possibly "within /in your hearts", so Lightfoot, or better, in a corporate sense, so Dunn. "Dwell among you", REB.
      plousiwV adv. "richly" - "Abundantly", Lohse.
      didaskonteV kai nouqetounteV "as you teach and admonish" - teaching and admonishing. The participles may be imperatival (a command), but more likely expresses attendant circumstances, so NIV.
      en + dat. "in [all wisdom]" - in, with, by, to. Probably again expressing attendant circumstances, "with", as NIV, although Lightfoot links the phrase with the preceding clause, "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom", AV.
      yalmoiV uJmnoiV wJdaiV pneumatikaiV "sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs" - in psalms, hymns, songs spiritual. The datives may be locative, "in", but are most likely instrumental, "by means of", O'Brien. We know Wesley and others used Christian hymns to teach doctrine, and this may be what Paul is getting at here. Singing can have an edifying quality. We know that in AD 112 Pliny reported to the emperor Trajan that the Christians "recited an antiphonal hymn to Christ as God". Eighty years later Tertullian described a Christian service and said that "each is invited to sing to God in the presence of others from what he knows of the holy scriptures, or from his heart." Both these references sit well with Paul's statement. First, the believers are to sing to God with gratitude in their hearts. The songs are directed to God and are expressions of praise and thanksgiving. Second, they are edifying in that they state scriptural truths. As for the three types of songs. The "psalms" may well be the Old Testament Psalter. The "hymns" are possibly Christian canticles like those recorded in Luke's gospel. Both these forms would most likely be sung antiphonally - the cantor sings the first half of the verse with the congregation singing the second half. The "spiritual songs" may be free compositions. None-the-less, we should not draw clear defining lines between the three song types.
      en cariti (iV ewV) "with gratitude" - in, with, by, gratitude. The dative is possibly instrumental, "with", as NIV, although an adverbial sense seems better, "singing greatfully/thankfully", O'Brien.
      en taiV kardiaiV (a) "in your hearts" - Here possibly locative, as NIV, "a worship rooted in the depth of our personal experience", Dunn, although an instrumental sense is also possible. Given that the heart is the center of one's rational being, worship should employ the whole of our mental faculties (including the aesthetic?).

v17
      It is unclear whether Paul's words in this verse serve to provide a summary piece of ethical advice (so the sermon notes above), or whether they refer particularly to Christian worship; "whatever you are doing in Christian worship, whether in words or actions, ...."
      pan nom. sing. "whatever" - the [certain] all [which you may do]. A nominative pendens, where an independent substantive, here an adjective, in the nominative case is linked to the rest of the sentence by a pronoun which takes its case independently of the nominative subject, here the nominative relative pronoun "which".
      ean + subj. "whatever you do" - if [you may do]. Forming an indefinite clause, "whatever you are doing", Harris.
      en + dat. "in [word or deed]" - in, with, by, for. Word and deed constitutes the indefinite "all" and encapsulates the totality of our behavior, although, given the context, it is quite possible that the action in mind is that of worship. The dative is possibly epexegetic, "whatever you are doing, that is, in all your words or actions", but also possibly descriptive, "whether it is a matter of words or actions", Moule IB.
      "do [it all in the name]" - The verb is supplied. As noted above, the action may refer to congregational worship.
      eucaristounteV (erucaristw) pres. part. "giving thanks" - The participle is possibly imperatival, "give thanks to God", NAB, although it more likely serves to form a temporal clause, "while at the same time you give thanks." The "giving thanks" would then further explain the nature of the "whatever you do [in worship]."
      di + gen. "through [him]" - through, by means of. Christ is the mediator of our worship.


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