The New Man

Colossians 3:12-17

Ephesians 4:29 – Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 

Colossians 3:12-17 is a wonderful passage that will build you up and give you grace.  

As believers, we are to both cultivate and manifest the qualities of Christ so that we look more like Him. 

The idea of “taking off” the old and “putting on” the new isn’t unique to Colossians. 

Romans 13:12-14 – The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. ¹³ Let us walk properly as in the daytime... [and] ¹⁴ ... put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. 

The passage beings with a beautiful reminder of three things. 

verse 12 – Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, 

Before getting into the actual encouragement, Paul wants to remind them of three things:

• You are God’s chosen ones  

We’ve seen so far in Colossians that:

• God qualified you

• God transferred you

• He reconciled you

• to present you holy and blameless and above reproach

• He made you alive (you were dead)

• He cancelled the record of debt against you & set it aside

• He raised you with Christ

• And you are His chosen ones. 

• He did all of this for you because He chose you before the 

  foundation of the earth.

How can you not be thankful to Him every second of every day?

• You are Holy - The saints and faithful brothers. Who are being presented holy and blameless and above reproach. (this phrase should stick in your mind.) You have been declared not guilty, and you are being made holy. 

• You are Beloved - loved by God. You can relax and know that you are loved by God. What better place is there?

So because of who you are, this is what you should look like. Remember - this list is the effect/result, not the cause of your salvation.

So...Therefore... Because of everything we’ve looked at and who we are in Him,

• Put these (things) on: 

(This is not the checklist to get you there. It’s what someone who has been saved should be intentional about being because this is who you are.)

a. Compassionate Hearts

You should have a heart characterized by compassion The literal meaning of heart is “bowels” or “entrails” 

Meaning, deep in your guts - In the center of who you are - you’re compassionate - you show mercy and concern for others, you’re sensitive
• It’s a divine quality.

Luke 6:36, James 5:11, Matthew 9:36 

Your treatment of others will be a display of mercy, 

Not only is this who you are, but you also need to be intentional about fostering and cultivating this heart attitude.

• There is a flow to the list here.

1. Your treatment of others

2. Your estimate of yourself

3. Your reaction to your treatment by others.

We started with Compassionate Hearts. That’s the inside. The practical outflow of that is

b. Kindness

The idea is providing something beneficial to the person. It’s an act of kindness

Romans 2:4, Titus 3:4, Matthew 11:28-30 (When Jesus said “my yoke is easy” He’s using the same term and idea.) The kind person is as concerned about his neighbors’s good as much as he is his own.

Not harsh. Not hard to bear. The Good Samaritan demonstrated this kind of kindness (Luke 10:25-37)

• How you treat others really matters (all the time - whether someone is watching or not)

c. Humility

In classical greek, this word has a negative connotation, But within Christianity - it becomes a virtue. Humility is the very opposite of pride, which is the root of all evil, according to:

James 4:6, 10 – But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Ephesians 4:2 – walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ² with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 

1 Peter 5:5 – Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 

• The humble person thinks he’s proud. 

• The proud person thinks he’s humble. 

So – whenever you think you’re being humble, you’re likely being proud. But don’t start playing the game in your head. Just let it be a check point. If I’m thinking “I’m being the humble one here....” then at best, you’re being prideful about your actions. They may have started right, but they’re certainly at least starting to morph. And while the outside might look great - God looks on the inside, right?

Originally humility was the attitude of slaves. We should be thinking lowly of ourselves because we are lowly.

• Humility is a characteristic of Christ (Philippians 2) 

No one will be compassionate and gentle unless they are laying aside pride.

d. Meekness (essentially) Gentleness

Now - compassion demonstrates itself in kindness. Humility will demonstrate itself in meekness

• Meekness is a willingness to suffer injury rather than inflict it.

e. Patience

Patience is not complaining and not being irritated

• The truly patient person doesn’t get angry at others. 

At their foolishness, when They’re being an idiot, when they don’t learn or get it , when they’re unteachable or prideful. It doesn’t get to you. You’re infinitely patient. 

• God is patient too, right?
Jesus was described this way as well.

1 Peter 2:23 – When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. 

1 Timothy 1:16 – But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. 

Only because of God’s patience are we saved in the first place.

Verse 13 is the next one in the list but it’s of special note. It gets a little more emphasis.

f. Enduring/Forgiving

Endurance on one side of the coin

Forgiving on the other - these two are closely related like the other pairs. 

The literal meaning of the verb is “to be gracious” - here: being a forgiving person.

As a church, we must be a gracious, mutually forgiving fellowship.

• We will sin against each other because we are human and, while we no longer have the sin nature, are still living in the actual flesh, which is sinful. It simply will happen. 

Our old master still tries to persuade us to follow Him. Sometimes we listen too much. 

We don’t have to - he’s not our master any more.

• We must forgive each other. 

You did far worse to Christ and He forgave you before you were born. He not only forgave you, but He took the punishment for everything you would do.

Christians who are truly patient will manifest this attitude by:

1. A willingness to endure faults or irritants

2. A willingness to forgive those that you have a grievance against (even if it’s valid)

We extend forgiveness even to those unworthy

The pattern is Christ.

• Even if the complaint is legitimate - you still forgive.

Forgiveness is well defined in Colossians 2:13-14 – And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, ¹⁴ by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

All of these things I have against you? I set them aside. Cancelled. As if they didn’t happen.

Why? Because Christ forgave me. He set aside what happened to me. How could I not do the same?

• Our forgiveness of others is based on our own forgiveness.

2. The Final Garment: Love

THis is agape love. The love of God. 

John 13:34 – A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. ³⁵ By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” 

• Love is the most important characteristic in a believer’s life. 

It’s the characteristic you put on over all the others. The list of other characteristics are the concrete expressions of love. Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-7. These two passages go together so well to help us understand God’s Word by reading God’s Word.

1 John 4:10 – In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

There’s your ultimate definition of love. HE LOVED US!

Here’s what love does:

• Love Binds

It keeps everything together. It’s what knits us together. It’s a fastener - a bond. 

• Love Harmonizes

It’s the bond of perfectness. We see the same word in Colossians 1:28 - to present everyone mature in Christ. 

It’s like a symphony - beautiful music - people come to watch/hear

Now out of all of this flow the Three Priorities of the New Man

These are three things that you should be making a priority in your life.

3. The Ruler (the Peace of Christ)

Peace - an agreement, treaty, bond, - an attitude of rest and security.

• We are at peace with God.

Romans 5:1, Philippians 4:7 

The term Rule - like an umpire deciding the outcome

The guide, the rule, the standard that you use when making decisions.

Two questions that help you think rightly and use this as a “guide”

1. Does this perpetuate your union with Jesus? (does this draw me closer to Christ?)

2. Will this leave me with deep, abiding peace in my heart?

Remember: Sin offends Christ – you are at peace with Him, so sin will shatter or (at best) diminish your security in your salvation (2 Peter 1:5-11)

• Let peace influence everything else.

Peace should overrides everything else. It rules. Whatever else is going on – let peace rule.

(a parenthesis: be thankful)

Thankfulness is a constant theme in Colossians

Our attitude of gratitude should be our response to who He is and ALL He has done for us.

• Ungratitude is the attitude of the unbeliever (Romans 1:21)

  How can you not be thankful for forgiveness and the peace that comes as a result.

• Let thankfulness become a habit.

  Your prayers should start and end with thanksgiving. 

• Thankfulness to God should permeate everything. 

  It should be one of the dominant vibes of your life. It will overflow into everything else.  

The second of the three priorities is

• The Dweller (the Word of Christ)

The word Dwell means to live, or to dwell in. To move in, unpack, and live there.

The Word of Christ is Scripture. The Word should dwell in your heart, not just as someone who stops in from time to time, but operating as a powerful force. in your heart.

• It’s the revelation of God - the Bible. 

• You must be saturated with Scripture - (cut me and I’ll Bleed Bible, right?)

Results of this: 

• Teaching

The experience of the Word isn’t just individual, it’s corporate Using the wisdom found in Scripture, we should teach each other. 

• How often does what you’re reading in Scripture enter into your daily conversations?

The word dwells richly when its fullness is received. You can’t be content with just a little bit. If you’re satisfied, the word isn’t richly dwelling. Because when and if it is, you’ll want more.

It’s probably the one good addiction you’ll ever have! 

• Admonishing

This is “to advise someone concerning the dangerous consequences of some happening or action—a warning.’ To warn but in a gentle, way. To give friendly, sincere advice. It’s bringing the full weight of the Scriptures to bear on someone’s life. It’s the most loving thing you can do.

• Singing

When the Spirit lives in you, there is emotion generated 

• It WILL result in singing. Woe to you if you don’t want to sing. (we’re commanded to in Scripture.)

This is one of the responses of the Word and the Peace working together.

Look at the Psalms - over half of them mention singing

These Psalms all mention singing: 5, 7, 9, 13, 18, 21, 27, 30, 33, 47, 51, 57, 59, 61, 63, 65, 66, 67, 68, 71, 75, 81, 84, 89, 92, 95. 96, 98, 100, 101, 104, 105, 108, 119, 135, 137, 138, 144, 145, 146, 147, 149

You can’t tell me that a believer shouldn’t sing.

“Well I don’t like to sing,” some people say.  Really? Wow! I’m sorry, but I just don’t get that. 

• Singing is one of the responses of the heart that is saved, forgiven, has the peace of Christ and is saturated with His Word.

• Our worship must be rooted in the Word. It must come primarily from Scripture.

It should also be directed to God, right? (this keeps you from misunderstanding worship - it’s not about you. It’s not to draw others in. It’s not to entertain you. It’s to worship God.)

in your hearts - to God. 

It must be out of the overflow of the heart.

If worship is Scriptural, doctrinal, and God-focused, it will certainly help you fulfill seeking and setting your mind on things that are above, where Christ is, right?

5. The Bottom Line verse 17

Here’s the simplest rule you could ever come up with.

• The Name of The Lord Jesus

Whether in word or deed - in the name of the Lord Jesus

1 Corinthians 10:31 Romans 13:14 ...put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. 

• If we truly put on the Lord Jesus Christ - we’ll look more like Him

This more broad idea is the summary of the entire passage - not just your Christian worship, but your entire life should be conducted in Christ’s name. 

Remember, it’s not about a list of rules. We are His representatives. We act in His name, on His behalf

2 Corinthians 5:20 – Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Reflection Questions

Here are my Questions for you:

• Are these things characteristic of me?

• How often does what you’re reading in Scripture enter into your daily conversations?

• How are you teaching and admonishing?

• Do you love to sing?

• Have you expressed non-love to anyone here?

• Is thankfulness a habit for you?

• Does this represent Christ?

• Am I categorizing my life? Sacred & Secular?

• Can you say I am doing this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ?