Beacons of Light

Well, it doesn’t seem quite possible. But not only did we begin our
study of Colossians chapter 3 last year, it was all the way back
in September that we first got into chapter 3 of Colossians. If you would begin turning there,
I’m sure you still know the way. Colossians chapter 3, so that
we can resume our study. We made the transition with Paul
into this, the largest section of his letter from, it begins
in 3.1 and goes all the way through 4.6. And Paul has concluded the
more doctrinal portion of his epistle, and he’s turning his
attention beginning in 3.1 to the application of the doctrine
that he set forth. With all the rich blessings that
we possess as a result of the gospel, blessings that Paul laid
out in those first two chapters, there must be responsibilities
that attend those blessings. And so here, Paul, this faithful
shepherd, sets forth a series of 10 wide-ranging encouragements
for Christian living. And because of that, in order
to make my outline easier to grasp, I’ve appended the word
living to these varied exhortations. Just listen. First of all, we
saw in 3.1-4 heaven-oriented living. In 3.5-8, sin-mortifying living.
In 3.9-11, truth-grounded living. Christ-like living in 3.12-13.
Today we’ll look at virtue-focused living. And then Paul turns in 3.16 to
Bible-centered living, glory-driven living in 3.17, in 3.18-21, relation-building
living, in 4.2-4, prayer-guided living, And then finally rounding out
the 10, opportunity-minded living in four, five through six. So
we have some ground yet to cover. I think we’ll get there this
year. Thus far, we have considered heaven-oriented living. We saw
it in three, one, three, four. You can glance down at it. Paul
tells his readers that, first of all, that the Christian’s
focus has been completely changed. Rather than a focus on the things
of this world, we now have a heavenward focus. And he says that since
we have been raised up with Christ, we are to set our minds and continue
seeking the things above, to cultivate, if you will, a heavenly
perspective. He commands believers to an active
pursuit of these eternal blessings, where believers will enjoy the
glories of eternal fellowship. What a powerful way to start. Then he brings us right back
down to earth with sin mortifying living in 3, 5 through 8, where
Paul takes his readers from the lofty and glorious thoughts of
heaven, and brings us right back down to Earth and its realities,
a spiritual battlefield. And he insists that we consider
as dead our own physical bodies. Dead to immorality, dead to impurity,
passion, evil desire, and greed. There couldn’t be a more glaring
contrast. Heavenly glory and earthly flesh. The word picture that he presents
is that of a vigorous war zone and that we are called to put
to death these earthly affections. Then he turns the corner and
almost shockingly tells us to stop lying. He brings us to truth
grounded living in 3.9 through 11. And it’s shocking to hear
this because he abruptly issues this command not to lie. And that surprises us on a number
of levels. First, that Paul even needed
to say it, that some among the Colossian church were telling
half-truths and mistruths. They were lying. But it comes
as a shock in a number of ways. It’s surprising, not only the
admonition itself, that it even needed to be said, but secondly,
that Paul singles out this sin from the lengthy list of vices
that he mentioned in five through eight, and he basically makes
the sin of lying that much more of a concern. But lying wasn’t
just a problem in Colossae, was it? Lying is a problem down even
to our day. And then, happily, we came out
of that section into 12 and 13 of chapter 3, Christ-like living,
where in verses 12 and 13, Paul expands on a metaphor that he
had first introduced in verse 10. Glance there if you want
to. There he not only says that as
believers we have laid aside, like an old garment, we have
laid aside the old self, but further, in order to complete
his illustration, we have put on the new self. And the image
is a striking one. It’s as if we picked up a coat
and pulled it on. And Paul builds upon that illustration
in verses 12 and 13, telling us, commanding us as Christians
to put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, and gentleness. He calls these saints in Colossae
and us to grow in these graces. They are They’re in every believer
already. They are part of that gift package
by the Holy Spirit given to us at salvation, but they must be
developed. In these graces, the believer
must grow. So the Spirit must continue his
work of sanctification in our hearts so that we may become
what we were designed and called to be. And that’s what brings
us exactly to the halfway point, number five of Paul’s 10 admonitions. We find ourselves here on virtue-focused
living in verses 13, pardon me, 14 and 15. And I just want to,
we’ll narrow it down and read only those verses this morning. Colossians chapter three, verses
14 and 15. Beyond all these, put on love,
which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one
body, and be thankful.” As we’ve seen, Paul is urging, encouraging
the adopting and the practicing of basic Christian graces. heaven-oriented
living, sin-mortifying living, and the rest. And we may have
forgotten all about the reason for these admonitions. It isn’t
for our salvation. No matter how good we were to
get at any of those, it would not earn us our salvation. Christ has already secured our
salvation, and we, by faith, The whole reason that Paul is
sharing these things is for the sake of our gospel testimony.
These things, these qualities, individually or collectively,
would not be enough to lead someone to Christ. Doesn’t matter how
nice you are, how kind you are, how much compassion you show,
they’re not enough to lead someone to Christ. but they do underscore, these
qualities do underscore and affirm the Christian’s proclamation
of the gospel. Writing to the Philippian church,
Paul said, he urged essentially the same thing of those believers.
In 215, he said that they were to be children of God above reproach
in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation. among whom
you appear as lights in the world.” That’s what Paul’s doing here. Paul knew the world in which
the Christians resided. It was hopeless and dark, spiritually
speaking. And because of that, he knew
that believers had a solemn duty to shine as beacons of light
in their respective communities. In that world, They were called
to live and to think and behave differently than the people of
the world. And so to have the opportunity
to have a life-saving influence by means of the gospel, their
lives must echo that same truth. As a result, Paul urges three
elements of light, if you will, that God’s people are to shine
in this darkened world. I would call them the illuminating
qualities of a Christian, of which, as I said, there are three. The first one is a unifying affection. We see it in verse 14, beyond
all these things, put on love, which is the perfect bond of
unity. Now, the first of these virtues
that Paul says true believers will exhibit is that of love. And I have to tell you that this
sentence is somewhat manufactured by our translators. I’ll explain
what I mean by that. You see, the Greek doesn’t actually
say put on. The truth is there is no verb
in verse 14. Literally, Paul just says, beyond
all these things, love. And yet, I would tell you that
the translators are not inaccurate in translating it as put on love. In fact, I would say that they
are right in doing so. Let me explain if I could. Glance
at verse 12 again so that I can refresh our memories there. There in verse 12, Paul does
say, put on, we just reviewed this, but I need you to see it.
Glance down at verse 12. So as those who have been chosen
of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness,
humility, and so forth. That’s where the verb is. This
metaphor of putting on like a garment, we saw, it’s a thought that he
actually introduced back in verse 10, put on the new self. Remember,
we just reviewed this. But in verse 12, he expands that
metaphor, put on these various things. And what Paul does grammatically
is to include the virtue of verse 14 under the same verb that he
uses there in verse 12. So our translators are correct
in supplying the verb here. They’re doing a bit of cut and
paste, if you will, extending the action of that verb to include
the virtue of love. In the respective translations,
whether it’s King James, New American, ESV, and almost all
others, they’ve supplied the verb, put on. And if you glance
at your translation, you’ll notice those words are probably, if
you’ve got a good sound translation, those words are probably in italics. They’re in italics because the
verb is not there in the original. As I said, grammatically, after
verse 12, Paul goes in verse 13 to explain what patience looks
like, bearing with one another, forgiving each other. And all
he does here in verse 14 is to resume that discussion initiated
in verse 10, carried on in verse 12, and now here completed in
verse 14. In addition to kindness, humility,
gentleness, patience, he adds one final characteristic. He
says, put on love. And now this illustration we’ve
already seen. It’s one of Paul’s favorite illustrations. We saw it in verse 8. We saw
it in verse 10. And Paul basically is issuing
a fresh command here. Put on, do this. Put on this
grace of love as Christians. And you’ll notice that he elevates
this particular grace by saying, beyond all these things. All
of those other qualities are good and fine, but he’s not merely
adding in the Christian grace of love. to this already lengthy
list of things that we’re supposed to put on. By saying beyond all
these, he’s indicating that love is the foremost of these Christian
qualities. And so, in sticking with Paul’s
illustration, it’s almost as if he pictures love as the overcoat,
if you will, the final piece of the Christian’s attire. He
saves it for last, and he essentially says, on top of all else, put
on love. And if we think about it for
a minute, love has to be the premier grace. You see, it would
be entirely possible for someone to practice, say, compassion,
without doing so from a heart of love. just mechanically going
through, attending to someone’s needs. Lots of people are compassionate. They feel sorry for someone in
the midst of a difficulty, but that compassion may be fleeting
and incomplete because it doesn’t orient from a heart of love. And that’s the same with kindness.
Lots of people are kind, but their kindness does not originate
from a heart of love. And so there’s an emptiness to
it. Likewise, with the graces of
gentleness and patience and humility. All that it takes for someone
to act humble is some kind of injury that lays them low or
poverty or brutality by a force stronger than them. You face
any of those and you’re going to see a humble person. but it isn’t produced by a heart
of love. A person could perform any of
these things without bringing them from a heart of love. And
in the best scenario, these are all good things, compassion and
gentleness and the like. but their best practice from
a loving heart. And that’s Paul’s point. This
is exactly what Paul is arguing in 1 Corinthians 13, remember?
Would you turn back to that excellent chapter just for a minute, 1
Corinthians 13. And I just want you to notice
Paul’s argument here. If you know the argument of 1
Corinthians, Paul is dealing with spiritual gifts, and Paul
basically says, look, it doesn’t matter how special your spiritual
gift is, if it isn’t attended with love, it’s empty. Watch
what he does here. Look at verse one, if you would.
If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but do not have
love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. What an
incredible image. It just is noise. Look at verse
two. If I have the gift of prophecy,
another one of the fantastic spiritual gifts. If I have the
gift of prophecy and I know all mysteries and all knowledge,
if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, Get this,
I am nothing. Doesn’t matter how special your
gifts are. If they’re not oriented from
a heart of love, not only are you a noisemaker, you’re nothing. Look at the third. And if I give all my possessions
to feed the poor, that’s really what so much of the church is
expected to be about. The social gospel, right? If
I give all my possessions to feed the poor, if I surrender
my body to be burned, a martyr, but do not have love, it profits
me nothing. Not only do my words not mean
anything, not only am I nothing, in the exercise of gifts without
love, it profits me nothing. You may recall the reason that
Paul introduces this subject to the Corinthians. They were
doing a lot of things that were not motivated by a loving heart. What they were doing was cold,
mechanical. Empty Christianity, really. And
in many cases, what they were doing was sinful. Paul had heard
the reports and so he addresses it. And so Paul moves now to
give what is arguably the greatest definition of love ever written. And I’ll just tell you, it isn’t
primarily a wedding verse. We typically use it in this fashion,
but in reality, it’s a church verse. It’s how we are supposed
to treat one another. And so the apostle proceeds there
to give, as I said, the greatest definition of love ever written. Look at verse four, if you would.
Love is patient. Love is kind and is not jealous. Love does not brag and is not
arrogant. does not act unbecomingly, does
not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a
wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices
with the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things. You see, what Paul is reminding
the Corinthians there is that love is the most important of
all graces. If they would only begin to cultivate
this greatest grace of all, that of love, all other graces and
gifts would begin to radiate. They’re energized by a heart
of love. And that’s what he’s telling
the Colossians as well. Would you turn back to Colossians
3? So think of it, to the Corinthians,
Paul was addressing their practice of spiritual gifts without love. But to the Colossians, he says
that even an attempt to practice the most basic Christian graces
without love is futile. It’s empty. But when love is
the motivating force, all other graces are enhanced like precious
gems set in perfect gold settings. When love is the foundation of
our compassion, there is no end to what we will do for a fellow
believer. When kindness is motivated by
love, it is purified. Its motives are pure. Its actions
are pure. A Christian is truly humble when
love is the cause. There is no self. There is no
thought of reciprocation. There is no consideration of
past wrongs. When gentleness is prompted by
love, that tenderness is shown for the sake of the other person,
not from some kind of cold restriction. And when patience is stirred
from a heart of love, There is no foot tapping. There is no
eye rolling. There is no time’s up on our
kindness to them. Love is the purifying, motivating,
overarching grace. And so we’re called to put on
this chief virtue of love. Love is to be the motivating
force in all that we do as believers. All of these other graces are
to orient from a magnanimous, pure heart of love. Now, I want you to look at this
of all the other graces mentioned. It’s almost just like a grocery
list. Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience. We can be certain that by practicing
any of them, they all bring about blessings. Showing compassion
to others would surely bring about joy to the one who practices
it, knowing that you brought comfort to another. Kindness,
by being kind to others, practicing righteousness, pardon me, practical
righteousness, it returns tenfold to the one who shows kindness.
Humility also, the scriptures consistently teach, brings an
inherent blessing. Matthew 23, 12, whoever humbles
himself shall be exalted. And surely gentleness and patience
bring their resulting fruit as well. But in discussing all of
these Christian graces, Paul doesn’t mention any of those
resulting graces. resulting blessings. He only
speaks of the blessing that love brings. Love, he says, creates
the perfect bond of unity. And with this relative clause,
Paul seeks to describe the effect of Christian love. What does
it do? What does it bring? And it’s a fascinating clause
to translate. The New American Standard has
it, the perfect bond of unity. That sounds beautiful, doesn’t
it? The ESV translates it very differently. Love, which binds
everything together in perfect harmony. A little more wordy.
And King James puts it this way. Charity, which is the bond of
perfectness. Literally, it could be rendered
this way. Love, which is the binder of
completeness. Does that help? I didn’t think
so. One of the challenging words
here to be translated, it’s translated as bond. It’s a rarely used word. only
four times in all the New Testament, once in Acts, three times by
Paul, two of them here in Colossians. The word means to tie up or to
bind something. In Acts 18.23, Simon the magician,
you might remember, he’s seeking the Holy Spirit for his own selfish
ends. And Peter rebukes him, remember,
telling him that he is in the bondage of iniquity. Paul uses
the word in Ephesians 4.3 in a very positive sense. He says
that believers are to preserve the unity of the spirit in the
bond of peace. We have been gathered together
and bound together for the sake of peace. We saw this word earlier
in Colossians, Colossians 2.19, it’s used to refer to ligaments. that which binds the parts of
the body together as a functional whole. And so here Paul is using
this word to remind his readers that love has the effect of binding
Christians together. Love not only binds the other
virtues together into a cohesive whole, it binds believers that
possess them into a unified whole. It is, in a very humanely speaking
sense, the glue that holds everything together. But to what end? What are these, why rather, are
these graces and these believers bound together in the first place?
Well, there’s a second and even more difficult word to translate.
It’s a word that basically means completeness or even perfection. In other words, unless love has
run its course, binding every virtue and every believer together,
there’s disorder and incompleteness. Christians might have a measure
of fellowship with one another, but without love binding them
together, it’s incomplete. Some of them may express some
of these virtues, compassion and the like, but a body of believers
is incomplete and lacking without love. Love puts a finishing touch,
if you will, on the practice of the rest of these graces. Love brings the church to perfection
or completeness. And that’s why both the New American
Standard and the ESV incorporate the word unity or harmony into
their translation. The thought is that love, given
and cultivated by the Holy Spirit, will flourish in the church,
binding believers together as one, ultimately producing the
sweet fruit of unity. And this is what Christianity
is supposed to look like. How do we know if we’re loving
our fellow believers? There are a few questions we
could ask. Are we committed to them? I mean really committed. You begin to ask yourself, would
I do anything for this brother? Are we genuinely in their lives? Do we just greet them and give
them platitudes and standard comments? Or do we really understand
what it is they’re wrestling with in their own personal lives? Are we serving them? Are we praying for them? Are
we bearing with them in the midst of their own idiosyncrasies and
quirks? Are we encouraging them? Do we
open God’s word and admonish and encourage as we’re
called to do. Well, we’re called to be beacons
of light and one sure way of illuminating the world around
us is to have a unifying affection. If the church was functioning
as it’s supposed to be, if we’re loving one another unto perfection,
we are going to shine as lights in the world. But secondly, not
only a unifying affection, but a Christ-like calm. Look at verse
15. Let the peace of Christ rule
in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. Beautiful statement, but it is
somewhat vague to us. The apostle here provides a second
illuminating quality, one that a Christian is to shine in the
dark world around them, and the quality is peace. And it’s the
peace of Christ because it’s our Savior himself who gives
it. This is what Jesus said in John
14, 27, that he had gifted his church with peace. Peace I leave
with you, my peace I give you. And the peace of which Paul speaks
here is not only the peace that a Christian now possesses with
God, that whereas we were at enmity with him, now we are harmonious. We are at peace. The war is over
with God. That’s the foundation for all
other peace. Not only is it It is not, neither
is it the personal inward peace that we possess with the knowledge
that we’ve been forgiven. That which Paul says in Philippians
4, 7, surpasses all comprehension. The world can be falling apart
all around us, and yet we are composed at peace. But there’s
another aspect of this peace that which we should have and
enjoy in our relations with one another in the church. That is,
in our interaction with other fellow believers. And this aspect
of peace stands over against a harsh, ungracious, divisive
attitude and demeanor that tears, really, at the fabric of unity
in the church. We know this because Paul goes
on to say we were called into one body to this peace. The body there to which Paul
refers can refer only to the body of Christ, his church. It’s one of Paul’s favorite ways
to reference the coalition of believers that comprise Christ’s
church. Think of this, Romans 12, four
and five. Just listen. Just as we have
many members in one body and all the members do not have the
same function. That’s a beautiful illustration.
So we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members
of one another. We’re bound together by God’s
grace. 1 Corinthians 12 says the same
thing. The body is one, and yet has
many members, and all the members of the body, though they are
many, are one body. The body is not one member, but
many. This is Paul’s reference. It’s the body of Christ. It’s
his church. And his body, his church, is
called to peace. And here Paul says, let the peace
of Christ rule in your hearts. That’s a powerful statement.
You will immediately observe that this peace of which Paul
speaks has a source and the source is our Savior, the Lord Jesus
Christ. It is the peace of Christ. He
is the source of our peace and we are to let this peace rule
in our hearts. That word rule is an interesting
one. It’s used here, only here in
all of the New Testament. It means really to act the part
of an umpire. To make a judgment call in a
disputable situation. Much like an arbitrator, an umpire
views a play and he renders a decision. My rule of thumb coaching baseball
was simple. You’re out because the umpire
called you out. There’s no arguments with the
umpire. And so it is here in our hearts, the umpire, peace,
guides and controls so as to guard the peace of Christ’s body. And here is essentially what
Paul is saying. He says that believers are to
compose themselves in such a manner that when conflict arises, we
are to allow Christ’s peace to so reign in our lives, in our
hearts. He’s urging that we submit to
the ruling of the umpire, peace. So that each, so that such dispute
is not allowed to damage the delicate fabric of Christ’s unity
in the church. I love the way one commentator
paraphrase this. Let the peace of Christ be the
ruling principle in your hearts. Do you submit yourself to such?
When you see conflict developing and arising, do you let peace
rule? Do you say, how can I calm this
situation? We are to allow peace to play
the part of an empire in our own heart. We are to submit ourselves
to its decision so that a dispute is not allowed to destroy the
unity of Christ’s church. And get this, As believers, we
are called to this peace. Do you get that? God himself
has beckoned. He’s summoned us into fellowship
with him and to this happy condition that we have in Christ. Peace. Truly. I mean, think of it. We were not called to be members
of multiple splinter groups, right? We were called to one
body. There’s an echo of this thought
in Ephesians 4.4 that as believers, we are to be diligent to preserve
the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. We have to do
all that we can to preserve the unity, not destroy it. This is what makes factiousness
so dreaded in the church. Do we grasp this? Think of it. If we’re part of creating disunity
in the church, we are preventing people from enjoying that to
which God himself has called them. What a powerful motive
to protect and preserve the peace of Christ and his church. We see conflict. We have conflict. I think the first thing we have
to ask is, am I right? Is this biblical? Is this particular
conflict worth it to destroy the unity of Christ’s body? Can
I really run the risk of damaging the unity for my complaint? Am
I in any way creating a faction within the church? If Christ
has bestowed peace on his church, dare I reintroduce conflict? Have I done all that I can to
preserve peace and unity within Christ’s body? Am I keeping in
mind that we are called to peace? Well, there’s a third means of
shining our light in this dark world. We’re called to appear
as lights in the world. And the third illuminating quality
of the Christian is not only a unifying affection and a Christ-like
calm, but thirdly, a responsive gratefulness. We should be thankful
people, short and simple. Look at the end of verse 15,
be thankful. A third feature, the third means,
if you will, of shining our lights in this dark world is that of
thankfulness. It’s a heart of gratitude. It
would be wrong to look at this final exhortation and to think
of it only as an afterthought. As if Paul was just mechanically
appending to the end of this full statement, oh yeah, give
thanks. Thanksgiving is both a result
and a response to the peace that Christ has given. But it’s also
a means of continuing in that peace. Further still, thankfulness
is an indication of God’s grace at work in the hearts of his
children. And it’s an illuminating element
to the world. You see, the godless people of
this world they may be convicted and moved by the humble gratitude
that they observe in Christians. All people, believers and unbelievers,
have so much for which to give thanks. The air that we breathe,
the world in which we live, The life we possess, the food that
we eat, the family and friends that we enjoy. We all, believers
and unbelievers, have so much for which to give thanks. But
the Christian, the Christian by far has infinitely more for
which to give thanks. Think of the things Paul mentions
just in this passage. the love which Christ pours into
our hearts, the unity by which we are bound with our fellow
believers, the peace which Christ himself bestowed upon us, both
individually and as a body. A Christian has so much for which
to give thanks, and it will come as no surprise that ingratitude
characterizes the godless, right? Paul writing to the Roman church,
chapter one at the outset of that great epistle says of unbelievers
that even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God
or give thanks. One of the chief characteristics
of an unbeliever is ingratitude. Because of that, a regular exhortation
to thankfulness is a sustained subject of the apostle Paul.
A thankful heart is one of the indications at work in a person’s
life. He uses the verb form of the
word 25 times in his epistles, the noun form another dozen.
Paul was constantly urging the saints of the churches to which
he shepherded to the Christian grace of thanksgiving. He told
the Ephesian believers that they should always giving thanks for
all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Does that
describe you? The Christian should look for
things for which to thank God. Something for which to thank
God can be found in every circumstance. That’s what Paul said to the
Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 5.18, in everything, give thanks. We may not relish the particular
trial through which God is taking us, but we should be able to
discern certain elements for which we can render back gratitude
to God. Well, here in Colossians, Paul’s
focus on thankfulness, it runs like a golden thread through
this epistle. Think of this, Colossians 1.3,
we give thanks to God. Colossians 1.12, giving thanks
to the Father. 2.7, overflowing with gratitude. 3.15, be thankful. In the very
next verse, he says, singing with thankfulness in your hearts
to God. In verse 17, giving thanks to him through God the Father.
And he closes out his letter in 4.2 on thankfulness. Devote yourselves to prayer,
keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving. Thankfulness
should be the natural response of the Christian, right? The
grace that we receive from God, but that didn’t stop Paul from
insisting, reminding believers of this grace. We should be moved
by gratitude, not only for who God is, perfect in all of his
attributes for the world that he’s created, but also for his
work of grace in our lives. Calming our hearts, instilling
peace within us, Prayers of thanksgiving are urged by the Lord. They have
a soothing, healing effect on our hearts and minds, so that
if we are agitated or worried or anxious or doubtful or bewildered,
thankfulness will calm our heart. Thankfulness will restore our
hope. It will make our fears to flee. It will drive away doubts. Thankfulness
will refresh the peace that Christ gave at salvation. If our love for others is lacking,
it could be because our peace is waning. And if our peace is
waning, it could be because our thankfulness is lacking. Everything is connected. Would
you humble yourself before Him?