Colossians 3: 1-11
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, Who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Since you died, also put to death all the things that pertain to your Earthly nature:
Sexual immorality--fornication (sex outside of marriage);
Impurity--uncleanness;
Lust--inordinate affection (lustful longing);
Evil desires--evil concupiscence (ardent, sensuous longing for what is evil);
and Greed--covetousness (wrongly desirous of others' wealth or possessions),
which is Idolatry--(proritizing worldly things over God).
Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the children of disobedience.
And you also used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived, before you were saved.
But now you must also rid yourselves of all the things like these:
Anger,
Rage,
Malice (desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another),
Slander, blasphemy (cursing, using God's Name inappropriately, attributing God's qualities or authority to self or other),
and filthy language from your mouth (cussing, using "dirty words").
Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge into the image of its Creator.
Paul is writing to the Christians in the City of Colosse, where he had established the church, and he knew these people. He knew that it was a very wicked city, and these Christians once were part of that evil society.
Now he's telling them that they don't need to conform to the ways of their society any more, because they have New Life in Christ; and now have the Holy Spirit's power to be able to live better lives, different from what they used to do.
Here (in God's family) there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free; but Christ is all and is in all.
So there is to be no prejudice against a brother or sister for genetic descent, for geographical origin, for cultural background, or for societal position.
Paul is also writing to us. We also, who have been placed into the Body of Christ, should also consider ourselves as set apart from all these worldly attitudes.
We also, like the Colossians, need to stay away from all sexual improprieties; any act or desire that conflicts with God's good intent for our bodies--the intimacy of a husband and wife within the shelter of marriage, given to no other.
And our minds are to be conformed to the thoughts God has for us, to consider others as God sees them: as fellow family members, or as sinners who need God's mercy and grace to be brought into His family. That's the only difference God sees.
So we need to take care that our attitudes and words not disparage either God or the person God made in His image. God values us at a very high worth, so we are to respect ourselves in not permitting any kind of filthy or slandrous words to form or be expressed, also showing respect for the worth of the hearers.
We need to remember that we have taken off the old man and have put on a new man that is holy, separated and washed clean from all evil and filth, and is being made more and more like Christ in knowing and doing things His way.
The more we learn of Who God is and His ways and thoughts, the better we will know Him and we will love Him back in response to the great Love wherewith He has loved us. And we will also love what and who He loves: primarily, Mankind. All of us. Every one of us, as children of Adam, in need of God's goodness.
God loves everything He made; the order He placed in the Universe is His love for it. He made this Earth for us, and put into it everything we need to live here. Then He made us of it (our bodies are made of all the same elements as the Earth, in the same proportions--Science), and gave us His rules for living here so that we could enjoy it's abundance.
And He sent His Son so we could face our sinful condition and let Him cleanse us of all the sinful filth by taking our paycheck, death, on His altar, the Cross; then giving us New Life as His Holy Spirit takes up residence in our spirits, making us God's own children in His family. That's why it's called a New Birth (see John 3:3-8).
And we who have been born into God's family need to think like our Father and live our lives here as His children with His values, not like those of the World around us.
And His Spirit in us will help us to do that. We only need to be willing to let Him change us, instead of those around us, or the World we live in.
That's why God will receive all the credit, all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise from every creature He has created (see Isaiah 45:34, Romans 14:11-12, Philippians 2:10-11, and Revelation 5:13-14).
Because He thought it all up, designed it, planned how it would all work out, then made it and worked it all out according to His plan, and finished everything perfectly, justly, fairly, generously, and completly. He got it done.
We are still in the midst of it, so we can look at history and where we are now, but we need to understand His Word to see how it will all work out.
He laid out how all the Nations would proceed from Daniel's day all the way to today.
And He gave all the sacrificial laws to show what Jesus would accomplish on our behalf, and how He would do it as the Lamb of God.
So we can trust God to tell us everything we need to know to live here with one another, to seek Him for rescue, and to reward us generously for what He enables us to do in His power.
And also trust Him to display His Love for us by righteously judging all that works against His good, and hurts, wounds and damages those He loves.
Since He loves all of us, He is patient with us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9).
He is also a Gentleman, so He won't force Himself on anyone.
Whoever refuses to be willing to come to Him doesn't want anything of God; so since God is good, they have refused goodness, God is Beauty so they prefer ugliness, God is Light so they run to the darkness.
Everything God is, He is the Source, He is the Standard. So when they refuse God, they are left with emptiness and nothingness; pain and sorrow and dispair. Not what God wants, but what they have freely chosen.
O my Father, thank You for everything You are! Thank You for Your great Salvation from sin and Redemption from death.
Thank You for Your justice and fairness to grant even what You don't want, to those who have freely chosen it.
Thank You for Your generosity in offering release to all Mankind.
Thank You for Your patience, for Your faithfulness, for Your steadfastness, for Your constancy in not ever changing; so we can fully trust You to always be You, regardless of the circumstances and situations we may find ourselves in.
I know, Father, that You have my back, and no weapon, physical, mental, or psychological, that is formed against me will be successful (Isaiah 54:17).
Keep me close at Your side, my Father; Your protection over me, Your arm around my shoulders and Your hand over my mouth. Teach me more of Yourself, Father, that I can love You more and serve You better each day.
And I will be in that numberless throng praising and honoring and giving glory to You forever!
Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
