Living in Love.

I've recently started teaching a Bible study. To my dismay as a teacher, I realized that attendance can be very inconsistent. "But people are missing out on life changing Jesus messages!" I cried. Then I remembered I have a blog. So I'll be posting my lesson outlines (that's why they're not in traditional blog format) on here. Enjoy!

I.                    What is the therefore there for?

-          Before we dive into the instructions outlined for us as Christians in Col. 3:12-17, let’s begin by reading a little earlier on for context. Colossians 3:12 begins with “Therefore…”, but why? Obviously what Paul is about to say is directly related to what he was saying before, so let’s look at what that is.

·         Colossians 2:20-3:11

ü  First of all, is there anything that sticks out to you?

 II.                  Dead.

-          Before we continue to pick out the truth from this passage let’s address something: our old self is dead. You’ve heard it said “whatever you feed the longest becomes the strongest” but that’s not true in the sense that you have two natures at war within you. While it does stand that if you continue in sinful thought patterns which form habits, and engage in a lifestyle that makes it easier to indulge in them it will be harder for you to live a godly life otherwise. However, that doesn’t mean we still have our old man chilling inside like a zombie waiting to come back to life. You’ve been completely cleaned out from him. Focusing on a list of don’ts puts your attention back on the things your flesh used to be slave to. Christ points us back heavenward.

·         Colossians 3:3-4 “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”

ü  What do you think it means by “Christ who is your life?” Why didn’t Paul say, “Christ who gives you life?”

-          Directly translated according to the original Greek and mildly paraphrased, these verses are saying, “Your life (earthly nature) is dead (hidden, done away with) and now Christ is your life (same word).” He’s not just giving you a new life; he himself is becoming your new life. The old nature is completely replaced – it doesn’t exist anymore.

·         2 Corinthians 5:17 – “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

·         Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

III.               Habits.

-          Let’s backtrack now. Since we’ve established that we’re free from sin in the freest way possible, let’s address the beginning of what we read.

·         Colossians 2:20-23 – Paul is addressing how people judge one another by laying down “Do not…”’s in regards to what they “eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day”. He told them not to worry about rules like this. At first this really bothered me because I thought, “Well how are we supposed to break habits and become better Christians if we don’t know what not to do? It’s important to know specifics, right?” But what Paul is pointing to is the motivation behind our lists and obedience, and where that puts our focus.

ü  What words do you see in these verses that address motive

·         John 14:15&21 – “If you love me, you’ll obey my commands.”

ü  What should our motive actually be? (love for God)

-          Paul makes the point that while these world-imposed regulations appear to be wise, their core value isn’t based on looking heavenward – the focus is on looking holy here on earth. Ultimately they deal with the action and not the motive. If our motive is loving a God who loves us back, our actions will automatically follow suit.

·         Col. 3:1 – he goes on to say that we’ve been raised (from death to a new life dedicated to God) from our earthly vices so we should…

·         Col 3:2 – set our hearts (affection, understanding, feelings, thoughts, interests – everything) on the things above.

ü  What happens when we turn our focus from the negative to the positive?

-          Paraphrasing, Paul is saying in these beginning verses that we should kill the habits (not the nature – that’s already dead) we used to have (which are the reasons wrath is coming – they are a real problem) so we can put on (sink into) the new you. You’ve been stripped, so therefore… Col. 3:12-17

-           This next chapter is solely focused on our love for God and others, and how that affects our character more than legalistic fear ever could.

·         1 Corinthians 13 (love)

ü  (1-3) What (good things) do you do that are not motivated by love? How will you change that?

ü  (4-7) What characteristics of love do you need to grow in?

ü  (8-10) When has God only given you partial answers? Did you eventually see a purpose for what happened?

v  Homework: (9-11) Over this next week pay attention to how you behave… are there any ways in which you are still a child?

-          Tonight we talked about how love affects our success as Christ followers. We’re not trying on our own power to overcome an internal demon – we’ve been freed! Who we used to be has been replaced with a godly nature and we are righteous. Not only do reflect the image of Christ, we carry it. As we leave this week, let’s keep our focus heavenward and experience victory!