"Heaven's life on earth" (Colossians 3:1-17)

I know that it is sometimes inconvenient and annoying to hear this, but becoming a Christian (i.e. becoming a Jesus follower) requires us to allow for changes in our lives. Now notice I said “allow” for changes. I could have said ‘make’ changes, but this unbalances the dynamic for change too far our way, as if we were the only one involved. Our living God actually facilitates the necessary change as part of our ongoing relationship.

We know, and God knows, how hard it is to change; and the further we are along the journey of life, the harder any substantial change becomes. So, it is actually God who makes such change possible – our role is to “allow” for that change to happen i.e. not block it, or resist it, or oppose it. Maintaining and developing the health of our relationship with God is the path to becoming the person we were created to become.

Now we are not talking about change for change sake, or superficial meaningless change; and we’re certainly not talking about appearance management. Rather the Bible talks about significant deep-reaching change, that potentially makes a tremendous difference in our own living patterns, and, as a by-product, the living conditions of others.

Whereas our close connection to God has been broken through sin, God will be at work restoring our lost image (A G Patzia). The Jesus follower has begun a process by accepting the forgiveness offered by Jesus on the cross and being raised into new life in Jesus. The process, like symbolised in baptism, is a dying to self-interest, and a rising to a God-centred future. This involves leaving behind the things that work against God’s purposes (sometimes referred to as the things of the world), and replacing them with characteristics that are of more “heavenly” origin. It will God’s own attributes that God will implant in us.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that we ever become distant from real everyday life on earth – it simply means we are no longer owned or controlled by the “world”. And, it is through a thorough understanding and application of the things that are “above”, that we gain a more Godly perspective and clearer discernment concerning the value of those things we encounter on earth.

I love that phrase in verse 3, “your life is hidden with Christ in God”. We still look human, we still have flesh and blood, skin and bones; and without a close inspection we may not appear any different; yet we truly belong to Jesus and have the Spirit of God residing within us. And when the light of Jesus is seen in us, shining through us, then we can be seen to be more than just skin and bone – we are indeed a child of God. Our ambitions and whole outlook are focussed on Jesus. And so we live now as we expect to live in heaven, because we already live in Christ whose home is heaven. As we have Jesus in the most central part of our lives, we are fully at home in God. And so this text is almost saying to us, ‘become who you are’!!

I don’t know what you were thinking as Colossians chapter 3 was read ... sometimes when we’ve heard all this before, such scriptures can lose some of their power and influence. But this passage highlights that, as part of our experience of being raised to new life in Christ, there are some behaviour patterns to be dropped off, and other attributes to be adopted in their place. Having received salvation, our standard on earth is actually the standard of heaven!

Accepting Jesus to avoid the penalty attached to sin is just a small part of the Christian gospel. Taking up the cause of living out the life of heaven here on earth is the largest and longest part, and also tests the sincerity of any (one-off) commitment or decision we make.

Now the things we have to deal with may not be the same as the ones listed for the Colossian church to deal with, but the principle of taking off soiled clothes and replacing them with clean ones remains. Some of us might think that we will need less new clothes than others, but in reality, when God replaces self at the centre of our life, then it might be surprising to see what all of what needs to be sent off to the op shop and replaced.

We are told in verse 5 to “put to death” whatever is in us that is “earthly”. To “put to death” is to utterly eradicate, to wipe them out never to be seen again! N T Wright says that we must “cut of [the] lines of supply” when faced with serious temptation. In verse 8 the words used are “get rid of”. So this is not like trying to just paint over the rust on your car, and expecting that to work; rather it is stripping the duco right back, getting rid of all the rust particles, and working up from there.

This “putting to death” and “getting rid of” need to be decisive, with the mindset of not going back; and there is a tenseness toward urgency in this text. Also, this is not merely a promise (or type of new year’s resolution) to behave differently, but real determined action toward change now. For what is “earthly” are the things that doom a person and a society, but from which we can be set free.

Things that are termed “earthly” are those things that are opposed to God’s ways and undermine healthy life. The world’s ways of thinking and doing things can be very magnetic, and of course sometimes we are very subtly drawn in. But when such soiled clothes are thrown on the floor or, as I have learned to do from when I got married, put in the washing basket, why would you pick these dirty clothes back up and put them on, when there are clean ones available in the wardrobe.

Colossians 3 goes on to list various possibilities, that are obviously not out of the question, because they had to be mentioned to the Colossian church. There are firstly the four-fold sexual sins, which deal with not only the actual behaviour, but also the deep-seated motivations that lie behind such behaviour. Here there is unrestrained self-centredness, immorality, infidelity, disloyalty, unfaithfulness to vows that have been made, and the depreciation of the value of others – both in thought and in deed; together with the resultant contamination of character. Inclinations in this area need to be immediately “put to death”.

Then there is “greed”, which means “to crave more” or “desire what you don’t have”, which therefore could easily be associated with the sexual sins, but also seen in more broad terms. “Greed” is singled out and highlighted as idolatry because it means that certain personal desires are central in a person’s life, displacing God from that position which only God should have. “Greed” also accepts that others deserve less, that other people are only there to be used, that everything exists for personal exploitation; “greed” in fact entirely disregards the rights of others (C Vaughan). These are serious matters, for they bring the threat of self-destruction, or as G Campbell Morgan puts it, “these ... activities always react upon the soul to its own undoing”.

Then follows a list of other anti-social sins, behaviour that destroys relationships: persistent unrestrained anger that is allowed to act out in destructive ways and desire harm to come to certain people; using language that abuses others, puts others down, or spreads untruths about them, thus bringing great hurt. Our own insecurities are let loose to oppress and dominate others (turning us into bullies).

And as verse 11 seems to be pointing out, difference is never an excuse for anti-social behaviour! Obviously the Colossian church needed to be reminded that all people in God’s eyes were equal, all created in God’s image, and all people were equally being invited into God’s family. So no matter what national or cultural background, no matter how bad a person has been in the past, no matter what end of the economic scale they come from, Jesus seeks to unify them together in the new life of faith. This will likely be the diverse and complimentary community that best forms the context for living out the new life in Christ and all its positive qualities.

What is it I need to “put to death”, to be “rid of”? Will I determine to do that now, knowing that I already have God’s help in being successful? And what other help am I going to seek?

Now there is some room for some new attributes! And they are so radically different from the ones dispensed with ... they are worlds apart (N T Wright)! The former way fragmented human community, the new way enhances and integrates human community. The former way showed a preoccupation with self, the new way has the well-being of others as its prime goal (A G Patzia).

The fact that God has loved us and accepted us, makes it so natural that we would respond by being open to new levels of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience toward others. This involves a deep sensitivity to the needs and sorrows of those around us. If we refuse to be “rid of” those “earthly” behaviours, then we just lack the capacity to embrace these more “heavenly” qualities; yet in this world there is so much need for the new nature to shine through.

This list of new qualities are very relational and social – replacing the anti-social vices referred to earlier. Our relationship to God as a “chosen one”, holy and beloved, needs to be seen and expressed in the public sphere, through practical responses to those who are last, least, lame and lost (R W Wall). Wherever one looks, one sees Jesus ... in the ignored elderly person, in the wayward teenager, in the lost child, in the struggling neighbour! To be fully human is to find, in the service of God, an integration of thought and action ... of belief and behaviour (N T Wright).

The list goes on: forbearance (which takes us into the area of creatively relating with more difficult people, making some concessions); forgiveness (which takes us into the area of reconciling with people who have offended us); and love (which of course binds all good human community together). And the list also includes thankfulness, which causes us to think about the many blessings we have enjoyed, especially in comparison to so many others; the most important of these being our faith – which we have received through the opportunity of hearing and appreciating the good news of Jesus (that so many others have not yet had the benefit of hearing). We should also express gratitude to all those who help us along.

What will most appropriately replace the anger and frustration that often rages, is the “peace of Christ”. This is both the “peace” that Jesus has within his own being (and that exists within the Trinity), as well as the “peace” that Jesus is able to give us as part of our salvation experience. This “peace” settles us down, both individually and collectively, in an unwavering trust in God, that overrides any negativity that comes to us. This “peace” brings an inner harmony and addresses our daily fears. This “peace” allows for the settling of disagreements and for new forms of unified cooperation.

What new garment do I need to “clothe” myself with? Will I determine to allow God to develop this quality within me now?

Our life, our new life, then ‘breaks out’ in so many exciting ways. Verses 16 and 17 give a vision of the life of heaven being lived out on earth. The “word of Christ” or the ‘good news of Jesus’ or the ‘teachings of Jesus’ are held deep within us, are allowed to impact us often, and are on the tip of our tongue. We are able to easily dialogue with one another about God’s Word, and through this people gain important new insight. We are easily able to respond to what is happening in the world through the lens of God’s Word.

And we naturally lift our voices in heartfelt worship. Our whole life is dedicated to honouring the name of Jesus. To “do everything in the name of Jesus”, is to represent Jesus in all that we do. It also means claiming Jesus’ presence and strength in all that we do. This is a life that points toward a God of incredible grace. The ultimate life is the one through which Jesus is showing himself to the world (L O Richards).

The Colossian church were faced with certain soiled clothes to dispense with and certain styles of new clothes to wear. While certain areas were listed, more could have been said. We might have come up with our own list of old and new. But the end result of this process of ‘killing off’ the old and ‘adopting’ the new leads to the vision of verse 17 – that everything we say and do honours the name of Jesus. Wow! That’s a big ask! And sure, we won’t absolutely achieve this any day soon. But this certainly defines the journey.

Sometimes we too readily make excuses for ourselves, along the lines of our own weak humanity, or the overwhelming influence of the culture we live in; while failing to understand God’s ability to work effectively in our lives. Worse, some people think that they do not need to change anything (when surely if we look at Jesus, we could never really feel content). Sometimes we give up because we think the ‘bar’ (as in the high-jump ‘bar’) has been set way too high for us to ever reach, failing to realise that we are always going to be ‘works in progress’ and only in heaven ‘finished articles’.

On the other hand, sometimes we are trying too hard in our own limited strength to make change, and ignoring God’s availability to enact change in us if we just simply allowed that to happen. If we trust that Jesus is able to save us, then we must be able to trust that God can transform us so that we can live the life of heaven on earth. For Jesus has already won the ultimate battle over evil and invites us to access his victory dance.

This is all part of our lives properly reflecting the One in whom we believe. If our value system accepts that the central ethic in life is to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbour, then it should follow that we embrace whatever change is necessary that works towards that end. In Christ, we not only are forgiven and redeemed by God, but are also transformed into new persons, capable of knowing and doing the will of God (R W Wall). To concentrate ourselves around the character of Jesus, on that unique blend of love and strength (revealed in the gospels), is to begin on earth to reflect the very life of heaven (N T Wright).