Put On Christ
Preached by Apostle Aje Pelser

What to put off and what to put on…
In Colossians, a Christ centred book of the New Testament, Paul stresses the pre-eminence of the person of Christ and the completeness of the salvation He provides
“The heresy that is threatening the church at Colossae seeks to devaluate Christ by elevating speculation, ritualism, mysticism and asceticism. But Christ is completely sufficient for every spiritual and practical need of the believer.”
“The two major topics are: the position of Christ (chapters 1 & 2) and the position of believers (chapters 3 & 4). The doctrinal truth in chapters 1 and 2 must bear fruit in practical conduct. Chapters 3 and 4 explore the application of these principles to daily life.”
[MBTC Subject Manual Colossians and Epistles of John.]

Scripture Reading
Col 3:5 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Col 3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,
Col 3:7 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them.
Col 3:8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,
Col 3:10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
Col 3:11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
Col 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
Col 3:13 bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Col 3:14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

The foundation upon which the believer’s earthly life must be built, is his union with Christ in His death, resurrection and exaltation (11 4). Having died with Christ, the believer must regard himself as dead to the old sins and put them aside (3:5: 11). Having been resurrected with Christ, he must regard himself as alive to Him in righteousness and put on the new qualities that are prompted by:
Christian love (3:12 17). The outworking of this righteousness in the believer’s life is holiness (3:18 4:1). The believer’s faith in Christ should transform relationships outside and inside the home (4:2 6). The epistle concludes with commendations, greetings, instructions and a farewell note (4:7 18). [Summary from MBTC for full Subject contact us and enrol.]

False doctrine cannot kill the sensual, carnal nature. The true gospel has the power to put to death the old carnal nature in your being. The Gospel can destroy the strength of sin, deprive it of its power to rule over you.
You must put the power of your faith in the finished work of redemption into practice and kill whatever remains of your sinful nature. The same faith which saved you, kills the old man. Christ has broken sin’s power. Use your faith in Him to maintain that victory, to maintain your liberty, by simply refusing to obey your evil nature. The sinful deeds which results when people give in to the sinful nature are:
Fornication – illicit, sexual intercourse, uncleanness, impurity of
lustful luxurious wasteful living (TV).
Inordinate affection depravity, uncontrolled passion (Films).
Evil concupiscence evil, wicked (cravings).
Covetousness greedy desire to have more sin of avarice.
Idolatry worship of false gods like money (mammon).

Here is a checklist that you can remove and tick off with the help of the Holy Spirit:
Anger habitual anger, seeking revenge.
Wrath boiling agitation, sudden violent anger.
Malice nasty, ill will, desire to injure.
Blasphemy slander, injuring another’s good name.
Filthy Communication foul, obscene speech.
Lie stop lying to one another.

Put on the mind of Christ in your thoughts, feelings and actions that your life might resemble Him and reproduces the life He lived. This is not a choice (3:12 is in the imperative mode); it is a command to be obeyed at once.
Gal 4:19 My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,

Your election is God’s choice God has set you apart to live a holy, separated life.

Holy – “hagios” (Strong’s G40) is derived from “hagizo” to set apart for God. God’s power separates you from sinful and selfish pursuits until you want to seek the things which are above.
Beloved God’s love is a self denying love for the benefit of those He loves. We are the objects of God’s love.
Bowels of mercy To the Greek poets, bowels are the seat of the more violent passions such as anger and love. To the Hebrew poets, bowels are the seat of the more tender affections such as kindness, compassion and mercy.
Mercy compassion, pity. Consider how Jesus was moved with compassion during His ministry on earth.
Kindness – implies a gentle and gracious disposition. It is also a fruit of the Spirit.
Humility – is to have a humble opinion of oneself modest and lowly. We learn to have a sane estimation of ourselves according to the measure of faith that God has dealt to each one. (See also Romans 12.)
Meekness an inwrought grace the temper of Spirit in which we accept God’s dealings with us as good without disputing or restricting or fighting against God no struggle or contending. This meekness towards God becomes a meekness towards men, especially evil men, who insult or injure. Even these insults are permitted and employed by God to chasten and purify us. It is our strength under God’s control.
Long suffering is not easily provoked by injurious persons, does not blaze up in anger, is patient under ill treatment. Love first suffers long! Read 1 Corinthians 13.
Forbearing to bear with the ones you do not like. Love bears all…
Forgiving – to show one’s self gracious, kind and benevolent, grant forgiveness to those who quarrel, who blame you, who complain against you. Forgive fully as God forgives. We want God to forgive us so when we pray that is one of Jesus’ instructions: Matthew 6:14,15.
Love Love embraces all these qualities like the skin of an apple. Love knits together all these virtues. Without love, these virtues are manifestations of love without love. They’ll be sounding brass. Love is the bond of perfection it holds all the virtue together which together make up perfection.
Perfection denotes being complete, fully grown, mature, in good working order. These virtues are the fullness of the Spirit.

THE RESULT

Col 3:18 4:1
Plato says that two things cannot be held together without a third, they must have some bond of union. And the fairest bond is that which most completely fuses and is fused into the things which are bound. Divine love is fused with these other virtues in us. It holds together holds us close to God and holds us closely together as members.