Colossians 2:14 - Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
The word handwriting means a hand written certificate of debt. The bible says that every person, as soon as they sin, they are indebted to God for the payment for that sin, which no one can pay. But He blotted it out, which was contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, He removed it. He removed the debt, nailing it to his cross;
That's a very interesting statement. You'll remember in Matthew 27:37 when Jesus was nailed on the cross, and this is true for every criminal, is that they would put a plaque above the person on the cross which would list their crimes.
And so that's what this phrase is making reference to, that all my offences were nailed to the cross, on that plaque if you would, all of my sins, and that Jesus died for me. He nailed my handwriting certificate of debt to the cross for me.
Colossians 3:1 - If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
It starts out by saying, if you then be risen with Christ. The word "if" used here is a First-Class Condition Assumed to be True. It is literally translated since. Since you then are risen with Christ, seek those things (There's your command) which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.
The verb tense is continually seek the things above, the things of heaven, and not the things on the earth. So, we have to ask the question, what am I seeking? Every morning when I get up, I'm seeking something. Most of the time it's in the human. We're told that we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven, and we're to seek the things of Christ, not the things of the earth.
Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Notice that this all comes under put on the new life. If you're saved and Christ is in you, it's a matter of deciding what way you're going to go. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. The word peace, EIRENE means to be united. The peace of Christ, and the peace of God, it just means to be at one with Him. When I'm under the influence of God's Spirit, the unity that's already existing flows from one believer to the other in one body. The next command: and be ye thankful. That's not a human practice. That also is a ministry of God's Spirit. It's part of the new life. Just put it on!
Colossians 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.
All of this in Verse 16 is the same concepts that are found in Ephesians 5:18-21. Many of the teachings in Ephesians are also in Colossians. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul says be filled with the Spirit which produces certain characteristics.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; and there are three things that are produced by the word of God. And the word dwell means to make His home in your heart. Let the word of Christ make its home in you richly in all wisdom; by teaching, and these are called Modal Participles. By teaching, and by admonishing (warning) one another.
In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. They used to use singing as a means of teaching. They would learn scriptures with music and would sing. But they would warn one another in singing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
Thirdly, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. It doesn't say with your lips and vocal cords. What the bible is saying is whether you sing out loud, or sing to the Lord privately, it must come from your heart.
Colossians 3:12 - Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, and then he lists five things:
The first one is bowels of mercies. The Greeks always used the names of internal organs to express their deep affection and love. So, bowels of mercies would equal out to a heart of compassion. The word kindness is the word usefulness. Not all kindness is useful. Humbleness of mind is number three. Meekness basically means to be open and receptive to people. And then longsuffering means to be slow in human reaction to others as far as anger.
And then Verse 13 has two participles, which means these two are to be done at the same time as the others.
Colossians 3:13 - Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Forbearing one another, which is the word for tolerance. Be continually tolerating one another and be continually forgiving one another. How can I do that? Put on the new life. Christ is already there. You're complete in Him. It's a matter of turning to Him.
And then the command: if any man have a quarrel against anyone: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Forgive them. How can I forgive like Christ forgives? It's because I have Christ. It's Him in me that ministers through me to others.
Colossians 3:14 - And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
And above all these things, which literally in the Greek means add this to everything else. Put on charity, or agape, which is the bond of maturity, completeness. Put on love! And again, AGAPE is not a human action. Love is a fruit of God's Spirit.
Colossians 3:8 - But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
But now ye also put off all these; Anger, and that is a deep boiling anger. Wrath, which is a sudden outburst of anger. Malice, is general evil, just giving people a bad time. Blasphemy, and it is interesting that when this word is directed from human being to human being, it is translated slander. But when it's directed towards God it is called blasphemy. It's the same word and it has to do with slander.
And filthy communication from out of your mouth. You don't need to be rehabilitated. You just need to put it off. It's part of the old life.
Colossians 3:10 - And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
And that you have put on the new man, and that's the new regenerate man, which is renewed, and the word renewed means to acquire a new quality. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul says we have become a new creation in Christ. The old things have passed away and all things have become new.
Which is renewed in knowledge, and the word knowledge means deep knowledge, thorough knowledge, after the image of him that created him: Our new man created in Christ! We have a new quality of life and a knowledge that other people do not get to know.
Colossians 3:2 - Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Again, continually set your affection. And the word affection has to do with the frame of mind. This is the disposition of the mind, the attitude, the approach to life. Have a frame of mind that is set on things above and not things on the earth. The explanation is given to us in Verses 3 and 4.
Colossians 3:5 - Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Interesting, it says mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. Mortify means put to death. It means allow the members of your body and its desires to die. Stop trying to revive them. Stop trying to reach back in the old life. You're losing desire for those old things so let it die.
And he gives us a list of 5 things:
Fornication, which is sexual immorality. Uncleanness, which is all sexual impureness. Inordinate affection, which is physical passion. Evil concupiscence, which means evil mental desires. And covetousness, which we call greed. And the word covetousness literally in the Greek means the desire to have more. Being greedy and covetous is the desire to have more than what you have.
And notice what he calls it: which is idolatry: It's a form of worship and idolatry toward God to be greedy and have the desire to have more than what God has given you.
Colossians 3:7 - In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
In which you also walked some time (or literally once), when you lived in them, reminding them that they're now believers. They don't walk that way anymore. And so, he's telling them to put it off. There are two phrases that are used, to put on a coat, and to take off a coat. When he says put off, he means that. You got your old dirty clothes on again. Take the dirty clothes off and put the new life back on. It's as simple as that!
Colossians 2:14 - Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
The word handwriting means a hand written certificate of debt. The bible says that every person, as soon as they sin, they are indebted to God for the payment for that sin, which no one can pay. But He blotted it out, which was contrary to us, and He took it out of the way, He removed it. He removed the debt, nailing it to his cross;
That's a very interesting statement. You'll remember in Matthew 27:37 when Jesus was nailed on the cross, and this is true for every criminal, is that they would put a plaque above the person on the cross which would list their crimes.
And so that's what this phrase is making reference to, that all my offences were nailed to the cross, on that plaque if you would, all of my sins, and that Jesus died for me. He nailed my handwriting certificate of debt to the cross for me.
Colossians 3:1 - If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
It starts out by saying, if you then be risen with Christ. The word "if" used here is a First-Class Condition Assumed to be True. It is literally translated since. Since you then are risen with Christ, seek those things (There's your command) which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.
The verb tense is continually seek the things above, the things of heaven, and not the things on the earth. So, we have to ask the question, what am I seeking? Every morning when I get up, I'm seeking something. Most of the time it's in the human. We're told that we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven, and we're to seek the things of Christ, not the things of the earth.
Colossians 3:15 - And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Notice that this all comes under put on the new life. If you're saved and Christ is in you, it's a matter of deciding what way you're going to go. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts. The word peace, EIRENE means to be united. The peace of Christ, and the peace of God, it just means to be at one with Him. When I'm under the influence of God's Spirit, the unity that's already existing flows from one believer to the other in one body. The next command: and be ye thankful. That's not a human practice. That also is a ministry of God's Spirit. It's part of the new life. Just put it on!
Colossians 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.
All of this in Verse 16 is the same concepts that are found in Ephesians 5:18-21. Many of the teachings in Ephesians are also in Colossians. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul says be filled with the Spirit which produces certain characteristics.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; and there are three things that are produced by the word of God. And the word dwell means to make His home in your heart. Let the word of Christ make its home in you richly in all wisdom; by teaching, and these are called Modal Participles. By teaching, and by admonishing (warning) one another.
In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. They used to use singing as a means of teaching. They would learn scriptures with music and would sing. But they would warn one another in singing of psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
Thirdly, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. It doesn't say with your lips and vocal cords. What the bible is saying is whether you sing out loud, or sing to the Lord privately, it must come from your heart.
Colossians 3:12 - Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, and then he lists five things:
The first one is bowels of mercies. The Greeks always used the names of internal organs to express their deep affection and love. So, bowels of mercies would equal out to a heart of compassion. The word kindness is the word usefulness. Not all kindness is useful. Humbleness of mind is number three. Meekness basically means to be open and receptive to people. And then longsuffering means to be slow in human reaction to others as far as anger.
And then Verse 13 has two participles, which means these two are to be done at the same time as the others.
Colossians 3:13 - Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Forbearing one another, which is the word for tolerance. Be continually tolerating one another and be continually forgiving one another. How can I do that? Put on the new life. Christ is already there. You're complete in Him. It's a matter of turning to Him.
And then the command: if any man have a quarrel against anyone: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Forgive them. How can I forgive like Christ forgives? It's because I have Christ. It's Him in me that ministers through me to others.
Colossians 3:14 - And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
And above all these things, which literally in the Greek means add this to everything else. Put on charity, or agape, which is the bond of maturity, completeness. Put on love! And again, AGAPE is not a human action. Love is a fruit of God's Spirit.
Colossians 3:8 - But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
But now ye also put off all these; Anger, and that is a deep boiling anger. Wrath, which is a sudden outburst of anger. Malice, is general evil, just giving people a bad time. Blasphemy, and it is interesting that when this word is directed from human being to human being, it is translated slander. But when it's directed towards God it is called blasphemy. It's the same word and it has to do with slander.
And filthy communication from out of your mouth. You don't need to be rehabilitated. You just need to put it off. It's part of the old life.
Colossians 3:10 - And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
And that you have put on the new man, and that's the new regenerate man, which is renewed, and the word renewed means to acquire a new quality. In 2 Corinthians 5:17, Paul says we have become a new creation in Christ. The old things have passed away and all things have become new.
Which is renewed in knowledge, and the word knowledge means deep knowledge, thorough knowledge, after the image of him that created him: Our new man created in Christ! We have a new quality of life and a knowledge that other people do not get to know.
Colossians 3:2 - Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Again, continually set your affection. And the word affection has to do with the frame of mind. This is the disposition of the mind, the attitude, the approach to life. Have a frame of mind that is set on things above and not things on the earth. The explanation is given to us in Verses 3 and 4.
Colossians 3:5 - Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
Interesting, it says mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. Mortify means put to death. It means allow the members of your body and its desires to die. Stop trying to revive them. Stop trying to reach back in the old life. You're losing desire for those old things so let it die.
And he gives us a list of 5 things:
Fornication, which is sexual immorality. Uncleanness, which is all sexual impureness. Inordinate affection, which is physical passion. Evil concupiscence, which means evil mental desires. And covetousness, which we call greed. And the word covetousness literally in the Greek means the desire to have more. Being greedy and covetous is the desire to have more than what you have.
And notice what he calls it: which is idolatry: It's a form of worship and idolatry toward God to be greedy and have the desire to have more than what God has given you.
Colossians 3:7 - In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
In which you also walked some time (or literally once), when you lived in them, reminding them that they're now believers. They don't walk that way anymore. And so, he's telling them to put it off. There are two phrases that are used, to put on a coat, and to take off a coat. When he says put off, he means that. You got your old dirty clothes on again. Take the dirty clothes off and put the new life back on. It's as simple as that!
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