SERIES: The Book of Colossians
TEXT: Colossians 3:12-4:1
MESSAGE: “Jesus Over All of Life”

“What Paul is really explaining is what it means to call Christ Lord.” — Dick Lucas

TEXT: Colossians 3:12-4:1

Question: If Christ truly is all and in all, what does that actually look like in everyday life?

Q: What can we learn from today’s passage about Jesus in all of life? We see it in three ways: (1) Jesus in our Heart, (2) Jesus in our Home (3) Jesus in our Work

1. Jesus in our Heart (v. 3:12-17)

“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

“Imagine if all Christians, as a normal part of their discipleship, were caught up in a web of regular Bible reading—not only digging into the word privately, but reading it with their children before bed, with their spouse over breakfast, with a non-Christian colleague at work once a week over lunch, with a new Christian for follow-up once a fortnight for mutual encouragement, and with a mature Christian friend once a month for mutual encouragement.” ― Colin Marshall

2. Jesus in our home (v. 3:18-21)

“Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

“Notice…that Paul urges mutual responsibilities upon husband and wife: it is not all one-sided. Indeed her side is hardly possible without his, and vice versa. The two imperatives ought not to be isolated…” — Dick Lucas

“How horrifyingly easy it is for us to destroy human relationships, even the closest and dearest. It is in making ourselves into the lord we serve that others are destroyed by us…” — Dick Lucas

“The rule of Christ demands that a man serve his wife as the evidence that he is serving Christ. So once again we have, worked out in daily life, what it means to make Christ Lord.” — Dick Lucas

“Fear not in being a subject; for subjection to one that loveth thee hath no hardship.” — John Chrysostom

“Even while these people were worshiping the Lord, they were serving their idols. To this day their children and grandchildren continue to do as their ancestors did.” — 2 Kings 17:41

3. Jesus in our work (v. 3:22-4:1)

“Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. 1 Masters, treat your bondservants justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.”

“If it were a matter of being a slave of another person, however kind and fair…duty might be done willingly enough, but it could not be done ‘from the soul.’ For in the depths of our being we know we were not meant to be the property of another…” — Dick Lucas

“In Christ, the slave’s worth is such that any task he undertakes, however menial, is fit to be part of his service of the Lord of glory… he can do it knowing it is done for Christ, and that He is willing to receive it.” — Dick Lucas

TAKEAWAYS:

• How is Jesus shaping you personally?
• How is Jesus shaping your home?

“When your ears hear and your eyes see the sin, weakness, or failure of your husband or wife, it is never an accident; it is always grace. God loves your spouse, and he is committed to transforming him or her by his grace, and he has chosen you to be one of his regular tools of change.” — Paul David Tripp

• How is Jesus shaping your work?

“Every faithful act of service, every honest labor to make the world a better place, which seemed to have been forever lost and forgotten in the rubble of history, will be seen on that day [at the final resurrection] to have contributed to the perfect fellowship of God’s kingdom…. All who committed their work in faithfulness to God will be by Him raised up to share in the new age, and will find that their labor was not lost, but that it has found its place in the completed.” ― Amy Sherman, Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good