“Colossians 3”

Monday, July 03, 2017

Man is a dual being, one part physical body and the other part, the spirit or soul.

Those two aspects of man are often at odds with each other. This is the eternal struggle of the spirit against the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17; Matthew 26:41).

The “things which are above” are the things of God, as He has revealed them to mankind in His word, the Bible.

The “things on the earth” fall into two distinct categories, both of which we must be constantly aware.

The first category would be sinful things. There are many lists of these ungodly actions and attitudes in the New Testament (verses 5-9). The second area would be those things that are not sinful, in and of themselves, but which can occupy so much of our time that we fail to serve the Lord.

As a Christian grows spiritually, he focuses on “those things which are above” and is not caught up in the world and its temptations.

The Christian, who is walking in the light of God’s truth, develops many qualities, discussed here in verses 12-17, which are commendable both to God and in the sight of all men.

He is tender, kind, humble, patient and forgiving. He also grows in his love for his fellow sojourners and pilgrims.

A disciple will develop and mature to be like his teacher (Luke 6:40).

The best thing about being a faithful Christian is that we will get to live in heaven with the Lord forever. But another benefit of obeying God’s will is that this makes life on the earth better. That is especially true about our relationships in this life. Paul discusses some of these in 3:18-4:1.

He speaks of wives (verse 18), husbands (verse 19), children (verse 20), fathers (verse 21), bondservants (verse 22) and masters (4:1).

--Roger Hillis

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