I have been studying Colossians for a Bible study with some folks down here in Harrisonburg and I decided that I would try and paraphrase (I believe that is the correct term for it) some verses from chapter 3. I just thought I would share my paraphrase with you ...
Completely destroy everything that belongs to your old earthly nature, that sinful self that has died and was left behind when you rose into this new life that is completely saturated with Christ’s life. Among the things that you must destroy are any sexual acts that are contrary to God’s plan and purpose. Remember, Christ said that to look upon a woman with lust is to commit adultery with her in your heart. Also destroy any other act that would make you dirty as you stand before our Holy God, these are not consistent with our new source and life. Finally destroy every lustful and greedy thought these are filled with evil and put earthly things in our hearts before God. These very things are causing God to swell up with righteous wrath and soon it will burst forth upon those who would not repent and accept the free gift of total forgiveness and new life that He offered through the sacrifice of His son.
You know very well that you used to make due use of every opportunity to do these very same things in the life that you lived before your redeeming encounter with Jesus Christ. But now you must lay all of these aside and never touch them again. Even things like anger, and angry outbursts, mean spiritedness, viciousness, speaking lowly and falsely about each other and all sorts of foul language. You must never allow these a place in your hearts and minds again.
Don’t lie to each other. Be honest about your struggles and short comings; use the body of Christ to do these things in honesty. Don’t just build up a beautiful image of your self for others while inside and in private you are struggling with bitter sin and death, Christ calls us to be transparent. Honesty with great humility is one of the best ways to fully separate your self from all of these remnants of the old sin filled life. There is no need to lie because you have put on a new person, one that is always being renewed through the deeply intimate knowledge that you are gaining of your Creator and that is being transformed into His image more and more each day.
In this new kind of life (the kind of life that we were created to live but feel so utterly short of) there is no longer rich and poor, spiritually able and unable, middle class, lower class, and upper class, third world or first world, native tribesman or wealthy business man. There is only Christ and because of His dwelling within us, because His life has been so completely blended with ours, God sees only Christ when He looks at us. We truly have become sons of God.
Now because God has called you out of the life that you were living when you were dead in your sins, and has made you holy, that is set apart from this world, and has loved you with an unconditional boundless love that will reach past the far ends of eternity you need to cloth your new self with a new set of divine character traits. Just as those old sinful acts have been taken off and are never to be touched again these new divine attributes are to be put on right now and never taken off. You must have a heart that is filled with compassion for those around you. Your heart should be sensitive to the fallen state of the world at large and to the struggles of your fellow brothers and sisters. You need to show kindness to all being willing to help them in any way that God will allow. You must also have a proper view of your self in the light of the greatness of God and the wonder of His love and saving grace. Realize that with out Him you are nothing, all life is Christ and apart from Him we don’t have life. You must be willing to accommodate others weakness and to patiently trust in God to strengthen each one to do His work. Be patient also, Christ showed so much patience toward you while you walked in sin and so you need to show that same kind of patience with others.
Learn to forgive your bothers and sisters. Christ has forgiven us all of our sins and so we need to forgive anything that we might hold against a brother. Wrap all of these qualities around you and cover them all with love. This is a deep God kind of love that is totally unconditional, it is love that is a choice and not a feeling; it is a kind of love that will bind up broken hearts and that will hold the body of Christ together. Love is the key, Love is Christ, and we must learn to love as Christ and to love through Christ, to see the world and our brothers and sisters with His eyes of love. His is a love that will bind us together perfectly forever.
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