The Life That Is Focused On Jesus – part 3
Colossians 3:1 – 4:1 (3:18-4:1)
May 17, 2015
As you know we are in the middle of a study called:
“It’s All About Jesus”
It is a study where we not only hope to study the truths about Jesus,
But also to remind us that everything in this life is in fact all about Him.
Paul reminded us early on in Colossians chapter 1
That Christ was to have “first place in everything.”
And that is the truth we are seeking to be reminded of as we embark on this study.
For the last two Sunday nights we’ve been studying Col. 3 in order that we may examine what the life focused on Jesus looks like.
If I may recap briefly:
You know that the Colossians were being lied to by false teachers who, because of their angelic visions, were telling the Colossians that the means to pleasing God was through religious ritual and self-abasement.
Of course Paul revealed that those things may in fact look good,
But in reality they are absolutely valueless.
They don’t help you kill the flesh,
And they won’t make you more pleasing to God.
But because this was one of the lies permeating Colossae,
Paul wrote the letter to ask the Colossians to instead focus on Christ.
We’ve already covered the first two points of the chapter,
But let’s briefly remember them.
#1 A PLEA FOR A JESUS FOCUSED LIFE
Colossians 3:1-11
This is where Paul blatantly asked the Colossians to
Quit looking at what pleases men
And instead to start looking at what pleases Christ.
“keep seeking the things above where Christ is”
“Set your mind on the things above”
Men said to stay away from various foods and drinks, etc.
Christ said to stay away from “immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, greed…anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech”
It was about heart righteousness not legalistic righteousness.
And ultimately Paul reminded us that the goal of God
Is not to conform you to some earthly pattern.
For example He wasn’t trying to make you
“Greek” or “Jew” or “Scythian” or “Barbarian”
We could add “or Baptist or Methodist or American or Skinny or Muscular”
God’s objective has always been
To conform you “to the image of the One who created” you.
He wants you to be like Christ.
As Paul said “Christ is all”
THAT IS THE GOAL.
And with that Paul’s first plea is obvious.
FOCUS ON JESUS AND WHAT HE DESIRES
Focus on Jesus that you may be conformed into His image.
Focus on Jesus that you can imitate His behavior.
That was Paul’s Plea for a Jesus focused life.
#2 THE PATTERN OF A JESUS FOCUSED LIFE
Colossians 3:12-17
And quite simply we learned that the pattern is Jesus.
We are to see what makes Him tick and follow His example.
Paul even gave a list of attributes that accurately depict Him.
“compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience”
Paul would add to that list forgiveness and ultimately love.
The idea is that since Christ is those things,
Then you ought to be those things too.
You should follow Christ’s example.
You should also submit to Christ’s desire.
This is what Paul meant when He said to
Let His word dwell in you and His peace rule your life.
Let Christ have His say and do what He says without argument.
After all, if you truly desire to be like Him,
Then it only makes sense to let Him call the shots and give the direction.
In fact, if Paul wanted to give the summation of this chapter,
One could argue that it is found in verse 17.
“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”
In short, do everything the way Christ would do it.
Do everything like Him.
He is the ultimate pattern.
• The Plea for a Jesus Focused Life
• The Pattern of a Jesus Focused Life
Now we come to the third point:
#3 THE PICTURE OF A JESUS FOCUSED LIFE
Colossians 3:18-4:1
And now we final get to the practical “hands on” application.
Now we get to the “For Instance” part of the story.
In these final verses we find people in the midst of every day roles
Whose life is all about Jesus.
We know that because these people wouldn’t do these things
If their life wasn’t all about Jesus.
Here in our text we find 6 people who evidence a Jesus Focused Life.
1) THE SUBMISSIVE WIFE (18)
“Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”
Certainly we are familiar with the command.
Ephesians 5:22-24 “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.”
1 Peter 3:1-6 “In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Your adornment must not be merely external — braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God. For in this way in former times the holy women also, who hoped in God, used to adorn themselves, being submissive to their own husbands; just as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.”
In the confines of marriage,
God has placed the husband as head over the wife.
• This order was established at creation when God created woman for the man’s sake.
• She was called to be a suitable helpmate to him.
And the language of the various texts couldn’t be more direct.
• Paul said she is to submit to him “as to the Lord”
• He also added the phrase “in everything”
• Peter added that it didn’t matter if the husband was obedient to the Lord or not, she was still called to be submissive.
Peter even added the example of Sarah who called Abraham “Lord”
And so the command is a virtually simple one to understand.
“Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”
According to Paul, this “is fitting” for a Christian woman.
If you wanted to put it another way
And you want to know how Jesus would act, well here it is.
If Jesus were a wife, He’d be a submissive one.
And I know in our culture this is extremely taboo.
In reality our society hates all kinds of submission.
• Our society doesn’t think
• Children should have to obey their parents
• Congregations should submit to their pastors
• Civilians should submit to the governing authorities
• Suspects should submit to police officers
• And especially that wives should submit to their husbands.
In reality all of that is nothing less than rebellion against God
Since all authority is established by Him.
Every form of insubordination is rebellion primarily against God.
But ever since the fall women who are controlled by the flesh
Have sought to rebel against their husbands and usurp their authority.
It’s just the way it is, but not for the woman who is focused on Jesus.
The woman who is focused on Jesus submits to her husband.
• Not because he is right
• Not because he deserves it
• Not because he is smart
• Not because he is experienced
In reality none of those reasons matters
She submits to her husband because it “is fitting in the Lord”
She does it because Jesus likes it.
She is the woman who has determined that
Regardless of the circumstance she is the most pleasing to Jesus
When she walks in submission and so she does.
So, if you want practical?
What does a wife who is focused on Jesus look like?
She is submissive.
Let’s look at another type of person who is focused on Jesus.
The Submissive Wife
2) THE LOVING HUSBAND (19)
“Husbands, love your wives and do not be embittered against them.”
Again, this is not an uncommon command.
Ephesians 5:25-30 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless. So husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself; for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body.”
1 Peter 3:7 “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.”
Paul said to the Ephesians that the love of a husband
Was to be sacrificial love, like that of Christ to the church.
The husband, by God’s design,
Is to put his desires on the back burner
And make his wife’s needs a priority.
Peter stated it a little differently
When he said to live with her “in an understanding way”
“do not be embittered against them.”
• That is to say, don’t grow angry and bitter
• Don’t get agitated toward them
• Live in an understanding way
Women don’t particularly like insensitive husbands,
And yet they are called to submit to them anyway.
Men don’t particularly like boisterous wives,
And yet they are called to love them anyway.
The love of Christ is patient and kind
And does not take into account a wrong suffered.
The love of Christ is never exhausted or too tired to act.
And this is the love that a husband is to have for his wife.
He is not to put her on the back burner or neglect her
Or ignore her or dominate her.
He is to love her and cherish her and provide for her and protect her.
Furthermore this is precisely what a husband
Who is focused on Jesus will do,
Because it is precisely the kind of husband that Jesus is.
Think about how Jesus loved the church.
• He endured the humiliation of the incarnation
• He endured the scorn of the crowds
• He mingled with the dirty
• He constantly gave Himself to the begging multitudes and their endless requests
• He washed feet
• He touched wounds
• He carried burdens
And as if that wasn’t enough, He stood in the gap for the church
To the very end, including death on a cross.
And the husband who is focused on Jesus
Will have that kind of love for his wife.
Not because she deserves it (I can already assure you that she doesn’t)
He will love her like that because Christ desires it.
If Jesus were a wife, He’d be a submissive one
If Jesus were a husband, He’d be a loving one
3) THE OBEDIENT CHILD (20)
“Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord.”
Again, this is not a foreign command.
Ephesians 6:1-3 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER (which is the first commandment with a promise), SO THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU, AND THAT YOU MAY LIVE LONG ON THE EARTH.”
Children are continually called to obey their parents.
Proverbs 6:20 “My son, observe the commandment of your father And do not forsake the teaching of your mother;”
It is expected that children will obey.
In fact, under the Mosaic Law a child would be stoned for failing to obey:
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 “If any man has a stubborn and rebellious son who will not obey his father or his mother, and when they chastise him, he will not even listen to them, then his father and mother shall seize him, and bring him out to the elders of his city at the gateway of his hometown. “They shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey us, he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ “Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall remove the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear of it and fear.”
Children are called to obey
And a child that is focused on Jesus in their life, will do it.
They don’t do it because their parent’s commands are fun.
They don’t do it because their parent’s commands make sense.
They do it “in all things” because it “is well-pleasing to the Lord”
Obedience to their parents is about being pleasing to the Father,
Not about being pleasing to themselves.
And that is why we have such an issue with this in our society today.
Depraved Mind
Romans 1:28-30 “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,”
Difficult Men
2 Timothy 3:1-5 “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these.”
In a world that is focused solely on self,
Obeying parents doesn’t fit the bill.
But if you take a person who is submitted to Jesus
And focused on what pleases Jesus,
Obeying parents is precisely the objective.
It is just a simple picture of what a life focused on Jesus looks like.
Let me give you another.
4) THE ENCOURAGING FATHER (21)
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.”
Here we have a picture of a father who is focused on Jesus.
The Father focused on Jesus understands that
He has a tremendous job to do.
He has been entrusted with raising his children to know and fear the Lord.
This is one of the most basic commands of Scripture.
Proverbs 1:8 “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction…”
Proverbs 4:1 “Hear, O sons, the instruction of a father…”
Even the Shema of the Old Testament focuses on this necessity
Deuteronomy 6:1-9 “Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. “O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. “Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This includes not only the instruction mentioned there,
But also the discipline to correct.
Proverbs 23:13-14 “Do not hold back discipline from the child, Although you strike him with the rod, he will not die. You shall strike him with the rod And rescue his soul from Sheol.”
The calling is obvious.
Children are in fact a gift from the Lord.
The calling of the Father is to train them and mold them into the future men and women that God would have them to be.
They are literally the shepherds of their family.
However a father walking in the flesh is often
Too busy, too frustrated, too preoccupied to do this correctly.
That is why Paul reveals how a father focused on Jesus does it.
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart.”
“exasperate” comes from a Greek word that means “stir to anger”
The idea is that the father is so hard to please, or so disinterested
That all he actually does is frustrate a child
Until they quit caring or quit trying.
The child actually gives up and no longer cares what the father desires.
This in reality is what I am most thankful for in my dad.
He could blow his top to be sure,
But he was never afraid to build you up either.
It was a mixture of discipline and encouragement.
One side of him made you afraid to do bad,
The other side made you excited to do good.
It was an equal motive from both ends.
A father focused on Jesus is an encouraging father,
Seeking to faithfully mold his children into the image of Christ.
And so, just in the family unit it is clear.
• A submissive wife
• A loving husband
• An obedient child
• An encouraging father
None of those things are natural to the flesh,
But the individual who is focused on Jesus
With their mind set on heavenly things
Will fulfill these roles solely because it pleases the Lord.
There are two more examples
5) THE COMMITTED SLAVE (22-25)
“Slaves, in all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve. For he who does wrong will receive the consequences of the wrong which he has done, and that without partiality.”
Now granted we don’t know much of slavery in our culture,
And for sure a slave is in view here.
The closest association we make in this area would be to an employee.
• It is the idea of being under the authority of someone else.
• It is the idea of doing a job for someone else.
A carnal slave or a fleshly employee is going to give the bare minimum.
But a slave/employee focused on Jesus is different:
They don’t obey with just “external service”,
They do it “with sincerity of heart”
Why?
Because they fear the Lord.
They do their work “heartily, as for the Lord, knowing that from the Lord [they] will receive the reward of the inheritance.”
Romans 14:6-8 “He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God. For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself; for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
1 Peter 2:18-20 “Servants, be submissive to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and gentle, but also to those who are unreasonable. For this finds favor, if for the sake of conscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unjustly. For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.”
And that passage answers a ton of questions.
My guess is that nearly everyone in here knows what it feels like
To work for a less than pleasant boss.
It is easy to complain and give a half-hearted effort
But a Christian focused on Jesus will do no such thing.
They understand that Christ has placed them in that role
For a bigger purpose (even if they don’t know what it is)
And in their serving Christ they serve their master well.
And even when their earthly master
Never recognizes the good that they do,
They have faith that “from the Lord [they] will receive the reward…”
It is the life that is focused on Jesus.
And then we see the flip side
6) THE FAIR MASTER (4:1)
“Masters, grant to your slaves justice and fairness, knowing that you too have a Master in heaven.”
Again this is a literal master, but it can also apply to anyone who is in charge of another person. Similar to a boss or a manager or a foreman.
And the master who is focused on Jesus
Will operate with “justice and fairness”
Because they know they have a master they will answer to as well.
1 Corinthians 7:22 “For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave.”
The inclination of the flesh is to take advantage of those under you.
• Make them do all the menial tasks…
• Make them do their job and yours…
• Make them carry the heaviest burdens…
This is not a fair master.
Matthew 24:45-51 “Who then is the faithful and sensible slave whom his master put in charge of his household to give them their food at the proper time? “Blessed is that slave whom his master finds so doing when he comes. “Truly I say to you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. “But if that evil slave says in his heart, ‘My master is not coming for a long time,’ and begins to beat his fellow slaves and eat and drink with drunkards; the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour which he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The call is to remember that while we may be someone’s master
We are still someone’s slave.
We have to treat those under us as we want the one over us to treat us.
This is how the person focused on Jesus operates.
AND SO, YOU SEE THE PICTURE OF A JESUS FOCUSED LIFE.
It’s not deep
It’s not tricky
In all actuality, it is really very basic.
• If Jesus were a wife, He’d be submissive
• If Jesus were a husband, He’d be loving
• If Jesus were a child, He’d be obedient
• If Jesus were a father, He’d be encouraging
• If Jesus were a slave, He’d be committed
• If Jesus were a master, He’d be just and fair
And our calling is to be like Him.
See, the Colossians were all confused about the life that pleases God.
They thought it had to do with what they ate and didn’t eat,
What festivals they attended and so forth.
But that was pointless religion.
A wife may attend every function, and abstain from ever carnal appetite, but if she isn’t submissive to her husband, she is missing the point.
A husband may attend every function, and abstain from all things, but if he doesn’t love his wife, that is not what God desires.
And so on…
Whatever role you play on this earth,
Just understand that you are doing it for Jesus.
And you should do it like Jesus would.
“It’s All About Jesus”
There is nothing in this life that isn’t.
Everything must be done with a focus on Him.
