Properly Attired for Eternity (Col 3:12-17) Message by Rev Dr Ng Swee Ming. Continuing Sermon Series on Colossians

1. Properly Attired for Eternity
SSMC
SUNGAI WAY-SUBANG
METHODIST
C H U R C H
Rev Dr Ng Swee Ming | 8 Nov 2015

7. THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS

8. THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS
And we pray this in order that
you may live a life worthy of the Lord
and may please him in every way:
bearing fruit in every good work,
growing in the knowledge of God.…

9. THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS

10. General Outline of Colossians
I. Chp 1 : DOCTRINE
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency DECLARED
II. Chp 2 : DANGER
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency DEFENDED
III. Chps 3-4 : DUTY
Christ's Supremacy & Sufficiency DISPLAYED

11. Sermon 8 : LIVING for JESUS Col 3:1-11
1.Seek the Heavenly
2.Slay the Earthly
Put to death …
Take off …
3.Strengthen the Christly
Put on …

12. Paul exhorted his readers to
‘PUT OFF’ the “grave-clothes”
of sin and of the old life….
BUT WHAT DO WE THEN
‘PUT ON’ ??
‘grave-clothes to grace-clothes’
Col 3:10 ‘… put on the new self,
which is being renewed in
knowledge in the image of its
Creator….’
Sermon 9:
Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17

13. Paul exhorted his readers to
‘PUT OFF’ the “grave-clothes”
of sin and of the old life….
BUT WHAT DO WE THEN
‘PUT ON’ ??
‘grave-clothes to grace-clothes’
Col 3:10 ‘… put on the new self,
which is being renewed in
knowledge in the image of its
Creator….’
Sermon 9:
Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17

14. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
Col 3:12-14
12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and
dearly loved, clothe yourselves with
compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and
patience.
13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever
grievances you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
14 And over all these virtues put on love, which
binds them all together in perfect unity.

15. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
v12 THEREFORE, as God's chosen people, holy and
dearly loved, ….
… as a result …
… as a consequence …
V12 : Our CALLING – Who we are in Christ …
 CHOSEN - ‘chosen of God’, ‘elect’
 HOLY - ‘set apart’
 LOVED - God ‘s Beloved
a. The CHARACTER of Christ (Col. 3:12-14)

16. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The Character of Christ (Col. 3:12-14)
v12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and
dearly loved, ….
cf 1 Peter 2:9-10
But you are a CHOSEN people, a ROYAL priesthood,
a HOLY nation, a PEOPLE BELONGING to God,
Q: For What ?
that you may declare the praises of him who called
you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
Once you were not a people, but now you are the
people of God; once you had not received mercy,
but now you have received mercy.

17. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER of CHRIST
Our Calling : 12 Therefore, as God's chosen people,
holy and dearly loved, …
Our ‘Clothing’ :
CLOTHE YOURSELVES with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience.
13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever
grievances you may have against one another.
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
14 And over all these virtues put on love, which
binds them all together in perfect unity.

18. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER OF CHRIST
 Our Clothing ….
• Compassion : Gk: splagchnon - heartfelt
compassion, bowels of compassion
eg Good Samaritan (Luke 10)
• Kindness : Acting charitably, benevolently
toward others. Does not come naturally…
- ‘fruit of the Spirit’ (Gal 5:22-23).
• Humility : vs pride & domination
• Gentleness : Meekness, ‘strength under control’
eg Moses (Num 12:3)

19. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER OF CHRIST
 Our Clothing ….
• Patience : Long-Suffering …
• Forbearance : "to hold back”, to sustain, to
endure
eg David not taking revenge on King Saul
(1 Sam 21-23)
• Forgiving : ‘forgive whatever grievances you
may have against one another.’
REASON : ‘Forgive as the Lord forgave you’.

20. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER OF CHRIST
• Love : Agape …
v14 And OVER ALL these virtues put on LOVE,
which BINDS THEM ALL TOGETHER in perfect unity
Ref Eph 5:2
“… LIVE A LIFE OF LOVE, just as Christ loved us
and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering
and sacrifice to God.”

21. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER OF CHRIST
Christ the perfect example
We are called to imitate Christ
called to ‘PUT ON…’

22. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER of Christ (Col. 3:12-14)
Sharing by Brandon Lee
on ______ Medical & Dental Trip
24th – 30th Oct 2016

38. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER of Christ (Col. 3:12-14)
Showing …
Compassion,
Kindness,
Humility,
Gentleness,
Patience,
Forbearance,
Forgiveness,
Love …

39. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER of CHRIST
b. The PEACE of CHRIST
V15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…
‘rule’ : athletic term - ‘umpire’ or ‘referee’
Q: How can a Christian know when he is doing
God's will?
A: Having the peace of Christ in our heart
God given ‘conscience’
Ref Rom 2:15b ‘consciences … bearing witness…’

40. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
b. The PEACE of CHRIST
Danger of ‘false peace’
Jonah 1:2 ….

41. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER of CHRIST
b. The PEACE of CHRIST
Col 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts,
since as MEMBERS OF ONE BODY
you were called to peace. And be thankful.
Peace … within ourselves …
among the “BODY” of Christ …
His Church …
Peace & Unity …

42. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER of CHRIST
b. The PEACE of CHRIST
v16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly …
c. The WORD of CHRIST
‘dwell’ – ‘to feel at home’, ‘to stay’…
If we have His character…
If we know His peace …
then the Word of Christ can ‘dwell’
‘richly’ – ‘not casually or flippantly’
 takes time, effort, discipline …
 need a relationship with Christ …

43. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
c. The WORD of CHRIST
V16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
as you teach and admonish one another with
all wisdom,
the WORD can - teach …
- admonish : counsel, exhort, instruct …
2 Tim 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING and
TRAINING in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.

44. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
c. The WORD of CHRIST
V16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
as you teach and admonish one another with
all wisdom,
the WORD can - teach …
- admonish : counsel, exhort, instruct …
2 Tim 3:16-17
16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for
TEACHING, REBUKING, CORRECTING and
TRAINING in righteousness,
17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly
equipped for every good work.
 teaching - what is right
 reproof - what is not right
 correction - how to get right
 training - how to stay right

45. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
Did you know ….
50% of the books in the Bible
can be read in less than 45
mins each
Many in less than 20
Whole Bible can be read aloud
in <71 hrs.
Daily 15 mins reading - Whole
Bible in a year
‘No
time
lah !’

46. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
“… the passages in the
Bible which trouble me
most …
are those which I do
understand.”
‘Cannot
understand,
so hard lah!’
Mark Twain
1835-1910

47. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
c. The WORD of CHRIST
v16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly
as you teach and admonish one another with
all wisdom,
AND as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual
songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Worship …. Cf Eph 5:18-19
Psalms : Praise
Hymns : Gk “humnos” – Praise
eg Matt 26:30, Acts 16:25
Spiritual Songs : Gk ‘ode’ …
7x in NT – Eph, Col & 5x in Rev….

48. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
a. The CHARACTER of CHRIST
b. The PEACE of CHRIST
c. The WORD of CHRIST
v17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed,
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving
thanks to God the Father through him.
d. The NAME of CHRIST
Christian - Christ’s follower, Belonging to Christ
Authority
Commissioned Matt 28:18-20
Healing Acts 3:6
Exorcism Acts 16:18

49. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
v17 And WHATEVER YOU DO, whether in word or
deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Rule of Thumb :
If whatever you do …
If whatever you say …
 you cannot bring the name of Jesus into it…
DO NOT DO …
DO NOT SAY IT…

50. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
In Conclusion …
v12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and
dearly loved, clothe yourselves (put on) with …
Chosen …
Holy - Set Apart …
Loved …
 ‘Put On’ the Character of Christ
Peace of Christ
Word of Christ
Name of Christ
Q: What then should be our attitude ?

51. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
Col 3:15-17
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as
members of one body you were called to peace.
and BE THANKFUL.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you
teach and admonish one another with all wisdom,
and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
WITH GRATITUDE in your hearts to God.
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do
it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, GIVING
THANKS to God the Father through him.

52. Properly ATTIRED for ETERNITY Col 3:12-17
Col 3:15-17
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as
members of one body you were called to peace.
and BE THANKFUL.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you
teach and admonish one another with all wisdom,
and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs
WITH GRATITUDE in your hearts to God.
17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do
it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, GIVING
THANKS to God the Father through him.

53. Family Strength Project
Dr. Nick Stinnett, Uni of Nebraska
6 key qualities for Strong Healthy Families
SHOWING APPRECIATION & THANKS
for what members do & who they are..
Same for a Healthy Church Family …
Constant need to show appreciation
& thanks…
Strong Healthy Families
= Strong Healthy Church
Q: When was the last time you ….

56. THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS

57. THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE COLOSSIANS
And we pray this in order that
you may live a life worthy of the Lord
and may please him in every way:
bearing fruit in every good work,
growing in the knowledge of God,…