BIBLICAL PRECEPTS BECAUSE WE SERVE AN AMAZING GOD

Biblical precepts because we serve an amazing God


Paul starts out in this passage that I am going to review and writes about such Godly intimate emotions such as bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness and longsuffering.

He urges Christians to forbear one another and forgive. This is a spirit that should be very close to our hearts because we are going to need this in a world that is just downright offensive. This also happens in the church. The Apostle Paul reminds us that Jesus Christ Himself forgave our sins so if we have a quarrel against a person follow the same truth that our Savior had for us with our transgressions. Most Christians have been offended by other believers in Christ so even if we have to extend in understanding this biblical principle please do so because if for example a brother or sister is rude to you a basis of truth in this precept will be rooted inside your heart. Do not let an offence become a grudge.

Paul reminds us above all put on love which takes forgiveness in our heart one step deeper and then the Apostle refers to this as the bond of perfectness.

At this point in verse fifteen which is one of the most popular verses in the Bible we are to let the peace of God rule in our hearts. One of the reasons this should be a reality in our life is because we are called in one body. Paul also reminds us to be thankful because quite frankly none of us deserve this comfort (peace) because we sinned/offended God with our transgressions. If we receive mercy and peace from the Holy Spirit it should only be natural that a grateful spirit is to emanate from our heart. Sometimes I sin before God and am amazed that the Holy Spirit sometimes bestows His peace in my spirit. I say to God, "Lord I just sinned" but in my repentance  the reality of the situation is Jesus Christ is merciful. Once again we did not earn any of this love from God so the Apostle is saying be gracious to your brothers and sisters in Christ. You may say but this one person gets to me every time. That is all the more reason to understand this biblical principle and precept. 

We are also urged to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in the wisdom of the Holy Spirit so please be careful of the teachers that you listen to because if their empathies is not in line with the Bible this "Wisdom" will be from people. This will move us away from Jesus Christ. The word of God is good for teaching, admonishing one another in Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs but then Paul says singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. By the way that "Grace" comes from God through His Son Jesus Christ. This is why obeying by faith and following Jesus Christ is so important because we need this "Grace" so we can give it back to God. When we get crowns in heaven we will be giving them back to God. Remember in the presence of Jesus Christ we do not need anything.

In our dealings with life word or deed do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ once again with thanksgiving to God. This is the second time Paul mentions thanksgiving to God so it is obviously a spirit the Holy Spirit has to impart in us as believers in Jesus Christ. I hope you are seeing the trend that these attitudes are not just going to mysteriously be placed in our hearts. This is why our devotion has to be for and in Jesus Christ. 

Paul says that wives are to summit to their husbands and husbands are to love their wives. The Apostle warns against bitterness which is a spirit opposite of the other biblical truths that Paul talks about in this set of verses. With that being said let me just quote the original text so you can read the passage for yourself and perhaps make reference to it if need be in this particular Bible study. 

(12) "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering (13) Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. (14) And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. (15) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. (16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (17) And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him. (18) Wives, submit yourselves unto your husbands, as it is in the Lord. (19) Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them." Colossians 3:12 - 19. 

Paul says in verse eight to put off all anger and wrath because if held strongly enough it will turn into malice. In verse twelve the Apostle raises the standard by telling us to put on compassion and kindness. When Paul talks about the "Elect" there are different interpretations but this probably is referring to the body of Christ. We as Christians are supposed to conduct ourselves with the love of Jesus Christ. We are to show compassion to the hurting. We were shown mercy so in turn we should be merciful. Kindness is friendship with people and it's purpose is to reconcile lost souls to God. A kind spirit is recognizable but we should always do it for the purpose of pointing to the Person of Jesus Christ.

Paul writes about humbleness of mind which involves our demeanor but most people do not focus on this characteristic in their life because we tend to want to put ourselves first by nature.

Meekness involves us controlling our anger and patiently bearing this emotion in other people. This is difficult because anger is very much part of our world.

Long - suffering is hard but we must remember that God is this way with us so following Jesus Christ is wise because people will eventually see a Godly spirit in us. What they do with what they see is an entirely different story.

We should be forbearing to one another because there is at least one thing in us that needs to be fore - bared. I do not believe one person is exempt from this so we should be forbearing to others. People will appreciate this emotion coming from us and I know I always recognize this spirit in other people.

Forgiving one another is essential if we desire to show the love of Jesus Christ. Quarrels will sometimes happen even among Christians but the bottom line is it is still our responsibility to forgive because Jesus Christ forgave us. It is amazing how much believers in Jesus Christ forget this basic principle but it is His example that we need to follow because it is part of our forgiveness. The one thing we do not want to do is have an unforgiving spirit.

Paul says above all clothe ourselves with love which lays the foundation of our faith in Jesus Christ. If you want a bond of perfectness engage in Christian mutual love.

To let the peace of God rule in our hearts is to allow this to govern our spirit and make the right decisions because we are called in one body. If you think this is easy ponder this --- we make thirty to sixty thousand decisions a day. We better have a strong foundation in Jesus Christ or we will all make the wrong choices. This peace ruling in our souls involves peace with our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to have a thankful spirit because this is a pleasant work of the Holy Spirit as opposed to the evil in this world.

To let the word of Christ dwell in us richly means it must rule or dwell in us and always be ready in all of our circumstances. Doing this keeps a dwelling in our souls but it also makes for a great foundation in our life. If the Bible dwells in us poorly the soul will not prosper but if it dwells in us richly this is true wisdom from God. The word of Jesus Christ must dwell in us not to feed on what we do not know but to feed on what we do know through the wisdom of the Holy Spirit.

To teach and admonish one another is to quicken ourselves but do not forget all the humble characteristics Paul instructs us to have which I listed in the beginning of the article. This has to be balanced because we will be prideful when we are supposed to be humble.

Paul writes about poetry and our faith in Jesus Christ. Psalms and hymns can be a souse of great edification to us but when we sing songs there is no melody unless there is grace in our hearts.

If we can teach that is good but if we have to admonish it must be done with the right spirit in the name of Christ.

Finally those Christians that do things in the name of Jesus Christ in word or deed will once again want to do this with the spirit of thanksgiving. Paul talks about a grateful heart again because being gracious is from the root word grace (grace/gracious). We were saved by grace and should never forget this through our thanksgiving. Paul starts to talk about the family specifically husbands and wives. I think I will talk about the family in the next article. The reason for this is because Paul says so much in this passage that my fear is it will be to much for anybody to absorb in their mind and spirit.

If you are not a Christian and saying something to the order of wow ---  realize I am saying the same thing. This is the kind of God we worship and serve and His name is Jesus Christ. I fall short in many of these biblical truths but the Son of God is perfect. He has every one of these attributes and more because this is only eight verses I reviewed for the internet audience. All I can say is we serve an amazing God.

This may be a good time to accept Jesus Christ into your heart as your very own Savior and Lord by repenting of all your sins and inviting the Son of the Living God into your life. I hope and pray that you just made that all important eternal decision.

God Bless you,
Bob D.