Colossians 3:12
~16 min read
SERMON OUTLINE
💭 Consider this: Jesus’ life on Earth was marked by bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and long-suffering. Does your life reflect the characters and virtues of Jesus—that you belong to Him?
TRANSCRIPT
Our text for today's message is taken from Colossians 3:12, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering.” The title of our message is: ‘Recipes for a God-honouring Church’. We will divide this message into two parts. This week we will consider the first part, and then we will return to the second part.
The church is often described as a spiritual house. When we look at a physical house, we see the materials like bricks, steel plates, and wooden panels. However, all these materials do not magically come together to form the building. They need special components to join them together so they can perform their respective roles. The bricks need to be joined together with cement. The steel plates need to be welded together. The wooden planks need nails to fasten them together. Without the cement, welding, and nails, the building would be a flimsy structure. And when the rain or wind comes, it will fall. Likewise, the church with all the other facade as in the programs, fellowship groups, and ministries cannot stand together unless each member is properly joined together. There are some things in each and every one of our lives which will flow through us to one another that enabled us to be bonded together. This is what we want to learn from Colossians 3:12.
I. Our Perception Of The Church
Firstly, we want to focus on the ‘Right Perception of the Church’ beginning with verse 12, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved.”
These three terms, elect of God, holy, and beloved, were specially given to the children of Israel. God said to them in Deuteronomy 7:7, “The LORD did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: But because the LORD loved you.” These descriptions were not only given to individual Israelites but to the entire nation who were God's people.
In a similar fashion, we were once not the people of God, lingering outside His kingdom. But He has elected and chosen us even before the foundation of the world. And those whom God has elected and chosen, He called them out of this world to be wholly set apart and separated unto Himself. And it is all because of His love that He has shown unto us. When we think of the word beloved, we think of someone very very special. I will not call anyone my beloved, only my wife. Likewise, only the believer is called God's beloved.
One theologian said, ‘in the eyes of God the believer is His beloved and when all the believers all His beloved come together as a church it is His most beloved.’ What an amazing way to describe the church. So when we put these three terms together, it is a most wonderful description of the church. When we speak of the church, we are not talking about the building but the people. We are the elect of God, holy and His dearly beloved.
Having this right perception of the church is no small thing because it will affect how we view ourselves and how we view others in the church. It is a great privilege to be called the elect of God, holy and is dearly beloved. But it is also a reminder that you and I must live in a certain manner that befits such an honour. That is why the command was given, put on like the putting on of garments. If you work in a particular company, you have to put on the right uniform. Similarly, if you are a Christian, you have to put on the right spiritual garment.
II. Our Virtues Demonstrated In The Church
This brings us to our second point: ‘Our Virtues Demonstrated in the Church’. From here, Paul would list five virtues which the Holy Spirit would enable the believers to have, just like the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5.
The first virtue is bowels of mercies. The word bowels literally means the inner parts of the human body like the intestines. It is a reference to a deep affection. The word mercy means compassion or sympathy. In other words, there is this deep compassion inside us. In the deepest recesses of our hearts, we know who we are. We deserve hell. Yet, God loves us with a deep compassion. Jesus died on the cross and shed His precious blood to save us. And He continues to lead us in this life all the way until we reach the land of glory that is Heaven whether it be by death or by the rapture.
Having received this deep compassion from God, we understand what it means to show this same deep compassion to others, beginning with the spiritual family, the church. As believers, we all belong to the spiritual family, the church.
When one of your children says to you, ‘My brother is hurt. My brother is in pain. I am deeply affected and I feel deeply for him.’ You will not say, ‘oh I didn't know you are able to feel like that. In fact, if he doesn't feel that way something is wrong.’
Whenever we hear of someone going through a struggle, whether an emotional, relational, physical, or spiritual struggle, we have this deep compassion for him. This deep compassion will cause us to avail ourselves to help in every possible ways we can and to pray with the person and for the person intensely. That is why people will come for prayer meetings not just to pray for themselves but to pray for others as well.
When I was a young Christian, I attended one such prayer meeting and we were about to send a missionary family back to Africa. They were very poor and the church was very small, not being able to support them fully. And I remember very clearly that the pastor said to the missionary, ‘Brother, before you go back home, I just want to tell you, when your son is hungry, my son is hungry.’ That is the deep compassion because we are all of the same spiritual family.
Next is the virtue kindness, which is a genuine desire of the believer to treat others gently just as the Lord Jesus has treated Him. The ultimate example of kindness is our Lord Jesus Christ. Once when some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray, the disciples rebuked them. However, Jesus said, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:14). He was gentle, even to the little children.
On another occasion, Jesus said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28–30. Just as our Lord Jesus is kind, gracious, and gentle, the believers, beginning with the servants of the Lord, are commanded not to strive, but be gentle to all the people.
Therefore, Paul reminded the Thessalonians that even as an apostle, he said to them, “But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children.” 1 Thessalonians 2:7. Whenever we think of showing kindness to others, there are two obstacles that come into our minds. Firstly, we may think they are undeserving of our kindness. ‘Look, that person is so sinful, irritating, annoying, and offensive. Don't expect me to show any kindness to him’. But remember, we do not deserve kindness as well. We are just as sinful, irritating, annoying, and offensive. But God has shown us the deepest of compassion.
Secondly, we may be afraid that when we show kindness to others, they will let us down or take advantage of us. No doubt at times we will be let down or taken advantage of, though most often than not, the vast majority of the people would respond positively to our kindness. But that is besides the point. True kindness does not expect anything in return.
Like when you show kindness to the beggar in the street, you give food to him or money to him, you are not expecting him to return any favour. We do not show kindness expecting to be rewarded, praised, or appreciated. Even if people do not remember and they respond with an ungrateful attitude, it doesn't matter because ultimately God knows and we are expecting absolutely nothing in return. That is true kindness. The opposite of kindness is to be critical, sharp, and judgmental.
Dear friend, are you someone whom the indwelling Holy Spirit has produced kindness or are you always critical, sharp in your words like a razor blade and judgmental? When you evangelise the gospel of Christ to the unsaved, are you kind, gentle, and patient? Or are you easily agitated? Have you forgotten how those people who once shared the gospel with you, they had been so kind, gentle, and patient? When you encourage the believers in the church, are you kind and gentle or do you minister with a holier than thou attitude? Believers must be kind.
Next is humbleness of mind. Humility is the opposite of pride. Pride was the sin that caused Lucifer to be cast out of Heaven. In the beatitudes, Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:3). The phrase poor in spirit is synonymous to humbleness of mind. In other words, if we belong to the kingdom of Heaven, then we must be humble.
And two verses later, Jesus went on to say, “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.” So it is an undeniable truth that Christians must be humble. But why would a Christian be proud? Or rather, what are the things that he is proud of? Well, he could be proud of his services, his spiritual gifts, his ability to do certain things that others are not able to. Or perhaps his office as a pastor, an elder, a deacon, a preacher, a Bible teacher, a fellowship leader, and so forth. And it is always in the mind. It begins in the mind. What we think of ourselves. I am better than the rest.
Do you know there's a strong warning in the Bible against people who are proud? 1 Peter 5:5 says, “For God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.” To resist is to oppose, to fight against. Can you imagine the almighty God is the one who resist you, oppose you, fight against you if you are proud? But if you are humble, He gives grace to you. If you and I really believe this truth, what must we do?
The Apostle Peter went on to say, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” (1 Peter 5:6). Do not play the fool with God. If you are proud, He will resist you. He will oppose you and He will fight against you. If we have this humbleness of mind, we will not think highly of ourselves, but instead we will esteem others better than ourselves.
As Philippians 2:3 said, ‘to esteem is more than just having an opinion. It does not mean to pretend that others are better. But truly and sincerely, we believe that others are actually better.’ But it is not an easy thing to do, right? Because our natural inclination is to think more highly of ourselves. And surely there are times when we are really better than others. How then is that possible? When we consider our own sinfulness, we know far more about our own hearts than about the hearts of anyone else. Recognising the sinfulness of our hearts would then exclude all forms of pride or boastful selfexaltation.
Remember Paul was an apostle and he wrote the majority of the New Testament books. Yet he said this about himself, ‘I am the least of all apostles. I'm the least of all the saints. And Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners of whom I am chief. Which means I am the worst.’ (1 Corinthians 15:9). How was he able to do that? Simply because he searched his own heart.
Dear friend, we know our hearts better than anyone else. And when we look into our hearts, how can we honestly think of ourselves in a proud way? In fact, the more we look into our hearts, the less we will complain about others. The more we look into our hearts, the less negative things we will say about others. If I may put it this way, the reason why we complain about others, look down upon others, put others down, think negatively about others, and have a holier than thou attitude is because we fail to look into our own hearts.
This is the principle that we must apply into our lives. Search our hearts and it will inevitably affect the way we perceive others. Because in our own secret places, we know who we are, our sinfulness. And by the grace of God, we will then have this humbleness of mind. Even if others are proud and want to remain there and refuse to be humble, let them be accountable to God. But we ourselves must be humble because ultimately we want to glorify God and be accountable to Him.
Obviously when we have this humbleness of mind, it will be manifested in this attitude of meekness which is the next virtue. Some dictionaries define meekness as a lack of courage or timid. And that is far from the biblical meaning of meekness. The biblical meaning of meekness has nothing to do with weakness or being timid.
This word was used to describe wild animals that were tamed like lions and horses. Such an animal still has the strength but the strength is under the control of the master. A tamed lion is still powerful, but his power is under the control of his trainer. The tame horse can run just as fast, but he runs only where and when the master tells him. The reality is that meekness is power under control.
Moses was known to be meek. Numbers 12:3 says, “Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.” But that does not mean Moses was weak or timid. He was strong enough to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. He was strong enough to repeatedly appear before the Pharaoh and said, ‘Let my people go.’
Yet Moses’ confidence was not in himself but in the Almighty God. Remember when God first called him, Moses replied, “O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant” - which means not recently or even in the past, I was never eloquent - “but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.” (Exodus 4:10). But when the master said go, he went. Moses knew that he was nothing but God was everything and that was the hallmark of his meekness.
As one pastor rightly said, to be meek means you have finished with yourself altogether. In our modern term we will say we are done with ourselves altogether. A Christian who is meek is someone who knows that his strength and ability is in the Lord. He is someone who has self-control, powerful, able to do things, but in the Lord, only when the master said, ‘do it’. He is someone who responds to the word of God no matter what the circumstances are. He is not a troublemaker but a peacemaker who is ever ready to forgive even his enemies.
Dear friend, are you easily angered by the negative commands you receive? Are you easily provoked by the inconveniences and troubles brought unto you? Are you vengeful and unforgiving? People who are easily angered, provoked, vengeful, and unforgiving are not meek.
The last virtue on the list is longsuffering, and it has to do with tolerance and patience to endure the afflictions caused by others. The willingness to accept situations that are painful. The psalmist said in Psalm 86:15, “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth.” God himself is longsuffering, and he wants all His children to be longsuffering. How do we know?
If you remember the life of Paul, who was once called Saul, he was a fierce opponent of Christianity. He was a Pharisee and zealous of the traditions of his forefathers. This led him to participate in the martyrdom of Stephen. He arrested and persecuted many of the early Christians. Having done all he could in Jerusalem, he obtained letters to go to Damascus. And he went there to arrest the Christians in order to bring them back to Jerusalem for prosecution and possible execution.
On the road to Damascus, he was stopped by the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a bright light that came from Heaven. And when Saul fell to the ground, blinded by the light, he heard a voice speaking to him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” “Who art thou, Lord?” he asked. “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest.” (Acts 9:4-5). At that point, he realized he was terribly wrong, horribly mistaken when it was Jesus of Nazareth speaking to him and he had persecuted the disciples of Christ. He thought Christ had appeared to judge him. He deserved death, to be struck dead. But instead, Christ saved him and called him to be an apostle.
Jesus said, “He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.” (Acts 9:15). That was the reason why Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” But he did not stop there. He went on to explain the reason why he was saved, why he had obtained mercy. Paul said, “Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.” (1 Timothy 1:16).
In other words, Jesus was demonstrating His longsuffering to Paul as an example to all the believers who would believe on Him for eternal life. He saw that as an example for others. What a blessing if we were to apply this principle into our lives.
Parents would describe to their children how longsuffering God was toward them as a pattern. Church leaders would share with the congregation how longsuffering God was toward them as an example. We are all familiar with the verse in 2 Peter 3:9, “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
Every time we read this verse, we almost always only think about those unbelievers who are still lingering outside God's kingdom. Yes, God is longsuffering toward them. But what about ourselves? Have we ever considered our lives? How we were once sinful and rebellious towards God. How we had repeatedly rejected the gospel of Christ time and again. And God would send preachers and other Christians to reach out to us.
And even after we became believers, there were times when we live in disobedience to His word, we did not worship and serve Him as we should. Isn't it true that God was and is longsuffering toward us and we who have experienced the longsuffering of God ought to be longsuffering in all the situations of life and to the people around us as well.
Dear friend, this is how we ought to perceive the church, the body of believers. While it is true that we can never see the hearts of men, we can only hear their professions, we do not know who are the true and false believers, who are the sheep and the goats. It is not our business to check on the salvation of others. We have to make sure that we ourselves are saved. So we treat everyone who professed to be a believer as an elect of God, holy and is dearly beloved.
And so we are very careful of the thoughts we think, the words we speak, the actions we commit. We will not do anything to hurt them, to harm them. Because when we do that, we are doing to someone who is an elect of God, holy and His dearly beloved. And we must demonstrate these godly virtues in the church, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering.
Once someone asked a believer, ‘How can I know if you are a true Christian or not?’ The believer answered, ‘Well, apart from the fact that I have professed my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, just stay a while with me and observe my life and you will know who I am.’ The person did, and before long he witnessed the virtues of bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering.
Soon we'll be celebrating our 40th anniversary. 40 years is a long time to get to know one another. And as we worship, serve, and fellowship together, we ought to be able to observe these virtues in one another's lives. If not, something is terribly wrong. Dear friend, to have a right perception of the church, to see the people in the church as the elect of God, holy and is dearly beloved and to demonstrate these godly virtues in the church through our lives are the recipes for a God-honouring church. And I pray that Bethel BP Church will be able to be considered a Godhonouring church, not in the eyes of men, but in the eyes of the Almighty God. Let us pray.
Our Father in Heaven, we give Thee thanks for the opportunity to consider Thy precious word, to learn from the book of Colossians. And it is not by chance nor coincidence that we have come to this verse in Colossians 3:12 that we are commanded to put on as the elect of God, holy and beloved. If we truly belong to Thee and Thy kingdom, then we ought to put on and wear those godly virtues that Thou hast listed for us, including the other virtues in the other passages in Thy holy scriptures.
But this morning, Thou hast emphasized to us these five godly virtues, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering. And we pray that we will always humble ourselves and submit our lives to the wonderworking of Thy spirit because these are godly virtues that only the spirit of God is able to work in our lives. So we pray that the spirit of God will produce these godly virtues in each and every one of our lives, that as we worship, serve, and fellowship together, we will see this amazing demonstration of these spiritual virtues. This is the way for us to be united and bonded together. And these are the recipes for a God-honouring church. We give Thee thanks and we pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANSA Faith And Love That ShinesA Faith And Love That ShinesColossians 1:1-4
The Blessedness Of Our Christian HopeThe Blessedness Of Our Christian HopeColossians 1:5-6a
The Transforming Power Of The GospelThe Transforming Power Of The GospelColossians 1:6b-8
The Need For PrayersThe Need For PrayersColossians 1:9
Prayer for Spiritual ExcellencePrayer for Spiritual ExcellenceColossians 1:9-12
Walk Worthy Of The LordWalk Worthy Of The LordColossians 1:10-11
What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?Colossians 1:12a
What Does It Mean To Be Citizens Of God’s Kingdom?What Does It Mean To Be Citizens Of God’s Kingdom?Colossians 1:12b-13
I Am Redeemed And ForgivenI Am Redeemed And ForgivenColossians 1:14
Christ, The Invisible GodChrist, The Invisible GodColossians 1:15
Jesus Our Creator Loves Me, This I KnowJesus Our Creator Loves Me, This I KnowColossians 1:16-17; Romans 8:37-39
What Is Christ’s Relationship With The Church?What Is Christ’s Relationship With The Church?Colossians 1:18
What Does It Mean To Be Reconciled To God?What Does It Mean To Be Reconciled To God?Colossians 1:19-22
The Evidence Of Our SalvationThe Evidence Of Our SalvationColossians 1:23a
Are We Willing To Suffer For Christ?Are We Willing To Suffer For Christ?Colossians 1:23b-24
How Faithful Are We?How Faithful Are We?Colossians 1:25-27
What Does It Take To Be Faithful In The Ministry?What Does It Take To Be Faithful In The Ministry?Colossians 1:28-29
The Indispensable Component In Serving GodThe Indispensable Component In Serving GodColossians 2:1-2a
This Is What I Wish For You To Have And To BeThis Is What I Wish For You To Have And To BeColossians 2:2b-5
Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!Colossians 2:4-9, 19
The Evidence Of Our SalvationThe Evidence Of Our SalvationColossians 2:6-7
Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!Colossians 2:7
Our Spiritual Union With ChristOur Spiritual Union With ChristColossians 2:11-12
Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12
What It Means To Be ForgivenWhat It Means To Be ForgivenColossians 2:13-14
Faith In Christ Is The VictoryFaith In Christ Is The VictoryColossians 2:15
The Danger Of Being LegalisticThe Danger Of Being LegalisticColossians 2:16-17
The Danger Of Spiritual DeceptionThe Danger Of Spiritual DeceptionColossians 2:18-19
The Vanity Of Self-Denial To Achieve SpiritualityThe Vanity Of Self-Denial To Achieve SpiritualityColossians 2:20-23
Seek Those Things Which Are AboveSeek Those Things Which Are AboveColossians 3:1-2
What Does It Mean To Be In Christ?What Does It Mean To Be In Christ?Colossians 3:3-4
Mortification Of SinMortification Of SinColossians 3:5-7
Put Off All These ThingsPut Off All These ThingsColossians 3:8-9
Put On The New ManPut On The New ManColossians 3:10-11
Recipes For A God-Honouring ChurchRecipes For A God-Honouring ChurchColossians 3:12
Lessons About Forbearance And ForgivenessLessons About Forbearance And ForgivenessColossians 3:13
United In Love And Ruled By God’s PeaceUnited In Love And Ruled By God’s PeaceColossians 3:14-15
Filled With The Spirit In Word And SongsFilled With The Spirit In Word And SongsColossians 3:16
God’s Instructions For The Family: The Christian WifeGod’s Instructions For The Family: The Christian WifeColossians 3:17-18; Ephesians 5:22-24
God’s Instructions For The Family: The Christian HusbandGod’s Instructions For The Family: The Christian HusbandColossians 3:19; Ephesians 5:25-33
God’s Instructions For The Family: The Christian ChildrenGod’s Instructions For The Family: The Christian ChildrenColossians 3:20; Ephesians 6:1-3
God’s Instructions For The Family: The Christian ParentsGod’s Instructions For The Family: The Christian ParentsColossians 3:21; Ephesians 6:4
God’s Instructions For The Christian Employees And EmployersGod’s Instructions For The Christian Employees And EmployersColossians 3:23-4:1
The Believer And PrayersThe Believer And PrayersColossians 4:2
Human Wisdom Versus God’s WisdomHuman Wisdom Versus God’s WisdomColossians 2:8-10
