Colossians 3

Before we read our scripture, there are a couple of, you know, in our church covenant, we say that we will share in one another's joys and sorrows. And we often have time to share it in one another's sorrows as we deal with sickness and death and challenges, but we, I think sometimes we take for granted sharing it. I don't mean just in our own little private pockets, but I mean publicly as a body sharing in one another's joys. And so to that degree, we want to share in two areas of joy this morning. Number one, Jalen, are Jalan, Jalan Jackson will be sharing in his first communion today. Amen. And we want to rejoice in that. And if he doesn't remember it, we want to remember it. And don't dare call him Jalen. It's Jalan. Jalan. We're sharing in his first communion today. We had the privilege of baptizing him last week. And also last Sunday, we had the privilege of uniting in matrimony, Hector and Samantha now Duarte. Stand up Hector and Samantha, amen. So we, we, we delight in their union and pray God's blessings upon them. Thank you. Our scripture this morning has taken from Colossians chapter three, Colossians chapter three, and we'll be looking at verse 15, Colossians chapter three, verse 15. And it reads as follows, and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which, indeed, you were called in one body and be thankful, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Now, as we look at this passage, I want to, I'm just going to say it at the outset, I, I believe that the Holy Spirit through God's appointed means of His preached word, His sacraments, and the vital fellowship that He unites us in, reaffirms to us the many graces and merits that we receive from God through Christ. In other words, I, I believe that the Lord's table, that the proclamation of the gospel, and the vital bond of Christian fellowship communicates to us, confirms to us, nurtures and strengthens within us the bounty of God's grace and mercies as they are present in the person and work of Jesus Christ. So that's why Calvin would say that the communion table is the visible, physical expression of the gospel. The gospel announces God's grace, the Lord's table communicates that grace. So therefore, I, I want to work from the premise of this, that the, the, the, what is contained in this verse is something that God gives to us in Christ and is reaffirmed to us in the Lord's table. So that being the case, I want to do three things and then we want to bring it back to what the spirit does for us in the, the, the, the table as relates to this verse. So three things that we want to look at. The first thing is this, let's observe that the phrase in, that's, that's center in this verse is, is the phrase, the peace of Christ. So we want to unpack three things about the peace of Christ. The peace of Christ is what Paul emphasizes in this verse and the first thing to, to know it. And by the way, one of the reasons the peace of Christ needs to be understood is because it's the starting place of the gospel. No one looks to Christ for salvation until they know that they are under the condemnation and wrath of God. Now that's why it's offensive to many people. The gospel is offensive to many people because many people don't think they have a problem with God. And so I, I love the people think, well, I, because I do the right thing towards people and because, you know, I helped little old people across the street and because I'm kind, I let the person over next to me, I don't cheat on my taxes or my spouse, therefore God is good with me. I, I, I serve, I, I give community service. So God doesn't have a problem with me. And we always see the great evil in others. Not recognizing that in our natural state, we are in a condition of enmity with God. So the starting place of the gospel is our enmity with God. Therefore, three things to note about this phrase, the peace of Christ. Number one, it is what he, what is meant by the peace of Christ is the state of reconciliation that we have with God and can only have with God through his son, Jesus Christ. So the peace of Christ, which is really the peace of God, and it is peace with God. But peace, the peace of Christ is that state of reconciliation that we can only have with God the Father through God the Son. Now that's, that's the, that's what the gospel is built on. If you could have peace with God, in fact, if you didn't need peace with God, then we wouldn't have a gospel. And if you could get peace with God any other way, then through Christ, then we wouldn't have a gospel. So therefore, peace with God or peace of Christ, the peace of Christ is that state of reconciliation that we have with God the Father through the person of God the Son. Second thing to note about this piece, this peace, that this peace of Christ, which is the state of reconciliation with God the Father, is the appeasing of the Father's wrath through the blood of his son. That's, this peace that we have, this peace of Christ, which is the state of reconciliation with the Father through the Son has been accomplished for us, or what it has accomplished, is that it is the result of the blood of the Son appeasing the wrath of the Father. We can't, we can't just give our opinions on this. This is what Paul says in this regard in Ephesians chapter 2, verse 13, Paul says, but now in Christ, in Christ Jesus, you who work far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. So that reconciliation that we have is because the blood of the Son has appeased the wrath of the Father. Then Paul goes on to say in the opening of verse 14, that he himself is our peace. So when Paul, when he speaks here of the peace of Christ, what he means is that reconciliation that we have with the Father through the Son, and by being reconciled, or the means by which we are reconciled to him, is through the shed blood of his Son. Here's the third thing about this peace, this peace with God is the fountain head of all of the other gospel privileges that we enjoy. The fact that we are reconciled to God by the blood of his Son, that is the, that is really the fountain head of every other blessing that we have in the gospel. Now here's, I think one of the couple of places where, in fact, I'm going to say one place in particular where this is amplified over and over again is the book of Hebrews. In fact, we are told in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 17, that we can go boldly to the throne of grace. Think about that. Do you understand who it is that goes to the throne of grace? In fact, we get a hint of who it is that goes to the throne of grace because he says what we can get there is mercy and grace in our time of need. Now does everyone understand what mercy is other than Lewis's wife? Mercy is God holding back judgment that we deserve. That's what mercy is. Judgment that we deserve. So who needs mercy? Mercy is needed by guilty people. I remember my younger sister, she got a bunch of traffic tickets and finally they were, they were ready to do her in and you know, they changed her car and everything else so she went down to the court. She didn't have any money so she went down to the court and she was ready to kind of go to jail. That sort of thing and she's ready to throw herself on the mercy of the court and judges looked at her. You, you, you're not even built for what you are asking for and he just, he's just, okay, look, we're going to extend this thing because you don't know what you're asking for. I'm throwing myself on the mercy of the court. Mercy is something that guilty people need and so it's one thing if you need mercy you usually, you kind of meet about it. But here's what the writer of people says that we can go boldly to the throne of grace and ask for mercy. You might say, well, yeah, that's the first time, no, it's, it's every time we go before the throne of grace, we can boldly go seeking mercy which means we are acknowledging our guilt. And not only does he say we can receive mercy, he says we can receive grace. Now if mercy is God holding back what we don't deserve or what we do deserve, then what is grace? Grace is giving us what we don't deserve. So in other words, that's like if you are a child and your parent is, they have threatened punishment if you do a certain thing and then you plead for mercy and they say, okay, I'm not going to, I'm going to forego the punishment. And then you say, now by the way, can I have a raise in my allowance to what we can do because we have been reconciled to God through Christ which means we have the peace of Christ. We can go boldly as guilty sinners before the throne of God and ask for some more mercy and then asking for some dessert on top of it. But the writer, he who doesn't stop there, he says later, he's in fact, I'll just skip some of the other places where he talks about this boldness because and the reason we have this boldness is because we've been reconciled. So he tells us later, he says, therefore, let us lay aside sin and wait that easily besets us looking unto Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith. After 10, verse 19, after in light of God's covenantal statement where he says that I will remember their lawless deeds no more and I will write my law in their hearts. He says I will, I will remember their lawless deeds no more. And then the writer comes back in verse 19 and he says, therefore, President, we have boldness to enter into the place where the Old Testament priest could only enter into once a year and says that's behind the veil and the veil that we entered past is his torn body. Why? Because we've been reconciled. So let us not easily gloss over this statement that Paul says here, that he talks about the peace of Christ and the peace of Christ that he is referring to, is that state of reconciliation that we have with the Father through the blood of the Son that enables us to receive every other privilege and boldly so. Here's the second thing to note in this verse and that is Paul's exhortation at the end of the verse where he simply says and be thankful and be thankful. Now it is worth noting first off that the Greek word that's translated here as thankful is Eucharistos. Eucharistos, which is derived as the word from which the word Eucharist is derived and any of you who are familiar with Catholic theology, you know that when they talk about the Lord's supper, they talk about Eucharist. And because Eucharist is spelled E-U-C-H-R-I-S-T, what people think that means is it has something to do with the body of Christ. No Eucharist or Eucharistos simply means to be thankful. And in Catholic theology, the idea, and I don't think they're wrong on this, that the idea is that the table that is set before us is a feast of thanksgiving. In other words, what it is, it's an act and I do think we draw lines here so that our thankfulness is not a work, but it is a response. But the idea with what Paul says here is to be thankful, in other words, to be grateful. Here's what he's saying. He says first, he talks about the peace of Christ, and now he says, be thankful. Now it's also worth noting that in chapter 3, verses 5 through chapter 4, verse 6, this is Paul's exhortation part of the letter. He often does this. He often opens up with gospel statements of what we have in Christ, and then he finishes his letters with exhortations to walk in light of it. So in chapter 3, verse 5, it begins the exhortate of part of the letter. In other words, do this in light of the indicative that he mentions earlier. But here's what I find interesting, three things concerning this exhortation or the exhortation portion of this letter, on the one hand. So all of the exhortations that flow from chapter 3, verse 5, all the way through chapter 4, verse 6, are grounded in the indicative that are dominated or that dominate the first two chapters. And the indicative statement is simply a statement of fact, an imperative is a command. So all of Paul's imperatives in chapter 3, verse 5, all the way through chapter 4, verse 6, are grounded in the indicative of the first two chapters. But here is a good summary of Paul's indicative statements in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 3. And I'm going to summarize it along this way. The indicative that drives the imperatives are this. Number 1, we are raised with Christ. Number 2, we are seated with Christ. And number 3, we are hidden in Christ. Those are the three indicative that summarize all of the other indicative that Paul has addressed. In chapter 2, verse 10, he says, you are complete in him who is the head of all principalities in verses 11 through 14 or 12 through 14 of chapter 1. He says that we have been qualified for the kingdom of heaven. We are, he says, we have been translated into the kingdom of his son. He goes on to say that we are heirs of heavenly things. And then he says we have received forgiveness and redemption and the forgiveness of sins. All of those are indicative. So for everyone who has faith in Christ, what that means he comes back and summarizes it in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 3 by saying if you have been raised with Christ, if you have been, if you have been seated with him. And then he says for you, therefore your life is hidden in him. So all of the imperatives are in light of the indicative of you being raised with Christ and seated with him and hidden in him. Here's the second thing we'll say about these indicative and that is so therefore it is worth noting that Paul punctuates his imperative, his imperative exhortations with repeated calls to be grateful. In verses 15 through 17 and in chapter 4, verse 2, he uses the same phrase that we see here in verse 15. Now we've already seen use of the word being to be thankful in verse 15. So let me go back and read verses 15 through 17 and then we'll pick up in chapter 4, verse 2. In verse 15 he says and let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called to one body and be thankful. Verse 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing, songs and hymns and spiritual songs with thanksgiving in your hearts to God. Verse 17, and whatever you do in word and deed do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through him. Chapter 4, verse 2 says, continue steadfastly in prayer and being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Therefore I would conclude that, number thirdly, that it would be safe to say that gratitude is the engine that drives our sanctification. It's worth noting that the Heidelberg Catechism which is one of the earliest Protestant statements of faith, it's not only serves as a form of instruction but it also serves in a sense as a confession. And in the Heidelberg Catechism it's divided along three sections. The part that deals with man's, with our need for salvation is the first section and it's called guilt. So it deals with the guilt of our fallen condition. The second part that deals with God's salvation through Christ and all of the doctrines of Christ, it's under the heading of grace. And the third section that deals with human sanctification is under the heading of gratitude. We begin with guilt and God's grace inner intervenes in our guilty state and our response to it is gratitude. Brothers and sisters, gratitude, gratitude for God, for His grace in Christ is what prompts and drives our sanctification. Well that brings us to a third and final thought and that's this. Now let's put it all together. We have seen in the beginning Paul's statement about the peace of Christ. Secondly, he has undergirded it by saying in essence, be thankful for that. But in between, let's look at what he says. He says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body. Three thoughts here, one. The peace of Christ, he says, should rule. In other words, the fact that we have been reconciled by Christ to God should not just be a piece of information that we store away. But he says in effect that the peace of Christ should occupy a governing position in our hearts. The peace of Christ should govern, it should, in other words, it's the grid through which every other human action and interaction must be directed. All of it should go through the grid of the peace that we have in Christ. It should not just be something that we know about, but it should rule, it should reign. In other words, it should be the dominant force, dominant theme of our thinking and it should be the dominant response of all of our actions. The very fact in another way of putting it is that we should never lose awe over the fact that we have been reconciled to God through His Son. Let the peace of Christ rule, let it cover, let it be the filter through which all of your interactions horizontally and even vertically, let it be filtered through that knowledge. I like what John says, what manner of love is this that we should be called the children of God? What manner of grace is this that we have peace with God? That's why Paul and Philippians could say, this is the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. My brothers and sisters, we know a thing or two about grudges, don't we? We know a thing or two about not liking someone because of something they did or we perceived that they did or said about us, and it could have been 1920, it doesn't matter, we still remember it. Here's what Paul was saying, he's not saying that those things didn't happen to you, but he's saying in effect, let the fact that you who were an enemy of God has been reconciled to him fully, and what does that mean? It means enemies are now children. It means you who were on the out who had no hope in this world, now you're an heir and a joint heir with Christ, so he says next time you pick up that grudge, look at it through the light of the peace that you have in Christ, let the peace of Christ rule in your house, in your home, in your hearts, in your thoughts. Let it not be just a doctrine that's put away on the shelf because you have some tense relationship under your roof, don't you? You have some relationship issues that you need to deal with, and so before you go to any of the fixed adopters, look at the reconciliation that you have with Christ, it's sad, I have friends that are alienated, I don't even know what the situation is, I have a dear friend who speaks of his son at almost in enemy terms, I don't know what it is, but I'm willing to bet that whatever it is, and it's raining, it is raining because he speaks of him in the past sense rather than in the present sense, I would argue that whatever it is that that son did can't be greater than what he did against God, there's what Paul says, let the peace that you have in Christ with the Father, let it speak loudly so that when you go towards that person that's done you wrong, you can go with an understanding that the issue may not be resolved, but the peace can be restored, there's a second thing related to that, he says let it reign, here's the second thought, the degree to which the peace that we have with God, the degree to which it governs is the degree to which we are grateful for it, in other words brothers and sisters, we can talk all day long about how I'm thankful that I'm forgiven, but the degree to which I will demonstrate an exercise peace with others, it's the degree to which I am grateful for the fact, pardoned, and have been reconciled to God, there is a correlation, there's a correlation, we can speak, that's why Jesus gives this parable about a man who owes his master great greatly, and then the master went out and called him in and he just forgave his debts, just told him, just all of it, just you're forgiven, young man went out for the old man, I don't know what he was, but he went out and he found someone that owed him money, grabbed him up and had a legal right to do it, and somebody who might have been in the hallway when he was being forgiven, say wait a minute, is that Ralph? If he isn't he's a one, that's a master just forgave his million dollar debt, and he's got this brother over the principal behind $500, is that Ralph? He went back to the man who forgave him, because he won't believe what I just saw, he won't believe what we just saw, we recorded it, we had our video phone out, and we recorded it, here you look at it for yourself and then the master looked at it and said wait a minute, bring him back in here, bring him back in here, brothers and sisters the degree to which we demonstrate and act out of the peace that we have been given by God is the degree to which we express our gratitude, how do we say thank you to God for giving us? We say thank you to God, not by saying Lord I just thank you so much and remain unrecconciled to the person who lives down the hall, but it gets deeper than that doesn't it, because not only do we refuse to extend gratitude sometimes to the person that lives down the hall, but sometimes we don't even extend peace to the one who sits next to us in the pews, we all want our pound to flesh, here's what he says, he says no no no, we're not, this is not a matter of right or wrong, there's the issue, have you received the peace of Christ? Are you grateful for it? Yes, Lord, I'm grateful for it, he says remember you then show your gratitude in the body, which brings us to a third and final thought the degree to which we are grateful is the degree to which we will demonstrate the peace that we have with God within the context of Christian fellowship, that's what Paul is aiming at here, that those who are in Christ and it's interesting his shift in all of his exhortations, he goes from the outward physical sins to the sins within the context of the fellowship, and his point is this, the peace that you have received from Christ or with God through Christ, you ought to be grateful for it and your Eucharist, your thanksgiving, your gratitude is not seen with you down on your knees, oh your gratitude for grace received is seen in you going out of your way not on your knees but on your feet to be reconciled to others with the same love with which you have been reconciled, here's what I want to conclude with when we come to the table every other mercy that we receive from God that is highlighted to us by the Holy Spirit finds as its source the fact that we are reconciled to God that's why the writer says or that's why Jesus says that when you come and you give your peace offerings to God he says don't listen if you are unrecognized to your brother put the sacrifice down and be reconciled because the corner stone of all of our other many blessings with God and what are those blessings we have salvation we have a place of refuge we have the guarantee that these bodies will be given way to a greater more durable eternal body in the heavens we have fellowship with God we have an advocate when we say we have all of those things but it starts with peace and so the spirit through the appointed means of the Lord's table feeds us every time we come to the table with the fact that you know that you've been reconciled and therefore brothers and sisters I think that the best way to say thank you for the reconciliation that we have with God through Christ is to receive from the table and hear the words of the Lord your sins and your lawless deeds I will remember no more and think about it begin begin at your grossest point of unbelief and think of how God has pardoned that but then bring it home to when you were a church going center and in the face of all of that grace you still fail to be and do what you are supposed to be and do you know what he says to you he doesn't say go back to the back of the line he invites you to the table and he says take this is my body which is broken for you his way Isaiah puts it by his stripes we are healed and the chastisement for our peace was laid upon him in other words he gets the chastisement and we get the peace so brothers and sisters when we come to the table here the Father say that all of your sins in your ignorance and your willful disobedience has been found and healed through the breaking of his flesh then hear the Father say that this or the Son say this is the cup of a new brand new covenant the one that the Father says and I will remember their sins no more you know how long our memories are when someone has sinned against us and here is the omniscient Father saying that I will consciously not remember anything they did well but it happened this morning I don't hear it because his blood has sealed to us the eternal bond of fellowship that we now have with the Father Spirit if the Father has been reconciled through the blood of the Son and the Spirit speaks to us through the elements of the broken body and shed blood and now here's what Paul is saying let that rain let it rain in your hearts so that you would reflect not qualify not qualify for but that you would reflect the depths of the Father's forgiving love even as you forgive other sinners such as yourself if you have a problem getting over issues with people I invite you to the table and see the Father getting over you and let the love of the Father towards you be reflected in your actions your attitudes towards others the peace of Christ let it rain in your hearts because he has truly called you to be one by therefore be grateful let's pray Father we