Those of us who have been ordained as Ruling Elders have taken vows to work for the "Peace and Purity" of the church. This is essential for the health and vitality of the church as back bitings, criticisms, and in-fighting can ruin the work of ministry. I believe to really attain the peace that is from God one must first receive the grace of Christ and then work for the purity that comes from that grace. It is imperative to set the priority to the purity of our faith and then the peace will follow from that purity. For sin divides and causes conflicts of every sort, but purity in faith leads us to God and his peace. The leaders of the church must follow this paradigm and not let worldly desires distort their priorities.
The teaching of Paul in Colossians 3 makes this priority clear. We read in vs.1-2, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Paul instructs us to "seek the things that are above" as our identity now is being "in Christ." The reason is "you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." We have been raised with Christ, we are called to turn away from the flesh and the natural life, for we have been made alive by the Holy Spirit. We are new people, and we should focus our lives on Christ.
Even more, we read in v.5, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." After we are called to seek the things above, we are called to "put to death therefore what is earthly in you." Paul is calling us to sanctification in our lives, by putting off sinful habits and desires. Sins of the flesh include covetousness, which corresponds to the tenth commandment, and is set on par with sexual immorality, which is so often considered a far greater sin. Covetousness is an attitude of the heart that corrupts all of our desires in our lives.
The list of sins continues until we read in v.12, "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." Now Paul instructs us, once we have put off the sinful practices of this world, to "put on then ... compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, and patience." The work of sanctification involves two steps, putting off the sinful desires, and putting on the holy habits of being Christ-like. Our purity is always a matter of God taking away our sins and imputing his righteousness in Christ. And we are called by the Holy Spirit to appropriate this transformation of life by living obediently to him.
This process includes putting on love as we see in vs.14-15, "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." The peace of Christ can only rule in our hearts after we have the conflict of sin dispersed from our desires. The peace of God comes from our justification in Christ after we have been given the righteousness of Christ, and this is manifested by living in the Spirit. We can have Spiritual peace only in Christ as we live in his grace and as he is in us. Paul calls us to let this peace rule in our hearts and to walk in faith, but this can only happen when we take conscientious steps of obedience to his commandments.
Life in Christ is further described in v.16-17, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." We see that "the word of Christ" is the key element for our sanctification, in that we are instructed to "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus," so as to bring glory to God. The word of Christ is the doctrine or teachings for this new life, it is the entire Bible understood through the lens of the grace and truth of Christ.
The peace of Christ then will resonate through the Body of Christ as we grow in the purity and sanctification of the Lord. Purity must be the priority therefore for the Elders of the church so as to lead in righteousness and give an example of the life of Christ in our day. We must die to our own sinful desires and set our hearts and minds on Christ. This example we see in Colossians 3:1-2 where we are admonished to "seek the things that are above" and, "set your minds on things that are above." And also in vs.15-16, "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts," and "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." If we set our hearts and minds on these truths we will walk in purity through the power of the Holy Spirit, which in turn brings peace with God. This purity and peace will then lead to the building up of the Body of Christ. Amen!
The teaching of Paul in Colossians 3 makes this priority clear. We read in vs.1-2, "If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." Paul instructs us to "seek the things that are above" as our identity now is being "in Christ." The reason is "you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." We have been raised with Christ, we are called to turn away from the flesh and the natural life, for we have been made alive by the Holy Spirit. We are new people, and we should focus our lives on Christ.
Even more, we read in v.5, "Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry." After we are called to seek the things above, we are called to "put to death therefore what is earthly in you." Paul is calling us to sanctification in our lives, by putting off sinful habits and desires. Sins of the flesh include covetousness, which corresponds to the tenth commandment, and is set on par with sexual immorality, which is so often considered a far greater sin. Covetousness is an attitude of the heart that corrupts all of our desires in our lives.
The list of sins continues until we read in v.12, "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience." Now Paul instructs us, once we have put off the sinful practices of this world, to "put on then ... compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, and patience." The work of sanctification involves two steps, putting off the sinful desires, and putting on the holy habits of being Christ-like. Our purity is always a matter of God taking away our sins and imputing his righteousness in Christ. And we are called by the Holy Spirit to appropriate this transformation of life by living obediently to him.
This process includes putting on love as we see in vs.14-15, "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful." The peace of Christ can only rule in our hearts after we have the conflict of sin dispersed from our desires. The peace of God comes from our justification in Christ after we have been given the righteousness of Christ, and this is manifested by living in the Spirit. We can have Spiritual peace only in Christ as we live in his grace and as he is in us. Paul calls us to let this peace rule in our hearts and to walk in faith, but this can only happen when we take conscientious steps of obedience to his commandments.
Life in Christ is further described in v.16-17, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." We see that "the word of Christ" is the key element for our sanctification, in that we are instructed to "do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus," so as to bring glory to God. The word of Christ is the doctrine or teachings for this new life, it is the entire Bible understood through the lens of the grace and truth of Christ.
The peace of Christ then will resonate through the Body of Christ as we grow in the purity and sanctification of the Lord. Purity must be the priority therefore for the Elders of the church so as to lead in righteousness and give an example of the life of Christ in our day. We must die to our own sinful desires and set our hearts and minds on Christ. This example we see in Colossians 3:1-2 where we are admonished to "seek the things that are above" and, "set your minds on things that are above." And also in vs.15-16, "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts," and "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." If we set our hearts and minds on these truths we will walk in purity through the power of the Holy Spirit, which in turn brings peace with God. This purity and peace will then lead to the building up of the Body of Christ. Amen!
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