Let us turn to God's Word and
I direct you again to the words that we find in Colossians chapter
3 and verse 10, text we've been considering now over these last
couple of weeks. In Colossians chapter 3 and verse
10, Paul writes, "...and have put on the new man which is renewed
in knowledge after the image of him that created him." Here then he speaks of the restoration
of man and the truth that we have here of course is very similar
to what he had also written to the Ephesians there in Ephesians
chapter 4 and verse 24 we find a similar text, and that she
put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness
and true holiness. In each of these verses, there
in Ephesians 4, and here in Colossians chapter 3, the Apostle is speaking
of the restoration of man which comes, of course, in Him who
is the last Adam. The Lord Jesus Christ, the great
work that He came to accomplish here upon the earth was to restore
that that was lost when the first Adam transgressed the commandment
of God and fell. The tragic history that's recorded
there in Genesis chapter 3 But as Isaac Watts says in reference
to the Lord Jesus Christ, in him the sons of Adam boast more
blessings than their father lost." Or what a renewal, what a restoration
of the sinner is to be witnessed in the work of the Lord Jesus
Christ. And now last week as we were
considering then the words of our text we spoke more particularly
of the significance of love. He goes on to speak of putting
on love or charity here in verse 14, and above all these things
he says, put on charity, literally love. Three words are
used by the Greeks in reference to love, and this is the highest
and the noblest form of love. It's the word agape. and it's
usually translated by charity here in our authorised version. Above all these things put on
charity, he says, which is the bond of perfectness. And we remember of course how
that it is this love that is the root of all the graces of
the Holy Spirit. Did we not read just now there
in Galatians in chapter 5 and verses 13 and 14 he says, Brethren,
ye have been called unto liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion
to the flesh, but by law. serve one another. For all the
Lord is fulfilled in one word, even in this, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself." How love is so primary then, or should
be in the lives of those who are the followers of the Lord
Jesus Christ. We're familiar, I'm sure, with
the content of that great 13th chapter in the first epistle
to the Corinthians. And when we come to the end of
the chapter, Paul says, Now abide us faith, hope, charity, these
three, but the greatest of these, he says, is charity. It is the first of all those
fruits of the Holy Spirit, is it not? Again, in the portion
that we were reading there in Galatians, in chapter 5 and verses
22 and 23, we have that fruit of the Spirit. The fruit of the
Spirit, he says, is love. Love stands first. And that is
how it appears under the gracious inspiration of the Holy Ghost
as Paul is penning these words. He's not simply writing his own
thoughts. He is one who is inspired. And
so the very order of the words is inspired. The fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. And now here, in that 14th verse
where he speaks of putting on charity above all else, we see
that it is that that binds all together. It's spoken of as the
bond, the bond of perfectness. It binds together all those graces
of the Spirit, all that blessed fruit of the Holy Spirit. How important it is then that
the child of God, the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, is
marked by this grace of love, Isn't love one of God's attributes? God has many attributes. He is
holy, He is righteous, He is just, He is good, He is gracious,
He is merciful. And then we're told also there
in the first epistle of John in the fourth chapter, Two occasions
in verse 8 and again in verse 16 we have that statement, God
is love. And in a sense we might say that
love is more than an attribute in God. Is not love really the
very essence of all that God is? God, remember, is a Trinity. And God is love without reference
to anything outside of Himself. What is the relationship between
the Divine Persons? Or does not the Father delight
in the Son? Does not the Son love the Father? Do not Father and Son delight
in and love the Holy Spirit? When the Lord Jesus speaks there
in Proverbs chapter 8, we see Him as the wisdom of God. Just
as in John chapter 1, we see Him as the Word of God. And when
we see Him revealed in that 8th chapter of Proverbs as God's
wisdom, what does He say? Then was I by Him, as one brought
up with Him. I was daily His delight. Oh, the relationship then between
the persons in the Godhead, those three persons who are the one
and only living and true God, their relationship is one of
love. And therefore, if there is this
putting on of the new man, it is the putting on of love. There
is the image, and I put on the new man. which is renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created him. Remember, when God made Adam,
he made him in his own image. In fact, he created him, did
he not, after his own likeness. And it's interesting in these
verses, this in Colossians 3, and that that we have also previously,
In Ephesians chapter 4 we see some reference to that first
creation. There in Ephesians 4 and 24 that
you put on the new man, which after? Which after? That is after God's image, after
God's likeness. is created in righteousness and
through holiness. And so here in the text tonight,
and I've put on the new man which is renewed in knowledge after
the image, after the image of him that created him. It is the restoration of the
divine image in man that the apostle is speaking of. and having considered last week
something of the importance of that charity, that love that
is spoken of in verse 14, I want us tonight to consider some of
these other graces that are spoken of previously in verses 12 and
13. Put on therefore, he says, as
the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness,
humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." And then, above
all these things, put on charity, you see, which is the bond of
perfectness. Here we are really considering
something of the practical part of what Paul writes as he addresses
the church of the Colossians. And so I want us to consider
something of these Christian graces. But you will observe
that they are also marks of election. How does he address them? Put
on therefore, he says, as the elect of God. put on us the elect
of God. Or we are exhorted, are we not,
by another apostle, by Peter, that we should rather give diligence
to make our calling and our election sure. Are we not then to examine
ourselves and to prove ourselves by what is written here in Scripture?
Here, then, we have some of the marks of those who are truly
the election of grace, those in whom God has worked, and they
are partakers, therefore, of that divine nature. They are
those who have been born again by the Spirit of God. They are
in Christ Jesus. And if any man is in Christ Jesus,
he is a new creation. These are marks of that new man
of grace. Whenever we consider something
of these graces that are spoken of. First of all, we read of
bowels of mercies. Bowels of mercies. Now, as a Jew, Paul would speak
in this particular fashion, because the Jews Like other people of
the East, they think of the affections in terms of the bowels. We would speak, I suppose, of
the hearts. And rather than an expression
such as this, we might speak of hearts of compassion. But remember how the Hebrews,
they think in more concrete terms. And they're thinking here, or
Paul is thinking here, of that that he's felt, and felt in the
very pit of one's stomach. We tend, of course, to think
and often to speak in more abstract terms, but not so the Hebrews
being an Eastern people. Here we have that that really
is indicative of real depth of feeling. Something that is felt
in, as I say, the very pit of the stomach, bowels of mercies. Now we see it. We see it several
times. We see it in the New Testament,
we see it in the Old Testament. Look at how Paul writes to the
Philippians there in the first chapter. And verse 8, he says,
God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels
of Jesus Christ. You see, it's something that
he feels so deeply. His love, his great affection
towards that church of the Philippians. And I say we see it not only
in the New Testament, we see it, and we see it primarily,
of course, in the Old Testament Scriptures. Think of Joseph,
There, having been sold by his brethren into bondage in Egypt,
and yet in the strange, mysterious providences of God, he is brought
to that position of great eminence, and his brethren, not knowing
who the man is, must come and they must do abidance before
him, just as he had said would be the case in terms of the dreams
that he had had in Genesis 37. and they come without their brother
Benjamin but then the second time when they come again to
obtain corn during those years of terrible famine throughout
all the lands of the East Benjamin is now with them. And what do
we read? Look at the language of Jews
back in Genesis chapter 43 and there in verses verses 29 and 30. We're told how he lifted
up his eyes and saw his brother Benjamin, his mother's son, and
said, Is this your younger brother of whom you spoke unto me? And he said, God, be gracious
unto thee, my son. And Joseph made haste for his
bowels did yearn upon his brother, and his thoughts were to weep,
and he entered into his chamber and wept there." How this man
is moved with such kindness, such compassion, bowels of mercy. And I say we see it several times,
we see it again. One more example I'll give, that
of Jeremiah in the book of the Lamentations, when he beholds
the desolations that have come upon the city of Jerusalem because
of the sin of the people they've been taken into exile and he
laments over the sad state of affairs there in the land. Now in Josesians chapter 2 and
verse 11, he says, for the destruction of the daughter
of my people because the children and the sucklings swoon or faint
as it says in the margin in the streets of the city. How this
man is troubled and how he feels these things in the very depth
of his being and this is what we have here this strange expression
as it would seem to us, bowels, bowels of mercies. Oh friends, do we know anything
of such intensity of feeling as we see in these examples? From the Old Testament, Joseph
and Jeremiah again, when we see the Apostle to the Philippians
here in the New Testament, do we know anything of such intensity
of feeling for Zion? for the Church of God for believers. This is the evidence, you see,
this is the mark of that man who is the new man. He knows
something of what it is to possess these bowels of mercies. And then we read also here in
verse 12 of kindness. Put on therefore as the elect
of God holy and beloved bowels of mercies, kindness. kindness. Now this kindness of course is
the opposite to that that is to be put off as we saw at the
beginning when we commenced to consider the words of the text
here in verse 10 we said then that there is a need to put off,
to mortify, that's the context there's the old nature and that's
to be put to death Verse 5, mortify therefore your members which
are upon the earth, he says. And then he says at verse 8, that now he also puts off all
these, anger, wrath, malice. Anger, wrath, malice. Oh, what is the antidote to these
things that are to be put off? Is it not this kindness that
is spoken of in verse 12. They are to be kind one to another. They're not to be filled with
malice and wrath and anger against each other, they're to be kindly
in their dealings. Remember how the Lord Jesus in
the course of his earthly ministry tells that parable of the Good
Samaritan. the man on his journey who falls
among thieves, and there are those religious men who come
by the way and they see him there, left off dead. And what does
the priest do? What does the Levite do? They
ignore, they pass by on the other side. And Christ then speaks
of the Good Samaritan. We know that there were no dealings
between the Jews and the Samaritans. How the Jews despised the Samaritans. Christ is telling really a remarkable
parable here in Luke chapter 10. And he asks the question
there in verse 36, which now of these three thinkest thou
was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And he said, he that showed mercy
on him. Then said Jesus unto to him,
go and do thou likewise. You remember how one had turned
to him, a lawyer, an expert in the Jewish law, and asked him,
who was his neighbour? And the Lord tells the parable.
And he used to do as this good Samaritan did. He used to show
mercy, he used to be kind. And this is what we have here,
you see, as a mark of those who are new creatures in Christ Jesus,
those who are partakers of the divine nature, they know something
of kindness. We read, do we not, of Barnabas
back in Acts chapter 4, and what does his name mean? We're told,
Joe, Barnabas being interpreted is the son of consolation. or
to be sons and daughters of consolation, to be those who would seek to
console others, to minister to them, to be kindly towards them.
Well, there are a number of different graces and characteristics that
are spoken of here, so I want to press on because all told
there are as many as seven We've observed the first two, the bowels
of mercies and the kindness. And then thirdly, we have this
humbleness of mind, humbleness of mind, all humility, lowliness
of mind. And we have, of course, the great
pattern of that demonstrated in the Lord Jesus Christ himself. in that second chapter of Paul's
Epistle to the Philippians. Wonderful chapter. Of course,
the Bible is full of wonderful chapters, but what a remarkable
chapter is Philippians chapter 2. He speaks to us so plainly
concerning the glories of Christ as God, and yet the greatness
of his humility. being in the form of God. He
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of men, we're told. He thought it not
robbery to be equal with God, because he is equal with God.
He is very God, a very God, the Eternal Son of the Eternal Father,
but he makes himself of no reputation, takes upon him the form of a
servant, in terms of the eternal covenant he becomes God's servant,
he's first elect, he's made in the likeness of man, and when
he's found in fashion as a man he humbles himself and is obedient
unto death, even the accursed death of the cross. Oh, Paul
speaks then so wonderfully of the glories that belong unto
Christ, and the mystery of those two natures in that one person
is God-man. But the context, the context
here is one in which he is seeking to impress upon the Philippians
the importance of lowliness of mind. Look at the opening word of that
chapter, if there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if
any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels
and mercies, fulfill ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having
the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. And then we come
to it. Let nothing be done through strife
or vainglory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other
better than themselves. Look not every man on his own
things, but every man also on the things of others. This is
lowliness of mind. This is humbleness of mind. It's
the mind of Christ. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. And this is what he speaks of
here, as one of the characteristics, one of the marks of the elect,
one of the marks of those who are partakers of the new nature,
new creatures. in the Lord Jesus Christ. And
this humbleness of mind, it's not feigned, it's not forged. At the end of the previous chapter,
chapter 2, and there at verse 20 it says, if ye be dead with
Christ from the rudiments or the elements of the world, why
as though living in the world are you subject to ordinances,
touch not, taste not, handle not, which are to perish with
the using, after the commandments and doctrines of men, which things
indeed have a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility,
and neglecting of the body. Here is that, you see, that is
just a vain show. That that is violence. It's not
real humility. It's men seeking to make a show
in the flesh. But what we have here is very
different to that. Oh, friends, how we see it in
those who are examples to us of the grace of God. The centurion,
whose servant was sick, and he desires that the Lord would come
and heal his servant because he was dear unto that centurion. And what does he say to the Lord
Jesus Christ? I am not worthy that thou should
come under my roof. There is that humility to feel
that we're not worthy that the Lord should ever take account
of us. Or we see it in the centurion.
Surely that centurion was a man of faith. He knew who the Lord
Jesus Christ was. And he was amazed that Christ
should take account of him and come to him. But we see it so
supremely, of course, in that publican who goes to the temple
at the hour of prayer with the proud Pharisee And it's the publican,
the hated tax gatherer, who is the man that goes to his house
justified, says the Lord, rather than the other. And what do we
see in that man? All such a militant. Stands afar
off. Always not worthy to come too
near. Stands afar off. His eyes are
cast down. He smites upon his breast and
he cries out, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Oh, friends,
that we might be those who are favoured with such humility,
such lowliness of mind. The very opposite, of course,
of that spirit of deotrophies that John speaks of in his third
epistle, the man who wants to have the preeminence. He wanted
the preeminence. That's not the spirit of Christ.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. Humbleness of mind. And then
fourthly here we read of meekness. Meekness. In scripture different individuals
are held before us as remarkable characters of certain graces.
Abraham. Abraham is the father of all
them that believe. A great pattern of what it is
to have faith against hope. He believed in hope. We think
of a man like Job and how James speaks of him. You have heard
of the patience or the endurance of Job. how Job endured. What a pattern he is to us of
patience. But what of meekness? Well, the
man that is held before us, of course, is the man Moses. Numbers
chapter 12 and verse 3. Now the man Moses was very meek
above all the men which were upon the face of the earth. This man was renowned for his
meekness. Now, let us not confuse that
meekness with weakness. Oh, there's nothing weak in the
man Moses. He was a prince in Egypt. And
he was the one raised up, of course, to deliver the children
of Israel from the bondage which was Egypt. What is this meekness? It's that submissiveness. that
spirit of submissiveness, and how this man submits and submits
to all the will of God. So meekly does he submit to God's
will. He's found of course there in
the catalogue of the faithful in Hebrews chapter 11 and we're
told Verse 24, "...by faith Moses, when he was come to years, refused
to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to
suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto
the recompense of the reward." How this man you see is submissive,
even accepting those afflictions that came upon him. Afflictions
in the world ought to know, friends, that spirit of true meekness. This is a way in which we come
to receive the Word of God. How do you receive the Word of
God? We're not to snatch at the Word of God, there are those,
and I don't like the expression at all, but some like to say,
oh, you have to claim the promises. They probably mean well when
they say such things, but surely what we need is that God himself
must come and graciously apply the promises and give us the
promises. How do we receive the Word of God? Well, we're told,
are we not, in James chapter 1 and verse 21, Receive with
meekness, it says. Receive with meekness, that submissiveness,
that bowing down before the authority which is the Word of God. Receive
with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save the soul. Here is another mark then of
those who have that image restored. They are meek. They know something
of the spirit of the man Moses. And then, fifthly, we read of
lung suffering. Lung suffering. How remarkable
this is. It's a divine attribute, is it
not? It's declared to be a part of
the very name of God. When God reveals himself to Moses
when God proclaims his name there in Exodus chapter 34 the beginning
of Exodus chapter 34 Verse 5, we are told how the
Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed
the name of the Lord. And the Lord passed by before
him and proclaimed, The Lord God merciful and gracious, long-suffering
and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no
means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon
the children and upon the children's children unto the third and to
the fourth generation. Here is God declaring his name. That's what Moses had desired,
that God would come and thus reveal himself. Back in chapter 33, He says at verse 13, Now therefore
I pray thee, if I find grace in thy sight, show me thy way,
that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight, and
consider that this nation is thy people. And the Lord comes
and proclaims His name. And this is part of His name,
you see. He is the God who is longsuffering. And what a comfort
that is. What an encouragement to those
who would be seekers after this God. I remember some years ago
being directed to that word in Psalm 86 as an encouraging word
for those who would be seekers after God. Verse 5 says, For
thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy
unto all them that call upon thee." Oh, if we would but call
upon His name, what an encouragement! He is good. He is ready to forgive. He is plenteous in mercy. And then, there at the end of
the same Psalm, verse 15, Thou, O Lord, art to God full of compassion
and gracious, long-suffering. and plenteous in mercy and truth."
How God is long-suffering. How often we sin against Him.
And yet God stays His hand. God deals with us graciously.
Oh, He suffers our rude ways because of the God that He is.
It's part of His very character. It's what He declares in His
own name. And so those who have restored
in them the divine image must be a people who are long-suffering.
We must suffer long one with the other sometimes. It's so
easy to irritate one another. We're all different. We all have
different personalities. Sometimes there are those sort
of personalities that are not attractive to us. And yet we
find ourselves in the same local church with them. how God calls
out His people and brings them together in local churches and
they have to learn long-suffering, forbearance. Here we have it,
you see the sixth mark, forbearing one another, it says here at
the beginning of verse 13. Forbearing one another. How we see forbearance in the
whole way in which the Apostle Paul conducted himself, how he
would suffer. Being persecuted, he said, we
suffer for it, or we would forbear. And he is the pattern, is he
not? A pattern to them which should hereafter believe. But he doesn't want people simply
to follow him because he's an apostle. They're only to follow
him in so much as he is a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians
11, he says, Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ. Christ is the real pattern. But
Paul can say those things because he is one who, by the grace of
God, is seeking to follow in the footsteps of Christ himself. And again, look at the language
that we have in 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2, verse 20, it says, What
glory is it if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take
it patiently? But if, when ye do well and suffer
for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.
For even hereunto were ye caught, because Christ also suffered
for us, leaving an example that ye should follow his steps. who did no sin, neither was guile
found in his mouth. When he was reviled, reviled
not again. When he suffered, he threatened not, but committed
himself to him that judges righteous." Oh, what forbearance we see in
the way in which the Lord Jesus Christ constantly conducted himself. And this is what is to be seen
in the lives of those who have had the divine image restored. They are a forbearing people.
And then finally we see this, they are a forgiving people. They are a forgiving people.
Forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have
a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do
ye. When we pray, Doesn't Christ
instruct us in his patterned prayer? He tells us how to pray.
And amongst those petitions, what are we to say? Forgive us
our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us. He's not saying, you see, that
the base is the ground we're on. We expect forgiveness is
because of anything we do. No, the only basis for forgiveness
is the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. If we confess our sins,
God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us.
from all unrighteousness. Why? Because God who is the faithful
God and the just God, the holy, the righteous God, has visited
the punishment of the sins of his people upon the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the propitiation for our
sins. There is the ground of our forgiveness.
And yet when we pray we are to say, forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive them the trespass against us. We desire to be a
forgiving people. It's a mark, it's an evidence
of that grace of God in us when we come and plead with Him. Or
the motivation, you see, for all that the believer does, why
it's found in the Lord Jesus Christ, is it not? Remember the
language that we have again when Paul is writing to a church,
writing to the Ephesians there at the end of chapter 4, verse
31, he says, Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor
and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And
be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Be Christ-like. Be ye therefore followers of
God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath
loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice
to God for a sweet-smelling savour. And then the exhortations, fornication
and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not be once named among
you as becometh saints. Neither filthiness, nor foolish
talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient, but rather giving
thanks." Always, you see, we have this. The believer's motivation
is Christ. We are to be Christ-like. Or
do we desire that? Do we love Him because He first
loved us? And do we desire to conform more
and more to the image of Christ? Forbearing. one another, and
forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." He says again
to the Ephesians, we are His workmanship. We are God's workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Unto good works. Not that there's any merit in
our works. All the merit is in the Lord Jesus Christ. But although
surely you are partakers of the of the new nature, Peter calls
it the divine nature, it's the restoration of the image of God
in man. Oh friends, are we those who
know it? Are we those who desire it? That we might be real Christians,
washed in the Redeemer's blood, and have put on the new man,
which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created
him." It's that knowledge, that saving knowledge of Christ, and
it's life eternal. "...to know thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." May the Lord bless
His Word to us.