Summary:
Paul describes believers as those who have been chosen by God, made holy, and loved by Him. Because of this identity, they are to put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Their life together should be marked by bearing with one another and forgiving one another whenever there is a complaint, just as the Lord forgave them.
Above all these qualities, they are to put on love, which holds everything together in perfect unity. The peace of Christ is to rule in their hearts, because they were called into one body, and they are to be thankful.
Paul then says that the word of Christ should richly dwell within them. As it does, they are to teach and admonish one another with wisdom, and their worship should be filled with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, sung with thankfulness in their hearts to God.
Finally, whatever they do, whether in word or deed, they are to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father. The passage presents the new life in Christ as a life clothed with godly character, held together by love, ruled by Christ’s peace, filled with Christ’s word, expressed in thankful worship, and lived entirely under the name of Jesus.
Teaching:
A person who believes in Jesus truly becomes a new person. If we truly believe in Jesus, we come to share in His death on the cross, His burial, and His resurrection from the tomb.
By the grace of God, when we believe in the name of Jesus, the death that Jesus died becomes our death, and our sin and the death that came from sin are dealt with. Then, together with the resurrection of Jesus, we become people who have died and come back to life. We become people who are alive to God, and this is not a grace given to just anyone.
This grace comes from the holy God and the God of love. Because God has chosen us, we are clothed with His holiness and clothed with His love. This is the image of the new person.
Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, June 19, 2026
Colossians 3:12-17