TRINITY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH IHOP BIBLE STUDY # 7, Colossians 3: 12 - 17 “The Christian Ethic applied to others” –  with commentary. The purpose of the Letter to the Colossians is to review, “Paul’s Theology on Baptism and the Application of the Christian Ethic.” Today’s study is the 7th of 10 lessons

 

According to our Study Chart

 

10 lessons The Purpose of the Colossians Letter “Paul’s Theology on Baptism and the Applications of the Christian Ethic”
2 Sub-section The Significance of Baptism and the Christian Ethic”
2nd lesson of 5 in this set The Ethic Applied To Others
As God’s chosen people clothe yourselves with actions of the humane life	Put up with each other and forgive	The glue that keeps it all together	Submit to the peace of Christ and be thankful	Let the word of Christ: dwell, teach and admonish you as you sing songs of gratitude	Do everything in the name of Christ while giving thanks to God
Vs. 12	Vs. 13	Vs. 14	Vs 15	Vs. 16	Vs. 17

 

This lesson began with the following question:

What is an “ethic?” The answer given is that it is a system of moral values.

This was followed up with the question,” What is a Christian ethic?” The IHOPers struggled with this one.

WS: My answer is that a Christian Ethic is a system of values that leads to living the awakened life.  This is more than just a set of moral values (On the school yard be nice and don’t hit Johnny). While Christian ethics may include such directions, the purpose of doing these things is to demonstrate living the humane life and calling for others to do the same.  Also, Christian values include tough love. 

 

ABOUT THIS LESSON!

I.            Read the assigned verses in one reading.

A.           Vs. 12, What is your experience of the following:

1.           Being holy

WS: The conversation began by asking if a cow is holy by being a cow. The general consensus is that a cow never worries about being anything it is not. On the other hand, we humans live in denial of Howard Thurman’s axiom, “We are not Human Beings having a spiritual experience. Rather, we are Spiritual Beings having a human experience.” It is our “human experience” that keeps us in denial of our authentic created purpose. When we fulfill our intended creation, it can be said we are living the holy life.

 

2.           How do you experience being dearly loved?

WS: The IHOPers spoke of living as the unconditionally forgiven. They described it as the love of a mother for her baby. It was added that tough love also is an activity of “dearly loving” someone. Sometimes, it is “dearly” given by the initiator because of the reaction to kill the messenger.

 

3.           What would it mean to clothe yourself with the following: (Each IHOPer was assigned one of these topics and asked to describe their personal experience of it.)

 

Compassion?

WS: One IHOPers spoke of being a care-giver for his wife who is wheelchair bound. He added that his profession as a Highway Patrol Officer called for acts of compassion in particular at the scene of an accident. Another told a story of an incident as a local big box store where a father was observed hitting one of his children. Another shopper stepped in front of the father and said, “You are going to hit this kid again over my dead body.” This was affirmed as an act of compassion.

 

Kindness?

WS: On their honeymoon, a newly wed couple in our IHOP Bible Study spoke of leaving a camera on the counter of a store. The camera had many pictures of their honeymoon. When they discovered the loss they retraced their steps to discover someone had turned the camera in to the Service Desk. This is an act of kindness.

              Another IHOPer told of temporarily adopting a stray kitty until it could be sent to a good country home.

 

Humility?

WS: One IHOPer spoke of how we see the lack of humility is professional sports, but that many of us do not know their personal lives. Another added that we see only what the press wants us to know.

 

Patience?

WS: An IHOPer spoke of a nephew who lost everything and everyone because of his drinking. After several years of hospitalization, he awakened one day to understand that he was cured—just like that, and he remains sober to this day.

              Another IHOPer added the illustration of the “patience of Job.”

 

 

B.          Vs. 13,  How are these things demonstrations of Christian ethics?

WS: The consensus of the IHOPers was “Do unto others. . . .”

Another IHOPer spoke of going to Haiti to practice speaking the local language and engaging a youngster in a day-long activity of exchanging language skills. This was doing unto others as you would have them do unto you.

 

 

 

 

NEXT PAGE, PLEASE

 

 

 

1.           Describe the difference between being forgiven and being forgiven as the Lord forgives you? What is it that the Lord requires? What is your experience of it.     

A diagram of THE WORD OF CHRIST.

 

This chart also represents the “Good News of Jesus Christ.” Can you see why? Because when the Confession/Affirmation is made that “All is Good” (God makes NO JUNK), then it can be affirmed that “All is Received” as a good and precious gift; this is why it is called “the present.” When it is embraced that All is Good and that the Present is Received, then this makes our past not only forgiven but The Past is Forgotten.”  So, when All is Good, and All is Received, and the Past is Forgotten, then our “Future is Open.” And this my friends is GOOD NEWS!

              An IHOPer added, “All things work together for those who love the Lord.”

 

C.          Vs. 14, What is the glue that holds it all together?

WS: Paul tells us that love is the glue. If I was walking down the street and I saw you being loving what would I see? One IHOPer observed that love just does not fall out of us. Love is putting on some one's clothes and living within them. Another IHOPer offered, “Love is wanting love before wanting anything else.” Also implied in this statement is wanting to give love before wanting to give anything else.  A third IHOPer observed that we live in fear that we can not count on it.

 

D.          Vs. 15, Describe the “Peace of Christ”

 

    The Sea of Tranquility

(Picture by Hokusai, “The Big Wave”)

Observe there are two boats about  to be swamped. Theologically, why would we call this the “Sea of Tranquility?” The answer is that “tranquility is how Awakened humans relate to the troubled waters of life. Troubled waters are just The Way Life Is (TWLI); they are a-moral. How we choose to relate to the troubled waters is a choice either to be victims or to be victors.

 

1.           What is the experience of being “called to peace and then to be thankful?”

WS: When peace is authentically experienced only by living the awakened life (Christ’s life). Gratitude is the result of the Good News for the choice we have to live as victors and not victims.

E.           Vs. 16,  Explain the significance of this sentence.

WS: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another.” The “Word of Christ” is described in B1 above. Then, because we experience living the authentic life (i.e., the fulfillment of our intended creation), we experience the imperative to share this “Good News” with others. One IHOPer added, “This is doing the Jesus thing.”

 

F.           Vs. 17, If we lived our life by pulling it through Christ, what is our motivation to give thanks TO God THROUGH Christ?

WS: To pull our life “through Christ” is to live the awakened life; i.e., that is to die to the barriers that prevent us from living, fulfilling and sharing the authenticity of our intended purpose which is to live the humane and gracious life.

              To give thanks TO God is to live the humane and gracious existence.

              To give thanks TO God THROUGH Christ is to live the surrendered and obedient life in which we become nothings in order that the awakened life is all that people see; in particular, it is those living the self-less life. In my community one example is the director of the men’s “Rescue Mission.”

 

II.           Reflect on the following:

              Part 2 is an exercise in reflecting on the assigned reading through a method of identifying the “Deep Problem” faced by the early church. Sometimes this is known as identifying the underlying contradiction. This is usually hidden behind some particular manifestations. Paul usually addresses this hidden agenda in his “solution” that he offers. Consequently, it is necessary for us to examine his solutions, and then back up to reflect on what is the  deeper problem actually being addressed. Usually, this reveals some new insights.

 

A.           What is the surface problem that is manifested in the Colossian church?       

In light of the message is these few verses, speculate on what the surface problem may be.

Check out verses 12 and 13:  Colossians not living “clothed with Christ,” that is not practicing the Christian ethic of WWJD.

 

C.        What is the deeper, more hidden, agenda that Paul seeks to address with his solution?

Use your intuitions to identify the deeper problem.

Check out verse 15:

WS: The Colossian Church has not answered the “call to peace.”  One IHOPer explained, “The church was not living as the Body of Christ.”

 

B.          What is the solution Paul offers? (Note the change in order of these questions.) Sometimes it is helpful to remind ourselves that Paul’s solutions do not necessarily solve the surface problem identified in section A. Rather, Paul’s solution addresses the Deep Problem (the underlying contradiction) observed in section C.

           Speculate on what Paul is suggesting the solution is to the deeper problem.  

Check out verses 16 and 17: 

WS: Paul’s solution to the deeper problem is to do everything (words and deeds) in The Name of Christ; i.e., to demonstrate WWJD. They were not giving thanks to God through Christ; that is, they had not surrendered their selves in complete obedience to living in At-One-Ment with God, neighbor and self, and in this way fulfilling the Divine Commandment.

 

 

           Now, reread Paul’s solution to see if it makes sense.

 

D.          How does this information speak to our need for baptism?

              WS: When baptism is ‘wakin up water,’ then we are awakened FROM living the human/natural existence, and we are awakened TO living the humane and gracious life.  Also, when baptism is ‘wakin up water,’ then we follow Jesus example by dying to the barriers that prevent us from fulfilling our intended creation; that is we die to the barriers that prevent us from transforming our human/natural existence into living the humane and gracious life.

                            Also, this encompasses tough love. As one IHOPer added, “This is like saying to your friend, ‘Dummy, you are going to hurt someone.’”  

 

 

Alright folks, talk to me!