What does Colossians 3:12-17 mean? 29-Dec-24

Paul has listed 11 negative traits to avoid, and 11 positive traits for believers to mimic. In this verse, he summarizes his teaching with the all-encompassing phrase “whatever you do.” Anything unmentioned in his list is to be understood from his words in this verse. This includes what we say and how we act. This fits cleanly with Paul’s rejection of legalism and pious self-denial. Our relationship with Christ is not about a set of rules—human minds could never make enough individual rules to cover every possible situation. Instead, we are to submit everything, and every moment to Christ. Instead of living by a checklist, we are to submit to Him in “whatever” we think or do. 

This teaching is emphasized a second time. Paul’s teaching is once again all-encompassing. We are to “do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.” The final phrase “giving thanks to God the Father through him” is one reason for the tradition of ending prayers using the name of Jesus. Though we are not required to say these words in prayer, the idea is true. We thank God the Father, in the name of Jesus. It is through Jesus we are saved and have a new life (Acts 4:12).

Colossians 3:17 follows Paul’s advice on sins to avoid by listing positive traits Christians should strive to emulate. Among these are compassion, humility, patience, and forgiveness. More important than any other is love, which not only inspires the other traits, but which binds Christians together as a single family, under Christ. Paul then opens the idea of following Christ to include every aspect of our lives: whatever we think or do, as believers, ought to be compatible with the example of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Chapter Summary

In this chapter, Paul gives clear instructions to Christians about living out faith in Christ. Since believers have been saved by Christ, they should not participate in the sins which trap unbelievers. Sexual immorality, jealousy, slander, and revenge are not to be part of the Christian’s life. Instead, as already stated, believers ought to demonstrate compassion, humility, patience, and forgiveness and bove all, followers of Christ should show love. Paul also gives specific instructions for those living in Christian homes, including husbands, wives, children, and servants.

The Gospel

The entire Bible centers on a single, surprisingly simple theme: God loves you so much that He made a way to be forgiven for every sin, so you can spend eternity with Him. That’s the essence of the gospel, and the central subject of the Scriptures. The written Word of God is intended to help us understand this “good news.” By studying the Bible, we learn that each person needs to be saved (Romans 3:23), each person can be saved (Romans 1:16), and God wants each person to be saved (2 Peter 3:9).

What separates us from God is sin. No matter how good we think we are, every person is guilty of sin (1 John 1:10). Since God is absolutely perfect, no one deserves to spend eternity in heaven. Instead, we deserve to be separated from Him forever (Romans 5:16). No amount of effort, no good deeds, no money, no talent, no achievements are enough to take away this guilt (Isaiah 64:6). Fortunately, God doesn’t want us to be separated from Him, so He made a way to fix what’s broken (John 3:16-17). 

That one and only way is through faith in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). God Himself came to earth, as a human, living a perfect and sinless life (Hebrews 4:15). He willingly died as a sacrifice to pay the debt for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21). According to the Scriptures, anyone can be “saved”—forgiven by God and guaranteed heaven—through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:13). This isn’t a call for blind, ignorant belief (Acts 17:11; 1 John 4:1). It’s an invitation from the Holy Spirit to submission and trust (James 4:7). It’s a choice to let go of everything else in order to rely entirely on God.

There is nothing anyone can “do” in order to be saved. The only way a person can find salvation is by accepting Jesus Christ as their savior. This simply means believing that…

That’s it! Anyone who truly believes those things is forgiven, changed from the inside out (James 1:18; 2 Corinthians 5:17), and destined for heaven. The gospel is simple enough for anyone to understand (Matthew 18:13), but very difficult for people to accept (Romans 1:20-21). The truth of the gospel means we are not perfect. We are not in total control of our lives (Psalm 39:5). We cannot save ourselves. We need something “more” than us to make things right (1 Thessalonians 4:8). 

Becoming a Christian is not about being better than others. The gospel is for those who admit they are weak and need to be rescued (2 Corinthians 12:9). That’s a hard truth, but everything we learn from the Bible proves this truth. Each theme explored in Scripture points towards this gospel message of sin, redemption, and salvation through faith.

It’s the most important decision a person will ever make: do I accept what God offers, or do I turn my back on it (Matthew 7:13)?

Second Reading Luke 2:41-52

It was common for Luke to reference historical events of the time so that historians would be able to validate the accuracy of his writings. 

For example, Luke made it a point to include the following verse in his writings:

  • “This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.” – Luke 2:2.  

Knowing this, if we can identify the years that Quirinius was governor of Syria, and when the first census was taken, we know the year that Jesus, Joseph, and Mary headed to Bethlehem.   

Didn’t you know that I must (dei – “it is necessary”) be in my Father’s house?” (v. 49b). This verse reveals the central purpose of this story, which is to acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God—a fact first told to Mary by the angel in 1:35—and soon to be affirmed by God at Jesus’ baptism (3:22). Jesus will also speak of God as his father in 10:21-22; 22:29, 42; 23:34, 46; and 24:49.

“Didn’t you know that I must” (dei—it is necessary—implies a Godly requirement). Jesus will use that word repeatedly to reflect the obligations imposed by his mission:

• “I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God” (4:43).

• “The Son of Man must suffer many things”(9:22).

• “I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem” (13:33).

• “But first, (I) must suffer many things”(17:25).

“I must be in my Father’s house.” Note the play on words reflected in “father” (v. 48) where Mary refers to Joseph as Jesus’ father—and “my Father’s house” (v. 49) where Jesus refers to God as his father. Barclay’s interpretation says, “See how very gently but very definitely Jesus takes the name father from Joseph and gives it to God” (Barclay, 25).

Some scholars treat Jesus’ words in verse 49 as a rebuke of his parents, but Nolland noting that Jesus quickly becomes submissive (v. 51b), argues convincingly that Jesus is surprised rather than reproachful at Mary’s question. (Nolland, 131. Stein echoes those sentiments, 122-123).

“They didn’t understand the saying which he spoke to them” (v. 50). In the very beginning, Gabriel told Mary, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom” (1:32-33). However, Mary does not have our advantage of hindsight. She cannot read the Gospels to see how Jesus’ life will unfold, what it will mean, and how it will end. Jesus’ ministry will be quite different from that which is expected of the Messiah, so Mary must be confused. Her awakening understanding of Jesus’ ministry will come painfully.

“And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth” (v. 51a). “Went down” (katebe) is true in two senses. Jerusalem is on a mountain—geographic high ground—and it is also the site of the temple—spiritual high ground.

This going down to Nazareth mirrors the going up to Jerusalem at the beginning of this story (vv. 41-42). These two phrases form brackets around the story, marking its beginning and ending.

“He was subject to them” (v. 51b). Just as he voluntarily “emptied himself” (Philippians 2:7) to come down from heaven, so Jesus now voluntarily submits to his parents, fulfilling the commandment to honor his father and mother.

LUKE 2:52. AND JESUS INCREASED….

52.And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature (Greek: helikia—years, height, maturity), and in favor with God and men.

“And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (v. 52; see also 2:40). As this verse attests, Jesus did not spring fully-formed from the womb, but grew. Here we see Jesus, at age twelve, coming to grips with his identity and calling. He has been at home in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph, but now, in the temple, he feels the pull of his special vocation. “I must,” he says. “It is necessary.” This will not be the last time that his vocation creates problems for his earthly family (8:19-21. See also 12:53; 14:26). He is not being disrespectful to his parents, but his greater obligation is to his Father in heaven. “I must be in my Father’s house?”

This verse tells us that Jesus grew in four dimensions, each of which is essential to a well-balanced person: (1) Wisdom goes beyond knowledge of facts to an understanding, not just of what is, but of what counts. (2) “Stature” connotes both physical stature and spiritual maturity. (3) Divine favor involves relationship with God. (4) Human favor involves relationships with other people.

The fact that Jesus increased in each of these dimensions shows that he had room to grow. The church will later emphasize that Jesus was fully God and fully human. Being fully human means that Jesus began life with the limitations of an infant. He grew to become a twelve-year-old boy, and later grew some more to become a man.

After this story, Joseph is mentioned again in this Gospel only in Jesus’ genealogy (3:23), and Mary is mentioned again (not by name) only when she comes to see Jesus but cannot reach him because of the crowd (8:19). The emphasis from this point forward is not on Jesus earthly parents but on his Heavenly Father .

Children’s explanation.

ASK 

  • I have a question for you. Have you ever had something & then lost it? Like a hat or a shoe or a toy?
  • Maybe you’d seen other people lose things, too? Maybe someone you live with once lost their keys, or their wallet or their phone – has that ever happened?
  • And when one of those things were lost was there then lots of looking to find that thing until it was found?
  • While the looking happened, were there feelings of concern and worry? Maybe even feeling sad or scared that the lost thing wouldn’t ever be found again?

TELL 

  • I ask because in today’s Bible story, we hear that Joseph and Mary have lost something very important – their 12 year old son, Jesus.
  • They couldn’t find him anywhere!
  • They looked for him for three days.
  • They finally found him in the Temple; he was talking to the teachers that were there. Turns out that he had been there the whole time.
  • Once they found him, Joseph and Mary told Jesus that they had been very worried about him.
  • In other words, his parents had been worried that Jesus had been lost and missing.
  • But it turns out that Jesus knew exactly what he was doing, where he was, and was not scared at all. We know this because that’s what he told Mary and Joseph in the story.

SHARE the Good News 

And, when we are living into this gift of knowing where we are, and where we belong, then we can share that gift of belonging with those around us.

That’s the good news for today. Let’s pray.