MEMBERSHIP OF CHRIST'S CHURCH: A NEW SPEECH
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Membership Of Christ's Church
a) The Messiah or Christ — who is the Son of God — is the King of the kingdom of heaven. Paul tells us that we have been transferred from the world into that kingdom (Colossians 1:13). A few verses later, Paul puts this fact another way. Christ is the head of the body, the church (Colossians 1:18). In the companion epistle, Paul tells us that we are members of this body (Ephesians 5:30). This spiritual body was made possible by the sacrifice of Christ's fleshly body enabling our forgiveness, redemption, and reconciliation (Colossians 1:14, 21-22)
b) We realize how great a privilege it is to be a member of the church whose Head is Christ. This marries that fact with Paul’s comments in Colossians 3:8-17.
c) Here Paul outlines the characteristics that God expects of members of his kingdom or church.
2. A New Speech
Colossians 3:8-9
8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.
a) Once we become Christians and members of the Lord's church, we begin through his power to transform and reform ourselves to become like him. One of the first problems we must tackle is our manner of speech. Paul mentions some of the sorts of speech which must be eliminated:
i) Outbursts of anger and wrath.
ii) Malicious talk and slander.
iii) Blasphemy (profane use of "Oh my God!", "Jesus!" etc).
iv) Abusive or filthy language.
v) Telling lies.
b) We note that because these sorts of speech may have become a habit, eliminating them will be a difficult task, but with prayer and determination you will purify your speech. Do not become discouraged.
The End ...
1. Membership Of Christ's Churcha) The Messiah or Christ — who is the Son of God — is the King of the kingdom of heaven. Paul tells us that we have been transferred from the world into that kingdom (Colossians 1:13). A few verses later, Paul puts this fact another way. Christ is the head of the body, the church (Colossians 1:18). In the companion epistle, Paul tells us that we are members of this body (Ephesians 5:30). This spiritual body was made possible by the sacrifice of Christ's fleshly body enabling our forgiveness, redemption, and reconciliation (Colossians 1:14, 21-22)
b) We realize how great a privilege it is to be a member of the church whose Head is Christ. This marries that fact with Paul’s comments in Colossians 3:8-17.
c) Here Paul outlines the characteristics that God expects of members of his kingdom or church.
2. A New Speech
Colossians 3:8-9
8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices.
a) Once we become Christians and members of the Lord's church, we begin through his power to transform and reform ourselves to become like him. One of the first problems we must tackle is our manner of speech. Paul mentions some of the sorts of speech which must be eliminated:
i) Outbursts of anger and wrath.
ii) Malicious talk and slander.
iii) Blasphemy (profane use of "Oh my God!", "Jesus!" etc).
iv) Abusive or filthy language.
v) Telling lies.
b) We note that because these sorts of speech may have become a habit, eliminating them will be a difficult task, but with prayer and determination you will purify your speech. Do not become discouraged.
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