The Holy Spirit has much to teach us. The question is, are we ready and willing to learn it?

15 The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.

It is by the grace of God that we learn. His Spirit teaches us according to what we NEED (this is grace) rather than what we DESERVE (this is justice). As we look at Colossians, let’s view it through the lens of Titus 2:11-12,

¹¹ For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. ¹² It [God’s grace via the Spirit] teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and [to say “Yes” to the Spirit, and] to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 

What does grace want to teach us? NOW we are ready to look at Colossians 2:5-17. Obviously, in order to do justice to the passage, we will have to cover it over several days. For today, let’s study verses 5-11.

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 

We have been crucified with Christ and we no longer live, but Christ lives in and through us (Galatians 2:20). In fact, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). We no longer live with these cravings as our goal, our end game, our ultimate experience. Christ has usurped these cravings. HE is the One we crave! Once we have tasted His love, joy and peace, we never want to go back to such pale and transient cravings, which never really satisfy (they just leave us craving more). Besides, we know what happens to those who never clothe themselves with the righteousness of Christ: When they stand before the heavenly Father, they will be ashamed and cast out. Indeed, they will flee from His presence because of their unrighteous state.

⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 

The lusts of the eyes and flesh listed in verses 5-6 are expensive, but not nearly as damaging as the pride of life (2 John 2:16). Our pride causes us to be angry with our fellow human, to rage against others, to carry malice (wishing ill on another person) in our hearts, to say false things against another to spite him, and to allow our mouths to spew poison on those around us through filthy words and dangerous topics. Ridding ourselves of these maladies requires some major help from the Holy Spirit. The FIRST thing we need is the initial desire. Then, we need the power to actually overcome them. Thank the Lord that He “gives us the desire and the power to do His will“ Philippians 2:13. Lean on Him. All the time. About everything.

⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed [renovated] in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 

Lying is manipulation. We are either seeking to get our way or…we’re seeking to get our way! We lie to get what we want, either to avoid retribution or to gain what we desire that may not be for us. It is the natural language of our “old man.” Our father, the devil (in John 8:43-44, Jesus says that before God adopts us, Satan is our father. “There is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” And we were just like him, “full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God” Ephesians 2:2. We put off this behavior because we have a new Daddy. We are continuously being renewed in the image of God, our Creator. How? The Holy Spirit enlightens our hearts and opens our minds to the knowledge of Him. From where? The Scriptures. Read them. Learn them. Internalize them.

¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Galatians 3:28 includes “male or female, For we are all one in Christ Jesus.” Verse 29 says, “If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the [Abrahamic] promise (see Genesis 12:3 and 15:5). If you’re wondering how we got included in this promise, consider these passages:

⁴ Circumcise yourselves to the Lord, circumcise your hearts, you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem… Jeremiah 4:4

²⁸ A person is not a Jew who is one only outwardly, nor is circumcision merely outward and physical. ²⁹ No, a person is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is circumcision of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the written code. Such a person’s praise is not from other people, but from God. Romans 2:28-29

¹⁵ Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Galatians 6:15

As we can see, Christ Jesus internalized our circumcision, just as Jeremiah preached. Because our circumcision is of our hearts, now all people who trust in Christ are circumcised of heart and are one in Christ. He is our ALL IN ALL.

To summarize, we are all one in Christ Jesus. We either have the Holy Spirit in us or folks have the potential of having His Spirit in them. Being a child of Abraham is no longer dependent upon being Jewish or being circumcised physically. The Spirit does it inwardly to all who come to Christ. Therefore, we are to treat each other and all potential brothers and sisters as blessed children of God, sacred, in that we all are temples of the Holy Spirit. WE HAVE GOD LIVING IN US!

Tomorrow, we look at verses 12-14, which tell us how we are to be clothed.

Abba, it changes everything to consider everyone a walking temple of Yours where You reside. Even wicked people who follow Satan–either knowingly or unknowingly–are potential temples of Yours. May I allow this train of thought to guide my actions and my speech today. Keep enlightening my heart and opening my mind to Your truth, LORD. I’m hungry for it. Amen.