Putting on Christ: Practical Helps
This week we conclude our short series walking through Williams Mason’s little book The Believer’s Pocket Companion, or One Thing Needful to Make Poor Sinners Rich and Miserable Sinners Happy. In it, he discusses what it means to “Put on Christ” in practical, experiential ways.
For this episode, John and Matthew focus on three ideas from Mason: that Christ is given to us to be enjoyed by us, that putting on Christ protects us from legalism, and that we are called to put on Christ in the present moment.
Part of the reason we limited ourselves to three ideas from Mason is that we wanted to spend time focusing on specific aspects of Jesus Christ we can put on today. As we read about the Infinite, Uncreated Son, we quickly see there is no end to the things we could study. So where should we begin?
John and Matthew begin with the humanity of Jesus. Much of our lives seem mundane and the opposite of spiritual. But then we realize Jesus lived 30 years in obscurity. But He lived every moment in obedience to God the Father. He did all His mundane tasks to the pleasure and love of the Father.
Then we examine His atoning and sanctifying death. Every day we can rise from our beds realizing that we have been bought with the life of our Lord. He has already paid for our failures and we are clothed in His righteousness.
Lastly, Jesus came as the Son of God so that we “might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:5). We are not redeemed merely to be workers. We are redeemed as children of the perfect Father who pours out His love on us. Clothe yourself in that reality today.
A list of all the Scriptures mentioned in this week's episode is available under Show Notes.
0:00 Matthew and John again discuss why William Mason’s little book is so helpful to us all. In our previous episode, we discuss what it means to “Put on Christ.” In this episode, we will focus on three things Mason says. Then we will take three aspects of Christ’s person and work and ask how we put on Christ day in and day out.
3:00 Matthew reads our first quote from Mason. God has given us an interest in Christ, a right to Him. We are to enjoy Jesus Christ and our life in Him. Mason says, “Oh consider Christ is given to us to be enjoyed by us.”
5:00 Putting on Christ joyfully protects us from legalism. Why do we have a quiet time? Why do we participate in the Lord’s Supper? Because we want to put on Christ afresh as the joy and glory of our soul. Mason also offers us help in seeing what it looks like when faith acts in Scripture.
8:00 There is a movement right now of “mindfulness.” It is filled with nonsensical spiritualism. It does not really help anyone. Matthew contrasts that idea with Mason’s message to put Christ on today. Don’t focus on past failures or future hopes. Put Jesus Christ on today.
12:00 Why should we put on Christ? Yes, we put on Christ to defend against the next attack from our enemy. But we also put Him on so that we may walk forward in life. It is the sweetest fuel for the Christian life.
15:00 John and Matthew transition into examining three aspects of Christ we can look to. The first is the humanity of Jesus. He truly is the God-man. Much of what we do is mundane. It is simple. It is human. But when we look at the humanity of Jesus Christ, we can understand that Jesus lived a human life and every aspect of it, even the mundane activities were done to the honor, glory, and pleasure of the Father.
20:00 Jesus not only lived and died as a human. But unlike any human life before Him, His death was atoning and sanctifying. We can easily mark our lives by our failures and wanderings far from Christ. But we must clothe ourselves with the reality that the death of Jesus Christ both cleansed us from all our sins (those committed before conversion and after) and positionally sanctified us.
23:00 Time does not afford us the opportunity to dive as deep into this issue as we would like. But John offers some very helpful advice for you to swim in these waters for yourself, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and see how deep the water goes.
26:00 John and Matthew return from the break to quickly discuss one last idea for you to consider. In Galatians, Paul says God sent Jesus in the fulfillment of time to “redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” Adoption is another reality we should put on ourselves daily. You might think God saved you just for you to do work. But when you see the word adoption, realize God loved you as the perfect Father He is. You do not have to fret that you have lost His love.
28:00 We must obey the command to “Put on Christ.” But where do we start? Start with study. Ask God to teach you about His Son’s person and work. Use Mason’s little work as a resource in this endeavor.
Supporters
This week’s Supporter Appreciation Episode is a bit different from previous episodes. We have spent the last two weeks filming our forthcoming Media Gratiae project you have heard us talking about. This week we offer our supporters a blog letting you know a bit of how the trip went and a peek into what you can expect from us over the next few weeks for Supporter Appreciation Episodes.
Supporter Appreciation Episodes are small, tangible ways of showing appreciation for those who partner with Media Gratiae monthly. If you are a monthly supporter, click here for the additional content. As with everything we do, we never want finances to be a genuine barrier between out content and those who want to access it. If that's you, reach out to us at info@mediagratiae.org.
If you would like more information about becoming a partner, click here.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for weekly updates, or listen / subscribe on: iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher.
Show Notes
Podcast Resources
The Believers Pocket Companion by William Mason
Philippians 3:13-14
Hebrews 2:14
1 Corinthians 6:11
Galatians 4:4-7