In the book of Colossians, the Apostle Paul continued a pattern from his previous books. The first and second chapters of the book are doctrinal or theological in nature and chapters three and four are practical in scope. In other words, practical Christian living follows proper theological thinking. In the book of Romans, Paul’s first eleven chapters are doctrinal, while chapters twelve through sixteen are practical. In the book of Ephesians, chapters one through three are theological while chapters four through six are chapters devoted to the practical application of theological truth. To the trouble plagued church of Corinth, Paul wrote sixteen chapters in his first epistle to them, but only the last two are doctrinal. The rest of the book deals with the problems of the church.
Beginning in Colossians chapter three, Paul answered the question, “How does a Christian live the Christian life?” Many believers in Christ ask that question. God has called us to live in a world that offers us many wicked and sinful distractions and often applies overwhelming pressure to live according to its standards and patterns. How is the Christian to live a godly life and grow into spiritual maturity with all of those distractions and pressures? How do we live without compromising biblical convictions and disobeying God’s truth? What does God expect from the ordinary Christian?
God has always called His people to know His truth and then to live His truth. Both are necessary. If you do not know God’s truth, you will fail in living a Christ-like life. If you know God’s truth but fail to live a godly life, you fail to obey the truth God has given you. The Lord has made that abundantly clear throughout the Bible. In the book of Deuteronomy, for example, God gives powerful theological truth: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” Through these simple words God revealed the doctrinal truth about His divine nature. He immediately followed that by giving practical ways to apply that truth. First, we must love the Lord with a deep internal love: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” This is not an external emotion, but a strong internal commitment to love the Lord above all things. Second, we apply this truth by personally teaching it to our families: “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7). God called parents to teach this great theological truth to their children. This is practical and faithful living. It teaches us the value of having a spiritual perspective.
Christians cannot overestimate the value of a spiritual perspective on life. The way we view various circumstances on our life’s journey has a direct bearing on the decisions we make and on our attitudes. Three thousand years ago, Solomon, who was the king in Israel, recognized that many people only viewed life from the earthly perspective and he called that perspective “life under the sun.” The purpose of his book of Ecclesiastes is to urge readers to gain a higher perspective and make choices from a heavenly point of view. A millennium later the apostle Paul would advocate for the same viewpoint by calling us to set our minds on the things above. This is actually the initial step in our process of spiritual growth and it is precisely here we begin to see life from God’s point of view. A good perspective on life makes all the difference.
As a matter of fact, not only our spiritual growth, but also our joy and usefulness in serving Christ requires that we maintain a proper perspective on this world and the progress of our lives. We must see ourselves as “aliens and strangers” (1 Peter 2:11) in this world and recognize that our true citizenship is in heaven. (Philippians 3:20) We have no choice but to exist in this world for the present, but we do not have to be controlled by it.
The key to living with a spiritual perspective is found in the theology Paul has already written about in this epistle. We must know, by now, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the center of all things. Paul has told us that the Lord Jesus is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He is the head of the church and He will come to have first place in everything. The total and complete deity dwells in the Lord Jesus. When a person is saved, the Lord Jesus comes to dwell in him or her. And the ultimate purpose of every Christian is to be complete in Christ. There is no way Paul could have been clearer. Every Christian must live a Christ-centered life. That was true in the first century and it is just as true today in the twenty-first century. So let me begin by asking you this question, Christian brother or sister, “Is Jesus first in your life?”
We will explore this idea of living the Christ-centered life in the first four verses of Colossians three and that will lead us to discover three important principles: first, seek heavenly things, second, think heavenly thoughts, and finally, anticipate heaven’s rewards. We begin with the believer’s responsibility to seek heavenly things.
SEEK HEAVENLY THINGS. Colossians 3:1
Raised with Christ. We first recognize that our Christian life begins with our complete identification with Jesus Christ. We have been raised up with Him. Also notice in verse three, that we have died with Him. The Bible tells us that every true believer in Jesus is entirely identified in Him. Paul wrote in Galatians, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (Galatians 2:20). Like Paul, Christians are fully immersed in the Lord Jesus.
The word “if” in this translation identifies a fulfilled condition and would be better translated by the word “since” as it is in the New International Version. It refers to a condition that already exists, not one that is hypothetical. The condition that already exists is that every true believer in Jesus Christ has presently been raised up (resurrected). This means that by virtue of saving faith in Jesus Christ, God sees us as already being resurrected because God has already applied the resurrection of Christ to us. This is a state of position that every believer enjoys and it is given to us by God’s grace. While we are awaiting our resurrection and glorified bodies, God sees that as having already happened. This reality of our union with Christ is a result of our receiving Him as our Savior. Christians literally participate in the narrative of His life because we have died, were buried, rose, ascended, and sat down in heaven with Him. When He comes again, we will come with Him. Since our lives are completely wrapped up in Christ, we must learn to put Him first in all things.
Seek Things Above. We are to be constantly seeking the things above. “Seek” means to strive for earnestly. It is a cognitive function. We pursue the Lord with our mind, our will, and our emotions. This calls for the concentration of our whole being. Seeking the Lord is not a new principle. Psalm 105 tells us, “Glory in His holy name; let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad. Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually” (Psalm 105:3-4). Those who are lost do not seek the Lord, “Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek Your statutes” (Psalm 119:155). Isaiah calls us to “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6). And we should be reminded that the Lord Jesus called us to “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
Spirit-filled doing begins with Christ-centered thinking. This Christ-centered thinking must become a continual and consistent pattern of thought for the Christian. Until we realize and apply this truth and live with Christ at the center of our lives, we will not be effective in our ministries and in reaching the world with the truth of the gospel. God calls us to rise above this present world and seek Him with all our hearts.
Christ Seated at God’s Right Hand. Paul identifies “the things above” as the Lord Jesus Christ, who is presently seated in heaven in the position of preeminence at the right hand of God the Father. He alone occupies that seat because He alone has been given all authority in heaven and on earth. The supremacy of the Lord Jesus is declared frequently in the Scriptures. In his sermon on the Day of Pentecost, Peter quoted Psalm 110, saying, “The Lord said to My Lord, sit at My right hand…” In Acts five, Peter again referred to the exalted position of the Lord Jesus by saying, “He is the one whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior, to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
As Stephen, a leader of the church in Jerusalem, was being executed by wicked men, he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (Acts 7:56). Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome, “Christ Jesus is He who died, yes rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Romans 8:34). As Christians we must live with this exalted Savior, Jesus Christ, as the center of our lives.
THINK HEAVENLY THOUGHTS. Colossians 3:2-3
Think About Things Above. This is an imperative for Christians; a command. It requires that the thoughts and attention also be continually directed toward this goal of the things above. A person’s actions are the result of his or her thinking. The mind directs actions and habits by the decisions it makes. This new perspective made available to us at the moment of our salvation is rational in nature. It is neither mystical nor emotional. We are to “set our minds” on things above. That is, we are to allow our present earthly lives to be preoccupied with heavenly thinking. Interaction with the world around us is necessary, but we have the capacity to see everything in that world through God’s point of view. Daunting problems and difficulties appear differently when we recognize that we are not alone and that God and His sovereign power is available for us.
Let me give you a couple of illustrations to help understand this principle. Why did you choose the job or career that you did? What was your focus? Many times, when we talk with a young person about their future we ask, “What do you want to be?” Notice the focus is on the person–what do you want to be? Let me ask you this question, “Is the job you currently hold God’s will for your life?” After all, in the Disciples’ Prayer of Matthew six Jesus taught us to pray saying, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Are you doing God’s will? I think the better question for a young person is, “What do you think God wants you to do with your life?”
How about one more illustration? If you are married, is the person to whom you are married God’s choice for your life? What did you use as the criteria for selecting your husband or wife? If we set our minds on things above and not on things on the earth, our primary criterion would be, “Whom does God want me to marry? Is this person God’s will for my life?” Let me try to explain why that is so important. If you are convinced that the person you married was God’s choice for you, then you will not question your choice. God chose that person for you to marry and marriage to that person will be a continuing example of a Christ-centered life. Young people, when it comes to marriage, as a Christian, the most important question in your mind should be, “Is this the person the Lord wants me to marry?”
One of the secrets to a long and happy Christian marriage is two people who are living to make Jesus Christ the center of their lives. If a husband and wife continue to set their minds on things above, that is, on the Lord Jesus Christ, they will grow in their relationship with Him and as they are doing that, they will also grow in their relationship with each other. Listen to the Apostle Paul–set your minds on things above and not on the things that are on the earth. Choose to make Christ-centered decisions by continually giving Jesus the first place in your life.
The Apostle is telling us that life in this world will be better if it is lived by a power beyond this world, the power of the resurrected, ascended, glorified Christ. Paul was not encouraging a kind of disdain for material things. Every physical thing God created is good. However, since having a physical body does give occasion for the works of the flesh, Paul warned against setting one’s affections in this area and perverting God’s purpose for them. A Christ-centered perspective will produce godly moral values and lifestyle. Such heavenly values, when they dominate our thinking, produce godly behaviors and attitudes.
You Have Died. God gives us the ability to live in holiness through the power of Jesus Christ. At the moment of his or her salvation, a Christian died to the evil of the “flesh,” the sin nature, and his or her life is now hidden with Christ in God. In Christ, believers have died to the world system because they have been identified with Christ in His death and resurrection. How has the believer died? He or she has died in the sense that the penalty for sin has been completely paid. Since the wages of sin is death, we must die. Through our union with Christ at salvation, we die the death God required with Him, and since this is true, the sin-debt is eternally paid and sin can never claim us again. Its presence and power may still affect us–but it can never condemn us.
Your Life Is Hidden with Christ. “Hidden” implies both concealment and safety; both invisibility and security. Christians are not yet glorified, but they are secure and safe in Jesus. This passage stresses the reason that living with a heavenly perspective is to be the rule for the believer. Paul told the Ephesians that they were “blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). In terms of our present spiritual position, God already sees us as being present in heaven with our Lord Jesus Christ. Because this is true, God “has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust” (2 Peter 1:4). This is true because each and every believer is presently and forever in Christ.
ANTICIPATE HEAVEN’S REWARDS. Colossians 3:4
Christ, Who Is Our Life. To the Christian, Jesus Christ is the most important thing in life. Even more, the Lord Jesus Christ is life. We have heard someone say of another person, that something is their life. To some, being an athlete is their life. We could say we know a person for whom medicine is their life. However, for the Christian, Christ is their life. Christ is the center all day every day. This is why the Christian sets his or her mind on the things above and not on things of this world. He or she evaluates everything–every choice and action–in the light of his or her relationship with Christ and because in His love He gave Himself for us. In the light of His glory, the world’s wealth and ambitions and activities are seen for what they truly are and the Christian can keep seeking the things above.
Revealed with Jesus. When will Christ be revealed? Since this is a book addressed to a local church in this present age, I am confident that Paul was referring to Jesus’ appearance at an event known as the Rapture of the church. We know from 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 some of the events that will happen at the Rapture. The Lord will Himself descend from heaven, accompanied by both a shout and the sound of a trumpet. An archangel will be with Him along with all Christians who died prior to the Rapture. The dead will be raised, then the saints living at the Rapture will be instantly transformed and then all will meet the Lord in the air and then, we will always be with the Lord, that is, “revealed with Him in glory.” Based on this Scripture, when He will appear at the Rapture, believers will appear with Him and will be glorified. As John put it, “We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” So, Paul added a new direction to the believers’ focus of attention: they should look upward to Christ’s reign over them in heaven and also forward to His return for them in the clouds.
The key to living the risen life is to have a life centered on Christ. Our continuing perspective is that Jesus Christ, not this present world, is the center of the believer’s universe. The opportunity of the Christ-centered life comes to us because of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because He offers a complete and eternal salvation, and because He dwells within each one who believes in Him, Christians can live in this world, serve the Lord in this world, and enjoy the blessings of God in this world while still setting their minds continually on things above.
The seventeenth century physicist Pascal wrote, “The Gospel to me is simply irresistible. Being the man I am, being full of lust and pride and envy and malice, and hatred, and false good, and all accumulated exaggerated misery–to me the Gospel of the grace of God, and the Redemption of Christ, and the regeneration and sanctification of the Holy Spirit–that Gospel to me is irresistible, and I cannot understand why it is not equally irresistible to everyone.”
How about you? Have you trusted in the Jesus Christ of the gospel? Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? If you have never come by faith to receive Jesus into your life, why not do that right now? Trust in Him as we close in prayer.
