Risen with Christ

Colossians 3:1-2 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Risen with Christ is the more attractive option

If ye then - Everything of which Paul is about to speak is conditional. It is conditioned upon the reality of the people being risen with Christ. This presents an odd statement. What does it mean to be risen with Christ? How is it possible to be risen with Christ? Why does it matter to be risen with Christ?

First, let’s consider the significance of being risen with Christ. There is only one person who has ever lived who died and rose again to never die again. That Person is Jesus Christ. Thus, it is safe to say that if we were asked whether there was one person whom we would like to emulate, it would be foolish not to say Jesus, at very least because of His Resurrection. What could a human being accomplish if they never had to worry about death or if they were more powerful than death?

It is astounding that some have never really given much thought to death. Some, when given the proposition of who they’d want to emulate, would not think of Jesus but consider some celebrity or some hero of years gone by. Some might say that they’d like to be like Michael Jordan, Kyrie Irving, Tom Cruise, Tiger Woods, Ghandi, Alexander the Great…etc but many of these people have already faced death and lost. In addition, human beings have a 100% mortality rate which means that the rest of these people will too face death and lose. So, it would be wise to consider death more carefully and consider what the options are that are on the table.

Risen with Christ is not attractive if we are unaware of our deadness

The writer puts an option on the table that seems to be attractive yet incomprehensible. How can someone be risen with Christ? The phrase itself gives us some clues. First, with Christ speaks of a federal headship or representative. The thought here is that in some way it is possible for people to be represented by Jesus Christ in a combined way. This means that there is a group of individuals who are collectively represented by and with Christ.

I Corinthians 15:22 speaks in similar language when the Bible says, “For as in Adam all die...” In this case, the Bible shows that Adam is our federal head. In other words, when Adam sinned, we all became sinners. The verse goes on to say, “…even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Thus, when the scripture speaks of “…with Christ”, the Bible is speaking from an aspect of representative.

Risen with Christ is meaningless if we cannot define deadness

Just as the representative for the U.S.A. is President Joe Biden, so too, every one of us are represented in Adam, but Colossians 3:1 seems to show that there is another option. If ye then be risen with Christ. It appears that not everyone must remain under the representative head of the first Adam. Why would we not want to remain under the representative head of Adam? It is because those who are represented in Adam die.

The weight of death must sink in further. Paul is writing to people in Colosse, who are physically alive; but Paul is talking about a death that means more than just a physical death, but it means an expulsion from the very presence of God or an expulsion from being in union or relationship with God. This happened in Genesis 3:8.

Ill: String, physical line graph

You can imagine this in one sense, if you were to be expelled from an institution. Your relationship with those people may continue to a limited degree; but it would not continue to the same degree as it did when you were in that institution regularly.

In the game of Survivor, when someone is voted out of the tribe, they have to bring their lit Tiki torch to Jeff, the host, and he snuffs it out showing that they no longer have life in the game. They are then expelled from the game.

This death is not only a death that means expulsion from the presence of God, but it is an active kind of death. Earlier in Colossians 2:20-23, Paul points out that rituals can do nothing to subdue the sinful, carnal appetites of the dead nature.

It is like a Zombie like power that controls the host, and no matter how many regulations you put in place the Zombie is still a dead human corpse.

In like manner, death is far worse than we could ever imagine in this life. Death is to be snuffed out, to be expelled from the presence of God, to have no union or relationship with the Giver of life.

In addition, it is a deadness that is active and any attempts to subdue this nature by any laws will never work. It is a type of religion that never is truly subdues the flesh to the desires of the flesh, though it tries. Colossians 2:23.

Expressive Individualism is a hallmark of being a modern person. In reference to philosopher Charles Tayler, Trueman defines expressive individualism as this is the way in which “each of us finds our meaning by giving expression to our own feelings and desires. (Trueman, Carl. The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, 46)

Living in the realm of the dead is Expulsion + Activity

Fish out of water - mankind away from the presence of God.

The horribleness of this separation is fully realized when death has the last laugh over this temporary, biological life. In other words, you will not have to imagine how bad death is when you die, because then, on the other side of death, you will continue in a place of eternal separation from God. That will be the ultimate expulsion, the ultimate separation, the second death. The Bible describes that separated existence as one of torment, of fire, of Hell, of pain, of mental agony…etc

To be dead to God right now is like a person in an airtight panic room with no ventilation. You will live for a short time but eventually you oxygen will run out. When Adam sinned, we were closed off from the very oxygen of life — that is God.

App:

(1) What is truly more attractive?

(2) How much oxygen do you have left?

Thai Luang Cave Rescue: June & July 2018, 9 days, 2.5 miles in cave, 13 boys…etc Rescue effort: 10,000 people, 100 divers, 100 governmental agencies, 900 police officers, 2,000 soldiers; two deaths...

If ye then be risen with Christ.

Are you risen with Christ?

Risen with Christ requires we understand Jesus’ Uniqueness among ALL OTHER OPTIONS.

So, if in Adam all mankind is expelled from the presence of God and considered to be dead spiritually to God, how can man be resurrected spiritually so that he can re-enter the presence of God?

We find the answer in our verses again. If ye then be risen with Christ. To say that Christ is risen is to say that He was dead, but it also assumes something about his Person. What makes the death of Christ so significant was his life. What makes his life so significant was his Person. Christ claimed to be the Son of God. Christ apparently lived a righteous life.

We make too little of the perfect, righteous, sinless life of Jesus Christ. If we could be reunited to God by not eating certain things, observing certain days, being committed to social justice, standing up for rights…etc who cares why Jesus had to come to live. It is because we could not be reunited to God by those things.

Illustration [POSTER]: His righteousness in contrast to our Zombie-like deadness and submission to Sin, Satan, Self...

The life of Christ is the kind of life where he actually was not a Zombie, he was not sin-struck. Jesus actually avoided the sin-sickness. Yet, Christ died a horrific death, but how can we be sure that His claims about who he was and his perfect life are actually true? The Resurrection from the dead confirm that Jesus was both who He claimed to be and that he fulfilled all righteousness. Thus, we have to ask the question, “If Jesus lived in such a way, why did he die?” He died as a Substitute — a Representative. He is a different, a second, Adam.

Expressive Individualism. Today, it may not look like those same things as in Colosse but you are living in a culture that is teaching you to find your goodness in having a voice, standing up for injustice, speaking “your” truth; but have you ever thought that these things are just another form of religion. You are believing that those things will somehow be life-giving for you, that they will make you feel good about you.

Risen with Christ is conditional and means that some are in Union but not all

But though Adam represented all mankind, our verse indicates that Jesus Christ does not represent everybody. If ye then be risen with Christ is a conditional statement. To be risen with Christ indicates that somehow there are people who died with Christ. See Colossians 3:3. What does this mean? How is this possible? Here we are approximately 2,000 years after the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus yet there are those who Paul said died with Christ and rose with him.

Union with Christ. The answer lies in the doctrine of Union with Christ. To be in Union with Christ is to be in a relationship with Him where your fate and his fate are inextricably connected.

Illustration: [POSTER] Jesus dies, but is unique in two ways: sinless and rises from dead. We can either retain our deadness and lords or we can accept his deadness for our sin]

To be in Union with Christ is to be handcuffed to Him, so much so that His death becomes your death in the mind of God and his resurrection becomes your resurrection. To be in Union with Christ is to receive Jesus Christ as your Lord, as your Substitute, as your Federal Head, as your Representative. To be in Union with Christ is to be in a relationship where you are hidden in Christ in such a way that Christ’s life or righteousness is put to your record, Christ’s death for sin is marked off as a payment for your sin, and the Spirit of Christ is given to you to bring about a new life of Resurrection. Romans 8:9-10. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

To be in Union with Christ is to be in relationship with the Father, is to be brought back into the presence of God, is to be given life eternal, is to be raised from spiritual death to eternal life. This union happens when one receives Christ as Lord. Colossians 2:6 [ESV] “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him,”. Yes, it is a conditional statement. This means that it is not true for everyone, but it also means that there is hope. Some of you are aware of Christ, but you are not in union with Christ. Union with Christ is not consummated until you exercise faith in Jesus Christ. To exercise faith in Jesus Christ is to feel the weight of your own sinfulness, turn away from your sinfulness, and to put full reliance upon Jesus Christ as your Master and Sacrificial Substitute [Savior].

Risen with Christ is only fulfilled by a particular response

Jesus enters our separation (deadness). This is the beauty of what God has done. To be risen with Christ we must understand that the Son was sent by the loving Father. Jesus entered this world among the dead humanity, and lived the life we should have lived. Thus, Jesus’ entrance into this world full of mankind who is dead or separated from God involved a kind of life that was distinct from all of mankind. While mankind was a slave to the lords of sin, self, and Satan, Jesus lived sinlessly because He was sinless. Jesus enters life among the dead but Jesus is life.

Jesus entrance among the dead resulted in His death where He truly enters the realm of the dead. Though Jesus died, there are two truths that distinguish Jesus from all other mankind. First, though Jesus earned life, by the kind of life that he lived, he suffers death. Why? Jesus dies as a Substitute. That is the first distinction. Jesus dies on behalf of the sin of mankind.

Second, in contrast to all other mankind, Jesus does not remain dead but rather He is raised from the dead. Three days after Jesus is entombed, He comes forth from the grave showing that He has the power over death. He is truly victorious. This victory should lead us to an obvious question, “How can someone enter the realm of the dead and be raised out of this place?”

The answer to this question is two-fold. First, a dead individual who has heard the call of God in Christ must believe that God raised Jesus from the dead. Second, he or she must confess Jesus as Lord with their mouth. Through faith, expressed in these two ways, an individual is brought into complete union with Christ. In essence, the faith of an individual is his or her an exchange. He or she exchange their deadness for the death that Christ endured. In addition, the union means that the believing individual will endure the same fate of Jesus Christ. He or she are now in union with Jesus, and the fate is resurrection life and exaltation. This is what is means to be risen with Christ.

People either receive or reject Him.

Look to Jesus. Jesus wants to be in union with you. He lived the life, died the death and rose again to give you relationship with God.

Confess Jesus as Lord and Believe in your heart. To come together in union with Christ means that you believe with your heart in Who Jesus is and what He has done, and you confess with your mouth to God those truths about Jesus as Lord. This means that you are refusing to be in union with all other lords [sin, self, satan]

App:

Is the kind of response you’ve had to Jesus one that has brought you into union or left you outside of union with Christ?

There are those of you who exercised faith in Christ, and you are not sure what Union with Jesus Christ has to do with you. Galatians 2:20 may be of help. If you believed that Jesus Christ was enough to save you, then continue to believe that Jesus Christ is enough to live a saved life for now.

Lastly, all blessings of the Christian life are the result of being in union with Christ. From salvation to sanctification, all flows from this union. All spiritual disciplines flow from this union with Christ, including the power for thanksgiving. Union is the root, and the discipline of thanksgiving is the fruit.

11/11/22 - MCS Chapel

Risen with Christ is Unbelievably Fruitful

Colossians 1:6.

There are two senses in which I want you to see fruitfulness. First, there is the passive fruit of inherited blessing. Second, there is active fruit of disciplined effort.

Illustration: Imagine a marriage couple. There is the fruitfulness that they immediate receive when they have the ceremony. They have each other’s person, their love, their emotion, their body, the inheritance of her parents…etc Then, there is the fruitfulness that is active. In order to have good communication, they have to work at it. To have good health, they have to work at it. Having the communication or health doesn’t cause them to be in covenant together but is the work they put in because of the covenant. It is active fruitfulness.

Passive Fruit. Colossians 3:3-4. To say that your life is hid with Christ and who is our life, is to affirm that we are in such union with Christ that whatever is his becomes ours. To be in Union with Christ means we get all of the blessings by being in Union with Christ. What are some of these?

Justification - legal

“We are not united to Christ because we have been justified. It is quite the other way around: we are justified because we have been united to Christ, who is himself our justification” - M. Peter Johnson [Crossway Article, see Colossians note for web address]

Adoption

Sanctification

Eternal Life

Resurrection

We will never say, “Hey! What about me?”

Active Fruit. To understand the active fruit of disciplined effort, consider Colossians 3:1-2. The key to this is not only the activity but the realm or environment where this investigation should take place. It is the realm of life where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. That is to say that once you have confessed Jesus as Lord, you should make every effort to examine and deliberate upon those things that affirm his Kingship. What kind of thoughts, words, and deeds reflect Jesus as Lord? In addition, this Kingship should be reflected among a local, visible assembly.

In addition, there is the the verb set means to set your mind upon or to think upon something. Once again, the key here is the rest of the verse. Paul is commanding the Colossians to set the center of who they are upon things which are eternal. Why? Because the death of Christ has become your death (v. 3). This is active fruit because it is divinely enabled effort that you make. You intentionally work to discipline what you are thinking most about while you are here upon this earth.

Illustration: When a husband commits adultery, it usually is an adultery that began in the mind, in the affections. Active fruitfulness requires that we work at keeping our minds upon Christ and the realm of life.

Risen with Christ Brings You to the True You

Dane Ortlund puts this well when he says, “But in terms of our individual distinctiveness, the glory of Christian redemption is that it is in union with Jesus that we are given back our true selves. We finally begin becoming who we were truly created to be.” [Dane C. Ortlund, Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners, ed. Michael Reeves, Union. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2021)].

Once a person is risen with Christ they are commanded to be seekers and setters (Colossians 3:1-2). the word seek means to examine and deliberate. Paul clearly understands that what Jesus Christ has done has equipped us to do what we were created to do. See Colossians 1:16. Not only was this God’s original intention but through the work of Christ, we are re-created (risen with Christ) for God. See Colossians 1:20.

Ortlund cites an analogy used by CS Lewis to help us understand this truth.

Deeper: Real Change for Real Sinners (The Micro Dimension)

If a group of people have always lived in the dark and are told a light is going to be turned on so that they will all be able to see each other, they may very well object, believing that since a single lamp will be shining the same light on everyone, they will all look identical to each other. But, of course, we know that the light would bring out their individual distinctiveness.

Union with a single Christ is like that. You are given back your true self. You become the you that you were meant to be. You recover your original destiny. You realize that your existence out of Christ was a shadow of what you were made to be. Your distinctive personality, your you-ness, your human individuality, was in 2D when you were out of Christ, held back by sin and shame and fear and darkness. Now that you are in Christ, you are in 3D, free to blossom. In other words, it is only in union with Christ that you can grow into who God made you to be.

Expressive Individualism

We must understand that this only truly happens when we receive the biblical Jesus as Lord and are risen with him and not the Jesus of our making. This again is the one of the subtle deceptions of expressive individualism. It leads people to imagine what Jesus is like and to make a Jesus who says things He does not say and do things He does not do.

The Jesus of the Bible affirms Creation in Matthew 19.

The Jesus of the Bible affirms only two genders.

The Jesus of the Bible is not ok with the sin of adultery.

The Jesus of the Bible is committed to the will of the Father not your individual rights.

The Jesus of the Bible was not a protester, a feminist, a Republican or a Democrat.

The Jesus of the Bible taught in the value of life, of even the sparrows.

The Jesus of the Bible taught that fornication was sin.

The Jesus of the Bible taught that He was the ONLY way to the Father

Union with the Biblical Jesus brings you back to a you were created to fulfill.

Conclusions (App):

(1) Awaken to the degree of your deadness

(2) Be risen with Christ through: belief and true confession

Illustration: Some have a friendly arrangement with Jesus but have never believed and confessed him as Lord. You are not risen with Christ.

What are you waiting for?

Have you [are you ready to] respond [-ed] in true belief/confession?

(3) Enjoy being the true you by active and passive fruitfulness

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things…

Are you praying that the LORD will help you to enjoy active fruitfulness?

What does active fruitfulness look like when you are alone, among your family, in the classroom, at work, at play?

Chase after the true you, not the fake you.

Potential Posters:

A Fake You

A True You

Active Fruitfulness

Passive Fruitfulness

List:

Justification

Reconciliation

Adoption

Sanctification

Eternal Life

Resurrection