Fix the Sight of Your Eyes on the Source of Your Life

Colossians 3:1-4

Christ died so that you would live a new life in Him.

If you have been raised with Christ

“If”

This ought to make us take a step back and ponder why he says if

Two reasons:

It may not be true for everyone reading it

If the following statement is true, then it is really important

What he is about to say is incredibly important for your life

You have died

In order to be raised, you first had to have died

Romans 6:1-3- What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

We have died to sin and to the world

If we have died in Him, then how can we go on living in sin?

We can’t, not only because we have died to sin, but also becasue we have been raised with Him

Your life is hidden with Him

What does this mean?

Our lives are kept in His powerful care

Psalm 27:4-5- One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

Our truest and fullest new life in Christ will be revealed only when we will be with Him

Ephesians 2:4-7- But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Seek the things above

What does it mean to seek?

It is what we are actively longing for

Orientation of the heart and mind toward the things of God

Many profess faith in Christ while actively seeking to gain the grace and forgiveness of God apart from Christ’s sacrifice

Many profess faith in Christ while pursuing worldly pleasure and prosperity

We are to be people whose eyes are not set on the world, but are locked onto the the glories of heaven in Christ

Where Christ is

If Christ really is the most important person in our lives, wouldn’t it also make sense that our hearts seek after the things of Christ?

Seated at the right hand of God

He is seated here because He finished the work which brought you peace

Psalm 110:1- The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”

Set your minds of things above

Not on things that are on earth

For you have died

And your life is hidden with Christ in God

When Christ who is your life appears

He is coming again

He came into the world the first time to save sinners

He will come again to establish His eternal kingdom and execute perfect judgment

Then you also will appear with Him in glory

The greatest reality of heaven is this alone: you will be with Jesus

1 John 3:2- Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.

Philippians 3:20-21- But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

What does it mean that Christ is your life?

Your life is found and eternally exists in Him

Galatians 2:20- I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

1 John 5:11-12- And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

He is the giver of your life

He is the keeper of your life

He is the One who will come that your life may be fully realized in Him forever

How different we would be!

What if we took this passage seriously?

Wouldn’t it change the way that we use our time?

Wouldn’t it cause our priorities to be different?

Wouldn’t we love His Word more?

Wouldn’t we love to spend time with the people of God all the more?

Wouldn’t we hope and trust in Him more than ever before?

A few suggestions

Read your Bible every single day

Don’t let a day go by without a quiet time of prayer

Read good books

Listen to good biblical preaching/teaching

Spend time in family worship

Manuscript

Christ died so that you would live a new life in Him. I want you simply to sit with that statement for a second. I’m convinced one of the reasons that we do not live more faithfully for Christ is becasue we do not think enough of Christ. So think about this… You were born a sinner. You were separated from God because of sin in which you were spiritually dead. What it took for you to gain new life, true life, eternal life, was for God to put His Son to death and pour out the punishment that you deserved on Him. The gospel is the most incredible new in the world. Christ came to earth, and in your place He stood and was slain. We do not play games with Jesus. He is worthy of all of our lives and worship.

If you have been raised with Christ

Paul has just spent most of chapter 2 describing the reality of new life in Christ. And now we get to our passage and the first thing we read is “if”. There are certain words that ought to raise significant questions as we read the Bible, and this is one of them. This ought to make us take a step back and ponder why he says if. He didn’t have to. He so have said “since you have been raised with Christ.” I think thaat there are two reasons for “if” that are important for us to recognize. The first is this: what he says next may not be true for everyone reading it. Specifically, it may well be that not all of those receiving his letter are included. This also goes for us here this morning. You ought to ask yourself right now “am I included?” There are two proper responses that I pray right now will happen in your heart. Either you will joyfully resound in your heart with “by grace I’m included! What a wonderful thing that I’m included!” Or for those of you who are not, I pray that God will give you sight of your exclusion from all that Christ promises to be for you through faith and you will, with all of your heart, repent and receive Christ with joy by faith. However, there is a second purpose for the “if” that we read. It is to show that If the following statement is true, then it is really important. What he is about to say is incredibly important for your life. That is because being raised with Christ or remaining dead in your sin is the most important reality in your life. In fact, it is so important that it is literally the foundation on which the entire rest of this letter is written.

The other part of the foundation that we must grapple with is your death. He says that if you have been raised, then you have died. There is no newness of life if the old man/woman does not first die. And this death changes everything. Paul says in Romans 6:1-3- What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We have died to sin and to the world, and we will never be the same. We must not be the same. The old has passed away and the new has come. If we have died in Him, then how can we go on living in sin? We can’t. We can’t because we have died to sin and becasue we have been raised with Him and for Him.

Paul says “your life is hidden with Him.” What does this mean? Is this a cosmic game of hide-and-go-seek? No, I think He has at least two things in mind when he says this. First, I think he has in mind the truth of Psalm 27:4-5, where David says One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. He will graciously keep you. He will hold you secure. He will hold you fast through the storms and trials of life. He will strengthen you against sin and Satan’s devices. He will be faithful to hide you in His mighty care and bring you home to glory. The second Our truest and fullest new life in Christ will be revealed only when we will be with Him. Though we live, the fullness of our life has not yet been realized. Ephesians 2:4-7 says- But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. As you are raised to life in Him, He has secured our spiritual life, and we reign with Him in spirit, and we will inherit the fullness of who we have been made in Christ when we are with Him in glory!

Seek the things above

What does it mean that we should seek? Is it like we should find? That we should search or try to attain? No, it seems that Paul is using “seek” to point to something that we are actively longing for. It is an orientation of the heart and mind. Many profess faith in Christ while actively seeking to gain the grace and forgiveness of God apart from Christ’s sacrifice. This is, in fact, exactly what the false teachers were trying to instruct these believers to do in chapter 2. Also, many profess faith in Christ while pursuing worldly pleasure and prosperity. They would like to practice a Christianity that keeps one eye on Christ while keeping the other on earthly things. The problem is that Jesus tells us that noone can serve two masters. Either we are new in Christ or we are of the world, and now Christians must resolve to live in accord with who we are.

What is the main reason for this seeking things above? Verse 1 tells us the primary reason: it is where Christ is. If Christ has, in love, saved us from sin and damnation by swallowing up the wrath of God for your sin on the cross, and lives to intercede for you, then won’t He be the most important person to us? And if Christ really is the most important person in our lives, wouldn’t it also make sense that our hearts would seek after the things of Christ? And where is Christ that we may seek Him?

He is seated at the right hand of God. He is seated here because He finished the work which brought you peace. Psalm 110:1- The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool. He reigns forever because He has has won victory over every enemy. Set your minds of things above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ who is your life appears

Now, this brings us to verse 4, where Paul says: When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. All that we have mentioned so far this morning is working toward something. God’s plan of redemption is still unfolding. Not only did He cmme into the world the first time to save sinners, but he also will come again to establish His eternal kingdom and execute perfect judgment. This is really good news for us who have our lives hidden in Him.

When He comes, then you also will appear with Him in glory. That is going to a really good day! The greatest reality of heaven is this alone: you will be with Jesus. 1 John 3:2 says- Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. He will appear and He will give us the perfect glorified bodies that are of the same kind as His. If this were not so, then you would have no hope of dwelling in His presence. Also, Paul says in Philippians 3:20-21- But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.

What does it mean that Christ is your life? Paul is telling us that your life is found and eternally exists in Him. We also see this in passages such as Galatians 2:20- I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. And also 1 John 5:11-12- And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. Jesus is the giver of your life. He is the keeper of your life. He is the One who will come that your life may be fully realized in Him forever. Is this not wonderful enough that it makes your heart cry out for help to set your heart and mind on things above? O God, help us to live and think this way!

How different we would be!

What if we took this passage seriously? I am convinced that we would be a radically different kind of people. Wouldn’t it change the way that we use our time? No longer being wrapped up in hours of time-wasting, but using our time to know Him and to glorify Him. Wouldn’t it cause our priorities to be different? So much of what seems so important to us would inevitably become seemingly unimportant compared to doing the things that make for godly and faithful life in Christ. Wouldn’t we love His Word more? Wouldn’t we love to spend time with the people of God all the more? Wouldn’t we hope and trust in Him more than ever before? We would want to know Him better because we love Him and have our greatest desire set to be with Him. yes, I am confident that if we took this very seriously that it would change everything.

I want to end with a few suggestions of how we begin on the journey of living with our minds set on things above. First, read your Bible every single day. Don’t let a day go by without it. Second, don’t let a day go by without a quiet time of prayer. This might even start for you tonight at 6:00 when we meet back here again for prayer. Third, read good books. I don’t just mean books. There are countless books that call themselves Christian which are theologically erroneous and sloppy. We have a resource center with many books that have been vetted and hand selected for you. If you don’t know where to start, begin there, and if there is something that you would like to read on isn’t on the selves then talk to me and I will try to get you good resources. Listen to good biblical preaching/teaching every chance you get. This is one reason why we have more than the Worship service. Spend time in family worship. If we really are going to live this out, then won’t it also pour into our family lives? Spend some time each day in the Word, in prayer, and evening in singing together as a family. He is worth the effort, and He will be faithful to give help as you seek to live as people who seek the things above.