Colossians 3:1-4

When I was nineteen years old, Ragan and I were newly married and at the time I was a little more adventurous and so my friends and I were doing things as wild as going skydiving together and what not. Well, around this time, the guys in my age group at the church found ourselves obsessed with getting together on the weekends and playing tackle football. The issue with this was that the longer we played, the more confident we got in our tackling abilities. That is until one of my mentors found out that his newly married disciple was participating in such reckless activities. So, he took it upon himself to find me and to remind me that I was no longer a carefree bachelor, but was a married man who needed to be able to take care of my family. We could say that he wanted to ensure that my identity as a husband was informing the decisions I made in my day to day life.

Now, as you read through the New Testament, you will find that identity is a big deal in Paulinian theology. The apostle frequently seeks to remind us of our current position in Christ and endeavors to apply these truths to the lives of the Church. Well, as we look at Colossians 3:1-4 today, we will find ourselves in the middle of one of those endeavors. To familiarize ourselves with the landscape, Paul is writing a defense of the glory of Jesus Christ to a people who have apparently faced a heretical message that seems to deemphasize the person of Christ resulting in a binding up of the beauty of the gospel and it’s effect on the lives of those who believed it. With that said, Paul spends the first three chapters in Colossians defending biblical Christology and as we examine chapter three together, we will find him transitioning from doctrine to application.

To summarize the argument for us, in Colossians 3:1-4, we will find that Christians should live in light of their resurrection life. Paul wants us to be aware of our identity and to press into it with all we have that it might permeate all of our lives. Now, much like a newly wedded husband or a young father takes time to become accustomed with all that their new identity entails, so too does the reality of what we will look at tonight. With that said, as we dive into point one. in Colossians 3:1-4, we will find that the lives of those who are risen with Christ are to be:

Marked by Resurrection Mindfulness

In verses 1 and 2, Paul calls us who are risen with Christ to be set, both in heart and in mind, on what is above. The NIV reads, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly thing.” One thing I appreciate about this translation here is rendering the conjunction at the beginning as “Since” instead of “If.” It is not as though this changes anything doctrinally, but I believe it may serve to further clarify that if you are a believer, you are as good as resurrected and that from this reality our hearts and minds are to be permeated with resurrection mindfulness. One commentator wrote, “Someone who truly understands who he or she is in Christ is further along the road to genuine holiness than someone who, in confusion, anxiously imagines that the new life is the result, rather than the starting-point, of the daily battle with temptation.”

What does it mean for us to seek, or desire, and to set our minds on what is above? Well, it is to allow what is above to consume us both in thought and in passion. It is what we yearn for, it is what we think about, it is the chiefest desire of our being and it trickles down into all the nooks and crannies of our lives.

Now, being heavenly minded may seem like a good aspiration for us to have, but we need to ask what exactly are we to be thinking about when we think on what is above? Now, in Colossians 2:12-13, Paul lists several attributes that should be present in our lives as believers such as tender mercies, kindness, meekness, and more, but in verse 1, I am convinced that that’s not what he has in mind. Instead, I think that what Paul wants us to be seeking, desiring, and thinking of is the exalted Son of God. What are we to seek Paul? Those things which are above! What is above? Christ, who is seated at the right hand of God. It is rather clear here that Paul is alluding to Psalm 110 which is to remind us that Jesus has risen from the dead, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father as satisfied Priest and sovereign King.

What does it look like to live with resurrection thinking? It looks like embracing the reality that Jesus Christ has entered the Heavenly place, offered up His own blood for our sins and is seated as our Great High Priest declaring that we are once for all justified and that He now sits to intercede and advocate for us. Not only this, but He is seated, as Psalm 110 would teach us, as the One who rules over all things.

What does this truth mean for our lives? It means unmovable, unshakeable peace with God through the finish work of Christ which results in a joy that the world can’t take. But it also means that we live life understanding that all things that come our way come for our good knowing that the One who died and rose for us is the same One who oversees all things even right now. So, first off, the lives of those who are risen with Christ are marked by Resurrection Mindfulness. But this isn’t all, as those who live in light of our resurrection life, we find ourselves:

Motivated by Our Residence in Christ

In verse 3, Paul reminds us that we have died and our lives are hidden with Christ in God. If we are going to understand the beauty of this passage, It is necessary for us to understand what it means for us to be hidden in Christ. Now, the idea of hiding is fairly common throughout the grand scheme of the Biblical drama. In Genesis 3, the fallen Adam and Eve hear God in the garden and the only thing they desire to do is to hide from Him! In Exodus 33, Moses desires to see the glory of God, yet God creates a cleft in the rock for Moses to hide in so that he is not consumed. Also, in Revelation 6:15–17 we read, “15 And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, 16 and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! 17 For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?””

Placed in the middle of these bookends, stands the work of Christ. As sinful men, we are repulsed by the glory of God and desire nothing more than to hide from Him. But at the cross, Christ was openly exposed to the judgment of God that belonged to us that we might be reconciled unto God. What does it mean that we are hidden with Christ? It means that Christ is the cleft of the rock by which we may approach the glory of God! It means that in Christ we are eternally secure and that through Him we may enjoy the glory of God without fear forevermore.

How could it be that we poor sinners who lived in sinful rebellion come to enjoy such a position? What exactly did we do to achieve such access? Outside of faith in Christ, which is a gift of itself, we didn’t do a thing. But He stood in our place, representing us so that when He died, we died with Him.

Now, if you were to tell a stranger who had never heard about Christianity that you are dead in Christ, they would think that you have lost your mind. But what exactly does it mean that we have died in Him? Colossians 2:11–12 says, “11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.” Another text is Romans 6:6 which reads,“6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.”

So, what does it mean that we have died with Christ? It means that through the saving work of Jesus Christ, we have died to sin, we have died to our rebellion against God and that the life that we now live in resurrection life. For those of you who have seen someone baptized before, you’ve witnessed this in a physical picture. The pastor stands with a believer testifying of their faith in Christ, he says something along the lines of, “I know baptize you, my brother, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Buried with Him in death.” At this point he puts the candidate under and as he pulls them back up, he says, “raised to walk in newness of life.” What that is a depiction of what has taken place spiritually for us as we have been crucified with Christ and now live our lives not unto sin, but unto the glory of God. Galatians 2:20 “20 I have been crucified with Christ; 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 for me.”

With that said, as a people who live resurrection-informed lives, we are motivated as we consider the victory and security that we have, not in what we have done, but in all that Christ has done for us and our salvation.

As we have considered both the thoughts of our mind and our position in Christ towards sin, it would be helpful to address the subject of discouragement concerning our walk with Christ. Believer, are you discouraged in where you are in your sanctification tonight? Do you find yourself hopefully defeated by the same sins? If so, look to Christ. Look to Christ expecting strength to fight and have victory over your sins. Look to Christ and contemplate His shed blood for the same sins that you are called to war against everyday. Look to Christ and be reminded that He is your sympathetic High Priest who has faced every temptation that you face and has beat them all that He might sympathize with your heartache. Look to Christ and rest in that fact that if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father and look to Christ and rejoice knowing that He has conquered death and Hell and that one day we will struggle no more!

The only solution this pulpit has for sin bound men is to look to Christ.

Finally, our resurrection life results in us being mindful of our future revelation.

Mindful of Our Glorious Revelation

C.S. Lewis once said, “The dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship...” Are you aware of the glorious future that awaits yourself as one of the sons and daughters of God? Yes, for now you and I look like ordinary folks who may not seem like much in the eyes of the world.

For instance, think of passages like Colossians 1:22 which says, “22 in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight—” or Colossians 2:10 “10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.”, or Colossians 3:10 “10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,” You might read these and think, “I wish the world looked at me and though of me as holy and blameless! I wish it appeared that I was in the One who has all principality and power!” or “I wish it seemed that I was in the image of God to the world.” But as you look at yourself, all you can think of yourself if that you are painfully ordinary. It was Lewis again who said, “There are no ordinary people and you have never met a mere mortal.”

Beloved, I want to remind you tonight that you are hidden with Christ right now, but Paul says that when He appears, then we will also appear in glory. Just think of that day, where the perfect Groom, the One who conquered death and Hell and rules forever, comes to receive His bride and she is found perfectly stunning. What I want us to wrap our minds around is that there is glory that awaits us and it will be revealed! Let’s look at a few texts on this subject:

In Romans 8:19-21, we find that the Earth itself longs for the day where the sons of God are revealed in glory and that only after that will the earth be delivered from corruption.

Romans 8:19–21 NKJV

19 For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. 20 For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; 21 because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

In 1 John 3:1-3 we read that the world doesn’t know who we are yet because it doesn’t know who we belong to, but one day what we are will be revealed!

1 John 3:1–3 NKJV

1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 speaks of the pitiful condition of our sin cursed bodies, but reminds us that one day they will be raised in incorruption, in glory, and power.

1 Corinthians 15:42–44 NKJV

42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.

However, perhaps one of my favorite passages on this subject is in Matthew 13:43

Matthew 13:43 NKJV

43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Do you know that we have a glimpse at just how marvelous that is in the Scriptures? As a matter of fact, Peter, James and John saw it in person and were simply flabbergasted. In the gospels, Jesus takes those three men up a mountain and Matthew 17:2 says,

Matthew 17:2 NKJV

2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

Now, whats important to understand here is that Christ isn’t shining as though He pealed off His humanity and let His deity shine through. Rather, He is displaying both the incomprehensible glory of Himself as God the Son and is also revealing a foreshadowing of the glory that He would receive in His humanity when He ascended into Heaven. But that’s not all, when Christ returns, we will shine just like He did on the mount of Transfiguration. However, it won’t be because we are divine, but we will shine like moons reflecting the glory of the Son forever and ever.

Conclusion:

Church, what Paul wants us to understand tonight is that the marvelous work of Christ in the resurrection has implications for all of our lives, both presently and in the age to come.

Do you find your mind plagued with anxieties? Look to Christ who sits enthroned over all the Earth. He cares for you and is in control. Do you find your soul plagued with doubt about where you stand with God? Look to Christ who has paid it all for those who believe. Do you find yourself consumed with discouragement as you think about your Christian walk? Look to Christ who sympathizes and strengthens His people.

Do you find yourself feeling like your purpose is gone and that your best days are behind you? Look to Christ. You are hidden in Him and when He returns all things will be made right. For the Christian, our best days are always eternally ahead of us. For the discouraged empty-nest parents, one day you will see Him and He will show you how important your work for His glory was. For the distraught widow or widower who feels alone with the loss of your loving companion, when Christ returns, you will be brought together again to worship and serve Christ forevermore. For the defeated Sunday School teacher, one day you will see Him and He will reveal the eternal impact your faithful nights of study and prayer had on little souls you thought weren’t listening. In short, there isn’t one problem that we have, that seeing Christ won’t wipe away.

What does it look like to live with resurrection mindedness? It looks like approaching the seemingly mundane tasks and chores of life knowing that we do them before our loving and victorious king who has called us to a life of godly ordinariness.