Our Resurrected Status
Notes
Transcript
Context
Context
Since this and the next message will be from the epistle to the Colossians, I want to spend some time considering the context into which the letter was sent. The city of Colossae was, at one time, a thriving community. It was on the main road running from Ephesus to the east through the Lycus Valley. The valley had lots of grazing pastures for sheep, so wool would have been a major industry for the city. The Lycus River ran through this valley, which all-the-more made the valley a busy trade route.
A major earthquake is recorded as occuring in AD 60 which devastated the neighboring cities of Laodicea and Hieropolis, so it’s a reasonable assumption that Colossae would have suffered as well. By the time the Apostle Paul wrote this letter Colossae’s importance had waned. It appears that Laodicea had become the most prominent city in the region.
15 Give my greetings to the brothers at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea.
At some point the Romans changed the road system near the valley which contributed to Laodicea becoming a more prominent and important junction of the E-W highway. It also seems clear that Hieropolis equally eclipsed Colossae. The 3 cities, Colossae, Laodicea and Hieropolis, formed a triangle of sorts, but Colossae was the least significant of the 3.
Mos likely a man by the name of Epaphras founded the church. What makes this letter unique is the fact that Paul never visited the church. Epaphras was a faithful servant who taught the word of God to the Colossians.
6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf
A faithful minister of Christ on your behalf. This is how the Apostle Paul described this brother. Most likely, Paul and Epaphras met in Ephesus during Paul’s third missionary journey. Epaphras is also described as a fellow prisoner (4:12), so at some point along the way in His service to God, he refused to bow the knee to man and joined Paul in chains for the sake of the gospel.
But why was this letter written. This is the challenge of understanding the epistles. The answers to the problems the churches and the people of God faced are often clearly stated, but the problems are often not. I want to spend a little time considering why Paul wrote this letter, because I think understanding what occasioned this letter will help us get perspective on what Paul says in the first four verses of the third chapter and the implications they have for sanctification.
Occasion
Occasion
Despite the fact that Paul did not have personal contact with the saints at the Colossian church and that he was in prison at the time of his writing this letter, his prayers for the church reflected a deep love for them and a concern to honor God even in chains.
9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
walking in a manner worthy of the Lord
bearing fruit in every good work
increasing in the knowledge of God
strengthened with God’s power
This was Paul’s heart for this people. Not unlike His desires for the church in Ephesus and the other churches to whom he ministered.
Paul’s aim was clear:
28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.
But the reports he received about the life of the church in Colossae were not without problems. As was often the case, a different gospel, to use the language from Galatians, was proclaimed to this people. Paul confronted it and confronted the Colossians for giving it any consideration. We see Pauls warning in
8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.
Paul’s warning to the Colossians is to be on high alert so they will not be taken captive, that is, not be manipulated. The word captive is unique, occuring only here in the NT and pictures someone being carried away or plundered. This is the aim of false gospels. This is the aim of heretics who who desire to lead people away from the truth. To plunder them and manipulate them to buy their bag of goods. But of this false gospel, Paul says is
A hollow and deceptive philosophy. This philosophy is described as human, meaning that it depends on human tradition. It was a philosophy that presumed man could arrive at the truth via his own wisdom. This philosophy was based upon traditions that disregarded divine truth and appealed to human reason to discover truth.
Elementary, which, in Jewish circles, is a word that refers to supernatural beings who ruled over people. Perhaps we are meant to take this to mean that this philosophy was promoting the worship of supernatural beings (as we will see shortly), but also this philosophy was inferior to what they had been taught from the word of God. It was elementary.
It was ultimately non-Christian, that it not according to Christ. This is really the bottom line of the problem. This philosophy was incompatible with Christ. It was contrary to the true gospel of Jesus Christ. It was not the message that Epaphras proclaimed to them. It denied the work Christ completed on the cross. It disregarded the victory of the resurrection of our Lord. It was another gospel, and again we know from Galatians, other gospels are no gospels at all.
But what did this philosophy call the people to believe and what did it call them to do?
Notice Paul’s admonition in
18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
The New American Standard version’s translation of the beginning of verse 18, reflects, I think, a good understanding of the terms Paul used. It reads, Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize… Paul issues a warning to the Colossians that they were in danger of losing their prize of their commitment to Christ. Paul, I suggest, is warning them that following such teaching would lead to a loss of joy and the benefits of the relationship to Christ who is the Head. This was the threat of this philosophy.
What specifically, if followed, threatened the Colossians in this way?
The worship of angels: This, apparently, occupied a central place in the false teachers’ appeal. It seems to me that the appeal was for the Colossians to worship angels. The idea here is that the worship of angels represented a higher form of worship than worshipping God alone. Perhaps the rationale for this was as follows:
Angels are higher than humans
Angels worshipped and served God.
Humans should worship angels to experience a higher form of worship than they could achieve by worshipping God alone. But how were people to effect this so called higher form of worship?
Asceticism: Other translations render this terms as false humility. Appearing to be humble in worship, but really full of pride, thinking the worship of angels was a superior form of worship. But it appears that this asceticism or false humility was connected to nothing more than a man-centered, man-contrived mode of worship.
23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
Paul is speaking in irony here. What the false teachers claimed as wise only had the appearance of wisdom. Their claim appealed to some, but it was really just a hallow shell. Empty worship. The NIV captures Paul’s message well:
The New International Version Chapter 2
Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.
So what does this make clear about the philosophy of the false teachers? What do we know about this approach to worship that was supposed to be a superior form of worship?
It only had the appearance of wisdom but in fact it was foolish.
It relied upon experiences to confirm the legitimacy of their connection to God and the sincerity of their worship. Notice the phrase severity to the body. This phrase connects to the idea of religious ritual. It appears that people were encouraged to subject their bodies to sustained physical stress to induce unusual, uncommon physical reactions. These physical reactions were interpreted as religious experiences. The self-imposed harsh treatment also reflected the belief that is captured in v. 21:
21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch”
A false humility that denied that which is not evil in itself to give the appearance of godliness. These were man-made regulations (end of v. 20) that represented a contrived pursuit of holiness.
So what do we have?
A false object of worship (angels) to achieve a superior worship of God.
And we have false expressions of worship that prized experience above truth. Hating some of what God had given that was meant to be experienced through the senses (touching, tasting etc.), and through intense self-denial, it was taught, they could expect elevated experiences of worship.
And while you and I may not be able to relate to this particular expression of false doctrine, we do know what it is to feel as if we are in the spiritual mud, unable to experience the level of intimacy with God that we want. And Sometimes, this unsettledness is so pronounced we take matter into our own hands. And when we take matters into our own hands, we begin to see ourselves and God wrongly. If we consider what Paul addressed in 2:20-23, what we see there is a foolish attempt at sanctification. False objects of worship and false expressions of worship. But as we move into chapter 3, Paul begins to outline true sanctification. Biblical, God-honoring, God-powered, soul-satisfying sanctification.
Let’s read the text
1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
FCF: We can get lost on man-made roadways that promise a shortcut to sanctification (spiritual growth).
FCF: We can get lost on man-made roadways that promise a shortcut to sanctification (spiritual growth).
Main Idea: What God provides enables us to thrive.
Main Idea: What God provides enables us to thrive.
Main Question: What has God provided?
Main Question: What has God provided?
A High Calling: The response of our transformation (1b-2)
A High Calling: The response of our transformation (1b-2)
There are two commands in verses 1 & 2:
seek the things that are above: this deals with our hearts, that is, our desires.
set your minds on things that are above: this references a way of thinking, but it’s more than that. It includes values and loves.
Heart (1b)
Heart (1b)
To be clear, the word heart is not actually present in verse 1. Translations that put that word there do so in an attempt to reflect their understanding of the verb seek.
There are some parallels that help us get clearer on what Paul is getting at here:
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
44 How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?
But there is a particular nuance here that is important for us to understand. Paul is calling the Colossian church to orient themselves to these heavenly realities.
Christian, you are not called to strive for a heavenly status. The beginning of verse 1 makes clear that your status has been provided you by God. We will get more into our status in a few moments, but God has raised us with Jesus, caused us to die with Jesus and we are hidden with Jesus. We do not seek to obtain this status because God has granted it to His people. But we are to seek to orient ourselves around these realities.
As one commentator put it: we are to make that heavenly status the guidepost for all our thinking and acting.
And know this about the verb to seek in verse 1. The grammar of it makes clear that we are to keep seeking the things above. Keep setting your hearts on things above. This command is one to a way of life that is oriented around the truths that comprise the status of God’s people. We are dead to sin, alive to righteousness and unified to our Savior.
The essence of the command to seek is repeated in verse two, but more light is shed on this idea.
Mind (2)
Mind (2)
Paul moves from our desires and hearts to our thinking. As noted before, setting our minds deals with our values and loves.
This is more speculation on my part, but in light of the false teachers’ misguided focus on emotion and spiritual experiences, perhaps Paul is emphasizing the mind to counteract the notion that intimacy with God is based merely on feelings.
Church, the Christian faith is, in part and intellectual faith. We are called to think. We are called to know the truth and understand the truth. We are called to ponder the truth and meditate on the truth. And we as set our minds on things that are above, our affections for God and His righteousness will be awakened and expanded.
Now what we are to set our minds upon is clear in verse 2: on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
Glance back up to chapter 2:18-19
18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
The false teachers bragged about their focus on the things above because of their infatuation with visions. But Paul says that they were not focused on Christ in all of this. They were therefore not receiving the nourishment their souls needed. They were not growing.
The things above are tied to Christ who is enthroned above as verse 1 makes clear. To think on things above is to dwell upon the values of the kingdom of heaven. It is to think about our Savior who is high and lifted up, seated at the right hand of the Father.
Remember, the believer’s mind is one that is renewed and that renewal yields transformation.
A few verses down in verse 16, Paul instructs the Colossians to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. This is the key to setting our minds on things above is to dwell upon, meditate on, read the Word of God. The Bible is what God has provided us to feed our souls. Apart from it, we will not set our hearts or minds on the things above.
Application
I found myself wondering why the Colossians were so vulnerable to this false teaching. I ask the same question when reading through Galatians. I’m sure there’s more than one answer, but I ask the question because this church was taught the Word of God. Epaphras was a faithful servant. He labored to plant this church. I’m sure he spent time with this people, loved this people… much like Paul labored and loved among the Galatians.
No doubt, the false teachers were dazzling and effective communicators. I’m sure the people’s past was a factor, the culture was a factor, the people’s immaturity was a factor. You and I need to be careful and on the look out. For those who are part of this body - Grace BFC - we are taught the Word of God. We strive to be faithful to what God’s Word teaches. And while we may not expect to hear false teaching from within, we certainly will hear it in the culture. It’s in the news feeds we read. We see it on our social media platforms. We might hear it on the podcasts we list to. And listen, having access to articles, podcasts, websites, youtube channels is not bad in-and-of-itself. But here’s what can happen:
Take podcasts for example. Podcasts are great. I listen to several regularly. I often find them helpful and informative. But sometimes, the people who produce podcasts, though often well intentioned, end up fixating on a particular aspect of culture or theology or a particular issue or event, and they invite their listeners to become equally fixated. It’s important to think carefully and deeply about theology and culture and the issues and events that we face, but our concern should be to do that from a biblically informed perspective. To do all of this by setting our hearts and minds on things that are above. There is no substitute for regular, faithful bible intake… bible meditation . Let’s be people of the Word first and foremost.
As our souls feed upon the Word of God, the command to orient ourselves around the values of the kingdom of God can be obeyed. This is our high calling. But answering this call is a response to the transformation God brings about in our redemption.
This brings us to the next grace that God has provided His people
A Holy Connection: The reality of our redemption (1a, 3)
A Holy Connection: The reality of our redemption (1a, 3)
The reality of our redemption can be seen in our text through the union Paul outlines between the people of God and Christ’s death and resurrection. As I noted earlier, the children of God have been given a status. In our redemption, we have been unified to Christ in the most intimate way possible.
Resurrected (1)
Resurrected (1)
Verse one can be described as an if/then clause. It conveys a message by stating if this is true, then this is true. The if statement is the protasis and the then statement is the apodosis.
Paul’s statement says that if we have been raised with Christ then we are able to set our hearts and minds on things that are above.
Some commentators point out the word if can also be translated since, and they point this out to show that we are meant to take Paul’s statement regarding our resurrection with Christ as a reality and not a possibility. Regardless of how we translate this word, the fact remains that this is exactly what Paul intended. Those who are in Christ, that is those who hold fast to the Head, from whom the whole body is nourished and knit together (2:19) have been resurrected with Christ.
Now we want to be sure we know what Paul means here. Believe it or not, Paul’s declaration of our resurrected status has caused some controversy regarding the authorship of this book. Some scholars have noted that Paul typically talks about the Christian’s resurrection as something future. Here in Colossians, he talks about it as if it has already happened. Some says that this is a symptom of an overrealized eschatology, and on this basis they doubt or even deny that Paul was the author of this book.
Now it is true that this statement is unique in Paul’s writing. Bringing out the current reality of our resurrected status is no more explicitly stated anywhere else in Paul’s writing. Ephesians can rightly be thought of as a companion book to Colossians because with similar content with, in some cases, nearly identical language.
For example
5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
raised with Christ - but consider also what Paul said in the previous chapter - v. 12:
12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
We share in the resurrection power of Christ, and this is true now. So, I suggest that to read Paul refer to our resurrection with Christ as a present reality for God’s people is not unexpected. There is a future resurrection, but we have been raised with Christ.
Keeping the context of the Colossian church in mind, Paul counters the false teachers’ claim that ascetic practices and rules are the means of spiritual fulfillment by proclaiming that our spiritual fulfillment and progress is based upon and inseparable from our union with Christ. We have been raised with Him.
And what is consistent wit Pauline theology is that already/not yet paradigm that is common in Paul’s writing. The people of God have already experienced a spiritual resurrection with Christ, and because they are in Him and that Christ Himself has been raised and is seated at the right hand of the Father, so believers have been raised and will one day be raised with Christ to reign with Him.
Talking about our holy connection which is the reality of believers by virtue of their redemption. Another statement regarding our status is found in verse 3.
Died (3a)
Died (3a)
for you have died
Notice the flow of the argument here. Paul grounds the imperatives in verses 1 & 2 (seek the things above & set your minds on things that are above) by appealing to a theological truth about believers: we have died. We have died spiritually. This repeats much of what Paul said in 2:20
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—
In dying, believers have been separated from these powers. We are not bound to the spiritual forces of the world. yes, we feel them and are burdened by them, but we are not subject to them. We have died with Christ.
And certainly, it is not out of line to infer that Paul also has in view our deliverance from sin.
What important to see here is the connection between the death and resurrection of Christ and the death and resurrection of His people. This is what Paul outlined in the previous chapter:
12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.
But this union is seen in the forgiveness we have received and the protection from evil:
13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.
So the people of God can and must seek and set their minds on things above, and this is possible because we have died and have been raised with Christ.
But there is another aspect of the believer’s status that must be addressed, which will bolster our confidence that we can live out our high calling and know more clearly why we can expect to grow… to mature. End of verse 3, our lives are
Hidden (3b)
Hidden (3b)
That our lives have been hidden with Christ in God is yet another reference to our union with Him. But keep in mind the present reality of this union. We have died. We have been raised. Our lives are hidden.
I suggest what Paul is doing here is making clear that our heavenly identity is real. It is who we are now. We are not of this world. We are citizens of heaven. We are not bound by the powers of the world. We have been redeemed out of this world. And yet, we are not in heaven. We belong to the heavenly realm but that fact is not apparent to those around us. As we will see in verse 4, we will appear with Christ in glory in the future, but that time has not come yet. And our heaven-bound reality is not obvious to those around us. We may not look different, but we are called, as we have already seen, to act different.
But there’s another nuance to this word hidden, which by the way is the Greek word krypto. This idea may also suggest safety and security. Consider what the psalmist says:
5 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.
For God to hide His people is to protect His people. Yes, there will come a time when the people of God will be revealed with Christ. All will know who Christ is and who His followers are. This hidden aspect of reality will one day be uncovered. But believer know this: as someone who has died with Christ and has been raised with Christ, you are under the protection of Christ. God is working to keep His people secure, and nothing can slip by His protective hand. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. As Paul said earlier in this epistle:
4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel,
The hope the children of God possess is not bound up and subject to the limitations of this world. It is secure in heaven.
So God has provided His people
A high calling, which is the response of our transformation.
A holy connection which is the reality of our redemption
and finally
A Hopeful Certainty: The reassurance of our sanctification (1c, 4)
A Hopeful Certainty: The reassurance of our sanctification (1c, 4)
We do not typically think of hope and certainty as related terms. Hope is is usually understood as uncertain. But as we just noted, the hope God gives His people is kept secure in heaven. Nothing can take this away. But hat exactly is the hopeful certainty? If you are in Christ, you may be like the Colossians and want assurance that you belong to God and that you will grow closer to Him. You want to be certain of your sanctification. I believe that Paul outlines this assurance in our text.
What are the marks of our hopeful certainty?
Christ is seated at the right hand of God (1c)
Christ is seated at the right hand of God (1c)
This is what we are to set our hearts upon. The fact the Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
This imagery calls to mind the enthronement of Christ, and it appears that Paul based His thoughts on the words of the psamlist:
1 The Lord says to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your enemies your footstool.”
The right hand of God evokes the idea of power. on one occasion, Jesus told the High Priest:
62 And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
But the right hand is also a reference to the position of privilege that Jesus rightly occupies. In the gospels, we recall that the disciples requested that they would be granted this place of privilege in the Kingdom.
But what Paul has already made clear in this letter is that Jesus is the preeminent One over all creation:
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
Here the ideas of power and privilege come together, and Jesus is superior to all creation. This is to be the substance of our seeking and setting our minds. This is the substance of the things that are above. Christ reigning over all creation.
And certainly this echoes what Paul said in Eph.
20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places,
Christ’s redemptive work is finished. It is completed. This is why we can be sure of our union with Christ. He died, so we can die with Him. He was raised, so we are raised with Him. The certainty of this is signified in Jesus seated. It is finished.
But the other marks of certainty we need to consider are in verse 4
Christ will appear and we will appear with Him in glory (4)
Christ will appear and we will appear with Him in glory (4)
Although the world may not recognize those whose lives are hidden with Christ in God, there will be a day when the glorious truth of the reign of Christ over the world will be revealed, and all those who belong to Him will be revealed with Him.
The Apostle John describes the scene
Revelation 19:11–13 (ESV)
11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war…13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God...16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords.
But what John also tells us is that the saints will accompany Jesus at His return:
14 And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses.
Do not fear Christian. You face trials and uncertainty in this world. You experience disappointment. We don’t know what tomorrow holds, but
2 Timothy 2:19 (ESV)
19… “The Lord knows those who are his,” …
Notice how Paul describes Christ in verse 4: when Christ who is your life…
Christ gives life, but more fundamentally He is life. He is meant to be the center of our lives now, but we can be sure He will be seen as the center of life itself when He returns in glory.
Conclusion
Conclusion
This is what God has provided His people to enable their growth in Him possible:
A high calling
A holy connection to Himself and
A hopeful certainty
So for the Colossians, the fact the the glory days of their city was behind them and that the world regarded them as insignificant was not to define them.
Their concern to be close to God and grow in their connection and intimacy with Him was not to lead them to taking their spiritual lives in their own hands. They were to measure everything that they were taught against the truth of God word which was faithfully taught them by Epaphras.
They were to live out their high calling on the basis of who God has made and declared them to be. They died with Christ, they were risen with Christ, They were hidden in Christ, and when Christ returns, they would be revealed with Him in glory. That was their identity and their hope. This is our identity and our hope.
