Risen With Christ

Colossians 3

This is one of the most powerful parts of Paul’s epistles......Paul has just established Who Jesus Christ is.......The confidence that we can have in His Person and His Finished Work. Now, Verse 1 begins, “If you have been risen with Christ....” The very essence of our faith....Romans 6:3–4 “Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” .......Or you can even go to the last chapter Colossians 2:12–13 “Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;” .......Risen here mean to make alive......If your faith has made you spiritually alive then......

Seek........To Keep Seeking......Set their desires on things that are above.....where Christ sits.....

Their desire was after Who Christ is...........The distinction between above and below (good and evil), is seen here.

The spiritual reality of life........The spiritual is everything about God and nothing to do with man or this world. This is what is above, the world is below......

Keep seeking/desiring to know about God and His Son and their presence!

Where Christ sits....Matthew 26:64 “Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.”

Ephesians 1:20 “Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,”

Set your affections, your thoughts on those things.........Psalm 119:36–37 “Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, And not to covetousness. Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; And quicken thou me in thy way.”

Matthew 6:19 “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:”

Peter when He told Jesus that he would not let anyone kill Jesus Matthew 16:23 “But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.”

What are the things that are above.....God and Christ.....Which the Holy Spirit leads us into.....

Salvation......The new inner man in Christ while we live in this world.

Sanctification.....Living God’s way!

Glorification......The future resurrected self.

Verses 3-4.........Seeking those things that are above, where Christ sits is rewarding....

Christ becomes our life unto God now......there is great confidence in this truth!

Our lives are dead, rather have been put to death in Christ Jesus’ death, now Christ stands for us before God now!

With our life hidden with Christ in God, then we have a life with God the Father and God the Son.....it is unfathomable to the world!

We are eternally secure in Jesus Christ, outside of Him is death! The word hid....means “kept safe”

I know we do battle evil of all kinds and ways in the world and within our flesh, but we are completely protected in God and Jesus!

We have all access to God’s spiritual blessings! ......Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:”

The ultimate blessing.....when Christ, Who right now is your life.......That is plain and powerful as it gets....To the believer, Christ your life!

This simple but powerful truth gets me every time I hear it........I think somehow I have some kind of handle on this, but the reality is Christ is my life.......My life before God, My life as the Holy Spirit dwells within me, My works, My penalty for my sins......all the things that God considers good within me is by, through, and with Christ Jesus!

When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear.....He is coming again, to make all right again.......The bombing between Pakistan and India, has got people talking again about the end times.......The believer can say about these things as Jesus told us in Luke 21:28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”

When Christ shall appear (our Redemption) then we shall appear with Him......1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”

Verses 5........Therefore......knowing and living these truths just mentioned.......MORTIFY meaning “stop completely/put to death.

Stopping the power of these things over you!

I can remove drugs, porn, anything that is evil from a person’s life, but that doesn’t mean those things do not have power over that person.

The person has to place an importance on things and people in their life. Meaning that the desire for the evil is killed/stopped and there becomes a new desire.

Fornication......sexually immorality......any sexual anything outside of the marriage covenant ( which translate to anything outside of what God established)!

The next 3 also deal with sexual sin......which seems to be listed first in all of Paul’s writings. It seems like this was and is a major sin in the fallen human condition!

Uncleanness......impurity

inordinate affection and evil concupiscence.....evil desires or passions....it seems those words are meant to be together!

Those are the reasons for the actions!

Covetousness....which is idolatry.....the desire for something or someone over what you already have!

1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Philippians 4:11 “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.”

Verse 6........For these things or better said for these things that are present in the lives of humans is what has brought the wrath of God to life.

The wrath of God on the children of disobedience.....

Those bearing the nature of the fallen......those not really interested in living any other way than in the fallen and they actually love it!

1 John 2:15 “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

Ephesians 2:2 “Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:”

What Jesus received on the cross was God’s wrath for sinners who will believe in the offering of His Son Jesus Christ!

John 8:24 “I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”

Romans 8:32 “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”

Verse 7..........Every human that has ever lived has lived (walked) these lifestyles!.......Romans 7:5 “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”

Verse 8.......Paul adds to the list......

Anger....bitterness

wrath.....sudden outbursts of sinful anger/fury

malice.......just a general evil, but mostly caused by evil speech

blasphemy....to slander people......James 3:9 “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.”

filthy communication.......foul talk...Ephesians 5:4 “Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.”

Verse 9-10.......Do not lie to one another......because you are God’s now and that is not in His character.....better said what is God’s character is right! You have put on His Character.....walking as new man......2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

Ephesians 4:23 “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;”

Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Our desire is different than what we were! We desire God’s way!

Verse 11-14.......No race, male or female, status......just Jesus.....Christ is all and in all.......Our lives are hid with Christ in God!!!!!!

Romans 8:10–11 “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

All of the distinctions that we are known by, physically, etc have changed, the newness is after God in righteousness and that is how we are known unto God and that is only through Jesus Christ!

Put on.......as to dress.....so this is how the elect (those that are His by faith), the holy because God is holy, those whom God loves the most, will look!

Bowels of mercy......This speaks of internal organs.....Just means that those that are God’s will look live out their lives with compassions that are deep rooted within!

kindness.....living out their compassion by showing kindness

humbleness of mind......Philippians 2:3–4 “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others.”

Philippians 4:5 “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.”

Self-love has poisoned all the ages that humanity has existed, it is not in God’s character, therefore there is nothing defiled!

Meekness.....Gentleness.......The willingness to suffer above inflicting pain or injury to someone else.

Long-suffering.......it is the opposite of easily angered, resentment, or revenge.

Forbearing one another......endure.....1 Corinthians 13:5–8 “Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”

Forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against you.....forgive them.......You go back to the list.......willing to suffer injury rather than inflict injury........Forgive them.......Luke 23:34 “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

Through Jesus Christ forgiveness we have been saved, it seems the believer ought to be able to show the same toward others!

Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

Also, dress or look like love (charity)......Charity is love in action........it is the bond of perfection!

Love from the heart that is lived out is the bond that makes the life with God perfect.......One writer said that love is the adhesive of the body of Christ!

Verse 15....Instead of being ruled by sin let the peace of God rule you.....Peace meaning it is settled because of God and Christ.

Rest and security......Romans 5:1 “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:”

This peace is a true peace, a permanent peace......Thankfulness ought to be the reaction of the true believers!

Verse 16......Same thing with the Words of Christ....the report of Christ the prophecy of Christ......let Him dwell in your hearts and minds.....

Richly....extremely!!!!........Abundantly or extravagantly......That goes back to chapter 2 verse 2 & 3.

I read this about this verse.… “The Holy Spirit fills the life controlled by His Word. This emphasizes that the filling of the Spirit is not some ecstatic or emotional experience, but a steady controlling of the life by obedience to the truth of God’s Word......

Let that dwell in you with all wisdom so you can teach and strongly encourage one another!

With Psalms.....OT songs

Hymns......NT praises

Spiritual songs.....probably songs of personal testimony expressing truths of the grace of salvation in Christ.

The passage instructed the Colossians on the proper use of music in the church. Music is a vehicle through which a message is delivered. Interestingly enough, the New Testament says little about musicians assisting in worship, even though they appeared frequently in Israel’s worship, as described in the Old Testament. Paul did not identify music as a spiritual gift, but he omitted other talents as well. This passage teaches that the spiritual gift is not music, but music may become an effective vehicle for the exercise of a gift. The gifts are teaching and admonishing. The medium of music, therefore, must remain secondary to the message it conveys.

The singing expresses the heart, it seems!

Verse 17.......whatever you do, do unto the Lord........Act consistently with Who God is.......Doing it unto God because He is our life!

Verse 18-21.......The Christians Home...........Ephesians 5:22–24 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.”

Verses 22..........Servants or slaves.........This is referring to working only when the master is watching, rather recognize that the Lord is always watching! How we work tells the story of our lives, it is a living testimony in Whom we believe!

Verse 23-25........Whatever you do......do it heartily.....with heart and mind......unto the Lord....Romans 14:8 “For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord’s.”

He is the rewarder.........Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

We are a servant/slave to Christ.....we do unto Him for His Glory, which will heap unto us great reward, which is eternal, that makes it abundant!

We are saved by faith, but as James tells us that faith without works is not real faith........If we are saved, if we believe in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, then living unto God the Father is going to greatly matter to us!

It seems that Paul is possibly encouraging the slaves here of unruly masters, to work unto the Lord....He sees their hearts and their reward will be great and He will also reward the owners that are evil and do not fear the Lord.....

Slave or Free it doesn not matter to God, He rewards and judges based on His standard of justice, not ours!