Greater: Overcoming The Lesser Life

Introduction

When people hear the word “greater,” several things may come to mind. Words like “strength or power.” It implies this idea that what is isn’t as good as what could be. It scratches our itch for something more. Each and every one of us has that desire in us. It isn’t a bad thing. It’s a natural response in light of our nature. For some, the ideas that come to mind when you hear the word greater correlate with the ideas of glory or resurrection. For others, that’s not the case. In fact, for most in our culture, what they think of when they hear the word greater is the opposite of anything having to do with the truths of the Gospel.

Words like “Jesus, Church or Gospel” they would correlate with, “religious, weak, small-minded, restrictive or judgmental.” Even some Christians secretly think that “gospel truths” belong in a category separate from the “real world.” Sunday stuff belongs in the Sunday box and the rest of my life belongs in another box. And if I’m going to have the life I really want then it’s not going to be because of something I hear on Sunday. It’s going to be a result of working hard or strategic networking or marrying the right person, etc.

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Philosophers call this the sacred/secular split. It’s this idea that you can break your life into two categories. The sacred and the secular. The sacred is the stuff you believe by faith and cannot prove. The secular is the stuff you believe by reason, can prove empirically and enables you to live life in the real world. Maybe you were brought up with the idea that your “faith” is something private. It has no business affecting your view of politics, marriage, parenting or your corporate life. Your faith shouldn’t affect your "real world” life.

What if I told you that way of thinking actually decreases your liklihood of living the greater life? What if, the only way to start winning in your marriage or with your kids or in your workplace was entirely dependent on your willingness to take what you hear on a Sunday and applying it to what you face on Monday through Saturday. Today, as Christians, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. What if I told you that the victory and power behind the resurrection of Jesus could utterly transform every arena of your life so that the GREATER life you’ve always wanted can finally be yours. It can.

Unfortunately, even thought

Think about it. If Jesus really did rise from the dead, that destroys the separation of the sacred and the secular. We can no longer categorize “spiritual truths” in a realm that has nothing to do with the real world because Jesus rose in the real world. It was a historical event. It wasn’t a private believe in someone’s heart. It was a public event witnessed by hundreds of people. The invisible God became visible, heaven came down to earth so that earth could have a small foretaste of heaven.

The degree to which you believe that, the degree to which you bring the glory of heaven to bear on your day to day life - it is to that degree that you’ll live the greater life. The resurrection changes everything. But it will only be experienced when you release the power behind the resurrection onto your daily life. That’s what this series is all about. Our text is . The main point of this text gives some unconventional wisdom. It’s counterintuitive but it isn’t wrong.

Our text is . The main point of this text is unconventional wisdom. You’ve probably heard it said that some people are “so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good.” That way of thinking comes as a result of what I talked about earlier. People who have it together in the “real world” aren’t preoccupied with “spiritual things.” That’s nice if you need it as a crutch, but the more you rely on spiritual things the less effective you’re going to be in the real world. The passage we’re looking at today actually says the opposite. This passage, and the next six weeks worth of teaching, are going to show that a true heavenly mindedness actually position you to flourish in this world.

You’ve probably heard it said that some people are “so heavenly minded that they’re no earthly good.” Most modern people think of the “heavenly minded” as those who are out of touch with the real world. Their minds are up in the clouds instead of down in the streets where real life happens. In our text Paul gives a different definition of what it means to be “heavenly minded.” And, he basically says those who are the most heavenly minded are those who do the most earthly good. They overcome the lesser life for something greater.

Let’s read our text. “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the 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, then you also will appear with him in glory.” (Colossians 3:1-4)

In other words, the more you allow the heavenly truths of the Gospel permeate your heart and mind the more likely you’ll be able to overcome the lesser life and experience something GREATER. Look at how Paul says it, “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the 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, then you also will appear with him in glory.” ()

What exactly does it mean to “seek the things that are above?” Some translations will say “set your heart on the heavenly things.” Does it mean you’re suppose to constantly think about having parties in heaven someday? Does it mean to sit there and day dream about how good the food will be or how great the music will sound? I don’t think so. The clue is in that word “since.” Since you’ve been raised with Christ. Or in Verse 3 “For/since you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul’s definition of being “heavenly-minded” is thinking and understanding what it means to be “in Christ.”

Both of those verbs are past sense. Christian people believe that they’ve already been raised with Christ and they’ve already “died with Christ.” This is at the heart of the Christian faith. It’s the greatest truth ever told. The Christian faith isn’t that we listen/obey/admire/love Christ or try to follow Christ as our example. The Christian faith is that above all of those things I am “IN CHRIST.” My life is wrapped up him him, hidden in him. As Paul says in this text, “Christ is my life.” What does that mean?

That’s basically what Paul develops in chapters 1-2 of Colossians. Everything that is true of Jesus Christ, if you’re a Christian, is true of you. Your status has been changed. That’s the wonder of the Gospel. When you become a Christian God declares that everything that is true about Christ is now true about you. When you unite with Christ “by faith” then you are “in him.” Everything that’s true of him is true of you. When Paul says “you have died” he means God doesn’t hold you accountable for your sins because you’ve paid for them on the cross. You didn’t die there, but Jesus did and you are in him.

Just as the essence of sin is you substituting yourself for God and doing things that only God has a right to do (run your life) so also is the essence of salvation God substituting himself for you and putting himself where only you deserve to be, on the cross. That’s what happens when you become a Christian. But not only do you die with Christ, you’re also raised with him. Do you see that phrase that says Christ is “seated at the right hand of God?” To be at the “right hand” meant you were in a place of honor, a place of intimacy with the king. You had the ear of the king when you were seated at his right hand.

We talked about what became true of us when we died with Christ. What became true of us when we were raised with Christ? Through his death he paid our penalty. Through his resurrection he gave us his life. Essentially, God the Father treats you as if you had lived the life that Jesus’ lived. Everything that’s true of Jesus is true of you. So many people live their Christian life as if these things are not true. Their prayers sound like this: “Lord, I’ve been trying really hard to be good, to follow your example, please give me this or that thing...”

If that’s your approach to Christianity then you haven’t gotten it yet. That’s not the Gospel. To believe the Gospel you have to be humble enough to believe that Christ died in your place, for your sin. But in addition to that you have to have the faith so that you open yourself up to the joy of having everything that was true of Jesus now become true of you. His perfect life now becomes your perfect life because you’ve been raised with him! His access your access. His intimacy with the Father, now yours. His life is now your life.

This is the Gospel. Christians never tire of hearing it. It’s THE article of our faith. When Paul says, “seek the things that are above… set your minds on the things that are above...” he’s not saying to daydream about parties in heaven. He’s saying "get yourself all wrapped up in the truth that your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Think deeply about your raised-ness in Christ. Rejoice in it. See yourself in that way. Never stop reflecting on it. Work it into your soul on a daily basis. Be at home in the Gospel and let the Gospel be at home in you.”

This is the Gospel. Christians should never tire of hearing it. It’s THE article of our faith.

So when Paul says, “seek the things that are above… set your minds on the things that are above...” he’s not saying to daydream about the parties in heaven that you’re going to have someday. He’s saying that you need to get yourself all wrapped up in the truth that your life is now hidden with Christ in God. Think deeply about your raised-ness in Christ. Rejoice in it. See yourself in that way. Never stop reflecting on it. Work it into your psyche on a daily basis. Be at home in the Gospel and let the Gospel be at home in you.

In this series we’re going to see how the power of the Gospel positions us to experience the greater life in our families, at our workplace and in our most important relationships. But you won’t experience any of that power until you believe these truths. It isn’t just a matter of getting a few tips and tricks and relationship advice. You have to wrestle with whether or not you actually believe these things. Did Jesus really rise from the dead? Did he really die on the cross “in your place…for your sin?” Have you personally responded to that by faith?

Past that, it’s setting your mind on it continually. Wrapping yourself up in that truth instead of other competitors for your hearts affection. Wealth, power, sex and influence aren’t bad things at all. But they make poor masters. When you hide your life in those things they undermine your ability to live the greater life. They were never meant to be your life. Only in Christ will your heart rest content and your life take on the meaning it was meant to have. Do you do this? Do you set your minds on the things that are above or on the things that are on earth? Heavenly-mindedness is the pathway to the GREATER life.

How do you do it? Notice in verse 2 that there’s a negative and a positive involved. You’ve got to understand both. Essentially “setting your mind” on a thing is becoming “wrapped up in it.” We use that language all the time. We say, “she’s really wrapped up in that football team… he’s really wrapped himself up in that new job…” When we say that we mean that a thing has essentially become their life. That’s exactly how Paul phrases it in verse 4. “When Christ who is your life appears...” So setting our mind on things that are above entails getting ourselves wrapped up in Christ in a positive and negative sense.

At the end of the day, our pursuit of the GREATER life is really just a pursuit of righteousness. So many people think of righteousness in terms of being morally pure. It’s actually more of a relational word. Think of righteousness as being “made right” or “made whole.” It’s that good feeling you get when you feel like you’ve measured up to the standard put in front of you.

Had a big important job interview, lots of nerves going in, but you knocked it out of the park. Now you feel righteous. You’re in right relationship with yourself and with that company. You’ve measured up. You’ve been weighed and found desirable. Everybody pursues righteousness of one form or another. We’re all looking to be made whole in our families, at our workplace and in our most important relationships. Paul is

Here’s a test you can use to see what your life is wrapped up in. What circumstances, persons or things can you not bear to think about losing? What is it, that if you lost it, you’d be utterly destroyed? You wouldn’t even want to go on? What do you turn to when things get difficult? What drives you when you get up in the morning? What do you really rely on?You have to know the answer to these questions and if the answer is anything/one other than Christ alone then that’s the negative you’ve got to take your mind off of.

That requires a lot of thinking. It requires vulnerability and honesty and a level of introspection that many of us aren’t comfortable with. That’s the negative. The positive is to switch from being wrapped up in that to being wrapped up in Christ. Usually, this kind of thing is going to surface when one of these things is going on in your life. Either you’ll be (1) angry, (2) depressed/despondent or (3) afraid. When you’re having one of those negative emotions it’s usually a sign that you’ve got yourself wrapped up in the wrong thing. That you’re not setting your mind on the things that are above.

Sometimes people will respond to those emotions by beating themselves up. They’ll say, “I shouldn’t feel this way. I must’ve done something wrong. There must be something wrong with me.” The other approach is to beat somebody else up. “This is their fault. I’m not getting my needs met. If they would only… etc” Both of them are common because both of them are probably partly true. You’re probably being sinned against and you’re probably engaged in some kind of sin. Even so, neither approach is going to free you from those negative emotions. You’ve got to go deeper, have something more powerful.

When you start being controlled by thing like anger, lust, fear, or despair you need to tell yourself that something other than Christ is becoming your life. You letting yourself get all wrapped up in that thing. Even if it’s a good things. You’re letting yourself be controlled by it. The reason it’s having such a terrible effect on you is because it’s become your life. Your righteousness. The way you think you’re going to be made whole or the threat that can keep you from ever being made whole again. The only way out of that is to admit that’s what is happening and make the switch. Set your mind on the things that are above.

You have to look at that thing that you fear losing and say, “You’re not my life. Christ is my life. You’re a good thing. I’m glad to have you. I’m glad you’re there. I’d like to get/keep you if I can. But I don’t need you to have a great life. Christ is life. I don’t need you to have joy. Christ Jesus is my joy. You’re not my life. Christ Jesus is my life.” When you do that, you’re shooting an arrow into the heart of that crippling emotion. You’re shooting the arrow of the Gospel into the heart of that anti-gospel feeling that’s controlling your life. Then it will become manageable. It will no longer control you.

You look to Christ and say, “Oh Lord, you are my life. I’ve died with you. I’ve been raised with you. And when you appear, I’m going to appear with you in glory. You are my life.” The degree to which you know that, live in it, rejoice in it - it is to that degree that you’ll experience the GREATER life. It is to that degree that you’re marriage will flourish. It is to that degree that you’ll thrive in your workplace, shepherd your children and positively impact the world.