Put Aside Former Ways

Colossians 3:1–4 ESV

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 things that are 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, then you also will appear with him in glory.

the text we are looking at is cointinuing the previous sermons about our identity

We have seen that if we are in Christ we are new and changed

Paul has been talking about how Christ changes His people such that they are different as children of His Father

We saw how Christ is the fullness of diety

From that point we viewed how there is no diety or actual spiritual value from God in other religions

They simply do not produce God because God is not in them

There may be some experiencial value to these religons but the presence of God only resides in Chrisrt Jesus

Only in Him was the fullness of diety pleased to dwell

And only being part of Him can the diety of God be with us

We are no good, devoic of God’s presence and ability to know Him if we are outside Christ

we must turn to Christ to know God and approach anything divine in life

When we turn to God in Christ we are saved, changed, and elevated

God comes and fills us with His good work on the cross and His work destroys our sin

He whipes our slate clean

Cleans our account

Pays our bill

He disarmed the rulers and authorities against us, triumphing over sin

Such that we are elevated to His family

God brings us into His family

He takes us, sinful, selfish, rotten people and He changes our hearts

We were once enemies, we, in our sin hate God, we hate the thought of someone telling us what to do.

We hate that someone more powerful than us can call us to account, someone knows all about us, and will take us to task one day

We cannot suffer this while in our sin because we are enemies!

But God, being rich in mercy, at the right time came redeeming so that we might be free from sin and brought from being an enemy to being a child of God

We are part of HIs family

We are not jsut frineds but in His family

Can anyone make you an less a child of yoru parents?

We all have parents… Some might not be in the picture

But regardless of our family situation we all have parents and a family that we cannot change

Weather it looks normal or not we all come from somewhere

We cannot change that but God gave us a family and we cannot unborn us

God uses this relationship to show us what it means to be saved in Christ

We are brought into His family, never to be cast out

We will never be unfamilied

We will never be unwanted

We will never be replaced

We cannot be kicked out

We cannot be disowned

God will make His children into exactly what He promises, namely the family of Christ

If we are in Christ we are a new creation, and adopted into His family for ever, we will never be removed

This takes us into the first 4 verses of chapter 3

Colossians 3:1 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

If we have been raised with Christ then we must seek things above with Christ

Why? Because you have changed in Christ

You are different

You have come to be saved and made alive in Christ

What that means is not that you begin eating Jesus

Like Lord Supper Hanible Lecter style

ALSO, not saying that all things physical are evil and should be turned away from

But that In Him is ultimate life, eternal life

Temporal things will pass in view of Him

THis world has nothing for you outside of CHrist

Your life is with Him not here

You no longer live for the pleasures and sucessess of this life

It all will pass away

But instead you are hoping for the future kingdom

To be with Him one day

Your life is in Him

What does this mean?

Everything has an affect upon us

So realize that things are eternal and temporary

Don’t spend your life and time chasing the temporary things

Spend you life looking aftet those things that are eternal

Focus your time on what God would have you to do

ONly those things will last

ONly the eternal will endure