A NEW IDENTITY IN CHRIST

I. A NEW REALITY IN CHRIST

Colossians 3:1–3 ESV

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.

Ephesians 2:1–5 ESV

1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Colossians 1:13 ESV

13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

1 Corinthians 1:28–31 ESV

28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

So the death you’ve died in Christ was a death to your old life.

1 John 5:4–5 ESV

4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Colossians 2:12 ESV

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 are citizens of His Kingdom.

II. A NEW LIFE WITH A NEW FOCUS

Colossians 3:1–2 ESV

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.

Ephesians–Philemon Comment

Here he shows further implications of the believers’ union with Christ. In fact, their participation in Christ impacts their identity so significantly that their attention is to be focused entirely on Christ.

Colossians: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Chapter 11: Living the Risen Life

It is only when we rise above the world that we can both appreciate the appalling spiritual poverty in which most people live and learn to fix our minds on heavenly realities. Our blessings are in heaven (Eph. 1:3); the angels are there (Eph. 3:10); Christ is there (Eph. 1:20); and we, through our union with Him in His resurrection, exist in the heavenly realm (Eph. 2:6). Because the things most important to us are in heaven, we must not be entangled in this present world. All those Scriptures provide the backdrop for Paul’s message in 3:1–4 as he moves to the practical side of the epistle. He begins by calling the readers to that preoccupation with heavenly reality that is the hallmark of true spirituality, and the starting point of practical holiness. Five features will help unfold the power of heavenly living on earth: the reminder, the responsibility, the resource, the reason, and the revelation.

III. A VIEW TO THE FUTURE

Colossians 3:4 ESV

4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Colossians 3:3 ESV

3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.