Transcript

Seek The Things Above

Colossians 3:1-4
Sunday, January 6, 2002 
Pastor Randy Smith

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Paul has just concluded the doctrinal section of Colossians. Throughout that section he has briefly alluded to the "philosophy" that was seeking to steer the believers away from their faith in Christ. Among many other things, the heresy was a syncretistic blend of Jewish, pagan and Christian religion. It prided itself on: esoteric knowledge in 2:3, legalism (dietary restrictions and holy days) in 2:16, mysticism (angel worship and visions) in 2:18, and asceticism (severe treatment of the body) in 2:23. All of these we have studied in detail.

While the error of this false religion was disclosed, the religion itself is named simply in 2:8 as "empty deception according to the tradition of men , according to demonic doctrine ." Apart from identifying the heresy, Paul's primary goal was to show the Colossian church the riches they had in Jesus Christ. Scattered throughout chapters 1 and 2, we learned that Christ is: the image of the invisible God (1:15), the creator and sustainer of the world (1:16-17), the goal of all things (1:18), the true source of knowledge (2:2), and the head of the church (2:19).

Paul's case is basically this: don't dethrone Christ and rob Him of His rightful place of preeminence, don't be foolish to follow after a shadow when the reality has come, and don't settle for second best. Realize what you have in Christ!

The question is anticipated, "Paul, what do we have in Christ?" Answer: ultimately we have union with Him! We share in His death and burial and therefore His resurrection (2:11-12). We have been forgiven. "And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him" (Col. 2:13). It's said this way in Colossians 1:21-22, "And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach." Likewise in Colossians 1:13-14 we read, "For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." He cancelled out your certificate of debt. He nailed it to the cross. He defeated all the demonic foes which stood against you (Col. 2:14-15). Through Christ, God has enabled you to be in union with Him!

You'd be a fool to not want this! You'd be a fool to walk away from this! You'd be a fool to listen to false teachers! Is it any wonder that Paul concluded chapter 2 with a series of repetitions? "I say this in order that no one may delude you" (Col. 2:4); "See to it that no one takes you captive" (Col. 2:8); "Therefore let no one act as your judge" (Col. 2:16); "Let no one keep defrauding you of your prize" (Col. 2:18).

Beloved what more could we need in a religion? Christ has met all our spiritual needs! But it doesn't end here, nor does the book of Colossians because the next question is, "Why did God do all this for us?" Answer: "So that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord" (Col. 1:10), "to be firmly rooted, maturing, overflowing with gratitude" (Col. 2:7).We are to be trophies of God's grace by reflecting His image to a fallen world for the purpose of His glory.

Chapters 1 and 2 in the book of Colossians are rich theology. Theology is essential, but when left unto itself it becomes dead orthodoxy. Chapters 3 and 4 are practical application. We love application, but application without theology is misguided religiosity. In other words we need both theology and application together. Therefore, Paul provided the theology in the first two chapters and then an application of that theology in the final two chapters of the letter. Today's text serves as a bridge between these two great pillars.

Questions- How do I live unto the glory of God? How is the Christian life more than a set a rules? How do I overcome sin and pursue righteousness? How am I to be motivated for proper conduct? The answer is found in Colossians 3:1-4.

"If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things 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 our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory" (Col. 3:1-4).

1. REMINDER (3:1a)

Paul begins the ethical exhortations with a reminder. He said it before (2:12); we said it already this morning. The reminder is this, "you have been raised up with Christ!" Elsewhere in Ephesians Paul said, "(we have been) raised us up with (Christ), and seated us with Him in the heavenly places" (Eph. 2:6). Now this language appears very mystical, confusing and unrealistic. After all, this world in which I live doesn't look like the heavenly places, and it certainly doesn't feel like the heavenly places.

Sure, there is a "not yet" that we are still awaiting in the future (the resurrection of our bodies and the glorification of our souls). But in many ways our salvation is so complete and secure that Paul can speak of the process in the past tense, as something we already possess. In 1:5 he speaks of the "hope laid up for (us) in Heaven". Because of our union with Christ, we rose from the grave when He did. One author said we were "co-resurrected with Christ." Therefore, we have been delivered in the eyes of God to a new dimension where we have a new heart, where we have different desires and obligations, and where we now serve a new master.

The separation from this world is so clear that biblical writers refer to Christians as: aliens and strangers (1 Pet. 2:11), strangers and exiles on earth (Heb. 11:13), and those who have citizenship in Heaven (Phil 3:20). We truly have been raised up with Christ! So what does that mean for us practically?

Paul will now remind us that this new status calls for a new way of life, a life preoccupied with heavenly realities and the interests of Christ.

2. RESPONSIBILITY (3:1b, 2)

The believer's responsibility is as follows. Verse 1, "keep seeking the things above" and verse 2, "set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

Basically, Paul contrasts two spheres of thinking: thinking about the things that are on earth and thinking about the things that are above. At each point of time in our lives we are operating in one of those two spheres. The things on earth consist of: sin, the temporary (like possessions and prestige), worldly philosophy, and godlessness. The things above (or the things of heaven) consist of: doing the will of God and living for eternal purposes; ultimately, living for Jesus Christ. Grace Tabernacle, are you heavenly-minded or earthly-minded individuals? Where is the primary seedbed of your thoughts, goals, aspirations, and desires? These aspects will always overflow into your actions.

You know, we live in a world that puts so much emphasis on the temporal. Maybe you've heard it said, "He who dies with the most toys wins." That's a lie! The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil! Our love should not be for our possessions. John Piper boldly proclaimed, "There will be no people in Heaven who want to be around their things more than Jesus." The rich young ruler in Mark 10, case and point. Our desire should be for the things above, not to a point of spiritual escapism, whereas we are so heavenly minded we are no earthly good. Paul is not advocating monkery; he is advocating a spiritual mindset, which affects practical living as we journey in this foreign land. We are not to escape the world; if so, God could have raptured us at the moment of salvation (furthermore, there would be no need for chapters 3-4 in Colossians). Rather we are to be obedient to Christ, as we exist within the world, but not of it.

The admonition is that we are to be seeking the things above. The verb is a present imperative, meaning it's an ongoing command to seek the things above. This means we sin when our hearts are not set on Christ, when we are not preoccupied with a heavenly or eternal or Christlike mindset, when our aims and ambitions are not directed toward this upward sphere.

As a compass points to the North, we are to orient ourselves to the purposes, plans, provisions and powers of Christ. Why do we need a heavenly mindset? Because a person's thinking will always affect his will. Our desires and affections are first generated in the mind and then fleshed out in our actions. Good actions are always determined by good thinking. Our thinking and striving are not isolated; the former will always determine the latter.

When I was a young boy I had an obsession with baseball cards. All my money would be invested in baseball cards. Free time would be spent organizing and trading baseball cards. Baseball cards were my desire and delight. My mind was set on baseball cards, and everything I did was in the pursuit of that mindset. This obsession with baseball cards obviously sprang forth from a heart that fed an overwhelming longing for the hobby. You know, I wish I had the same mindset with the "things above" now, as I did with baseball cards back then. I really wish that I were that obsessed with the eternal things of God. If so, I would see my money as an investment in the kingdom for eternal purposes. I would see my time as an investment in people and the Word of God (two things that will never pass away). My mind truly would continually be "seeking the things above." It would be a joy, and it would be evidenced by the decisions I made.

In verse 2 Paul says, set your minds on the things above. Let the things above be your goal, pursuit, ambition, obsession, desire and delight. Let me ask you; is there any better goal to have? Is there any more obvious and natural goal to have since you have been raised up to the heavenly places, since heaven is your new home, and since that is where Jesus Christ, your treasure chest of holy joy, dwells?

3. RESOURCE (3:1c)

Jesus Christ, He is our resource. Back to verse 1, (in speaking of heaven) "where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God".

Earlier this month, I asked the prayer warriors on Wednesday night a question. The question went like this: How would you feel if when you got to Heaven you experienced the exquisite beauty (streets of gold, pearly gates), were reunited with loved ones, no longer battled sin and the flesh, and every tear wiped away from your eye… but Jesus wasn't there? Would you still want to be there if Jesus wasn't there? In many ways the answer to that questions reveals the reality of your faith. I received many encouraging responses from the church.

Then a week later, I followed it up with another question. If your primary desire for Heaven is eternity with Jesus, how does that affect your life here and now? What makes you different from any moral, religious, devout person in America that doesn't know the Lord? I didn't get many responses to that question; possibly you were just seeking to be humble!

I think that's Paul's heartbeat in this verse. If Jesus is really the ultimate pursuit of our life in the future, He will be the ultimate pursuit of our life in the present. If we seek things above, meaning the exalted Christ, the outcome will be a life worthy of the Lord. As Paul has said earlier in this letter, "all things have been created by Him and for Him…so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything" (Col. 1:16, 18). Or as Paul will say later in this letter, "and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father" (Col. 3:17).

4. REASON (3:3)

In verse 3, Paul gives us 2 reasons for this heavenly mind-set. "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3). One reason we are to live for Christ is that we have died to the things of this world. Of course this is not a literal death, only Jesus Christ literally died on the cross. Rather our death is a symbolic death, a death to the old self in our union with Christ and complete identification with Him. And in that identification, our old nature is not renewed, nor reformed; it is dead . And because our old nature is dead, (and we are a new creation) Paul can say in verse 5, "therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."

Since we are dead, we shouldn't desire the sin we once craved in the past. We are dead to sin and alive to Christ. However, the problem we face is that the old nature doesn't want to stay dead. Positionally we are dead; practically we still struggle with sin. But we can have victory in Christ Jesus! We can seek God; we no longer need to be a slave to sin (Romans 6). "But thanks be to God because those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" (Gal. 5:24). We can now desire the things above and pursue righteousness!

A second reason we can seek the things above is also found in verse 3. "(Our) life is hidden with Christ in God". You know all of Paul's talk can be confusing, death with Christ, resurrected with Christ, seated with Christ in the heavenly places. None of that appears evident to us, and it definitely does not appear evident to those in the world. But one day it will. You know, the realities of our complete redemption are a done deal in the sight of God. We are secure; we are tied to the ruler of the universe. And for now these realities enable us to seek Christ, live righteously, have victory over sin and rest in the assurance of our salvation, realizing that God is transforming us practically to our position as "saints" (Col. 1:2). But still these realities are hidden. Unfortunately many Christians don't realize their hidden union with Christ (that's why we teach theology). And the world views Christians (as they are often portrayed by Hollywood) as weak, dishonored fools. But one day it will all change. Oh how we long His blessed return, when the revealing of the children of God will be evident to all!

5. REVELATION (3:4)

One day, (verse 4) "When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory." On that day we will no longer have to claim what we have become. On that day when our Lord returns, everybody will see what we have become. The apostle John said, "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is" (1 Jn. 3:2). Elsewhere Paul said, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God." (Rom. 8:18-19).

I found it interesting in my study that Paul begins verse 4 by saying "when Christ". This is the fourth time he has spoken of our union with Christ in as many verses. Verse 1, "with Christ"... verse 1, "where Christ"... verse 3, "with Christ"... now, verse 4, "when Christ". Is it any wonder then that Paul would speak of Christ in verse 4 as "our life"? Is it any wonder that when He is revealed in glory, we will also be revealed in glory? The day of revelation of the Son of God will also be the day of revelation of the sons of God. That British scholar of the 19th century, J.B. Lightfoot once said, "The veil which now shrouds your higher life from others, and even partially from yourself, will then be withdrawn. The world which persecutes, despises, ignores now, will then be blinded with the dazzling glory of the revelation."

What a blessed day that will be when God's redemption process is completed and we can live forever with our Savior in a state of perfection. Beloved, that hope is only there because of our union with Christ and only because of what He has accomplished on our behalf. We have been raised with Christ in the past (3:1), we are hidden with Christ in the present (3:3), and we will be revealed with Christ in the future (3:4).

Why would we not wish to seek the things above? What better motivation is there for righteous conduct that both glorifies and expresses thanksgiving to our Savior who went to the cross, cancelled out the certificate of debt, delivered us from the domain of darkness, raised us up with Him in the heavenly places, and gave us a new citizenship with a new heart and new desires. May we forever be found seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. May that be our goal.