Colossians 3:1-17
Colossians 3:1–17 (ESV):
3 If then you have been raised with Christ,
That’s what baptism is: Identifying with Jesus in His death and resurrection.
Romans 6:4 (ESV): 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
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.
This is not just a change of mind… it is a change of identity!
You are not the same person you once were.
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV): 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
The Bible uses stark language to describe salvation: darkness to light, death to life, being transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of Jesus, being ‘born again’, being adopted into a new family… These are drastic metaphors to describe a drastic shift that has taken place in us by the powerful working of God in our conversion.
All this happens instantaneously. When God opens your eyes to see how glorious He is, and when He opens your mind to understand and embrace the gospel, and when He awakens your dead soul, cleanses your sin, transfers you into His family…. You are instantly a new person.
Notice the past tense of the statement: you HAVE been raised with Christ. It is an accomplished fact that puts you in a new present reality. Not just some future reality. This is who you are RIGHT NOW.
So… IF you’ve been raised with Christ… then WHAT?
What next?
How does this affect my daily life?
What does this mean in practical application?
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.
If you’ve been raised with Christ… if you have new life in Him… if your identity has shifted… then you need to actively train your mind to think differently.
We need to actively think about eternal, heavenly things and allow those pursuits to captivate our minds instead of that which is temporary and earthly and in some cases sinful and contrary to God’s will.
In many ways, the Christian life is a battle for our minds.
The things we set our minds on are the things we seek. The things we seek are those things that occupy our minds.
Tim Keller: “The true god of your heart is what your thoughts effortlessly go to when there is nothing else demanding your attention.”
Show me what is on your mind most often, and I’ll show you what you worship.
Surfing, sex, substances, social media, social status…
Some ambition or dream that captivates your thoughts…
The acquisition of stuff…
Whatever that thing is for you or for me… that is, for practical purposes, our idol.
The scriptures are replete with passages about our minds…
Romans 12:2 (ESV): 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
1 Peter 1:13 (ESV): 13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 26:3 (ESV): 3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.
Philippians 4:8 (ESV): 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Why?
3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Why is it important to orient your life and your thought life around eternal things instead of earthly things? Because the part of you that lived for earthly things is DEAD!
Notice that phrase in verse 4, “Christ who is your life”.
For the follower of Jesus, life is all about Christ!
Philippians 1:21 (ESV): 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
Philippians 3:7–8 (ESV): 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
Gal. 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me”.
And so… because life is all about Christ now… because He IS our life now…
We need to learn to behave in accordance with who we have become…
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
In other words, there are no differences in status in the Church based on race or nationality or anything else…
We understand what constitutes sin in our lives. We know those things that are earthly and evil and contrary to God’s will. The problem is, we have a tendency to let them live instead of putting them to death.
That phrase “put to death” is a very strong imperative. It’s not just that we are to suppress or control these tendencies and desires… it’s that we are to completely exterminate them.
Our ant problem vs. a centipede problem…
Some of us treat sin in our lives like a minor ant problem in our kitchen.
We need to treat it more like a centipede infestation in our bed.
Actually, the Bible takes it a step further. It says sin is not just like having an ant problem, or even a centipede problem… it says sin is more like having a LION PROBLEM. It says in 1 Peter 5:8 that the Devil is like a roaring lion prowling around waiting to devour us. Imagine a ravenous wild beast was trapped in your house. How casual do you think you’d be about it?
And yet many of us treat sin like it’s no big deal… Paul says, it will DEVOUR you. KILL it!
And don’t just kill it… REPLACE it…
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The analogy is one of taking off old clothes and putting on new, clean ones.
We find a similar phrase in…
Romans 13:14 (ESV): 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Why do we “put to death” our old tendencies? Because we’ve died with Christ.
Why do we “put on” these godly behaviors? Because we’ve been raised with Christ.
Both of these imperatives result from the reality of our new identity.
To summarize. We know that if we belong to Christ we have new life in Him. Resurrection life. Our old selves have effectively been buried with Him in His death, and our new selves are living with His life.
The trouble is, we have a hard time embracing and living in that reality. We tend to put our old clothes back on. We tend to want to behave according to our old nature instead of our new one.
So how do we actively fight that tendency and experience the progress God wants for us us? It starts in our minds. We must actively set our minds on godly things instead of earthly things.
But it doesn’t stop in our minds. It manifests in real life behaviors:
Forgiveness instead of holding grudges.
Generosity instead of covetousness.
Purity instead of lust.
Instead of dwelling on selfish pursuits, we dwell on God’s Word
And so on.
What if, for the next week, we only consume content and media that helps us set our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth?
Music
Shows
YouTube
Podcasts
Books
Social Media
What if every time we are about to consume some form of media this next week, we pause and ask ourselves,
Will this help me set my mind on things that are above?
Will this help me treasure Jesus?
Will this help me live in light of eternity?