Raised with Christ - Death to Sin
Colossians 3:1-11
1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Colossians 3:1-11 (NIV)
Verses 1-4:
V 1-2:
Does our faith have a controlling influence over our hearts and our minds? Do we realize the duty/privilege of setting our affections (hearts) and our thoughts (minds) on things above? Remember, “On the wings of affection, the heart soars upwards.” Believer’s lives are to be dominated by the pattern of heaven bringing heavenly direction to their earthly duties. “Set” here means to seek or strive for earnestly. Since we have risen with Christ and are soon to be like Him (referring to our delivery from spiritual death wrought by sin and now we are alive with Christ and in the process of conforming to His image - sanctification), our affections and thoughts are to be centered on things above - our focus is to be fixed on heavenly things. We must mind the concerns of another world more than the concerns of this one. He who is our best friend has gone before us to secure for us the heavenly happiness and therefore we should seek what He has purchased at so vast an expense. Christ is there and He is to be the object of our supreme attachment. Hebrews tells us:
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
We are to concentrate our concern on the eternal not the temporal – fixing our eyes on what is unseen:
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (NIV)
Proper focus keeps us from growing weary and losing heart particularly in our struggle against sin. Remember, Heaven is our home and that is where our great interest is to be:
“Our duty as Christians is always to keep heaven in our eye and earth under our feet.” Matthew Henry
Earthly things are here set in opposition to things above. Heaven and earth are contrary one to the other, and the prevalence of our affection for one will proportionally weaken our affection for the other. Our affections are not to be fixed upon wealth, worldly honor, pleasures and possessions. Eternal life is an invaluable jewel or treasure which is laid up with Christ in heaven where God is. There it is safely deposited. It has this security, that it is with the Redeemer, and that He is in the presence of God; and thus nothing can reach it or take it away. Thankfully, it is not left with us, or entrusted to our keeping – for then it might be lost or wrestled from us but is out of reach from our enemies rather as Paul states to Timothy, it is kept safe:
12 That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. 2 Timothy 1:12 (NIV)
The true condition of the Christian is, that he is “dead” to this world, but that he has immortal life in prospect, and that immortal life is secure, being in the holy keeping of our Redeemer who is in the presence of God. From this it follows that we should regard ourselves as living for heaven. The similarity of verses 1 and 2 reinforces their impact. The first command suggests striving while the second suggests concentrating. Paul was not condoning asceticism (choosing to live without pleasure) of which he had just condemned rather he was saying that life in this world would be better if lived by the power beyond this world. The earthly things to be avoided are moral not physical and he was not encouraging a disdain for material things as every physical thing God created is good rather Paul warned against setting our affections too greatly on them and thus perverting God’s purpose for them.
V 3-4:
Three reasons that our affections to be heavenward:
At the moment of his salvation, a Christian died to the evil of the flesh – the sin nature – and his life is now hidden with Christ in God. “Hidden” implies both concealment and safety; both invisibility and security. He is not yet glorified, but he is secure and safe in Christ. In fact, Christ is his very life. Christ said He was going where “the world would not see Him anymore”:
19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. John 14:19 (NIV)
But when He will appear at the Rapture, believers will appear with Him and will be glorified. John tells us:
2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:2-3 (NIV)
We are to look forward to Christ’s reign over us in heaven as well as His return for us in the clouds – it is to serve as an encouragement:
16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (NIV)
V 5-8:
Paul’s imagery moved from death and life to putting clothes on and off. It is our duty to put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature and which naturally inclines us to cling to the things of this world. The Greek tense used in this command suggests a decisive action as if Paul says: “Mortify it!” “Do it now!” “Do it resolutely!” Sin is to have no power over the believer. We are a new creation – the old has gone the new has come. We are to honor God with our bodies in all things and not go back to wallowing in the mud. Believers are to subdue every carnal and evil propensity of our nature so that they have no remains of life – that is we are not to indulge in them at all.
The list Paul presents of activities flowing from man’s earthly nature includes:
1. The lusts of the flesh – sexual immorality, impurity, lust and evil desires. These are so contrary to the Christian state and the heavenly hope.
2. The love of the world – that is an inordinate love of present good and outward enjoyments and greed which is spiritual idolatry. Greed is the giving of love and regard for worldly wealth (things) which are due to God alone. He will not share His throne. Among all the instances of sin which good men are recorded in the Scripture to have fallen into there is no instance of any good man charged with greed. How very necessary it is to conquer sins. If we do not kill them they will kill us. Each sin carries with it a death sentence.
Read His protection (1)
It is necessary for us to conquer sins for our own good and benefit and God’s glory. As believers, we have a duty – and we owe it to ourselves – to mortify our corrupt passions and fleshly propensities since we have taken off the old man with his deed. We are to be dead to sin:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NIV)
Sadly, the wrath of God will come upon all those who are disobedient – unbelievers who do not know Him nor put their trust in Him. Those who are under the Law and do not obey the precepts of the Law will incur the penalties of the Law. We too used to walk in these ways but now we are to be vigilant in ridding ourselves of them through the power of the Holy Spirit. It is only through His power that we can conquer the fleshly nature. We are not to walk in these ways any more. We are to throw off like a garment sinful habits such as:
These are all unfitting and unbecoming for a Child of the King. Furthermore, they are characteristics of the unregenerate. We have all once walked in these paths and surely are aware of the eventual deadness of them – we are to walk in them no more. Again, this is for our ultimate good and God’s glory.
V 9-11
Paul next tells us not to lie to each there as that makes us like the Devil who is the father of lies. Since we have taken off our old self with its evil practices and have put on the new self, we are to be different. Our conduct is to be in accordance to our new position. We are to be renewed daily in knowledge – growing up in Him who is our life because an ignorant soul cannot be a good soul. This new self needs constant renewal and refreshing in order to keep victorious over sin – it is the idea of continual renewal. Christians become increasingly like the Lord as they refresh their new natures, yielding to the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work. Paul tells us in Romans 12 that we are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. We do this by being in His Word and applying what He teaches us to our lives:
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
Read Discernment From God’s Word (2)
10 To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. Jeremiah 6:10 (NIV)
It is our privilege to be holy as we receive from God the grace to be so. Christ is the Believer’s all – all His hope and happiness. Everything else is everything else. Be filled with Him every day and you will have something to give others and you will not be needy. Christ is to be our sufficiency and strength.
Lastly, in Christ, distinctions are removed. These include national, religious, cultural, economic or social. Normal human distinctions are overruled and transfigured by one’s union with Christ. We are all equal at the foot of the cross.
Next Steps:
These are Beth’s personal notes, due to this fact sources are not often stated.
