Colossians 3:1-7

Thank you for joining us in studying the Bible together. It doesn’t matter if you’ve read the Bible many times or just recently started following Jesus; there is something here for everyone, and with God’s help, you will hear what He is saying to you.

Last time, we started Colossians 3. This is the part in Colossians where Paul switches from teaching us how to believe to living right. Since Jesus is the Messiah who saved you, it will affect how you live. It is more than a nice thought; it comes out in our lifestyle.

Again, our title is “Risen with Christ.” We will finish verses 1-7. We had the first two changes resulting from being risen with Christ, a change in desires and our deliberation, and today is the final two changes, our destiny and our discipline. J Mark will begin by reading Colossians 3:1-7, so please turn there if you can.

¹If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.

 ²Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 

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

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

⁵Therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

 ⁶Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,

 ⁷which you once walked when you lived in them.

In verse 2, Paul urges us to set our minds on heavenly things. Psalm 1:2 gives us a picture of what this looks like. “[the godly man’s] delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law, he meditates day and night.” That means we should be filling our minds with Scripture, turning it over and over in our thoughts, savoring its richness. Think on heavenly things instead of things limited to earth and this life.

We must think consciously about how we can use earthly things to advance heavenly things. How can I lay up treasure in Heaven? How can I use the resources God has given me, whatever those are, to bless others and bring Him glory?

The reason for the command to think on heavenly things is that you have died. A dead person has no consciousness of – or connection to – the things of earth. They cannot be tempted by their favorite food, a get-rich-quick scheme, or a pornographic picture. They can’t desire an easier life or extravagant wealth. As Believers, you and I are to be separated from the things of the world by our death and resurrection with Christ. That’s not a popular message in today’s world. Many false teachers loudly proclaim that following Jesus will bring you health, wealth, and a life of ease. Usually, they are the only ones who become wealthy.

Furthermore, Paul says, your life is hidden, or concealed, with Christ in God. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary says, “With Christ in God asserts Christ’s union with God and emphasizes our union with God in Him.”¹ This verse is another refutation of the Gnostic denial of Jesus’ deity. He is with God, He is God, and we are in Him.

So, what is it that dominates your daily thoughts? Things from above or things from the earth? Again, reviewing my thoughts of recent weeks and months leaves me feeling convicted and realizing the need to refocus on what matters.

The Next CHANGE (that results from our being risen with Christ) is,

Our Destiny

“When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Is Christ your life? Christ indeed sustains our physical life; we can’t do that alone. But that’s not what Paul has in mind here. He’s talking about resurrection life, eternal life. The life that Christ has given us is the motivating energy and directive agent of our new life.

And notice with me that this eternal life is not merely something we share with Christ, our life is “in” Him. When you are “in” something, you are surrounded by it, such as being in your house, the water, or the light. Jesus is the essence, the nature, the core of this new life. Paul is fond of using this concept of being in Christ. In Second Corinthians 5:17, he writes, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

When Christ appears, because He is our life, we will also appear with Him in glory. This is a reference to the anticipated Second Coming of Christ. Then, our real life, our true, redeemed self, will appear without the taint of sin. So, we live in a state of ‘already but not yet.’ We’re already counted as fully redeemed, but we’re waiting for the ultimate fulfilment of that reality.

The apostle John writes about this in First John 3:1 to 6 and connects our future destiny and how it affects our current discipline. He sets the stage for the final change resulting from our rising with Christ. Listen.

“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone with this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.Whoever practices sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that He was manifested to take away our sins, and there is no sin in Him. Whoever abides in Him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen Him nor known Him.”

Being raised with Christ changes our destiny, leading us to the final change.

The Final CHANGE (that results from our being risen with Christ) is,

Our Discipline

“Put to death, therefore, what is earthly within you…” As you can see, there’s tension here. Earlier, Paul said that we have already died with Christ, and the dominating power of sin has been broken. Yet, we continue to live in our mortal bodies with their desires and minds not entirely focused on the things of heaven. So, there’s a continued striving to live out the results of rising with Christ. And this “putting to death what is earthly” is painful.

“To put something to death is never pleasant. It’s not the same as practicing asceticism. Self-denial says that by my will, I can subdue the flesh by denying its desires. Christian self-control says that I can subdue the flesh by relying on the Holy Spirit to empower me to deny its desires.”²

Because of this, Paul says we are to account the members of our body as dead, that is, we are to deprive them of power. This instruction is given as an imperative, a command. In Romans 6:13, he states the principle like this. “And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.”

The list of sins in verse 5 deals with sexual practices. Sexual desires are among the strongest drives we humans have. They are NOT sinful – God gave them to us! However, they are to be used only in the context of marriage. Paul states emphatically that the perversion of these desires and the practices they birth must be cut off.

Fornication is illicit sexual intercourse. Uncleanness is a broad term, but it’s used almost exclusively in the New Testament in the context of sexual sin and all kinds of moral impurity. “Passion” means uncontrolled, illegitimate desire, “like an inward fire that is kindled in the heart.”³ Evil desire is the result of the diseased condition of the soul. All these sins dishonor those who indulge in them. And finally, covetousness.

When we think about covetousness, we often think about material possessions. How does covetousness fit with sexual sins? At its root, covetousness is simply a desire for more, frequently leading to greed and injustice in pursuing what’s desired. Someone has said that covetousness is the arrogant assumption that all other people and things exist for my benefit.

“Because of these things, the wrath of God is coming.” The wrath of God is often used in an eschatological sense, that is, referring to the final judgment. In Revelation 22:14 and 15, John writes, “Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie.” The time is coming when all will face a holy and righteous judge.

Sadly, too many churches allow these things to flourish among their congregants. That is contrary to the instructions and commands of Scripture. And make no mistake, the church is paying a price for this. The apostle Paul says in First Corinthians 11:30 that because sin is ignored, many are spiritually weak, and many have died. The church lacks power because it is becoming...