SERIES:
I AM
WEEK:
1
Going Deeper into Colossians 3:1-4
TERRAN WILLIAMS
In week one of our I Am series we looked at Colossians 3:1-10 and the subject of our identity in Christ. In
this Going Deeper we look more closely at the first four verses…
Colossians 3: 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. 4 When
Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
What a privilege it is to be joined to Christ!
The more common phrase ‘in Christ’ means the same thing as the phrase Paul uses here: ‘with Christ’.
It speaks of what theologians call ‘union with Christ’. Amazingly, when we put our faith in Jesus, we were
fused into Christ in much the same way a branch is grafted into a stem, a limb is joined to a body, and the
way ‘the two become one’ as they are joined by God in the covenant of marriage. Our lives have been fused
into Christ. We are united to him by the Holy Spirit.
This means that everything that has happened to Christ has happened to us. I know that sounds mindblowing, but consider this. 1) When Jesus died on the cross, there we were dying with him (2:20 says we
died ‘with Christ’). 2) When Jesus was raised from the dead, there we were raised with him (3:1 says we
have been raised ‘with Christ’). 3) When Jesus ascended to the right hand of God, there we were ascending
with him (3:3 says our lives are hidden ‘with Christ’ as he is seated at the right hand of God). 4) And remarkably, when Christ comes again, there we will be coming with him (3:4 says that when Christ appears
(in his Second Coming) we will appear ‘with him’).
What does it mean that we ‘died with Christ’? Christ died for the sins of all the world. When he was upon
the cross all the sin of the world had a claim on his life. He became the sin-bearer. But, having paid the
price for the sins of the world, he died. Sin no longer has any claim upon his life. Since we’re in Christ, his
death to sin is our death to sin. This means that sin no longer has a claim on our lives. We’ve been transferred from the domain of darkness, the kingdom of sin. Though we may be tempted to sin, sin is no longer
our master. It has no rightful claim upon us.
What does it mean that we have been ‘raised with Christ’? Christ was raised from the dead. In his resur-
rection he defeated death itself. He would never die again. Death no longer had any claim on his life. Since
we’re in Christ, his resurrection from the dead is our resurrection from the dead. We have been quickened
to newness of life by the power of God. Death no longer has a claim on our lives. If Jesus does not return in
our day, we will die physically, but it will be a quick transition into life eternal, eventually to lead us to the
reception of glorified resurrection bodies, patterned after Christ’s own resurrection body.
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What does it mean that we are seated with Christ? Right now Christ co-rules the universe. He has ascend-
ed to the place of glory and honour. He enjoys the presence of the Father. He is ruling, and his victory over
all his enemies has been secured. It’s just a matter of time before every last enemy is brought to a place of
willful submission or rebellion-caused punishment at his feet. Since we’re in Christ, his place in heaven is
already our place in heaven. His authority is our authority. We’re not divine like he is, so we cannot receive
worship, or make ultimate decisions about the destiny of other people and the universe, but we’re honoured to collaborate with Christ as he works in the world. We’re not divine, but amazingly, with this kind of
access to Christ, we get to ‘participate in the divine nature’ (2 Pet 1:4).
What is the significance of our lives being ‘hidden’ with Christ in God? It could have said, ‘Your life is with
Christ’ but instead it said, ‘Your life is hidden with Christ’. The first meaning is that we are absolutely secure there. When something is hidden it means that it is secure. The cash in our wallet can be easily lost,
but the major investments kept in a bank (hidden from sight) are much safer. Though we may experience
uncertainty, insecurity, pain, disease and even death here on earth, there is part of us that is untouchable,
deeply hidden with Christ in God. Paul is no doubt borrowing the language of God securely hiding us from
the Old Testament which speaks of the way God hides us: ‘He hides me in his shelter … under the cover
of his tent … he lifts me high on a rock above my enemies who surround me’ (Ps 27:5-6), ‘In the cover of
your presence, God, you hide us … from the plots of men … from the strife of tongues’ (Ps 31:20), and ‘In
the shadow of his hand he hid me … he made me like a polished arrow. In his quiver he hid me’ (Isa 49:2).
‘The second meaning is that our relationship with God is something deeply personal. In the Sermon on
the Mount Jesus spoke about closing ourselves in a room to pray to God. This seems to echo that. God
himself is our hiding place. And, through prayer, usually unseen by others, we come close to God. The fact
that we’re hidden means we have access right into the very heart of God. He is our hiding place, and we
can learn to access him not just in special prayer times, but throughout the hours of our day. We can learn
to live our lives on two levels at the same time. On the one level we’re talking, eating, working, traveling,
playing but on another level we’re keeping secret company with God, enjoying his intimate presence, hiding in him.
What does it mean that we will appear with Christ? Christ will return visibly and triumphantly. His glory
will be evident to all. Though multitudes had not believed that Jesus really is Lord because he is in heaven,
yet it will be as clear as day to everyone everywhere that Jesus truly is heaven and earth’s king, the divine
and glorious Son of God, the Saviour of the world. Since we’re in Christ, we too will be revealed for who
we really are, and there will be something glorious about us! Romans 8:19, speaking about the end times,
says that creation will finally get to witness ‘the children of God being revealed’. It is not only Jesus’ Lordship that is not seen, and therefore overlooked by people, it is also our union with Christ. But when Christ
returns he will reveal our union with him to the world. Our true identity will become blindingly obvious to
all, not least to ourselves. This is then the third meaning of our lives being hidden with Christ: at the mo-
ment it is not obvious to people and even to ourselves, but all that will change when Christ returns.
There are at least 11 practical implications of being united with Christ.
1) The first thing to be done is to affirm our union with Christ by faith. Note that this union with Christ is
not something to be achieved, or attained through years of obedience, or a series of spiritual experiences.
It has already been done. It is not we who joined ourselves to Jesus. Rather it is God who joined us to
Jesus. It is fact, already accomplished. It is something that is claimed by sheer faith. There may be times
when God will graciously open the eyes of our heart to spiritually perceive our union with Christ, but most
of the time we need to keep on re-affirming it by faith. God’s word says it. We believe it. That settles it.
2) Let your union with Christ shape your relationship with God. When we pray it is not as though he is distant and removed. Rather we are currently ‘with Christ’. He can hear the still whisper of our hearts. He is
that close. And this is why we too can hear the still small voice that he may whisper to us. He is that close.
This is not a long-distance relationship. We’re ‘hidden with Christ in God’. God is our hiding place. We can
set aside times in our days and weeks to be alone with him. But we don’t need to wait till then to enjoy his
presence, keep company with him. Indeed while we drive, shop, play, work, clean and eat, we draw close to
him in our hearts.
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3) Let your union with Christ shape the way you pray. When we pray we don’t pray from earth. We pray
from heaven. When we pray from earth, we tend to be more aware of our needs, our desperation, the
crisis we or another person is facing. There is an underlying angst and anxiety in our prayer. When we pray
from heaven, we still see the need, but we see it through the eyes of God. We sense what he senses. And
most importantly, we pray out of a sense of God’s superabundant powers and grace. Our feet are planted
on the ground, but our spirits soar in the Himalayas of heaven, where the rivers of God’s grace find their
source. That’s the kind of prayer that is truly powerful and effective.
4) Let your union with Christ increase your spiritual vitality and joy. Though we live in our bodies on earth,
we also live in heaven. We don’t just draw energy from the food we eat, or the environment we find ourselves in. We draw energy and liveliness from God himself. He is our secret power source. We learn to live
on God, in much the same way our bodies live on food and air. Colossians 2:7 says that to be in Christ is to
be like a tree rooted in him, who is the nourishing soil of our lives. In the same way that a tree draws vitality from the soil, so we draw our vitality and nourishment from Christ.
5) Let your union with Christ change the very atmosphere around our lives. Let’s think of ourselves as
conductors of God’s power and love. We should live in such a way that people around us sense that there is
indeed something different about us. There is! We’re seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. The place
where we stand has the potential of morphing into a throne zone of God’s presence, God’s activity, God’s
blessing.
6) Let your union with Christ change the way we think about discerning God’s will. A popular trend
amongst Christians is to ask the question, ‘What would Jesus do?’ But when we remember that we are
with Christ right now, and his life is my life, then the better question to ask is, ‘What is Jesus doing … in
me, through me, through us? And how do I/we better co-operate with him?’ 1 Corinthians 2:16 says that
‘We have the mind of Christ.’ He is ready to direct you, give you perspective, give you wisdom and grace
to respond to situations. He did not merely leave us a great example (great as that example is!). He has
planted himself into us and us into himself. This means that he is always ready to impart wisdom and insight if we will just ask for it, and be sensitive to his leadings. One more thing – the fact that he personally
leads us into obedience means that he empowers us to obey him, which is why obedience can be done with
joy.
7) Let your union with Christ be your identity. The explosion of popular best-selling literature on the
subject of ‘finding your self’ is enough evidence of the deep longing to know who we are. Many people will
spend years of their life ‘trying to find themselves’. They will try this in travel, in alternative spirituality,
in career changes, in changing partners and more. Yet, the revelation of our union in Christ is the answer
to the question. We are united to Christ. That is our identity. Christ is our life. Tim Keller tells the story of
a lady in his Manhattan church whose life was changed by that phrase, ‘Christ who is your life’ (v4). She
grew up obsessed with men. Relationships with men totally defined her. When a relationship was going well, she was doing well. When it was doing bad, she was doing bad. She went to a psychologist who
advised she find a new focus in life, like career success. Then it dawned on her what her problem was: she
was finding her identity and source in temporal things, and though the psychologist meant well, they had
merely encouraged her to trade one temporal source of identity for another. She then read the verse about
Christ being her life, and claimed it by faith, and made a firm decision to keep steering her heart and mind
to Christ, who alone was the securing, satisfying, life-giving centre of her life. So when she met a man who
seemed to show interest in her, she would say to this man quietly in her own head, ‘You seem like a great
man. Who knows? You may even become my husband, but one thing you can never be is my Life. Christ
alone is my Life. He defines me. He secures me. He satisfies me. He is the basis of my identity. He gives
me worth.’ Everyone of us tends to find our identity, meaning and fulfillment in different temporal things.
Which is why anxiety and insecurity so mark our lives. Let’s learn from this woman who sets a simple example for us: never let any temporal thing, no matter how good, be our life. Christ alone is our Life.
8) Let your union with Christ help you understand that you reign with Christ. Christ rules. The decisive
victory over his enemies has been won on the cross, and by his resurrection. He now works to bring all
things under his leadership and rule. He has ‘all authority in heaven and earth’ (Matt 28:18). He is seated
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at the right hand of God. The ‘right hand’ is a hand of power and authority. And of course, we as Christfollowers, have joyfully submitted to his authority. But consider also that we reign with Christ. We too are
seated at the right hand of God. Romans 5:17 states this unambiguously, ‘how much more will those who
receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one
man, Jesus Christ!’ We are agents of Christ’s compassionate and powerful rule. His kingdom advances
through us. His will is done in the world through us. We operate not in our own authority, but in the name
of Jesus, to whom we are fused.
9) Let your union with Christ shape your priorities and preoccupations. (This is the point Paul makes in
verses 1b and 2). ‘1b Seek (can be translated ‘keep seeking’) 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.’
We’re to keep seeking things that are above. We’re to set our minds on them. This means we will need to
break from our preoccupation with things ‘that are on the earth’. Paul is not saying here that anything that
is material, physical and bodily is meaningless. After all, Christ created us and what he created he deemed
‘good’. And Christ became human in his incarnation, thereby casting the most positive light imaginable on
creation. So Paul is not saying that we should minimize our humanity, or creation. Many critics argue that
Christianity is no good because it teaches us to be so heavenly minded that it makes us no earthly good. CS
Lewis rightly quipped that the more truly heavenly minded we are, the more earthly good we will be. This
is because we will see what is most important, and we will tap into a source of energy that will enable us
to make a difference. When Paul says ‘seek and set your mind upon things above’ he means ‘make Christ,
who he is, what he has done, what he is doing, and who you are in him the consuming priority and preoccupation of your life’. He is saying, using different words, the very thing Jesus said: ‘Seek first the kingdom of
God’ (Matt 6:33). I love Eugene Peterson’s paraphrase of verses 1b-2: ‘Pursue the things over which Christ
presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up,
and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.’ And this will mean that the things that once were our preoccupation and priority – pleasure, success,
fame, wealth, approval, control, comfort – will be eclipsed by something (or should I say Someone) truly
worthy of our one and only lives. Spurgeon on 28th March, 1880, commented on this verse saying, ‘Let
our minds ascend to Heaven in Christ.’ Even while our bodies are here we are to be drawn upward with
Christ—attracted to Him so that we can say, “He has raised us up together and made us sit together in
heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Our text says, “Seek those things which are above where Christ sits at
the right hand of God.” What is this but rising to heavenly pursuits? Jesus has gone up—let us go up with
Him! As for these bodies, we cannot as yet ascend, for they are not fit to inherit the Kingdom of God—yet
let our thoughts and hearts mount up and build a happy rest on high! Let not a stray thought ascend like
one lone bird which sings and mounts the sky, but let our whole mind, soul, spirit, heart arise as when
doves fly as a cloud! Now, then, my Soul, here are wings for you! Jesus draws you upward! You have a right
to be where Jesus is, for you are married to Him! Therefore let your thoughts abide with Him, rest in Him,
delight in Him, rejoice in Him and yet again rejoice! The sacred ladder is before us, Brothers and Sisters,
let us climb it, until, by faith, we sit in the heavenlies with Him.’
10) Let your union with Christ govern your character and behaviour. (This is the point Paul makes in
verses 5-17). The very next verse uses the word ‘therefore’. It means that in light of verses 1-4, we are to
‘put off’ (v5) and ‘put on’ (v12) certain characteristics. It likens our character to our choice of clothing. The
main factor in determining what we wear is what we perceive ourselves to be. So, if we see ourselves as a
pauper, we’re likely to dress in rags, but if we see ourselves as a prince, we’re likely to dress up. Paul argues that in light of our identity in Christ, we need to dress accordingly. There are behaviours that must be
taken off. And there are behaviours to be put on. In answer to the question, ‘Why should Christians change
their behaviour?’ one main answers surfaces: ‘Because we’re meant to choose behaviour and character
that is compatible with our identity, and our identity is that we are ‘in Christ’.
11) Celebrate the sheer privilege of how God has fused us to his Son! If you’re ever discouraged, pause
to remember who Christ is, and who you are in Christ. Go over these truths again in your mind. Be sure
to thank God! Surely this truth of our union in Christ is one of the most pivotal of all truths. Every Christian desperately needs to believe it, and with the help of the Spirit to perceive it, and apply it to their lives.
Put these four verses to memory, and prayerfully mull over them often. Martin Lloyd Jones says that ‘our
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union with Christ is one of the greatest and most marvellous of all Christian doctrines, one of the most
glorious beyond any question at all.’ I’d add that in light of the massive implications of this fact upon our
relationship with God, the way we pray, where we draw our vitality from, the atmosphere around our lives,
how we discern God’s will, where we find our identity, our sense of Christ reigning through us, what preoccupies us, and how we live, it is also one of the most important doctrines!
Each week Common Ground Church provides a few pages of additional reading to supplement the Sunday
message. Specifically, we drill down either into the Scripture passage itself, or into some theological dimension
that we touched on in the message.
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