August 25, 2024 KEEP SEEKING
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 minds on the things above, and 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.”
If is an important word. IF you have been born again and raised up with Christ, then there are instructions for you, and I, in this passage. True salvation means that we have died and that our life is hidden with Christ in God-and that is no small deal. It is possible for a believer to revert back to living according to his or her old nature-what Paul described as yielding to the flesh. These verses are an admonition to live according to our new identity we have as sons and daughters of God. We cannot live the Christian life on auto-pilot; its a matter of daily walking out who we are in Christ. The apostle Paul said that he ‘had not arrived’ but that he kept ‘pressing on’ to the things that God had for him. The kingdom of God is above where Christ is seated; but it can also be experienced here on earth. To seek the things above is to seek the the things of the kingdom of God in order that we may live here on this earth in a kingdom of God way. The kingdom of God is real and it is eternal; in fact, it is more real than the temporal things here on earth. Because the ‘things above’ cannot even be compared to the things of this world and because they are good and perfect, it only makes sense to seek those things. Note that we are ‘to keep seeking;’ it’s a way of life. We have the option of ‘setting our minds.’ That is a super-powerful option that God has given to us. Many fail to take dominion over their minds; when the mind is allowed to think whatever comes to mind, the results are not good. Briefly, the things on this earth consist of greed, selfishness, pride, getting what one wants, self-preservation and self-awareness, and etc. In contrast, the things above, God’s kingdom, consist of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, forgiveness, preferring others, blessing others, peace, and serving. These are not things we have to muster up, but are part and parcel of living with a kingdom of God mindset. We are to have our hearts turned and our minds set on God’s kingdom; when we see something about our life that is not a part of the kingdom of God, we are to lay that aside and replace it with what is of God’s kingdom. It is amazing, but God has worked in such a way that we can live on this earth in the kingdom of God! In Christ, heaven comes to earth. And here is the crucial key to all of this: we must understand that when we accept Christ as our Savior, we are exchanging our life for His life; we are dying to ourselves. Baptism is a picture of us dying and being raised up with Him.
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Blessings, Buddy
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 minds on the things above, and 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.”
If is an important word. IF you have been born again and raised up with Christ, then there are instructions for you, and I, in this passage. True salvation means that we have died and that our life is hidden with Christ in God-and that is no small deal. It is possible for a believer to revert back to living according to his or her old nature-what Paul described as yielding to the flesh. These verses are an admonition to live according to our new identity we have as sons and daughters of God. We cannot live the Christian life on auto-pilot; its a matter of daily walking out who we are in Christ. The apostle Paul said that he ‘had not arrived’ but that he kept ‘pressing on’ to the things that God had for him. The kingdom of God is above where Christ is seated; but it can also be experienced here on earth. To seek the things above is to seek the the things of the kingdom of God in order that we may live here on this earth in a kingdom of God way. The kingdom of God is real and it is eternal; in fact, it is more real than the temporal things here on earth. Because the ‘things above’ cannot even be compared to the things of this world and because they are good and perfect, it only makes sense to seek those things. Note that we are ‘to keep seeking;’ it’s a way of life. We have the option of ‘setting our minds.’ That is a super-powerful option that God has given to us. Many fail to take dominion over their minds; when the mind is allowed to think whatever comes to mind, the results are not good. Briefly, the things on this earth consist of greed, selfishness, pride, getting what one wants, self-preservation and self-awareness, and etc. In contrast, the things above, God’s kingdom, consist of love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, forgiveness, preferring others, blessing others, peace, and serving. These are not things we have to muster up, but are part and parcel of living with a kingdom of God mindset. We are to have our hearts turned and our minds set on God’s kingdom; when we see something about our life that is not a part of the kingdom of God, we are to lay that aside and replace it with what is of God’s kingdom. It is amazing, but God has worked in such a way that we can live on this earth in the kingdom of God! In Christ, heaven comes to earth. And here is the crucial key to all of this: we must understand that when we accept Christ as our Savior, we are exchanging our life for His life; we are dying to ourselves. Baptism is a picture of us dying and being raised up with Him.
Colossians 3:17 “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
Blessings, Buddy
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