If you were raised in Christ
A
Sermon by Nate Wilson on Colossians 3:1-4, Resurrection Day, 2005, 2007
Introduction
“We are half-hearted
creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered
us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because
he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at sea. We are far
too easily pleased!” (C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory)
I
want to challenge you, along with C.S. Lewis, whom I’ve just quoted, to
consider your life on earth in light of the resurrection. The apostle Paul
states this challenge in his letter to the Colossians.
Colossians
- 3:1-4 (NAW Translation): Therefore, if you were raised in Christ, seek the
things above, where the Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. 2 Mind the
things above, not the things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life has
been hidden together within the Christ in God. 4 Whenever the Christ (your
life) shall be revealed, then also you together with Him will be revealed in
glory.
On
this day Christians remember the awesome historical event of the resurrection
of Jesus from the dead. He is risen! Do you believe it? There are plenty of logical
reasons to believe that Jesus rose from the dead:
·
There’s the fact that he disappeared and no dead body has ever been
found despite the desperate attempts of all his enemies to produce one.
·
There’s the fact that all his friends insisted that they had seen him
alive after he had died on the cross. Many of them went on to give testimony as
eyewitnesses in Roman courts to the fact of the resurrection. Most of them were
killed because they insisted on witnessing to this fact even under threat of
death. Those men were utterly convinced that what they died for was true.
·
There are many other logical reasons, but we ultimately believe in the
resurrection out of faith in God. The Bible tells us that Jesus rose
from the dead, and we believe God’s word.
“IF You have been raised…”
This passage in Colossians
has an IF in it. “If you were raised in Christ…” So we must first figure out
which side of the IF we are on. Were you raised in Christ, or were you not
raised in Christ.?
There are many passages that
speak of how the resurrection happens. Let’s look at them:
1. God’s merciful,
gracious, unilateral action of calling and regeneration
·
No one can come to me unless the Father draws him, and I will raise him
up on the last day (John 6:39)
·
According to His great mercy, He has caused us to be born again (1 Pet
1:3)
·
The father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives
life (John 5:21)
2. Belief in
Jesus/Faith
·
everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him… whoever feeds on my
flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last
day (John 6:39-54)
·
you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of
God who raised Him from the dead (
3. Union with Christ in His death
·
Share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death in order that I
may attain to the resurrection of the dead (Phil 3:10-11)
·
We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, on order that,
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too
might walk in newness of life. If we are united with Him in a death like his we
will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like His (Rom 6:4-5)
4. The indwelling
of the Holy Spirit
·
If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He
who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit who dwells in you. (Rom. 8:11)
Do you have what it
takes? An all-powerful God who can give life, faith in Him and His Son Jesus
Christ, dying to yourself and identification with Him in baptism and receiving
the Holy Spirit? O.K. Then we have established the potential that you could
have been raised. But our passage in Colossians does not say, If you have the
potential for being raised, but If you HAVE been raised. Does the Scripture
give us assurance that we have actually been raised?
Have we indeed been raised with Christ? Yes.
·
Eph 2:6, God raised us up with Him and seated us with him in the
heavenly places in Christ Jesus
·
We
who are believers have been raised, and so we can go on to the THEN part of
this IF-THEN statement in Colossians 3. IF we have been raised, THEN it makes a
difference in how we live!
“Therefore seek…”
Therefore, if
you were raised in Christ, seek the things above, where the Christ is sitting
on the right hand of God. 2 Mind the things above, not the things on the earth.
God
created us with desires for pleasures, possession, and power. It is natural for
us to set our minds on things and seek them. These are not sinful. Satan was
able to appeal to these desires for pleasure, possession, and power in the
sinless Adam and Eve and in Jesus Christ. God himself appeals to each of these
desires in us! He offers us:
·
Power
o
Mat 19:28 Jesus said to them, "Truly, I say to you, in the new
world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have
followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes
of
o
Act 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come
upon you, and you will be my witnesses in
o
2Co 12:9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for
my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more
gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
o
Jam 5:16b The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it
is working.
Forget about the Ninjas, this is “real, ultimate power!”
·
Possessions
o
Mat 6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
o
Mat 19:29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or
father or mother or children or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold
and will inherit eternal life.
·
Pleasures
Psalm 16:11
- You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of
joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Power,
possessions, and pleasures are legitimate objects of desire that our Creator
has instilled in us, and by which He can motivate us to faithful obedience. The
evil one counterattacks by tempting us to direct these legitimate desires to
the wrong objects. The way of the world and the temptation of the devil is to
try to gain each of these three things apart from God in the present world. The
way of the Lord is to gain them in the future not by clinging to them in the
present, but by forgoing them in the present and entrusting them to God. (Randy
Alcorn, Money, Possessions, and Eternity)
It’s so easy to
focus on the interesting things in front of our faces. Like the child in the
slum, the mud is right there to be played with. The thought of a holiday
at sea seems too remote to excite any real interest.
Belief
in the resurrection requires a radical reorganization of earthly life to
align with our heavenly life. Instead of drawing our life out of the
earth, it involves drawing heavenly life down to earth (REPEAT). That’s why Jesus
organized the Lord’s Prayer like He did when He taught His disciples to
pray. The very first things on our mind should be, How can God’s name be
honored on this earth as it is in heaven? How can God’s kingship be
acknowledged on this earth as it is in heaven? How can I do God’s will on earth
as it is done in heaven? These things should be what consume our thoughts.
Corroboration
There
are many other passages that talk about how our thoughts should be consumed
with heavenly things. Here are a few of them:
·
Matt 6:33 “Seek first the
·
Philippians 4:8 “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”
·
Hebrews 11: 13-16 “These all died in faith, not having received the
things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having
acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14 For people
who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. 15 If they had
been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had
opportunity to return. 16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is,
a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has
prepared for them a city.
·
Hebrews 12:1-2 “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses
surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so
easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before
us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith…”
“If you were raised in
Christ, seek the things above…Mind the things above, not the things on the
earth.” You have a different nature as one who has been raised with Christ.
Your nature is such that it would be absurd for you to seek things on earth and
think about earthly things. Consider the following conversation between a
butterfly and a caterpillar:
Absurdity of acting contrary to nature – interview with a butterfly.
Caterpillar: Mr. Butterfly,
is it not true that you used to crawl upon the ground?
Butterfly: Yes, but now I
float on the breezes!
Caterpillar: Aren’t you
interested in the way the dirt is so smooth here – so easy to crawl across?
Butterfly: What I’m really
interested in is flowers!
Caterpillar: But the leaves
are so much greener than flowers!
Butterfly: I can’t believe I
used to eat those things. Who wants leaves when you can sip nectar!
Caterpillar: How arrogant!
You think you’re better than me!
Butterfly: No, it’s not like
that at all, I’m happy, and with the right changes, you can enjoy the same
happiness!
Caterpillar: What you really
need is to take the time to relate to us caterpillars, to refresh yourself on
how to operate 100 legs, how to grip tree bark so as not to fall, and how to
chew leaves properly.
Butterfly: Don’t you
understand, such things are utterly irrelevant to me? Come, fly with me!
Where
is your mind right now? On the ground or in the air? Let’s bring it up from
bugs to humans:
Money
·
Do you think about how you can make more money? Do you dream of being
rich? Do you pursue schemes for making money? Do you worry about protecting
your investments? Or is money something you receive as God’s providence to
cover your needs. Setting your mind on things above would mean considering
money a means to pay for the
·
Giving is the antidote to greed. It is the giving up of riches in this
life to gain possessions from God.
·
Lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven (Matt. 6:19-21)
Sex
·
Do you think about the opposite sex in terms of the pleasure you can
draw to yourself? That is setting your mind on earthly things.
·
We should approach the opposite sex in order to bring the blessing of
God to them.
Food
·
Do you think a lot about food? Jesus said, "My food is to do the
will of Him who sent me and to accomplish His work. (John 4:34) Not “What will
I eat next” but “God, what do You have next for me to do?”
·
Fasting is a means of denying the pleasure of food in the present to
gain greater pleasure in God.
·
Do you look at food in terms of what pleasure you can draw from it, or
is it merely a means to strengthen us for our heavenly purposes on earth – a
means in which we can certainly take delight and be thankful for, but which is
nevertheless a means.
Leisure
·
What is free time for? Is it a time to throw off constraint and seek
pleasure for yourself? What do you do when you are off work, out of school, and
don’t have immediate responsibilities at home? Is it a time to switch on the
TV, numb our minds with music, relax at the bar, browse the mall, play games,
or wander aimlessly through the Internet? I submit to you that our leisure time
is the true test of our faith. We certainly need rest from work, but oftentimes
we take too much rest or we spend our rest time seeking to be renewed by
earthly things rather than by God. Our leisure time should be spent seeking the
things above, thinking about heavenly things, hiding with Christ in God. In
your reading, are you seeking the things above? When you listen to music, is it
stimulating your mind to think about heavenly things? When you spend time with
friends on the phone or on the playing field, are you bringing the
Children
·
Parents have a special temptation to set their minds on earthly things
when it comes to children, although it can happen in any other human
relationship. Do you draw meaning in life from the dependence of your children
upon you? Is the earthly success of your children so important that you would
sleight heavenly things to ensure it? Do you allow the constant messes your
children make to take your mind off Christ?
·
Well, if you were raised in Christ, seek the things above, where the
Christ is sitting on the right hand of God. Mind the things above, not the
things on the earth. For you died, and your life has been hidden together
within the Christ in God.
Col
If
you are Christian, you are dead. You are a corpse. Dead people cannot advance
up the corporate ladder. Dead people do not care what others think of them
anymore. Dead people don’t get excited at the sight of something interesting.
Dead people are not looking forward to their next meal or the next show.
They’re incapable of enjoying themselves on earth anymore. If you are a
believer, then you have died with Christ.
I
remember a funny story that a friend of mine told me about this. Steve Ward had
been reading about how he had died with Christ, identifying with Christ’s death
in baptism. One day he was driving along the highway in
Part of what it means that
our life is now hidden is that we are carrying eternal life hidden in a mortal
body. We have life that is hidden in Christ in heaven and is not clearly seen
on earth. We are inbetween two resurrections, the one which we have already
received and one yet to come.
There is a
resurrection yet to come.
·
2 Cor 4:14 “He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus
and bring us with you into His presence,
·
John 6:40, I will raise him up on the last day
·
I Cor 6:14; God will also raise us up by His power
·
15:52, At the last trumpet… the dead will be raised imperishable, and
we shall be changed
Note the future tense verb “will
raise/will be raised” in each.
You WILL be
What is glory
like?
·
like angels in heaven (Mat 22:30)
·
Cannot die because equal to angels (Luk 20:36)
Do you dream of a life where your friends aren’t dying off one by one?
·
He whom God raised up did not see corruption (Acts 13:37)
Do you dream of a life in which your body does not break down? No bad
joints, no bad memory, no pain, no sickness, no corruption!
·
That is raised is imperishable, glorious, powerful, spiritual (I Cor
15:42-44)
Do you dream of being gloriously beautiful or powerfully strong?
·
A better life (Heb 11:35)
Are you dreaming of a better life, or are satisfied with this one?
·
Reigning and judging others (Rev. 20:4-6) Or do you not know that the
saints will judge the world? … that we are to judge angels? How much more,
then, matters pertaining to this life! (I Cor 6:2-3)
Do you dream of a world where you don’t have to suffer, but can address the
injustices and make things right?
·
Believers will be in the presence of Jesus (2 Cor. 4:14) I am the God
of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob… not the God of the dead but of the living (Mk
12:26-27; Luke 20:37-38)
Do you dream of being able to see Jesus face to face, getting immediate
feedback when you pray, never having to wonder what God wants you to do, always
feeling that He is near you?
That
is heaven! That is something to look forward to! That is worth living for! That
kind of glory is worth seeking and setting my mind on! For this reason, we who
have been raised in Christ, also set our hopes on this glory to come:
Jesus’ promises
·
I am the resurrection and the life, Whoever believes in me, though he
die, yet shall he live (John 11:24)
·
Everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal
life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:40)
Historical Examples of faith/hope
·
It gave Paul confidence to go on trial in the Roman court system. “It
is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on
trial” (Acts 23:6; 24:15)
·
It gave Paul hope and courage to fight “beasts” at
·
It upheld martyrs who “were tortured, refusing to accept release so
that they might rise again to a better life.” (Heb 11:35 – referring to Eleazar
in 2 Maccabees 6:18-19)
Richard
Baxter, the puritan pastor wrote in 1649, “If then there be so certain and
glorious a rest for the saints, why is there no more industrious seeking after
it? One would think, if a man did once hear of such unspeakable glory to be
obtained, and believed what he heard to be true, he should be transported with
the vehemence of his desire after it, and should almost forget to eat and
drink, and should care for nothing else, and speak of and inquire after nothing
else, but how to get this treasure. And yet, people who hear of it daily, and
profess to believe it as a fundamental article of their faith, do as little
mind it, or labour for it, as if they had never heard of any such thing, or did
not believe one word they hear.”
Therefore, if you were
raised in Christ, seek the things above, where the Christ is sitting on the
right hand of God. 2 Mind the things above, not the things on the earth. 3 For
you died, and your life has been hidden together within the Christ in God. 4
Whenever the Christ (your life) shall be revealed, then also you together with
Him will be revealed in glory.
I
believe in the resurrection! No more mud pies for me!
