Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:1 – 4New International Version
These notes were first written on Sun 2024-08-18
This well known passage from the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians tells us that we who have been baptised in the Name of Iesus the Anointed One have gone through three changes:
- We have died with the Anointed v.3
- We have been hidden with the Anointed in God v.3
- We have been raised with the Anointed v.1
We are also told in v.4 that we will undergo one more change at the Second Coming of Our Lord Iesus
- We will also appear with Him in glory v.4
The teaching of being buried with the Anointed in baptism, and of being raised with Him is also written in an earlier passage in Colossians chapter two:
having been buried with him in baptism,
in which you were also raised with him
through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.
Colossians 2:12New International Version
Verses 1 and 2 in this passage tells us what we must do with our lives in this world while we look forward to appear with Our Lord Iesus in glory on the day of His return:
. . . set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things
As children of God, we who have died, buried, and raised with Our Lord the Anointed One, let us look forward to appear with Our Lord when he returns in glory. Let us set our minds on heavenly things above us, at the throne of God where Our Lord is seated at the right hand of God. Let us beware of the tempations of many things around us in this world.
Finally verses 5 to 10 of Colossians chapter three teaches us to "put to death", to get rid of our old ways and practices.
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.[b] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also 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.
Colossians 3:5 – 10New International Version
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord Iesus, since we have been raised with the Anointed One, let us set our hearts and minds on things above, where our Lord is seated at the right hand of God. Let us also get rid of our old ways and put on our new selves in the Anointed One.
I have previously written on similar passages in the following posts:
