From the TeachingtheWord Bible Knowledgebase

Colossians chapters three and four show us a way of thinking and living that is completely contrary to the world's way: We are to declare the preeminence of Christ by our very lives.

In the book of Colossians, the Apostle Paul declares the preeminence of Christ in chapter one, and defends the preeminence of Christ in chapter two. In chapters three and four, he challenges believers with the imperative to demonstrate the preeminence of Christ in every area of our life and thinking.

Christ's preeminence demonstrated - the preeminence of Christ in the believer - is the theme of the remainder of the book of Colossians. "If then you were raised with Christ" (3:1), this is how you are to think, and this is how you are to live. Your life is to be a constant demonstration of the preeminence of the Lord Jesus Christ to your fellow believers and to the watching world.

How are we to think and live?

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

A Tremendous Statement to a Superficial World

"Seek those things which are above." "Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth." These words are a tremendous statement. These are words that run completely counter to the mindset of the unbelieving world. These words are in total opposition to the flesh, to human intuition, to human judgment and wisdom.

The unbelieving world lives for the things of this world. People live for the moment. They live for the immediate. "I will do what pleases me now, and not be concerned about the consequences, because, after all, right and wrong are relative terms, and I am only answerable to myself. I am only a product of time and chance, not special creation. There is no ultimate and singular standard. There is no ultimate Lawgiver. I make my own standards." That is the thinking of the unbelieving world in this postmodern age.

The life of the unbelieving world is a very superficial life, a very shallow way of thinking. If there is any thought for the future it is rarely in terms of eternity, but only in terms of the future on this earth. How can I make things more comfortable for myself here and now? How can I be successful in this world's terms? How can I guarantee that I will have enough of this world's wealth and this world's goods to last me until the end of my days, and perhaps provide an earthly legacy for my children?

What of the Church?

That is the way the world thinks. But dear friends, it is sad to say that this is also how most of the church thinks in our time. But what does the Holy Spirit say to us through the Apostle Paul? He says, "Seek those things which are above." "Set your mind on things above, not on things on earth." Is that what we find in the church today?

By and large, it is sad to say that the answer is No. The church has adopted the thinking of the world. How can our church and our people be successful in this world's terms? How can we make unsaved people feel more comfortable in order to draw them? How can we avoid talking about right and wrong? How can we avoid confronting anyone with the issues of God's moral law, the commands of God's Word? How can we avoid offending people in that way? How can we be more like the world so that we can be attractive to the world?

Dear friends, is this what the preeminent Christ demands of us? Is this how God's Word instructs us? Does God's Word tell us that the true Christian will ever be comfortable in this world? Does God's Word tell us that the true Christian will ever be loved and embraced by this world? Does God's Word tell us that our goal is to lay up treasures on earth?

No - God's Word tells us to think and to live in a way that is completely counter to the life and thinking of the fallen world. Completely opposite. Completely counter-intuitive. Pay attention to the words once again:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Why? "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God." If you are truly a Christian, if you were truly raised with Christ, if you have truly passed from spiritual death to spiritual life - then you are dead to the things of this present world. The true church is likewise dead to the things of this world. We are dead to its way of thinking. We are dead to its way of living. We are dead to its philosophy. We are dead to its goals and pursuits. We are alive in Christ and to Christ. We are of an entirely different order from those who can live only for the present, because they have no future except an eternity of death. We have an eternity of glory. This life - the present life of the individual believer and the life of the true church - is preparation for the life of glory yet to come.

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