Day 82: So, How Do We Walk In The Truth?

Colossians 3:2-3
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”

In Christ, we are deeply loved, fully accepted, empowered, and truly set free. It is important to understand all that has been given to us “In Christ.” These blessings shape the way we live as we walk with Christ and grow to become more like Him. 

In the last week of readings in Realizing Your New Identity in Christ, we pull together many of the major truths we have been exploring in this study and talk about how they prepare us for the next studies in this series. We discuss the importance of having a vision of who we are in Christ and keeping our eyes focused on Him. Our hope is that the more you understand these truth about yourself and your relationship with Father-God in Christ, the better equipped and encouraged you will be to share these Truths with others. 

WORDwork:

Colossians 3:1-4
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3:3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

What do you think Paul means by “if” you have been raised with Christ?

What are we to “seek”?

What are we to “set our minds” on?

What do you think this means?

Explain 3:3 in your own words. 

What will happen to us when Christ appears?

This powerful passage from Paul’s letter to the Colossians sums up some of the central truths that bind all that we have been discussing in this study together. Paul begins with “If you have been raised with Christ…” The grammar of this statement indicates that Paul is more literally implying, “Since you have been raised with Christ…” As we heard earlier, Father-God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens and has raised us up there with Christ (see Ephesians 1:3, 2:6). That is our new POSITION before Father-God, in His Kingdom: Raised with Christ in the Heavens!!!! 

Because that is who we are, we are to seek the things above, and set our minds on things above. We are not to be captivated by the things of the earth. Paul explains this in the following verses:

Colossians 3:5–8
So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry. 3:6 Because of these things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience. 3:7 You also lived your lives in this way at one time, when you used to live among them. 3:8 But now, put off all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth.

The Kingdom of the Heavens is not defined by these sinful things. Christ is not defined by these corrupt desires and actions. Before we trusted Christ, we were enslaved and defined by these things. But now, In Christ, we have the ability to put them to death. This is a topic we will discuss in detail in our next unit Rooted and Growing in Christ. 

Paul goes on to say:

Colossians 3:9–14
Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices 3:10 and have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. 3:11 Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.
3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 3:13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. 3:14 And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond.

Again, we are going to be studying this passage in detail in the next study unit. For now, we want you to see that as we receive and realize all the “birthright blessings” we have been exploring, we are also called to be people who are shaped by these blessings. This is what it means to walk in the truth. 

Living with this VISION of who we truly are in Christ will transform our lives. As we keep our hope fixed on Jesus, we are purified by God’s power and grace as we make our journey toward our conclusion in Him. As we think on Him and as we grow in His grace and Knowledge (2 Peter 3:18) we will become more and more like Him in the way we live our lives. We are making a choice to turn from our old way of life to follow The Way of New Life that is found in Christ. 

Notice how Paul concludes the first part of this passage: “You have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” This one statement brings together some of our main themes: 1) In Christ, we have died to our old way of life, and 2) our lives are hidden “with Christ.” Remember what John said about this:

1 John 3:2
Dear friends, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. 3:3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure.

We are still waiting to see who we will truly be. We get a taste of it now. We get a glimpse of it now as we see Christ’s goodness and live that goodness out in the Church, the Body of Christ. But we still don’t see fully. We still have not experienced all that Father-God has in store for us. Take note of what Paul says about this:

Colossians 3:4
When Christ who is your life appears,
then you also will appear with Him in glory. 

As we have already heard, we are and will be glorified in Christ. What does this look like? We don’t know for sure yet. We do know it will be far better than we can imagine now:

1 Corinthians 2:9
But just as it is written,
“Things that no eye has seen, or ear heard, or mind imagined,
are the things God has prepared for those who love him.”

Keeping these amazing truths in mind is a critical part of walking in the truth. Keeping the amazing destiny that Father-God has prepared for you In Christ and is now making real through the presence and power of His Spirit keeps us focused upward to where Christ is, to our true eternal lives hidden in Him.

Take a few minutes to turn back to the chart HERE. Read through all those blessings again and think about how these truths should shape the way you view yourself In Christ. Think about how these truths should shape the way you view your brothers and sister In Christ. 

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*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.