Raised with Christ: Seeking Heavenly Things, Putting Off Sin

Paul makes Colossians 3:1 a hinge point. Chapters 1 and 2 establish who Jesus is, fully God and more than sufficient, while chapters 3 and 4 show what that truth does in the life of a believer. False teachers had tried to make Jesus seem less than enough, as though spiritual fullness came through more knowledge, more rules, or more experiences. Christ, however, is seated above at the right hand of God in the place of honor, majesty, and authority.

The believer’s identity with Christ changes everything. Baptism pictures identification with Jesus in His death, burial, and resurrection, and Paul says that believers have already been raised with Christ. New life gives believers the capacity to live a new kind of life. The call to seek things above means diligently pursuing Christ Himself, because Jesus is above.

The mind set on things above does not abandon the world or ignore earthly responsibilities. Heavenly values instead shape imaginations, emotions, thoughts, decisions, and actions while believers live as God’s ambassadors in a lost and dying world. Eternity should impact the right now. Earthly things must be seen against the backdrop of what lasts forever.

Paul grounds that call in a past reality, a present truth, and a future expectation. The past declares that believers died to sin and no longer belong under its dominating power. The present declares that life is hidden with Christ in God, doubly secure in the hands of Christ and the Father. The future declares that hidden life will be openly displayed when Christ appears and believers appear with Him in glory.

Christ is not merely the giver of life. Christ is life. Accomplishments, attention, and accolades cannot become the point, even when believers do all things with excellence unto the Lord. Christ remains the focus of aspiration, motivation, and transformation.

Paul therefore calls for ruthless action against the old life. Sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed must be put to death, not regulated or tucked away in a shoebox for later. Greed exposes idolatry because it assumes that all things and passions exist for personal benefit, placing the self where God belongs. Anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy language, and lying must likewise be thrown out like worn-out clothes.

The new self belongs to a new community, the church. Sin damages more than an individual because it wounds the whole body. Christ removes the dividing power of racial, ritual, cultural, and social barriers, for Christ is all and in all. Christ alone ties the spiritually alive together.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Christ is not merely life’s giver Christ Himself is the gift, the blessing, and the life of the believer. Earthly accomplishments can be received and pursued with excellence, but they cannot become the center. Christ redirects every aspiration away from self-importance and toward His glory. [42:32]
• 2. Seek above without abandoning earthly responsibilities The mind set on things above does not drift through life in a fog. Heaven’s priorities shape how believers see work, relationships, decisions, and the world around them. Eternity presses into the temporal and gives the right now its proper weight. [35:36]
• 3. Put sin to death ruthlessly Paul’s image is not careful management of sin but complete extermination. Sin kept in a corner remains accessible when temptation comes calling. Christ calls believers to stop treating old patterns like possessions worth saving. [49:13]
• 4. Greed reveals an idolatrous self-focus Greed assumes that everything exists for personal satisfaction and personal gain. That assumption puts the self in the position that belongs to God alone. Christ lifts the believer’s aim beyond always needing more of what cannot truly satisfy. [51:12]
• 5. Sin wounds the whole church body The old self disrupts community through distorted passions, uncontrolled emotions, destructive speech, and dishonesty. The new self grows in ways that enhance harmony among those made alive in Christ. Christ alone overcomes the barriers that otherwise divide His people.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [27:01] - Colossians 3 and Christ’s Sufficiency
• [30:24] - Raised With Christ
• [35:36] - Setting Minds on Things Above
• [38:11] - Dead to Sin and Hidden in Christ
• [41:15] - Christ Who Is Your Life
• [45:34] - Putting the Old Life to Death
• [49:13] - Ruthless Warfare Against Sin
• [51:12] - Greed as Idolatry
• [54:15] - Throwing Off Old Behaviors
• [56:54] - Putting On the New Self
• [60:22] - Christ Is All and in All
• [62:05] - Responding to Christ

Bible Reading

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. 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. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
[27:01] [30:24] [35:36] [38:11] [41:15]

Colossians 3:5-11
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”
[45:34] [49:13] [51:12] [54:15] [56:54] [01:00:22]

Romans 6:2
“By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?”
[39:26]

John 10:28-29
“I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.”
[40:46]

Philippians 1:21
“For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
[43:22]

Observation questions

1. In Colossians 3:1-4, what does Paul say believers have already received, what are they commanded to do, and where is Christ now? [30:24]
2. What contrast does Paul make between a life “hidden with Christ in God” and the day when Christ appears in glory? [41:15]
3. Which sins in verses 5-11 deal with inward desires, and which ones show up especially in speech and relationships? [54:15]
4. What kinds of barriers does Paul name in verse 11, and what single truth does he give to overcome those divisions? [01:00:22]

Interpretation questions

1. Paul connects being raised with Christ to seeking things above. Why does new identity in Christ need to come before changed behavior? [33:32]
2. What does it look like for heavenly priorities to shape a believer’s ordinary work, family life, decisions, and responsibilities without causing them to withdraw from the world? [36:06]
3. Paul calls greed idolatry. How does the belief that everything exists for personal benefit place the self in God’s place? [51:32]
4. Paul says believers have put off the old self and put on the new self. How do sins such as anger, slander, obscene talk, and lying damage the life and unity of a church? [59:41]

Application questions

1. What has been taking up most of your attention lately—something temporary or Christ and His priorities? What is one specific way you could set your mind more intentionally on things above this week? [37:46]
2. Christ is not only the giver of life; Christ is the believer’s life. Where are you most tempted to look for your identity—achievement, attention, possessions, relationships, or something else? [42:46]
3. Is there an old pattern of sin that you have been managing, hiding, or keeping available “just in case,” rather than putting it to death? What might real repentance and a clear next step look like? [49:33]
4. Greed can show itself as always needing more. Where do you notice dissatisfaction or a sense that you will finally be content once you have one more thing, one more opportunity, or one more recognition? [51:48]
5. Which relational sin is most likely to come out when you are tired, frustrated, or hurt: simmering anger, sudden rage, malice, slander, harsh speech, or dishonesty? How could you seek forgiveness or pursue a different response this week? [55:19]
6. Sin never stays private; it affects the whole body of Christ. Is there a relationship in the church, home, or group that needs honesty, repentance, forgiveness, or a conversation aimed at peace? [59:51]
7. Christ is all and in all. Are there differences of background, culture, age, preferences, or social standing that make it difficult for you to pursue unity with other believers? How can keeping Christ central change the way you approach them? [01:01:15]