Things Above Colossians 3:1-4 Years Ago, Guy Pearce Starred in A
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Things Above Colossians 3:1-4 Years ago, Guy Pearce starred in a film titled Memento. In the movie, Pearce plays the role of a man named Leonard Shelby who tries to track down the person who murdered his wife. But Shelby’s search for his wife’s killer is complicated by the fact that he suffered a blow to the head by the person who murdered his wife – and as a result, he suffers from anterograde amnesia. Because of this, Shelby struggles to remember anything for more than a just a few minutes. To compensate, he creates a sophisticated system of notes, Polaroid photos and tattoos in order to help him remember facts that will help him find his wife's killer. His ultimate goal is to exact revenge. In the film, Shelby’s efforts to solve the crime are further complicated by a few shady characters. These people tell Shelby lies about his past and his true identity. In a pivotal scene in the film, a character by the name of Teddy says to Shelby, “You don't know who you are anymore.” Shelby responds, “Of course I do. I'm Leonard Shelby. I'm from San Francisco.” Teddy says, “No, that's who you were. Maybe it's time you started investigating yourself.” Following this, Shelby experiences a series of revelations that causes him to begin questioning himself – and this eventually leads to the film's shocking conclusion. As followers of Jesus Christ, we’re sometimes a lot like Leonard Shelby. What I mean is - we forget who we are. We forget our true identity in Christ. Our culture has conditioned to believe that our identity is defined by what we achieve – so we chase after things like wealth, fame, power and success. We’re told these are the essential ingredients of a happy life. But the Bible tells us that our true identity is something we receive as a gift from God. This morning as we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, I’d like to talk about our identity in Christ. Why is understanding our true identity in Christ important? How should this impact the way we live? Let’s open our Bible’s to Colossians chapter 3. 2 Colossians chapter 3 marks a transition point in this letter. In chapters 1-2, Paul addressed a number of important doctrinal issues. He did this to correct false teaching that the believers in Colosse had been hearing. We learned last week that false teachers in the church promoted elements of philosophy, mysticism, asceticism and the worship of angels. Scholars tell us this was an early form of Gnosticism. The believers in Colosse were confused about the things that were being taught. So, Paul wrote this letter to reaffirm the message of the gospel and to remind the Colossians about their identity in Christ. Now – in verses 1-4 of this 3rd chapter, Paul tries to impress upon the Colossians that because they are new creations in Christ – this should have a positive impact on the way they live. And so, from verse 5 of this 3rd chapter – through the end of this letter, Paul talks about things we must put off as followers of Christ (immorality, impurity, evil desire, anger and wrath) and he then talks about the things we must put on. Paul explains how the Christlike qualities of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience can impact relationships for the good. Following on, he talks about the relationships between husbands and wives - parents and their children – and masters and slaves. In all of this, Paul tells us that godly living will impact our attitude, our ambitions, our affections and our outlook on life. Chapter 3 begins with these words: 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. There are four important truths that Paul underscores in this passage. Write these down in your outline. In verse 1, he tells us that: 1. We have been raised with Christ. Please note the tense of Paul’s language. He isn’t talking about a future event – he’s talking about a present reality. We have been raised with Christ! This, by the way, is a familiar theme in Paul’s writing. In chapter 2 and verse 12 3 Paul said: ….you were also raised with him through faith…” What does this phrase mean? It means if we have received Christ as Savior and Lord, we share in the victory of His resurrection. It means there is a new power working in our lives – God’s resurrection power – and this power enables us to walk in newnesss of life. Paul writes similar words in Ephesians 2:5-6: Even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. What is Paul saying in this passage? Among many things, he’s saying that a person who is dead in sins cannot resurrect themselves. God must do it for them. Spiritual regeneration is an act of God. Paul says we have been raised with Christ. We find the second truth in verse 3. Paul tells us that: 2. We died with Christ. Paul says in verse 3: For you have died. This is another phrase we’ve seen before in this letter. Paul said this in chapter 2 – verses 12-13. When the Bible says we have died with Christ it means we have died to our old way of living. We have been severed from the old life. Paul explains this reality this way in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. A number of years ago in Dearborn, Michigan – an employee of the Ford Motor Company was terminated from his job. A few days after he was fired, he returned to the Ford plant with a gun and he took his foreman and some of his former fellow workers hostage. There was a tense stand-off for several hours. One of the workers taken hostage was a bi-vocational pastor of a church in Detroit. The pastor pleaded with the man to release the hostages and to surrender – but the man became more angry and agitated. He pointed his gun at the pastor and screamed, “I should just kill you!” The pastor calmly replied, “You can’t kill me. I’m already a dead man.” The Bible says we have died to our old life – and we’ve been raised to newness of life in Christ. We find another truth in verse 3. Paul says: 4 3. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. What does this passage mean? New Testament scholar Dr. F.F. Bruce points out that the phrase “hidden with Christ” is a play on a familiar Greek term “hidden in the earth.” In ancient Hellenistic culture, when a person died and was buried – people commonly said that person was “hidden in the earth.” It’s quite possible that Paul was playing off that familiar phrase. Think about the word “hidden” for a moment. The word “hidden” implies concealment and safety. Let me share a simple illustration. Imagine you’re holding a business card and you put it somewhere in the middle of your Bible - and you then close your Bible and hold it shut. That’s a picture of what it’s like for a Christian to be hidden with Christ in God. We’re enveloped, surrounded and protected by God. I think you would agree - it’s sometimes hard to feel secure in a world like this. We worry about our health – or we worry that someone may harm us or someone we love. We worry about our financial security. We sometimes wring our hands with anxiety and ask, “What if I lose my job? What if I experience some kind of financial reversal? What will I do?” This world militates against our sense of security. If you don’t feel very secure this morning, pleased be comforted by the fact that your life is hidden with Christ in God. Beloved, we’re not insecure if God is looking after us! What did Jesus say about our security? Look at John 10:28: And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. Our life is hidden with Christ in God. 4. We will appear with Christ in glory. Look at verse 4: When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Paul is pointing us toward that final day when all of the sadness and struggles of this life will be over – and we will be with the Lord. The Bible tells us that a day is coming when we’ll be like Christ. 1 John 3:2 says: Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.