Articles
Seeking Things Above – Col. 3
Seeking Things Above – Col. 3
Paul begins this chapter: “Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ.” Bob Utley in his comments on this sentence said that “This is a FIRST CLASS CONDITIONAL SENTENCE which is assumed to be true from the author’s perspective or for his literary purposes. Believers have been co-raised with Christ.”
They had, in fact, become disciples in the same way as had all disciples in the first century: believing and being baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:18-20). Paul had already affirmed concerning them: “10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority; 11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ; 12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions” (Colossians 2:10-13).
Being disciples, they were to be taught “to observe all things whatsoever” that Jesus had taught/revealed (again Matt. 28:18-20). So, Paul instructs them:
1) to keep seeking the things above
2) such seeking involved SETTING their minds on things above
3) Such setting of their minds on things above involved ‘considering the members of their earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed”.
Such is the discipleship as taught them by Paul. In any Roman city, such disciples would have stood out like the proverbial sore thumb! Have YOU become a disciple in this manner of being raised up? Are you walking as a disciple? What is it that you are seeking out of life? Is it really things above?
Hugh DeLong
