Scripture Reading: Col. 3:1-3; Heb. 4:14; 7:24-26; 8:1-2
In writing Epistles such as Ephesians and Colossians, Paul first presents a revelation, mainly of Christ and the church, and then speaks concerning our Christian walk. The first three chapters of Ephesians cover the revelation concerning the church. The second three chapters are concerned with the walk worthy of God’s calling. Likewise, the first two chapters of Colossians present a profound revelation of the all-inclusive and extensive Christ, whereas the last two chapters cover the proper Christian walk.
In Colossians 1 and 2 Paul covers many aspects of the all-inclusive Christ. He shows us that Christ is the portion of the saints, the image of the invisible God, the Firstborn of all creation, the Firstborn from among the dead, and the mystery of God. According to 1:27, such a Christ dwells in us as our hope of glory.
Colossians 3:1 says, “If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.” Paul’s use of the word therefore in this verse indicates that chapters three and four are the outcome of chapters one and two and are based on those chapters. After presenting so many marvelous truths concerning Christ, Paul tells us to therefore seek the things which are above, where Christ is.
In 3:3 Paul says that our “life has been hidden with Christ in God.” Notice that Paul does not say that our life is hidden with Christ in heaven. Rather, he tells us that our life is hidden in God, in the living, divine Person. This indicates that God Himself is the realm, the sphere, in which we should live and walk.
In this message we shall see that we are one with Christ in the things above. In the following messages we shall consider the renewing of the new man, the arbitrating peace of Christ, the word of Christ inhabiting us, and persevering in prayer. If we are one with Christ in the things above, we shall have the renewing of the new man. Then, in a practical way, the new man will be realized through the arbitrating peace of Christ. Then we shall have the word of Christ inhabiting us, and we shall persevere in prayer. These five points are crucial aspects of chapters three and four of Colossians. If these points were removed from Colossians 3 and 4, these chapters would be lacking in substance.
These five important matters have much to do with our Christian walk. They are very different from the ethical teachings commonly given to Christians. According to those ethical teachings, believers are charged to improve their behavior, to be good neighbors, to be submissive, and to be loving. There is no doubt that those things are in the Bible. However, they can easily be understood according to the natural concept. Man’s natural mind would never conceive of matters such as being one with Christ in the things above, experiencing the renewing of the new man, or having the peace of Christ arbitrating in us. Of course, in the book of Colossians Paul has something to say about husbands and wives, masters and slaves, parents and children. But his word is related to the new man, the peace of Christ, the word of Christ, and persevering in prayer.
Married brothers know how difficult it is for husbands to truly love their wives, and married sisters know that it is difficult for wives to be genuinely submissive to their husbands. It is extremely difficult to be a proper husband or wife. It is even difficult to be a human being. Since man was created to express God and represent Him, to be a proper human is to be God’s expression and representation. But it is difficult to represent another person or an organization; how much more difficult it is to represent God. If it is difficult to be a proper human being, it is all the more difficult to be a Christian, especially a Christian who lives Christ. Paul could say, “To me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). Who among us can say that we are able to live Christ? If we see God’s standard, we shall feel like giving up, for we shall realize that in ourselves we cannot meet God’s requirements. Although it is impossible for us in ourselves to meet God’s standard, with Christ this is possible. When we have the realization that we cannot meet God’s requirements, we can open to receive grace. Grace is the Triune God coming into us to express Himself, to represent Himself, and to live Himself in us and through us. Experiencing the grace of God in this way is altogether different from trying to improve our behavior or attempting in ourselves to meet God’s requirements.
In the Life-study of Exodus we pointed out that in His salvation God does not want us to do anything or to be anything. Instead, He wants to do everything for us and to be everything to us. This is indicated by the fact that after God brought the children of Israel out of Egypt, He changed their diet. When God’s people were in Egypt, they had an Egyptian diet and ate the Egyptian meat, fish, onions, cucumbers, leeks, and garlic. This caused them to become Egyptian in their constitution. They were a composition of the Egyptian food they had eaten. But in Exodus 16 God provided manna for the children of Israel to eat. Their diet was to be changed from Egyptian food to heavenly food. Manna is a type of Christ as our life supply. If we eat Christ as typified by manna, we shall be constituted of Christ. In this way, our constitution will be changed, and our flesh will be dealt with genuinely and thoroughly.
We should not think that in ourselves we can be a proper husband or wife. However, the One who has come to live in us is able. This One is Christ, our hope of glory.
In chapter three Paul goes on to tell us that we are with Christ in God. First, Christ is in us, but eventually we are with Christ in God. Furthermore, according to 3:4, the Christ who dwells in us is our life. Inwardly we have Christ as our life, and outwardly we have God as our realm and sphere. Sometimes I have the sense when traveling in a car that actually I am traveling in God. He is the realm in which we live and walk. The Christ who dwells in us is life, but the God in whom we are hidden with Christ is the realm of our living. We should be able to testify that we are living not on earth nor even just in heaven, but in God.
In ourselves it is not possible for us to be in God. We can only be hidden in God with Christ. Many have been helped to see that through Christ’s incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection, God has been wrought into us. But not as many see clearly that we have also been brought into God. Since God is in us and we are in Him, there is two-way traffic between God and us. On the one hand, Colossians tells us that Christ is in us. This indicates that God has been wrought into us. Because Christ is in us, God has been wrought into us. But in chapter three we are told that we are with Christ in God. This indicates that we have been brought into God. Therefore, God is now in us as our life, and we are in God as the realm of our living.
We should praise the Lord not only that the Triune God is in us, but also that we are in the Triune God. Christ came by incarnation to bring God into us, and He went back to God by crucifixion and resurrection to bring us into God. Concerning this two-way traffic, we should not be restricted by the natural concept. It is crucial for us to see that Christ came both to work God into us and to bring us into God.
Since we have been brought into God and are hidden with Christ in God, God should be the realm of our living. If we live and walk in God, we shall be heavenly. However, in the book of Colossians, Paul does not speak of heaven, and he does not use the word heavenly. Instead, he mentions the things above. We need to seek the things which are above and set our mind on them.
The word therefore in 3:1 indicates that we need to look back at chapters one and two, since Paul’s word in chapters three and four is based upon what he has covered in the first two chapters. According to Colossians 1 and 2, the Colossians had been distracted and were paying their attention to the elements of the world (2:8). These elements included Judaistic observances, Gnostic philosophy, mysticism, and asceticism. Paul wanted the Colossian believers to see that all these isms are elements of the world and that the saints should not be distracted by them. Since Christ has been wrought into us to be our life, and since we have been brought into God, where our life is hidden with Christ, we should no longer be occupied with the elements of the world. Instead, we should remain in God and seek the things above. God is our sphere. Since He is the realm in which we live and walk, we should no longer care for the elements of the world.
From Paul’s writings we can see that Christians are peculiar people who do not need religious teachings or ethical admonitions. What makes Christians peculiar is that we have Christ in us as our life and we have God, the living Person, as our realm. Confucius was ethical, but he was not peculiar in this way. We should praise the Lord that we are not common, but peculiar. The young people may need to testify to their parents that they are young people with Christ in them and that they are with Christ in God.
If we see the vision, the revelation, that Christ is in us as our life and that we are in God as our sphere, we shall be changed. We would realize that we have no need for religious or ethical teachings. What need do we have for the elements of the world, for Judaism, Gnosticism, mysticism, or asceticism? We are not common — we have Christ, and we are in God. How good it would be for a husband and wife to testify to one another that they are peculiar because they have Christ and are living in God. If a husband and wife would have such a realization and speak about it to each other, there would be no room for quarreling or for the expression of opinion. Oh, may we all realize that according to the Bible, Christ is in us as our hope of glory and that with Christ we are hidden in God! Now we must live and walk in God. What revelation could be higher or more precious than this? Day by day may we enjoy and experience having Christ in us and being with Christ in God.
With this as a foundation, we are now prepared to consider what it means to be one with Christ in the things above. The things above are related to the second of Christ’s two ministries. The first aspect of Christ’s ministry was His ministry on earth. Lasting thirty-three and a half years, this ministry began with Christ’s incarnation and was concluded with His crucifixion. During the years He was on earth, Christ accomplished much in His ministry. Through His death on the cross, He accomplished redemption for us. All Christians are familiar with the earthly ministry of Jesus and value it very highly, for it is through this ministry that we have been saved.
As important as Christ’s earthly ministry was, it is not the main aspect of His ministry. The primary part of His ministry is His ministry in heaven. By His earthly ministry He redeemed us, saved us, and regenerated us. But by His heavenly ministry, He is building the church. The Body of Christ needs the heavenly ministry of Christ, the ministry of Christ above, in order to be built up.
Today Christ is more busy in heaven than He was when He was on earth. Years ago, I was taught by some that when Christ finished His redemptive work, He ascended to heaven where He is now resting, waiting until His enemy is made His footstool. According to this teaching, Christ’s work is finished, and He has nothing more to do. Although I accepted this teaching at first, I later learned that it presents only part of the truth. Yes, as far as Christ’s earthly ministry for redemption is concerned, the work is finished, and He is at rest. There is no need for Him to do anything further in order to redeem us. However, the Lord’s goal is not merely to redeem us and regenerate us; His goal is to have the church, the Body, the Bride. This goal is more difficult to attain than the goal of accomplishing redemption. Christ’s work on earth for redemption took, at most, thirty-three and a half years. But His work for the building up of His Body has been going on for more than nineteen centuries, and still it is not complete. Christ certainly has much to do in heaven.
Perhaps you are wondering what the Lord Jesus is doing in heaven to reach the goal of building up His Body. According to the book of Hebrews, Christ today is the High Priest and the heavenly Minister (2:17; 4:14; 7:26; 8:1-2). As the High Priest, He is interceding for us, and as the heavenly Minister He is supplying us with the riches of God. In His intercession Christ brings us with our need to God. In His ministry He brings the riches of God to us.
Christ’s heavenly ministry has much to do with our practical daily life. We have already pointed out that it is difficult to be a good husband in the church life. Realizing their shortcomings, many brothers may confess to the Lord that they simply are not able to be a proper husband. Whenever a brother admits his need to the Lord in this way, immediately the Lord as the High Priest intercedes for him and brings his need to God. Then, as the heavenly Minister, He supplies all that is necessary to be a good husband. Toward God, Christ is the High Priest for us; toward us, He is the heavenly Minister for God. Because Christ intercedes for us and ministers His riches into us, a brother may find that as soon as he confesses that he cannot be a good husband, he has the sweet sense and deep conviction within that he can be a good husband. This sweet, inward assurance comes from Christ’s heavenly ministry, from His prayer for our need and from His ministry of the rich life supply into us.
I encourage you to tell the Lord that you simply are not able to do certain things. This will stir Him to pray for you. For example, out of defeat you may confess, “Lord, I simply am not able to be holy.” Immediately, He will intercede for you and minister His riches into you. Thus, there will be a spiritual transmission, transaction, and traffic between God and you because of Christ’s ministry as High Priest and Minister. As a result of Christ’s heavenly ministry, you will have the sense within that although, in yourself, you cannot be holy, it is still possible for you to be holy in Him.
The things above mentioned in Colossians 3 are the things related to the heavenly ministry of Christ, to Christ’s ministry as our High Priest and God’s Minister. We should not be occupied with earthly things and with the elements of the world, but should realize that we are hidden with Christ in God. We should then seek the things above and set our mind on them. We should set our mind on Christ’s intercession and on His ministry for the building up of His Body.
As we seek the things above, the new man will be renewed in a full way. In a very practical sense, the new man comes into existence through our seeking the things which are above. Therefore, if the new man is to be expressed on earth, we need to see Christ as our High Priest and heavenly Minister and also experience the two-way traffic between the heavenly Christ and us.
We need to be those who respond to Christ’s heavenly ministry. For centuries, Christ has tried without adequate success to get a people to respond to His ministry in the heavens. By His mercy and grace, there is on earth today a group of people in the Lord’s recovery responding to Christ’s heavenly ministry. Let us be those who tell the Lord that we are one with Him in this ministry. Day and night, we need to respond to the Christ who is above all. When I respond to the Lord, saying, “Amen, Lord,” I have the conviction deep within that Christ is interceding and ministering, that He is transmitting His riches into me and infusing me with the element of God. Because of this transmission and infusion, I am filled and stirred for the Lord’s interests. Sometimes I am so beside myself with joy that I hardly know what to do. This is what it means to seek the things above.
If we seek the things above and are one with Christ in the things above, we shall not care for religion, philosophy, or ethical teachings, all of which are elements of the world. Rather, we shall care only for Christ’s intercession for His Body and for the transmission of His riches into His members. I have the full assurance that many of the saints in the local churches are experiencing the transfusion of the riches of Christ. Because we have such a transfusion, we do not need ethics, culture, or religion. We simply need more and more oneness with Christ in His heavenly ministry. Praise Him for His intercession, for His ministry, and for the traffic between heaven and earth!
We need to be impressed with the fact that the Christ who is in heaven is very busy. Consider how many local churches He takes care of throughout the world. Christ’s ministry in heaven is all for the goal of building up the Body and forming His Bride. However, Christ’s ministry in heaven requires our response. We need to become on earth the very reflection of that heavenly ministry. When we seek the things above, we respond to the Lord’s heavenly ministry and reflect it. Our experience testifies of this. If in our prayer we are willing to forget insignificant matters and care for the things above, we shall become conscious of the traffic between us and Christ in heaven. We shall sense a current flowing back and forth between Him and us. By means of this kind of prayer, the divine riches are transfused into us. This enables us to be one with others and to be right with everyone. This also issues in the renewing of the new man. Through the heavenly transmission and transfusion, the new man comes into existence in a practical way. Hence, the new man is not produced by teaching; the new man is produced by the heavenly traffic, transaction, and transfusion.
My burden in this message has been to point out where we all need to be — one with Christ in His heavenly ministry. We all need to keep ourselves one with Christ in the things above. We should not be distracted by ethical admonitions of any sort. All such admonitions are elements of the world. We should be concerned only with Christ and His ministry in heaven. The Christ who is seated in heaven is working, interceding, and ministering. Let us be one with Him in these things. This is to be one with Christ in the things above. Whenever we are one with Him in the things above, we experience a divine transfusion. Then we are brought into God, and God is brought into us. This comes from the interceding and ministering of the all-inclusive Christ.
