Colossians 3:1-4

We’re familiar with technology called virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR).

1. VR uses computer, audio, and visual innovation to create a simulated, immersive environment that you can interact with as though it is the real world. You cannot see this simulated world unless you wear proper equipment, like a VR headset.
2. AR also uses computer innovation, but to overlay your real-world environment with simulated elements that enhance the way you interact with the physical world around you. You cannot see these simulated elements unless you use proper equipment, like phones with a camera and AR apps.

Now there’s another perspective in Scripture that I’ll call spiritual reality (SR). This perspective is far more important that VR and AR because it isn’t the illusionary result of man-made technology. It’s the result of Jesus, our God and Savior, dying, resurrecting, and returning to the throne of God in victory over sin, death, and hell.

Today, God calls believers – followers of Jesus – to live according to these realities, even though we cannot see them with our eyes. We need to be reminded about this perspective because we easily forget. We easily turn our attention to the things that we see in the physical world and feel with our physical bodies.

Unlike with VR and AR, no headsets or apps let us see these spiritual realities. We gain this perspective instead by reading Scripture. One such reminder occurs in Colossians 3:1-4, where Paul reminds us to live based upon these unseen spiritual realities.

A vibrant Christian life focuses on three invisible realities.

Paul opens this section of Scripture with the word if, which qualifies what he is about to say. He is not speaking to everyone in the world. He is speaking exclusively to people who “were raised with Christ” (v. 1) and who “died” with him (v. 3).

The past reality – you died and resurrected with Christ.

As you know, these two realities, dying and resurrecting with Christ, are not physical realities. While it is true that Jesus died and rose again, you were not even born when he did that, nor have you died and resurrected in any physical sense. Though every believer looks forward to a future bodily resurrection (Rom 8:11; 1 Cor 15:22-23, 50-55), that is not what Paul is describing here.

Paul is speaking about a spiritual reality that theologians call union with Christ,and it appears throughout Paul’s NT writings (see Rom 6:2; 2 Cor. 5:14; Gal. 2:20; Col. 2:20). One man explains it this way: “This is what it means to be “in (union with) Christ”: it is to share his death, burial, and resurrection, his glorious position at God’s right side, and his final coming in power.”[1]

• In Ephesians 2:5-6, Paul writes, “When we were dead in trespasses, [God, v. 4 ] made us alive together with Christ … and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
• Colossians 2:13 is similar when it says, “You, being dead in your trespasses … he has made alive together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses.”

Union with Christ means that you are so closely connected to Christ that his death and resurrection have effectively become your death and resurrection in a spiritual way. Both in the sight of God and in reality, you have already entered God’s kingdom. Though you still live in this temporal world, you’ve moved on to a new spiritual dimension with Christ.

The present reality – your life is hidden in Christ.

Your past and permanent connection with Christ in his death and resurrection extends to your present, ongoing situation. The true nature of your spiritual condition before God is hidden or concealed from public view. No one can see that your sins have been forgiven and that you have a close relationship with God through Christ, because no one can see your spiritual nature, and no one can see Christ. In fact, your new spiritual life is so closely tied to Christ that he “is our life” (v. 4) even though he does not appear in a visible way to anyone today.

The future reality – you will appear with Christ in glory.

Though Christ does not appear in a visible way today, he will eventually appear and reveal himself in a visible way in the future. This future appearance by Christ will be glorious (“in glory,” v. 4). He will be far more impressive than all the light screens at Times Square I assure you, but then get this – you are so closely connected to him that you will not only see him in this glorious way, but you will share this glory with him.

These invisible realities require an invisible response.

In these four verses, Paul describes invisible realities that describe the true nature of your close connection with Jesus Christ. No one can see these realities, yet they should influence your daily life in definite ways, affecting your desires and mindset.

Desire the power and privileges that Christ provides.

Paul says that believers should “seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (v. 1) The word seek means to desire and pursue after something. In this case, it refers to Christ sitting at the right hand of God, which is where Christ went after he resurrected and ascended skyward to the presence of God.

This position should bring to your mind the power and privileges that Christ provides. In particular, you now have both the power and privilege of being like Christ and pointing others to him, so that they too can have a close relationship with God through him.

Since you are in union with him at the throne of God, he both authorizes and enables you to be his representatives in this fallen world. Is this what you desire? Is this what you seek after every day? To live as Christ has taught you and enabled you to live – to be like him?

Focus on those things instead of earthly things.

Paul also says that you – the believer – should “set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (v. 2). This is a parallel concept to the previous one, though seeking emphasizes your desires and set your mind emphasizes your intellectual and mental focus. Together, these concepts speak about your inner being where you think, feel, and make decisions.

So here is the question – what are you paying attention to? Where are you directing your focus and feelings not just Sunday morning, but each and every day of the week? Are you passionately focused on the things related to this earthly existence, or on the things related to your new spiritual reality, which is your union with Jesus Christ? To answer this question, let’s consider some “things of the earth” and some “things of Christ” that Paul mentions in Colossians 2-3. He mentions some of these things before Colossians 3:1-4 and some of them after.

What “things of earth” should you set aside?

The following are five “things of earth” that you should set aside in order to passionately focus on Christ. If you notice that these things are dominating your desires and mental focus, then you are being sidetracked by the wrong things rather than being focused on the very real life that you have in Christ.

The first two “things of earth” serve as a backdrop to what Paul says in Colossians 3:1-4.

Godless philosophies and worldviews

“Beware,” Paul writes, “lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” (Col 2:8).

This refers to the secular, atheistic, or polytheistic worldviews and speculative, endless questions that are ultimately unhelpful and meaningless. They are deceptive because they make you feel like you’re getting smarter and increasing in your awareness about life, but you’re actually getting robbed. These are earthly perspectives that have nothing to do with your new spiritual reality in Christ.

A rule-based, ritualistic lifestyle

“If you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world,” Paul writes, “why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations—'Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,’ which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men” (Col 2:20-22, cf. 2:13-23).

This refers to the deceptive approach to Christian living that mistakenly attaches spiritual growth and Christlike behavior with observing OT laws and enforcing additional manmade regulations. This perspective takes many forms and may be called legalism. It is especially misleading because it actually looks like a wise and humble approach.

Yet as Paul points out, this behavior mistakes outward restraint, rituals, and strategies with true inward change and has no actual spiritual value. As such, it is just as much an “earthly” and “worldly” mindset as seeking after worldly philosophies.

The next three “things of earth” flow out of Paul’s instructions in Colossians 3:1-4.

Immoral behaviors

“Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth,” which Paul lists out as “ fornication, uncleanness, passion, [and] evil desire” (Col 3:5).

These behaviors may be the most obvious of all because they pertain to our base, physical desires in their sinful, twisted forms. What’s more, these are the very “things” that legalistic, ritualistic practices cannot solve. As Colossians 3:23 says, “They are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.” The better approach is to kill your sinful affections and actions straight on (Col 3:5).

• Fornication and uncleanness: the word fornication refers to inappropriate sexual and activity apart from marriage and includes all forms of sexual misconduct. Uncleanness is related and emphasized the indecency and inappropriateness of such behavior. Indeed, it is not glorious like Christ; it is disgusting instead.
• Passion and evil desire: “generally refers to strong desires gone bad” and “misdirected fulfillment of bodily appetites, usually sexual.” It seems that passions may refer more generally to the inner pull of these messed up appetites, while evil desires refers even more to the habitual, compulsive, and uncontrollable habits that develop when we feed these appetites.[2]

With these four words, Paul urges believers to kill both wrong sexual behaviors and the feeding of these inappropriate desires in the first place. Don’t build the habits, don’t commit the acts, and don’t even feed the desires in entry-level ways.

One commentator says this about these desires: “An equivalent of these expressions in Greek would be expressed in figurative language, for example, ‘desires to act like a dog,’ or ‘desires to be constantly hot with sex,’ or ‘constantly desiring to rub bellies.’”[3]

When you let these behaviors into your life, it is a clear indication that you are seeking “earthly things” and not the “things of Christ.”

Materialistic priorities

Paul also urges believers to kill off covetousness as well, which may also be translated as “greed.” This word means “a desire to have more,” which Paul claims is just as bad as idolatry. While you may no longer be bowing down or burning incense to idols in your life, if you find yourself “desiring to have many things” or “desiring to have much more than others,” then its just as bad as worshipping idols.[4]

Paul felt so strongly about this that he presented such greed as a characteristic of unsaved, ungodly people who have no relationship with God through Christ (Col 3:6; cf. Eph 5:5-6). This perspective reminds us about how Jesus himself taught us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness” knowing that “all these other things” in the world would be “added unto us” by God himself. When you seek to have more things in this world, you fail to live for Christ. When you seek after the things of Christ instead, God will add earthly things to you in his own good way (Matt 6:33)

Inappropriate speech

Finally, Paul urged believers to get rid of inappropriate speech from their lives. Once again, such talk coming from your mouth indicates that you are not seeking after the things of Christ. He says, “You yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another…” (Col 3:8-9).

• Anger and wrath: the first word anger refers to seething, internal hatred, while the second word wrath refers to those times when these internal feelings lead to external outbursts of wrath.
• Malice: this third word refers to desires, plans, and acts aimed at causing pain and hurting the people with whom you are angry and bitter and may include resulting acts of violence.
• Blasphemy: this word refers to insulting speech, slander and gossip, and abusive speech. In a general sense, it refers to “saying bad things about people.”[5]
• Filthy language: this refers to “words that should never be spoken,” such as crude jokes, foul language, and swear words.[6]
• Lying: this refers to telling lies and saying things which are not true.

When a believer goes about his life in a way that is passionately focused on his close relationship and union with Christ in the presence of God, he will remove these words from his speech. When a believer speaks these words, however, it indicates that he is not focused or passionate about his relationship with Christ – and may not even be a Christian, but a “child of disobedience” instead.

What “things above” should you pursue?

The following are eight “things of Christ” that you should focus on in a daily, passionate way. By focusing on these, you will give evidence of your hidden life, helping others to see your new spiritual reality in a visible way. The previous things are what you need to kill off and take off. These are the things you need to focus on adding to your life instead.

Godly virtues, especially in our relationships with one another

In listing these virtues, notice that they are virtues or personal quality traits, not a list of ritualistic rules and procedures (Col 3:12-15).

• Tender mercies: this is a word for compassion, mercy, and affection; it is feeling sympathy for the needs and suffering that other believers are going through.
• Kindness: refers to being good, nice, and polite towards other believers, being ready to respond to them when needed.
• Humility: a perspective that views every believer as equally important before God and who views God as supreme. Humility puts other people first.
• Meekness: this is gentleness and is the opposite of anger, force, and violence
• Long-suffering: this word refers not only to patience, which is an ability to wait for something over a long period of time; it also refers to the ability to tolerate another person’s failures or weaknesses for a long time, believing that God is working out Christlike change in their lives one step at a time, even when you suffer or are inconvenienced along the way.
• Bearing with one another: long-suffering means “putting up with people a long time,” but bearing with one another is another way of saying a similar thing, namely “not being irritated with people in the process.”[7]
• Forgiving one another: this refers to a willingness to say “I forgive you” to any fellow believer who seeks your forgiveness, committing not to hold their sins against them. It is fascinating to observe that this virtue points to Christ as the ultimate example, reminding us that these “things are not a set of rules and rituals to follow, but they are a description of the virtues of Christ himself, in whom we are in union. Therefore, it is living out these Christlike virtues from within to which God calls us.
• Love: this virtue is not a separate quality but is the overarching virtue that binds all of these virtues together and makes them all possible.

Other internal qualities

As you pursue these virtues in your daily life, making them your top priority rather than pursuing the things of this world, other qualities will also develop.

• A peaceful heart: this refers to quiet, calm disposition within a person who is committed to following the “things of Christ.” In this context, it especially refers to peace between the members of a church and making choices within the church that will bring about peace rather than strife.
• A grateful heart: this refers ultimately to a thankful heart towards God for who he is and what he has done through Christ; but it also refers to being thankful to God for your fellow brothers and sisters whom he has formed together to make up your congregation as a church family.
• A heart transformed by the teaching of Christ: this refers to allowing the word of Christ to transform your passions and mindset, who you are inside. While this refers specifically to words about Christ or to words that Christ taught, it also refers to the entirety of Scripture by extension.

Ultimately, God calls us to pursue the things of Christ by building peaceful, grateful relationships with one another as we live out the teachings of Christ together.

Some practical expressions of these virtues

Beyond these various Christian virtues, Paul goes on to describe some ways that we should apply these virtues to our lives. These ways include working towards: (1) harmonious family relationships (Col 3:18-21), (2) productive, gracious, and cooperative work relationships (Col 4:22-4:1), (3) an active prayer life (Col 4:2-4), and (4) and evangelistic, gospel-focused lifestyle (Col 4:5-6).

Conclusion

So here is the question – if you have believed on Jesus Christ as your God and Savior, how would you describe your passion and mindset in your daily life?

Do you have a passionate mindset focused on the “things of Christ,” or are you being sidetracked by the things of this life? Godless philosophies and worldviews, a rule-based, ritualistic lifestyle, immoral behaviors, materialistic priorities, and/or inappropriate speech.

If you are a believer, I urge you kill off and put off these things. Refocus your mindset and affections on those things that reveal your union with Christ (and let him take care of your earthly needs). Focus instead on loving one another – at church, at home, at work, and at large. Devote yourself to being merciful and kind, humble and gentle, patient, tolerant, and forgiving.

This is how you live the invisible life, revealing to the world that your life is hidden with Christ in God. Let your outward life reflect your inward change today, before you appear with Christ in glory. Its time to rearrange your priorities to focus on your spiritual realities (SR). Who needs VR and AR, when you have these SRs instead!

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[1] Robert G. Bratcher and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on Paul’s Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, UBS Handbook Series (New York: United Bible Societies, 1993), 74.

[2] Richard R. Melick, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, vol. 32, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 1991), 290.

[3] Bratcher, 79.

[4] Ibid., 80.

[5] Ibid., 82.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid., 87.