Saturday
Saturday
We Are United with Christ
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1
Colossians 3 is a set passage for Easter Day. It illustrates the vital union between theology and ethics, and in particular that we must know who we are before we can be who we are. Paul’s exhortation to Christian behavior is based on his exposition of Christian identity. The exhortation is “set your hearts on things above,” and the exposition is that we have died and risen with Christ.
So who are we? Paul refers in succession to the four major events in the saving career of Jesus, namely his death, resurrection, exaltation, and Parousia. At the same time, he writes of these events not only as happening to Christ but also as being shared by us. Four times he uses the little Greek word sun, meaning “together with.” You died with Christ (2:20), you have been raised with Christ (3:1), your life is hidden with Christ (3:3), and you will appear with Christ (3:4). These great statements are not make-believe; they tell us what happens to us as a result of being united to Christ through faith inwardly and baptism outwardly. We are the same people with the same face, name, passport, nationality, and appearance. But we are new people, enjoying a hidden life with Christ. Indeed, Christ is our life (3:4).
We turn now from Paul’s exposition of who we are if we are Christians to his exhortation regarding how we should behave. “Set your hearts on things above,” he writes (v. 1). Again, “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (v. 2).
By “earthly things” Paul did not mean that we should neglect our earthly responsibilities at home and work, in church and community. For he goes on to lay down the duties of husbands and wives, children and parents, slaves and masters. No, the idea of earthly things is repeated in verse 5, where it refers to greed and immorality, slander, anger, malice, and other sins. These we are to put to death.
We need to keep talking to ourselves and reminding ourselves of who we are. Only then will we behave accordingly.
For further reading: Colossians 3:11–14