MY HEART, CHRIST'S HOME
by Steve Zeisler
The Scriptures frequently declare an important truth: The most important
things about us are invisible. No one can apprehend the critical issues
that determine who you are and what you do by looking at you, touching you,
or using any of their other senses. Your history is invisible; you might
have a few snapshots taken at various times in your life, or you might even
be recorded on videotape, but these are only minute portions of your life
that have been captured in any way so as to be seen. Yet what you think
and believe about yourself and the complex set of emotions that drive your
feelings and influence your actions are made up a great deal of your history:
how you have been treated, what you have been taught, places you have been,
and ideas that you have embraced. Nobody can see your goals, what you long
for, or where you're headed just by looking at you. Nobody knows what you
feel at any deep level by looking at you. The things that make you interesting,
difficult, and so forth are almost all invisible, and yet those are the
most important things about you.
I was listening to an advertisement for a singles' cruise recently. It was
commenting on how difficult and painful it is to try to meet people in singles'
bars or to find somebody to know by any of the other means single people
often use, because so much of that is based on appearance: the kind of clothes
you wear, the kind of car you drive, the things that can be immediately
discovered by looking. And those have so little to do with whether or not
you want to know somebody even as a friend.
INVISIBLE TRUTHS
The things that are invisible and important about us may be either very
good or very bad. You might be sitting next to someone right now who has
loved people who are difficult to love and has hung on in hard situations
under tremendous pressure. They might have done great acts of courage and
accomplished remarkable things, and you don't know it. Or you might be sitting
next to someone who has dark secrets of which they are ashamed and which
would take your breath away if you knew. You might be sitting next to someone
who ought to bear a superhero's S on their chest beneath their clothes,
or they might have a "Mr. Hyde" complex that comes out of the
dark at times.
In our study we're going to talk a bit about the most important invisible
thing that is true of Christians: We are united with Jesus Christ. We have
died and have been raised with Christ, our lives are hidden with him in
God. These realities cannot be proved by how you look; nothing you can measure,
touch, and show other people. Union with Christ is the greatest truth imaginable,
but it is one that we have to choose to believe and act on because it can't
be seen.
DIED AND RAISED WITH CHRIST
Last week we talked briefly of Colossians 2:20-23. Let's read it again:
If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of
the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do you submit yourself
to decrees, such as, "Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch!"
(which all refer to things destined to perish with the using)---in accordance
with the commandments and teachings of men? These are matters which have,
to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement
and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
Paul is saying, "Why do you listen to some bogus religious authority
telling you what to do, where to go, what meetings to show up at, how to
dress, what to eat or not eat, and hundreds of other such things? Where
did his authority in your life come from if you have died with Christ? And
why do you care about the discipline of merely outward behaviors that doesn't
address itself to whether change has taken place within?" These commandments
concern things that are going to burn up someday; there is nothing eternal
about them. That kind of merely external discipline succeeds only in appearing
to be valuable; but it ultimately does nothing at all for the hateful parts
of us. It doesn't deal with the flesh, the heart that wants to do the things
that are wrong.
Now we see the corollary to that point in chapter 3, verses 1-4:
If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the
things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your
mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have
died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our
life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
This is an extraordinary announcement. You have been raised with Christ
if you are a Christian, and some very important things flow from knowing
that is the case. The language that speaks of Jesus' being raised up and
seated at the right hand of God superficially suggests distance as if it
were in terms of space. That's really not the idea here. Jesus was raised
from the horrible, destructive reality of the grave to the highest heights,
to the right hand of God. It is a description of his authority and his greatness,
the supreme place Christ occupies in both the old creation and the new creation
(recall 1:15-23). So if we are raised up with him, it means that we have
been taken from being judged as a criminal, executed, and buried, from all
that was wicked in us; and we have been raised with him not through space
but inwardly, invisibly. Our dying and being raised with Christ is hidden
with him in God until the Lord is glorified. There is a period of time when
we have to live with not being able to see this truth; and yet we can believe
it, love it, and make choices based on it. We are looking forward to the
day when Jesus will be completely glorified, and everything that is true
of us will be made plain as well.
WHAT TO SEEK
We are told to do two things in verse 1: First we are to keep seeking the
things above, or as the New International Version (NIV) says, to set our
hearts on the things above. Secondly, we are to think about the things above,
that is, to have our minds engaged in the process. (We will come back in
a moment to the things that are above.) To "keep seeking" these
things speaks of passion and involvement. It must be a choice that matters
very much to us. We must not let the importance of our union with Christ
fade. And it follows naturally that our minds ought to be given over to
the things above: the way we judge what is true and what is false, what
is valuable and what is not. Our convictions, ideas, and standards of judgment
need to be in accordance with the things that are above.
There is a contrast as well: "Set your mind...not on the things that
are on earth." The things on earth are also invisible. Paul isn't talking
about material things, but about the fleshly ideas or earthly points of
view that stand as alternatives to the things above. These are the things
that drive us to love ourselves instead of the Lord, the ways we choose
patterns of sin, the ways we ruin ourselves and others, and the power of
sin to persuade us to live lives that we hate and that God hates. We must
choose the things above and avoid the things on earth, ultimately putting
them to death as Paul will say in the next paragraph.
Do you believe that your life is hidden with Christ in God? Do you see these
words, written to Christians centuries ago, as true of you? I spent much
of last week struggling with a loss of confidence, a feeling that my judgment
was horrible and that everything I touched was going to come out wrong.
At one point I had to deal with a mechanic who I found out later was a crook.
I kind of sensed that and thought, "I'm no match for this guy. I'm
going to be taken for everything, and I don't know what to say; I'll go
in and make a fool of myself." I felt defeated before I had even had
a conversation with him. It got to the point that if someone even arched
their eyebrow at me I would wonder what it meant! Meanwhile I was studying
this material on union with Christ, dying with Christ and being raised with
him. And I finally found myself having to deal with these ordinary little
anxieties by going back and appropriating these truths. I had to say, "My
life is hidden with Christ in God, and the day of his glorification will
be the day of my glorification. That's who I am, and I have every right
to seek the things above and to turn aside from the things on earth. If
I am holy, beloved, and chosen of God [see verse 12], then I can deal confidently
with the mechanic. I can have ordinary conversations with people, carry
out my role as a pastor, and expect my life to be useful to the Lord instead
of feeling shot down before I even begin."
Anxieties, uncertainties, and self-doubt are things that are on earth. Something
was telling me that I was valueless and no good at anything, so what was
the use of trying. Something was selling me that version of me. But it was
a lie; my flesh was getting access to my mind to make me believe these things
about myself. So I needed to rejected one version of me in favor of the
other version of me. You can probably identify some patterns of flesh that
at times have power to persuade you to think of yourself as you are not.
But if we are Christians, we are united with Jesus Christ, and everything
that is true of him---his death which paid for our sins, the power of his
life in being raised from the dead, and his being seated at the right hand
of God---is true of us. That is who we are. It is critically important that
we understand ourselves in that sense.
When we get to verse 12 and following we're going to look at a list of the
things above, the heavenly things. But first we're going to talk about a
list of things that are on earth and that we need to put to death, to thrust
away from us. Verses 5-11:
Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead
to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts
to idolatry. For it is on account of these things that the wrath of God
will come, and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.
But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and
abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you laid
aside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self
who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One
who created him---a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek
and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman,
but Christ is all, and in all.
Because we have been raised in him, we have the right, the authority, and
the requirement to put to death the fleshly program resident within us.
It is not who we are. It is a lie. We are not required to do what our flesh
tells us to do because it no longer has ownership of us. We need to reject
its influence; deliberately and actively put to death its ideas, its pressures,
and the temptations to misunderstand ourselves and then to act terribly
as a result.
SEX AND ANGER
The phrase, "consider the members of your earthly body as dead,"
is translated better in the NIV: "Put to death...whatever belongs to
your earthly nature." Then we have two lists as the paragraph unfolds,
two main issues that Paul is going to speak of from our fleshly nature:
sex and anger. Now, just knowing myself and my experience as a pastor in
talking with Christians in various ways in the church, if there are two
great areas where Christians very often struggle to believe that they are
raised with Christ and to put to death the flesh, they are these very issues.
Difficulty in admitting struggles with such sins lead to phoniness and hypocrisy.
There are patterns of behavior in these areas that we keep secret from other
people because we are ashamed of them, and so we never really put them to
death. We are not as we appear to be, and therefore even our friends can't
help us because nobody knows the truth. These two areas come up over and
over again for everybody, but especially for Christians, because it's so
difficult for us to ask for help in them.
The first list consists of things that have to do with sexual sin: immorality
(which is the general word for sexual sin), impurity, evil passion, evil
desire, and greed. Greed is really the word covetousness, and given its
place in this list, it probably has to do with coveting someone sexually,
or wanting someone you ought not want.
The question is, if you have died with Christ, have been raised with him,
and are united with him, what right does impurity have to march around in
your head, putting pressure on you to act in ways that are inappropriate?
Or who gave that right to covetousness, wanting someone who is married to
another, envying their relationship?
So instead of just disciplining the external behavior, what Paul is saying
is to put to death the passions. You are raised with Christ, and your life
is hidden with him in God. You will be glorified with him someday. Even
though you may feel unloved in this world, you are loved very deeply. Even
though you may feel lonely and unappreciated, you are not lonely and never
will be lonely again; you have a companion who will go everywhere in your
life with you, he cares so much for you. Therefore, these passions do not
belong in you. They no longer have the right to command you. And so when
you begin the process---and it is a process; this does not happen overnight---of
putting to death the ideas, passions, and longings that don't belong there,
the sinful actions as a matter of course will stop as well.
The second list has to do with the power of malice, anger, or hatred or
resentment of another to take over our lives. Over and over I find Christians
ashamed of periods when they hurt people close to them by venting anger
and using abusive language. Those sins are in this list: "anger, wrath,
malice, slander, and abusive speech. What right does hatred of another person
have to fill your thoughts? What right does malice have taking over your
life, hurting another person in the process? It doesn't belong there because
you have been raised with Christ. (Paul will say later on that it is the
forgiveness that we have received that becomes the source of forgiveness
for another.)
Let me say before moving on that both sex and anger are right at times.
Our sexuality is a gift of God; it is sexual sin that is being spoken of
here. And there is nothing wrong with anger; anger is sometimes appropriate.
God expresses his anger at unrighteousness. Jesus expressed his anger in
the temple. Scripture says to be angry but not sin. But what happens is
that our flesh takes ownership of our mind and makes us want to sin, especially
in these areas.
NO DENIAL
Paul raises a very important issue beginning in verse 9. He says, "Do
not lie to one another." I think what he is talking about here could
very well be what we call denial in modern jargon. Much of what goes along
with improper anger and sexual desires is denial that they exist. Again,
we're so ashamed of these habits, patterns, and dark areas of our lives
that we live lives of widespread denial even to ourselves and certainly
to other people. But we're never going to get any help at all if we don't
stop lying or denying what is true.
He continues, "...since you laid aside the old self." Now, the
point is, if we are not the old self anymore, then we don't need to be embarrassed
and hide what it was like or try to pretend that it was attractive. We have
laid it aside anyway; it's not who we are anymore. He goes on to talk about
the categories that don't exist anymore: Jew, Greek, barbarian, Scythian,
slave, freeman, and so on. It doesn't matter what we came out of---our culture,
our economic standing, what language we spoke; perhaps we had a rough and
ruined background filled with all kinds of awfulness, or perhaps a very
refined and attractive background. It doesn't make any difference because
"Christ is all and in all."
The wrath of God descends on wickedness. This nation and every other routinely
rejects what God says is valuable, and eventually it falls apart. The wrath
of God is not a lightning bolt thrown at a specific person for a specific
act. It is his hatred of sin, the slow and certain antagonism to it that
he has built into the creation. Cultures will decay, fall apart, and self-destruct.
Individual lives will, too. It is an inevitable consequence of sin. This
reminder also is reason for us to be willing to put to death what is no
longer true, yet invisibly influences us.
PUT OFF, PUT ON
We must make two choices to live a healthy Christian life: (1) Actively
say no to the awful things on earth; the invisible, ugly, horrible persuasions
that need to be crucified. And (2) choose the things above. You can't just
ignore the old self or expect it go away, and put on the clothing of righteousness
over it. Put off the old and then put on the new. But then the question
is, what are we to put on? What are the things above that we are to keep
seeking and set our minds on? What are some truths that we can embrace because
we are raised with Christ? Verse 12:
And so, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved,
put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint
against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. And beyond
all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. And let
the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called
in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell within
you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and
hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
It is as if Paul can't help himself---he has to keep coming back to this
business of identity. He can't just start with a new list of positive activities;
he has to remind us again of who we are: chosen, holy, and dearly loved.
It is as those people that we are to do these things.
It's very important to realize the emphasis on community in this passage,
that together we must be recognizing who we are in the Lord, setting our
minds on the things above, and putting to death that which is earthly in
us. We must be encouraging one another and singing to one another. There
is a power in music to encourage and teach as we sing songs of the words
of Scripture. You learn the words of Scripture that way; they penetrate
deeper.
The language Paul uses tells us another important thing in this passage:
Becoming mature in Christ is a process that is going to take time. There
are things to learn and battles to fight. There are evil patterns in your
life that are very secure because they have been there a long time and the
ruts are worn very deep in you. It will be a difficult business to put them
to death; weaknesses that you have given in to over and over again will
not quickly change. That is why we need to be patient with each other, forbearing,
and forgiving of one another; that is why there has to be a deep commitment
to let God grow the other person at the rate he will. As soon as we see
growth in ourselves we can't give way to impatience with those who are still
struggling. We have to be on their side and be an encouragement to them.
THINGS ABOVE
He says, "...put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity."
Patience and forbearance describe putting up with something negative. Love,
on the other hand, is a positive term. It means not just bearing the way
people are, but caring for them, actively becoming a blessing to them.
Note the "of Christ" and "of the Lord" statements. Verse
15: "...let the peace of Christ rule." One of the issues Paul
has raised is anger; the horrible business of bitterness, resentment, loss,
fury, malice, abusive speech---all the things that are so ruinous and destructive
of relationships. They tear families apart. The alternative is to "...let
the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." Seek above the one with whom
we have been united, who loves us, who rules the universe. Let the peace
of Christ rule where anger once ruled. That is the positive choice we make.
Verse 16: "Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you...."
One of the alternatives to lustful thoughts, impurities, and evil passions
are these greater truths of the riches of the word of God. If we are choosing
to love someone, (the word of Christ calls us to love one another), we can't
be desiring to take advantage of them sexually or in any other way. So much
of what makes people vulnerable to sexual sin is some sense that they have
been passed over; they have lost out on something; so now they need some
pleasure, connectedness, or banishment of loneliness. And yet if we partake
of the enormous riches of the word of Christ every day, then we have a way
of filling the void left by the passions we have to put to death.
Finally, verse 17: "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father."
This is a wonderful summary. Word or deed, everything is centered in Jesus.
Doing everything in his name is a great way to test ourselves. Can I say
what I am about to say, think what I am about to think, or go where I am
about to go in the name of the Lord Jesus? If not, then I have discovered
something about myself that I have to address. What is it that is makig
me even consider something else? I need to go back and discover the passion
that is driving it and put it to death. I need to remind myself that I am
raised with Christ, such a person doesn't do what I'm thinking about doing
right now. Again, we must not settle for merely external change, but aim
for internal change, because we have died and have been raised with Christ.
I was reminded recently of James Thurber's classic story, The Secret
Life of Walter Mitty. Walter Mitty was a shy, huddled, little person
who had an amazing fantasy life of doing great acts of heroism and bravery.
He would be carrying out his normal, perfectly run-of-the-mill activities,
and at the same time imagining himself to be the greatest, most extraordinary
of heroes, accomplishing fantastic things. It's funny because of course
it wasn't true; he was none of those things. It's the story of a fantasy
life that had no touch with reality.
What is extraordinary about the Christian life is that it is true. We have
died with Christ and have been raised with him. Christ is seated at the
right hand of God, and he who is our life will be glorified and revealed
some day. This announcement that Jesus lives in us, that the power of the
Spirit is available to us, that our identity is in him, is not the secret
life of Walter Mitty. We are given an opportunity to seek the things above,
not things on earth. We can begin to make choices to live as we were intended
to live. And we can bear with one another in the process, encourage one
another, and help one another. We can stop our denial and tell the truth,
getting help and making progress, because it is true.
Catalog No. 4332
Colossians 3:1-17
Sixth Message
Steve Zeisler
September 20, 1992
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