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Question

SET YOUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE

Colossians 3:1-17

Key Verse 3:1

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• 1Co3a2004Q.doc

Message

SET YOUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE

Colossians 3:1-17

Key Verse 3:1

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”

In today’s passage the Apostle Paul gives us practical guidelines on how each of us should conduct ourselves as individuals and as members of the body of Jesus Christ. These guidelines are designed to ensure that God’s redemptive plan would become a reality for us. Paul wants this to happen not only to each of us as individuals, but also to all who are in the Lord as a community of believers. The deal is this: God wants to save you. But at the same time, God wants to save others as well. Thus Paul has two categories within his guidelines: the first is for us as individuals so that God’s salvation would be completed within each one of us and the second is for us as a community so that God’s work of salvation would be completed within the members of Jesus’ body.

I. Things to remember for the salvation of each individual (1-12)

First, your life is hidden with Christ in God (1-4)

The first thing for us to remember and secure in our life is that, in view of what God has done in the past, is doing now, and is going to do in the future for each of us in and through Jesus, we must keep ourselves open to God and remain attached to him so that what God has purposed would become a reality in us, without any glitches. 

Look at vs. 1-4. “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” This passage states that, in view of God’s work through Jesus, we must set our hearts and minds on things above. What does it mean to set one’s heart and mind on things above? I think one way of understanding its meaning is by thinking about the way we communicate with one another. Nowadays, we have developed all different methods to communicate. For example, an increasing number of people communicate with one another through cell phones. In the past, I stayed away from cell phones, but nowadays I communicate with others through cell phones. In communicating with others through cell phones, I realized that everyone has different habits in using their cell phones. Some people give out their numbers to others, but then rarely keep their cell phones turned on. So each time you call them, you get their voice mail. Some people are the opposite. They always keep their phones turned on, so that no matter when you call, they always answer. Most people, however, are more or less in between: sometimes they keep their cell phones on, sometimes off. According to my experience, I think Missionary John Kwon, Shepherd Charles Wilson, Shepherd Jonathan Pyles, and Shepherd Jay Irwin are very faithful in answering their cell phones. 

But from a spiritual standpoint, the Apostle Paul says that we need to keep ourselves open to God not merely for a few days here and there throughout the week, but all day and all night and all week long. Paul says that we need to keep ourselves open to God 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In this way, we need to keep ourselves attentive to God all the time. 

“Set your hearts and minds on things above, not on things below here on earth,” says the Apostle Paul. One of the meanings of the verb “to set” is “directing with fixed attention.” Other Scriptures have different way of expressing the same idea. For example, Paul says in 2Co 4:18, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” Hebrews 3:1 puts it another way, “Fix your thoughts on Jesus.” Similarly, Hebrews 12:2 reads, “Fix your eyes on Jesus.”  But this is not an idea found in the New Testament alone, but throughout the entire Bible. In Psalm 141:8, King David said the same thing, “But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD.” When we put these Scriptures together, we can conclude that “to set one’s heart and mind on things above” is akin to a man who maintains a fully dedicated T1 (or higher) line to God, so that he would have full access to God and God to him at all times.  

Why then should we direct our hearts and minds on things above? Paul says that we must do so because of God’s work of salvation which has already been completed in and through Jesus. In Paul’s understanding, salvation is not something which may or may not happen to us. In Paul’s understanding, salvation is as good as completed. In the first place God does not go about his business in a relative way. When God does anything, he always thinks the matter through from beginning to end. And when he sets his mind on it, God completes it. Recently, we built a tool shed for the Downey Bible Center. At first, we needed to make the padding level on the ground located at the corner of the center. So we leveled the ground. Then a contractor came and installed a tool shed. But it turned out that the ground was not level. So the tool shed became unstable and we had to move it to the parking lot. We dug up the ground, leveled it off, and then poured in concrete. We leveled this off again. Then we moved the tool shed back. So after a considerable amount of disorganization, moving things back and forth, the ground is finally stable and the tool shed completed. But God does not do his business that way. In God there are no “oops.” And God never makes a single mistake. 

Speaking of God’s salvation for his children, we must rest assured that it is as good as completed. Speaking of the same truth, Paul says, “You have been raised with Christ…” He then adds, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” When you think about it, the expression, “your life is now hidden with Christ in God” sounds kind of strange. But this is hard to understand: I live here now and my life is in me. How come Paul says “my life is hidden with Christ in God”? What does he mean? Then there is another strange expression, “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” What does he mean by saying, “Christ is your life”? At first glance these expressions seem strange, but when we think about who God is and who Jesus Christ is, we can easily understand what Paul means. God is the first cause of everything. “God calls things that are not as though they were” (Romans 4:7).  He has no problem in knowing exactly what will happen here in Downey 1000 years from now. I cannot predict what is going to happen tomorrow, but God knows everything. And in John 17:2, Jesus says that the Lord God gave Jesus authority over all people so that Jesus might give eternal life to all those who were given him. Here the word “all” is repeated twice. What does “all” mean? All means all – all who put their trust in Jesus. 

But here is a promise which is truly amazing: “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Who will also appear? Yes. You! And you will also appear with him in what? Yes. In glory! You may say, “Wow! That’s too good to believe!” But we must believe it. Personally, when I think about this future work to be fulfilled in my life, it is hard to believe. I thought it could only happen to holy men and women of God like Missionary Rebekah; but it could certainly never happen to me. Or perhaps it might happen to a handsome man like Shepherd Jay Irwin; but it could certainly never happen to me. Everyone knows that I am not photogenic. Of course, when you hear someone saying, “Man, I am not photogenic” there is the veiled implication that, although they are not handsome in photographs, they are indeed handsome in real life. But in my case, I am not photogenic at all, not because there is something a matter with the photographs, or perhaps camera, but simply because there is something a matter with the model itself. Last Friday Shepherdess Sarah showed me a picture which she had taken. During the reception after Jason’s wedding, she had let me hold her baby Hannah, and then she took a picture of us. I took a look at the picture. Hannah was so cute. However, I only looked “interesting.” But today, even though I am not as photogenic as anyone else, I am nevertheless challenged to believe what is to come:  “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” Turn to your neighbor and say, “You also will appear with him in glory.” One of the meanings of the word “glory” is “being without any defect.” Every little thing about you will be recreated perfectly – no wrinkles, no fatigue, no hunger, no thirst, and I even think your body will be fit to travel at will, without being limited by any restrictions at all (such as gravity or the speed of light). Consider how Jesus walked on the water. Think about how Jesus was transfigured on a mountainside. And imagine in your mind the scene described in the Book of Acts Chapter 1, the scene in which Jesus ascended into the heaven, right before the eyes of the disciples! 

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” In view of the glorious work yet to be revealed, what then should we do? As Paul says, we must set our hearts and minds on things above. 

One way to understand the practical meaning of the call to set our hearts and minds on things above is to consider how Joseph held onto the two dreams that the Lord had given him though he was languishing in Egypt. In Genesis 37, the Lord God gave Joseph two dreams at the age of 17– the dream about the sheaves and the dream about the sun and the moon and eleven stars. At the age of 17, through God’s Spirit, Joseph understood God’s plan for him. Thus in good times and in bad times, he cherished these dreams. In a sense, we can say that Joseph set his heart and mind on things above. As he kept living by faith in the Lord, the Lord led him through all the winding paths and dark valleys of his life, until Joseph became the prime minister of the Egyptian Empire! And more importantly, the Lord did this so that many would experience God’s work of salvation through Joseph. 

We need to do exactly what Joseph did. Just as the two dreams never departed from the heart and mind of Joseph, so too we should never forget the fact that we died with Christ, have been raised to life with Christ, and that, at the present moment, our life is hidden with Christ in God, and when Christ who is our life, appears, then we also will appear with him in glory. When we fix our thoughts and eyes on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God, then we can overcome this world. Then God’s redemptive plan for each of us will become a reality. 

Second, in the image of its Creator (5-12)

The next thing we need to do is to take off our earthly nature (which is inconsistent with the new self that we have received from Jesus), and put on the godly nature (which is consistent with the new self that we have received from Jesus).

Let us read responsively 5-12. “⁵Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.⁷You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. ¹²Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” 

The earthly nature includes: “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.” It also includes things like anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language, and the habit of lying to each other. 

The godly nature includes: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 

Why then should we put to death our earthly nature? We find the answer to this question in vs. 9-12. Paul says that we must take it off because it is incompatible with the new self, which is being renewed in the knowledge of the image of the Creator. Who is the Creator of the new self? Jesus Christ. And the old sinful nature is incompatible with the new nature that is embedded in the new self. The old nature is not meant for the new self. Most importantly, the new self desires to please Jesus (cf. Col 1:10). In view of Genesis 6:3 and 6:6, we learn that as we continue to keep wearing the old sinful nature, after putting on the new self, the old earthly nature grieves Jesus’ Spirit within us (cf. Eph 4:30). The bottom line is that the new self likes to wear new clothes like compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, and not old, decaying clothes.  

The word “knowledge” suggests to us that unless we take off the earthly nature, this earthly nature will prevent us from growing up in the image of Christ. The word “knowledge” has the meaning of “personal experience” which comes from personal fellowship with the Lord. But the earthly nature prevents us from having this fellowship with the Lord.  In Ephesians 5:3-5, Paul directly says, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such a man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” God hates idolatry. So in order for us to experience God completely fulfilling his work of redemption in us, we must put to death the earthly nature, and clothe ourselves with the new garments he has woven for us, woven with such new spiritual fabrics as compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 

II. Things to remember for the salvation of all the members of the Lord’s body (13-17) 

Next, in vs. 13-17, Paul gives us the next set of guidelines to remember in order for God’s redemptive plan to be completed in the lives of all who are in the Lord. Basically, Paul has seven exhortations. Let us read this passage together. 

“Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. As we look at the exhortations found in the passage, we know that they all work together to build the body of Christ.”

The seven exhortations are: First, bear with each other (13a) ; Second, forgive (13b);Third, put on love (14); Fourth, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts (15a); Fifth, be thankful (15b);

Sixth, let the Word of God dwell in you richly (16); and Seventh, do it all in the name of the Lord (17).

When we look at these seven exhortations, we see that they are like the seven musical notes: “doe-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti.” Do you remember the “doe-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti” song in the movie entitled “The Sound of Music”? It is a beautiful song. Like these seven musical notes, the seven exhortations are each necessary in order to create a beautiful song. If any one is missing, it is impossible for all believers to remain in the Lord to the end and be saved. Again, like the seven musical notes, each exhortation builds itself up, one on top of the other. For example, the exhortation to “bear with each other” works like “doe.” Doe is the lowest of the notes, at the very bottom, so to speak. Yet this “doe” sound is as critical as buns are on a sandwich. I think the call to bear with each other is like the “doe” sound. Suppose we cannot bear with each other. What will happen to the ministry? We all will hate each other and will end up leaving and going to all different churches. And when we go to other churches, we find more or less the same people with more or less the same problems. Then we eventually get sick and tired of people and stop attending church altogether. And we will end up living like the Unabomber. This should not happen to us. That’s why Paul says that we must bear with each other. 

How then can we continue to bear with each other? The answer is right here. Paul sys, “You must forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.” However, you find it difficult to forgive your neighbor. There is a way for you to forgive others. How? The answer is right here: “Forgive as the Lord forgave you.” The Lord forgave whom? Yes. You! He forgave you. When you think about it, each person is the greatest sinner in his or her own way. You may think that a man like the Apostle Paul is a “better” sinner than any other sinner, for he was a Pharisee of Pharisees. But Paul, a man with an otherwise immaculate spiritual resume, nevertheless calls himself “the worst of sinners,” because he persecuted the body of Jesus (1Ti 1:16). In this way, each person is a very challenging sinner in and of him or herself. Yet God forgave you! So who are you to say, “I can’t forgive you”?

As if these weren’t already sufficient, Paul gives out more exhortations, including “put on love” and “let the peace of Christ rule your heart.” The call to put on love says that forgiving one another must be followed with the more positive action of love. After that, we must be at peace with each other. Before we can be at peace with others, though, Paul says we must let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. 

Still there is more to do: we must be “thankful” to and for one another. In associating ourselves with each other, we should not be like a chicken looking at a dog or a dog looking at a chicken. Rather, Paul says we must be very thankful for the fellowship we are allowed to have with one another. In fact, each person is a wonder of all wonders. One of the greatest thanks topics we have in Jesus is that all these different people have been put in the same fellowship, so that, as we come to know one another, we learn something great from each person. (After all, don’t the Jews ask, “Who is wise? The one who learns from all people.”) Thus we can fully grow into the greatness of Jesus, for it is Jesus who created each one of us with one unique point of greatness or another. 

We have now reached the second highest level of the musical notes. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” How can we let God’s word fill our hearts? We can fill our hearts with the word of Christ as we do the daily bread daily or write a deep Bible testimony once a week or teach the Bible diligently. But we must do this in God’s wisdom, and yet with an artistic touch. When Dr. Samuel Lee was alive, he often shared one of his dreams as a Bible teacher: he wanted to serve each message just as a great musician like Mozart composed and conducted a beautiful symphony. This too has been my heart’s desire throughout my own life. At the same time, I know it is easier said than done. Of course, on my own I cannot do this; I need God’s help. In seeking God’s help, however, I need to struggle all the more, for Thomas Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” 

Lastly, the passage exits on a level equal to a Ph.D. It calls us to do everything in prayer. Do you serve the orchestra as a music servant? Do it in the name of the Lord, says Paul. Do you serve food as a meal servant? Do it in the name of the Lord. In all we do, Paul says that we must do it in the name of the Lord. The expression “in the name of the Lord” means in prayer. That is because God’s power lies in our prayer to him; hence prayer makes a difference. On so many occasions, it is easy for us to do everything habitually using our own wits and might, etc. Instead, we must discipline ourselves to do everything in, by, and through prayer. Thus the Lord will make what is incomplete complete. 

One word: “set your hearts on things above.”

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Biblenote

SET YOUR HEARTS ON THINGS ABOVE

Colossians 3:1-17

Key Verse 3:1

This passage teaches us that Christians should not live at random but rather should follow certain rules for them to grow up to maturity, and these rules are not difficult to follow, for once one thinks about them, following these rules are like a boat which is sailing in he direction the wind is blowing. 

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