Christ Is Your Life

{Christ is Your Life} A Homiletic Essay from Colossians 3:1-4 By Andrew Johnson Christ is your life. This is surely a loaded statement and one we will make some effort to unpack. To say that “Christ is your life” is a way of expressing a peculiar motif in that appears in the New Testament, namely the union of Christ with His people. In 1 Corinthians 6:11 Paul states it this way, “the one united with the Lord is one spirit with him.”1 In Galatians he expresses it another way: “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” (Gal. 2:20) The passage we want to look at specifically says: “Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Keep thinking about things above, not things on the earth, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

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Christ (who is your life) appears, then you too will be revealed in glory with him.” (Col. 3:1-4) This passage and its immediate context gives us a picture of what union with Christ means in terms of our relationship to God and the way in which we are to live. 1. Union with Christ Our passage begins, “Therefore, if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” In another place, Eph. 2:4-6, Paul writes similarly, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you are saved!—and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” And yet in another place he says, “For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection...Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” (Rom. 6:5, 8-11) In these passages we see a common thread, that God has united us with Christ so that His death, which He died to sin once for all time, is our death; Christ was our substitute, laying His life down on our behalf for the sins we committed. Not only this, but His life 1 All Scripture quotations in this sermon are taken from the New English Translation.

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—His living in obedience to the Father, His rising from the dead, and His living as our faithful high priest before the Father in heaven—is also our life. So, even as Christ was raised from the dead, so will we be raised. Yet in Col. 3:1 and Eph 2:5-6, Paul goes even further to say that, while we eagerly await “our adoption, the redemption of our bodies” (Rom. 8:23), we are nevertheless already “made alive” (that is, resurrected), already “raised up” and “seated” in Christ (that is, ascended and in the presence of God). In Col. 3:3 Paul says again, “For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” We have died to sin and to the world in the death of Christ, who is our substitute and who the Head of the church, His body; yet we also live to God in Christ, “who is your life.” Though we remain present in this world, while we still live in bodies made in the likeness of Adam, our true life is nevertheless tethered to Christ, who is also called the last Adam, in whose likeness we are being created anew. This brings us to discuss in what manner we are united with Christ. How is it that we are still here physically, yet at the same time seated with Christ in the presence of the Father? Earlier in his letter to the Colossians, Paul had said of Christ, “He is the head of the body, the church, as well as the beginning, the firstborn from among the dead, so that he himself may become first in all things.” (Colossians 1:18) Keeping this verse in view, we also consider Paul's statements in Romans 5. So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned... Consequently, just as condemnation for all people came through one transgression, so too through the one righteous act came righteousness leading to life for all people. For just as through the disobedience of the one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one man many will be made righteous. Romans 5:12, 18-19 And also from 1 Corinthians: For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ, the firstfruits; then when Christ comes, those who belong to him...So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living person”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, made of dust; the second man is from heaven.

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Like the one made of dust, so too are those made of dust, and like the

one from heaven, so too those who are heavenly.

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And just as we have borne the image of the man of

dust, let us also bear the image of the man of heaven. 1 Corinthians 15:22-23, 45-49 2

Adam was the “head” of the entire human race, since he was the first man. His transgression had the consequence that all human beings after him were sinners by birth; so through Adam sin entered the world and so also death. We all sin, so we all die. The reason we all sin is, first, because Adam sinned and second, because we are sinners like Adam. By way of contrast, Christ is the head of another body of humanity—the church, “those who belong to him” and are members of His body. Adam is the head of those who are “of dust.” Adam was the man made of dust and we all bear that image; Christ, on the other hand, is head of those who are of heavenly birth. Christ was sent from heaven and though He was brought into this world like any other child born in the likeness of Adam, He was conceived by the Holy Spirit. Thus, there are two humanities: those who are only like Adam and those who, while still possessing a body like Adam's, are nevertheless of heavenly birth. The latter have been born of God and are not of the world. Christ is their head; He stands for them. He is their representative. Right now, Christ stands for His people, for His body, in the presence of the Father. This is what in Reformed or Covenant theology is known as “federalism.” Adam was “federal head” of the whole human race and so because of his sin we also suffer the consequences; Christ is the “federal head” of the body of Christ and so those who belong to Him receive the benefits of His faithfulness. It is because of this federal union that Paul can say that we have been raised with Christ and seated with Christ, even though we have yet to experience the resurrection of our bodies and we have yet to be revealed with Christ in glory. The late James Montgomery Boice brings out the significance of this union: “The seat next to God in which we have been seated with Christ is a throne, which means that we reign with him. We are extensions of Christ's presence and authority in the world...This seat speaks of victory. It involves security, privilege, rejoicing, accomplishment.”2 Not only does Christ represent us before the Father's throne, we also represent Christ and His kingdom on the earth. This fact brings us to our next point. 2. Marks of Union with Christ Our passage, we recall, began with the words, “Therefore if...” This can also be translated simply as “Since.” Since we have been crucified with Christ and raised with Christ “keep seeking what is above” and “keep thinking about what is above, not about what is on earth.” Thus, our union with Christ is not only a federal union where He is our representative it is also s living union; He is our life, and as such, there are consequences to this. If Christ is indeed our life, if we are indeed members of His 2 James M. Boice, Ephesians. (Grand Rapids: Baker), 1988, 1997. 61

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body and He is our Head, then it follows by necessity that our lives will reflect Christ. What, then, does Paul mean when he instructs us to “seek what is above” and to “think about about is above”? For this we should consult the context. We should also take note of the contrast that is made in verse 2: think about what is above (where Christ is) and do not think on what is on earth. Paul continues in Col. 3:5 with this instructions: “So put to death whatever in your nature belongs to the earth: sexual immorality, impurity, shameful passion, evil desire, and greed which is idolatry.” Furthermore, he continues, “But now, put off all such things as anger, rage, malice, slander, abusive language from your mouth. Do not lie to one another since you have put off the old man with its practices.” (Col. 3:8-9) We see here that “what is on earth” corresponds to “whatever in your nature belongs to the earth.” Since we have been raised with Christ and have been seated “above” with Christ, we must discard the old nature and its vices; we must put off the old tattered, filthy garments of the sinful nature and put on the pure garments of a new creation. Paul describes what the new nature looks like, beginning in verse 10. [You] have been clothed with the new man that is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of the one who created it. Here there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if someone happens to have a complaint against anyone else. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also forgive others. And to all these virtues add love, which is the perfect bond. Colossians 3:10-14 If in our old nature we were enslaved to so many earthly vices, in our new nature we are not only free from those vices, we also come to be possessed of heavenly virtues such as “mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience” and above all, love. Moreover, rather than being ruled by the desires of the body, we are now controlled by the “peace of Christ.” The new nature is also marked with an attitude of thanksgiving (verse 15). F.F. Bruce comments, “As those who have put on the 'new man,'...Christians should cultivate and manifest the qualities which are characteristic of him. Those qualities, as one considers them, are seen to be those which were preeminently displayed in the life of Jesus; no wonder, then, that when Paul in another place wish to commend the whole body of Christian graces, he sums

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them up by saying, 'put on the Lord Jesus Christ.' (Rom. 13:14)”3 We may also think of the “fruit of the Spirit” in Galatians 5:22-23, which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” In that context Paul wrote, “But I say, live by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.” (Gal. 5:16) And furthermore, “those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we life by the Spirit, let us also behave in accordance with the Spirit.” (Gal. 5:24-25) There is doubtless a connection here with what Paul was saying to the Colossians. To the Colossians he was saying, Christ is your life, and this is what life in Christ looks like. To the Galatians he was saying, you live by the Spirit and this is what life by the Spirit looks like. Yet these two seemingly different ideas make up one whole idea, For life in Christ and living by the Spirit are one and the same. In other words, to live in Christ is to live by the Spirit. For it is by the Spirit that Christ lives in us and it is the Spirit who is producing the “Christian graces” that characterize the new man. Indeed, we may find rest in the fact that it is God who is at work in us, cultivating these qualities. Paul wrote the to Philippians: “So then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but even more in my absence, continue working out your salvation with awe and reverence, for the one bringing forth in you both the desire and the effort– for the sake of his good pleasure– is God.” (Phil. 2:12-13) We must indeed, “work out our salvation” and cultivate a Christ-like character; however, lest we lose heart, it is God who grants us the desire to be like Christ and to work towards that end. In another place Paul writes that we are being transformed into the same image as that of Christ, from one degree of glory to another, and that this transformation is from the Lord, that is by the work of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:18). And Paul, in the context of our passage, does not leave us hanging as to how we might cultivate the characteristics of the new man. For in Col. 3:16 he says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and exhorting one another with all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, all with grace in your hearts to God.” If the word of Christ dwells in us—if we hide the word of God in our hearts—and if we commit to “teaching and exhorting” one another—if we build one another up in the faith—we will practice mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, etc. Bruce explains, the word of Christ “would 'dwell richly' in their fellowship and in their hearts if they paid heed to what they heard, bowed to its authority,

3 F.F. Bruce. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians. NICNT. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans), 1984. 152

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assimilated its lessons, and translated them into daily living.”4 Moreover, even our singing “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” could be “a means of mutual edification as well as a vehicle of praise to God.” Our union with Christ as individual believers means unity between one another as members of Christ's body. This unity does not mean that we are always in perfect agreement or that there is never any conflict. However, we should not take the disputes and conflicts that do arise among the body of Christ and suppose that what Paul is saying is out of reach or unrealistic. For rather than making Paul's statements obsolete or unreasonable, conflict in the body makes Paul's statement all the more poignant. It is precisely because conflict arises that we need to cultivate mercy; for it we always agreed and never had conflict, why are we exhorted to show towards one another mercy? Likewise, why do we need patience? Why are we told to bear with one another and forgive each other if there is never any conflict? Yes, there will be problems in getting along with fellow believers, as Paul probably knew better than any of us; but here Paul lays out the attitude of those whose lives are in Christ. Paul is saying to the Colossians, and the Holy Spirit is saying to all believers, “this is what you are; be what you are.” Christ is your life. He is our life. He is the Head of the church, which is His body. He is our representative, standing for us before the Father. We are therefore raised and seated with Christ. Our life not only belongs to Him, it comes from Him. His life is our life, just as His death on our behalf was our death—in order that we with Him would be dead to sin and alive in the presence of God. So we must, in essence, think His thoughts after Him—thinking on what is above, where He is, and not on what is on earth. This means we shed the old dead skin of the sinful nature, which is in the likeness of Adam. Moreover it means we clothe ourselves with the new nature, created in the likeness of Christ— indeed, we put on Christ. We represent Christ in the world, even as He represents us in heaven; therefore it is expedient for us to cultivate Christ-likeness—to live in such a way that exemplifies the fact that Christ is our life. Thanks be to God that He grants us the desire and the effort to do this by the indwelling of His word in our hearts, through the teaching and exhortation of the body, and by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit.

Christ is our life. May God grant us all by His grace to live with

this truth always before us as we eagerly await the day when Christ—who is our life—is revealed in glory, and we with Him.

4 Bruce. 158

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