Colossians 3:3-4
~19 min read
SERMON OUTLINE
- 💭 Consider this: In what areas of my life does sin still find me “alive”, rather than dead to its influence? How do my priorities and my response to discouragement reveal what I truly trust in and treasure most?
- I. The Past — Our Death
- II. The Present — Our New Life
- III. The Future — Our Glorification
💭 Consider this: In what areas of my life does sin still find me “alive”, rather than dead to its influence? How do my priorities and my response to discouragement reveal what I truly trust in and treasure most?
TRANSCRIPT
Our text for today’s message is taken from Colossians 3:3-4. Allow me to read for you. Colossians 3:3-4, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” The Lord bless the reading of His holy and sacred Word.
The title of our message is: “What Does It Mean to Be in Christ?”
In our previous message, we have considered that Christianity is not a religion of outward facades, empty rituals, or following a set of rules and regulations, or a set of dos and don’ts. It is about one’s union with Christ in His life, death, and resurrection; a personal knowledge and relationship with the living Christ that changes everything about who we are, how we live, what we do, and why we do what we do. It changes our priorities, our goals, our aspirations. It changes everything.
Christianity is about the believer’s relationship with Christ, who was our spiritual representative, just as Adam was also our representative. Remember our relationship with Adam, how we were connected to him. When Adam sinned, we sinned. And when Adam fell, we fell. And when Adam died, we died.
The same principle applies in our relationship with Christ. And whatever happened to Him happened to us. When Christ died on the cross, we died. When He was buried, we were buried. When He rose, we rose. When He ascended and was seated at the right hand of the Majesty on high, we likewise were raised up with Him and blessed with all the spiritual blessings, and one day we will dwell together with Him in heaven forever and ever.
Essentially, there are three aspects in regards to our Christian life: the past, the present, and the future.
I. The Past — Our Death
Firstly, let us consider the past, which is at the point of our conversion. That is our death. Paul said in verse three, “For ye are dead.”
Remember when Jesus died on the cross, we died with Him. And in what sense are we dead? Not physically, but spiritually. It is in the sense that the penalty of our sins have been paid. The wages of sin is death. We must die. So by faith, by believing in Christ, our union with Him, we die the death for which our representative, our substitute, He took our place on the cross.
Notice Paul did not say ‘sin is dead’. Sin is not dead. It is very much alive, and it will always be active. But ye are dead, which means you are dead in sin or to sin. By way of illustration, have you ever seen a dead body? As parents, we love our children. And as children, we love our parents. If one day our loved one passes away and the body lies in a coffin, we will be extremely sad. When we look at the dead body of our loved one, our hearts will be overwhelmed with emotions. We will cry and cry. But no matter how much we cry, no matter how loud we shout, there is nothing we can ever do to make the body respond to us, because it is dead. After a while, we just have to bury that dead body.
In a similar way, sin must find us dead. No doubt sin will always try to tempt us. It will try to attract us, try to cause us to give in. But when sin finds us dead, we are not responding, we are disinterested. It will have to leave us.
As parents, we want our children to live a transformed life, a sanctified life, a victorious life. So we teach them not to respond to the evil system of this world, whether in the way they dress, in their conversations, or in their behaviours, because this world has nothing to offer them: all the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life.
When their unbelieving friends find them unresponsive to their immoral conversations, behaviours, or dirty jokes, after a while they would have to leave them. When our unbelieving colleagues find us unresponsive to their invitation to worldly parties, or gossip and other unsavoury activities, after a while they would have to leave us.
That is how we ought to live our lives as someone who is dead to sin. The world must see us dead. We are not responding. We are disinterested.
But if we are welcomed and embraced by the world, then something is terribly wrong, because sin finds us to be alive and active. A Christian cannot be living in sin when he has died to it. Any person who remains in a constant state of sinfulness shows that he has not left his unregenerate state.
As the Apostle Paul said in Romans 6:2, “God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” “God forbid” means no way, may it never happen, or perish the thought. Any person who claims to be a Christian and yet remains in habitual sin is not only disallowed, but it is impossible. However, it does not mean that Christians will never sin. We are not teaching sinless perfection. No one is totally perfect on this earth.
In fact, 1 John 1:8 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” You and I sin whenever we choose to rebel against God. We sin whenever we choose to disobey God and His Word.
What Paul was trying to say is that the believer has died to sin by virtue of Christ’s death, and he simply cannot remain in sin the way he did before his conversion. He no longer lives in that dimension. Dying to sin is where the believer’s new life in Christ begins. That is the point Paul was trying to make.
Paul went on to say in the second part of verse three, “And your life is hid with Christ in God.” The believer is united with God the Father and God the Son, Jesus Christ, and he has the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This spiritual union is something that we know in our hearts, but it is concealed from the world. The unbelievers cannot fully comprehend the believer’s new life in Christ.
Take a moment and consider your life before conversion. Let’s say you used to gamble, drink alcohol, engage in vulgarities, and live an immoral life. Then all of a sudden you stop doing those things you used to do before. Your unbelieving friends will say, ‘I cannot understand. You used to join us and you enjoy doing those things we did together. But ever since you became a Christian, you are no longer the same. I simply cannot understand.’
The reason is because 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” What the unbelievers can see is only the outer man, the outward behaviour which is driven by the inner man, the spiritual transformation inside us which is invisible. Therefore, it is concealed and hidden from them. That is what it means.
So, a death has taken place at the point of our conversion. Not that sin is dead, but we are dead to sin. We no longer live in that dimension.
II. The Present — Our New Life
This brings us to our second point, the present, which is at this point in time as we live our new life in Christ.
Look at verse four, “When Christ, who is our life”—the unbelieving world may not understand or recognise our new life in Christ, but we know who we are. And we understand that the ability to live this transformed life is through Christ living in us.
Remember Galatians 2:20 says, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”
In Colossians 1:27, Paul said, “Christ in you.” And here he said, “Christ is our life.” Notice, Paul did not say ‘Christ will be close to you’, or ‘He will be near you’, or ‘He will be next to you’, or ‘standing side by side with you’. No, “[He is] in you” (Colossians 1:27). Or ‘Christ is part of your life’. ‘He is an accessory or an addition to your life’—no, He is your life.
In other words, Christ who died for us and lives in us, He is the one for whom we live for. Take a moment and try to fathom this thought. “[Christ] is our life”. (Colossians 3:4) Several things will happen if we truly understand this important truth.
If Christ is our life, the first thing we will be aware of is sin. We will be very mindful of the things we do, say, or think. We would constantly be asking ourselves, will Jesus be honoured in this thing I’m doing, saying, or thinking? If it is sinful, then I want to have no part in it.
It is not possible, as mentioned before, for a believer to continue in habitual sins and not be grieved in his heart. If a person professes to be in Christ and he continues to sin and continues to sin and continues to sin without conviction, without restraint, without repentance, and he just goes on and on and on, it shows one thing. He may not be saved in the first place. Why? Because if Christ is our life and He lives in us, He will not let that happen.
If Christ is our life, the second thing we would be aware of is His perspectives. His thoughts will be our thoughts. His priorities will be our priorities. His passions will be our passions. Whatever Christ loves, we love. Whatever Christ hates, we hate.
But how do we know what Christ loves and hates? Through the word of God. That is why we must be diligent in the study of the Bible and know those things that will please God—evangelism, discipleship, mission, worship, serving God, helping others—that we will do. And those things that will grieve the Lord—sin, worldliness, immoralities, false accusations, lies, malicious talks—that we will abstain.
We will let the word of God guide and lead us. We will draw biblical principles from the word of God to help us make our decisions for ourselves and our families, and face the challenges and trials of life.
If Christ is our life, the third thing we would be aware of is His strengthening. Christ is not only guiding and leading us, but He also empowers us and enables us, providing everything we need as we live for Him. Remember Paul wrote to the Philippians and he said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)
Where was Paul when he wrote the letter to the Philippians? He was imprisoned. Even in that cold, dark dungeon cell, Christ was still his life. It was all about Him, and Christ lives in him to strengthen him.
Dear friend, have you ever felt like giving up after so much discouragement and disappointment? Why not just throw in the towel? You may be a parent struggling with very difficult children. No matter what you do, nothing seems to work. Or you may be a Christian who is trying to be faithful and godly in the workplace, or at school, yet you face all kinds of animosities and hostilities. Or you may be afflicted with a terminal illness, and you have never felt so lonely before.
Well, be comforted and encouraged. Christ is your life. He lives in you. He will never forget. Neither will He forsake you. He will strengthen you. Even if you have to die, He will still be with you when you draw your last breath, and then take you home to be with Him forever and ever.
If Christ is our life, the fourth thing we will be aware of is our trust in Him. Perhaps the classic example of trusting in Jesus and living for Him is best illustrated by Jesus Himself, who said in John 15:5, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”
Jesus was speaking about the believers. As branches, they cannot live apart from the vine. Not even one millimetre away. The only way for the branch to survive and prosper is to be attached to the vine and depend on the vine to supply all the nutrients and minerals in order to produce fruits.
Just as the believer must depend on Christ completely, 100%, trusting in Him moment by moment, and when we do that Christ will provide all the resources we need, whether it be wisdom, understanding, guidance, direction, spiritual stamina, perseverance, patience, etc., so that we will produce the fruits of the Spirit, that is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.
Sometimes, when we watch a believer lying on his death bed, in a literal sense we can see the physical life is slowly fading away, dying, but the spiritual life is shining so brightly. That is something that blows our minds. How is that possible? Well, Christ is his life, and he is living for Him, trusting and believing in the only one who is able to strengthen him even at the point of his death.
Dear friend, this is how we ought to live our lives in the present, our new life in Christ.
We must be aware of sin. If we live for Jesus Christ, we would be aware of the sins we commit, whether in our speech, thoughts, or deeds. We would be aware of His perspectives through the word of God, and then we let His thoughts be our thoughts, His ways be our ways. We will be aware of His strengthening. It is not by our own might but by His strength, and we will trust Him at every step of the way.
III. The Future — Our Glorification
Our final point is the future. That is our glorification.
Look at verse four again, “When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” This is a reference to the second coming of Christ, when He will appear on this earth together with all the glorified saints. That will be at the end of the great tribulation, in the battle of the Armageddon. He will defeat all His enemies. And then, together with all the glorified saints, they will rule on this earth for 1,000 years. And then God will destroy this present heaven and earth because they have been tainted with sin, and He will create the new heavens and the new earth, where all the believers will dwell with Him for all eternity.
But I would like to draw your attention to the words “in glory”, which means the believers would be in a glorified state. When would that happen? Prior to Christ’s second coming, at the beginning of the tribulation, He will come in the clouds, known as the rapture or the resurrection of the dead.
When He comes, those believers who had died and been buried, they will be raised first and be united with their souls which are already in heaven with the Lord, and be transformed into a glorified body, incorruptible. And then those believers who are alive, they will be raptured, which means caught up in the air to meet the Lord, and be transformed into a glorified body.
Two events happening one after the other, according to 1 Corinthians 15:52. They will happen in the twinkling of an eye. Scientists have said that it takes 1/15th of a second to blink an eye. That is just how fast those two events would happen, in the twinkling of an eye.
You may ask, ‘What kind of a body is that? What kind of a glorified body will I have in the future?’ Maybe you can turn with me to 1 Corinthians 15:39–50, which will give us a good idea of this glorified body that, as believers, we will have in the future. 1 Corinthians 15:39-41, “All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”
Allow me to briefly explain.
Firstly, this glorified body is a different body. The word flesh means body. Paul explained that all flesh and bodies are not the same. You have different bodies for humans, animals, fishes, birds, and so forth, right? You have different heavenly bodies and earthly bodies. That is the meaning of celestial and terrestrial.
Likewise, the resurrected body will be a different kind of body which we do not understand from our human experience, something we have never seen before. It is a different kind of body which is glorious and perfect.
Some people may question, ‘Yes, we understand the physical differences between the different kinds of bodies on this earth, but you are talking about a glorious body, not a physical body.’
Well, Paul said, ‘Indeed, God made everything, and He created everything with infinite variety. And He gives to each one of them his own uniqueness. And He also gives different glory to each of His creation. The glory of the sun is different from the glory of the moon. And the glory of the moon is different from the glory of the stars. And the glory of one particular star is different from the rest of the other stars. So much so that no two stars have exactly the same glory.’
In other words, if you can believe in the different glory that God has given to His creation, why do you question His ability to create the glorified body that is different from all the glory of His creation? It is a different body, a glorified body that is fit for heaven.
Secondly, this glorified body is a spiritual body.
Look at 1 Corinthians 15:42. “So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.”
When the believer dies, his body is buried in the grave. It is sown in corruption, in dishonour or shame, and in weakness. Why? Because it is subjected to decomposition. It is subjected to the shame attached to death. It is weak because without the soul it cannot do anything.
But the resurrected body is different. It is raised in incorruption, in power, and in glory. Incorruption means not liable to death, not liable to destruction, and it will last forever and ever. What you buried in the grave is a physical body, but what is risen is the spiritual body. It is a spiritual body that is permanent and eternally perfect.
In our modern terms, we would probably say things like, ‘You will never look into the mirror and notice ageing, wrinkles, or a receding hairline. You will never be sick and be subjected to injuries, diseases, allergies, or death.’ That will never happen to the spiritual body.
This spiritual body also has certain abilities. A normal aeroplane can only fly as high as 30,000 to 40,000 feet. In Revelation 21:16, the heavenly city, the new Jerusalem, our eternal home forever and ever, is described as 1,500 miles high. Do you know how high that is? It is 8 million feet high, 200 times as high as the aeroplane can fly.
This spiritual body does not need a special oxygen instrument to breathe or elevators to get to the top. It will be transported in an instant. It can appear or disappear in another place in an instant.
Finally, this glorified body will be Christlike. 1 Corinthians 15:45-49, “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.”
Here Paul uses the contrast of two families. Adam is our father according to the flesh, and he is the head of the human race, the first man. Christ is our spiritual head and the first amongst the redeemed. Just as on earth our physical bodies are like Adam, we resemble him, we live like him. In heaven, our spiritual bodies will be like Christ.
The phrase “we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” does not mean we will be like God, having all His attributes and characteristics. You and I will never be like God. We will never be all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-present. The phrase “we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” means our glorified bodies will be like Christ, which is spiritual, which is a different body, which is eternal, incorruptible, and glorified.
One classic example of what this glorified body is like is the resurrection of Christ. Remember when Jesus was raised from the grave, He appeared to His disciples. It was a glorified body. Jesus ate with His disciples. We do not need to eat in our glorified state, but we can eat if we want to.
Jesus appeared before His disciples while they were in the room, which means this glorified body could pass through the walls. Jesus asked Thomas to touch His wounds. There is the resemblance of His body while He lived on this earth, but it is perfect. It does not mean that our infirmities and disabilities will still be with us. There is a connection to our old body, but it is perfect. Thomas could not see those wounds. That was why he was asked to touch it.
Jesus appeared and disappeared all of a sudden alongside the two disciples on the road to Emmaus. We will have bodies that can move at will and, in an instant, pass through space and matter. Our bodies will be ageless and incorruptible. We will never experience tears, pain, sorrow, sickness, and death.
Why must God give us a glorified body? Why not just this physical body, the same one we have today, to enter into heaven? Well, because heaven is incorruptible, eternal, glorified, and spiritual. And unless we have a body that is of that nature, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
The kingdom of God is used synonymously with the kingdom of heaven. That was why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:50, “Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.”
Dear friend, what a most amazing, wonderful prospect we have in the future. Whether by the rapture or the resurrection of the dead, we will have this glorified body. And this is what it means to be in Christ.
There is a past at the point of our conversion. We are dead to sin because sin is no longer our master. Christ is now our master. And there is the present, which is at this very moment while we are still alive. Our life is Christ, and Christ is our life. It is to live for Him and to glorify Him.
And there is this blessed future. The day will come when Jesus comes in the clouds. If we are still alive, we will be raptured to meet Him in the air. If we had died and were buried, our bodies would be raised up from the graves and be united with our souls in a glorified body.
And then when Christ comes again a second time as the King of kings and the Lord of lords, we believers in our glorified state shall appear with Him in glory. And we will rule on this earth for 1,000 years, and then dwell in the new Jerusalem, the heavenly city, our eternal home forever and ever.
Sometimes people would ask, “What is the most difficult doctrine in the Bible?” Some people say perhaps it is predestination. Many people have trouble understanding the doctrine of predestination. Others would have their own difficult topics.
But do you realise that without faith it is impossible to please God, to understand the things of God? Just take this word eternal. Can you name something in this world that is eternal? The mountain is not eternal. The ocean is not eternal. Even the universe is not eternal.
There is nothing we can see with our eyes, nor hear with our ears, nor feel with our touch that is eternal. Yet we take it for granted whenever we talk about eternal life. This is our blessed hope. Spending eternity, a million upon a million years, is still not eternity. It is permanent and never-ending, in a glorified body, with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
But before then, as we are still alive, if we are true believers, then we must understand we are dead to sin. We no longer live in that dimension. We cannot remain in habitual sins. If we have sinned, we repent and ask the Lord to forgive us.
And we must live our new life in Christ. Christ, and Christ alone, is our life. He is the very reason for our existence, and we live for Him till we see Him face to face. This is what it means to be in Christ.
Let us pray.
Our Father in heaven, we come before Thee and we give Thee thanks for once again enabling us to consider Thy precious word. Thou has inspired and preserved through the ages, that today Thy people can read and understand, not just in our minds but in our hearts, and live out in our lives.
And we pray that as we learn what it means to be in our Lord Jesus Christ, we learn about these three aspects, the past, the present, and the future. May you help us that we always will learn from Thy precious word. For without it we will not be able to understand the eternal things of thee. And help us not just to be hearers only, but to be doers of Thy word as well.
We pray all this in Jesus name. Amen.
THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANSA Faith And Love That ShinesA Faith And Love That ShinesColossians 1:1-4
The Blessedness Of Our Christian HopeThe Blessedness Of Our Christian HopeColossians 1:5-6a
The Transforming Power Of The GospelThe Transforming Power Of The GospelColossians 1:6b-8
The Need For PrayersThe Need For PrayersColossians 1:9
Prayer for Spiritual ExcellencePrayer for Spiritual ExcellenceColossians 1:9-12
Walk Worthy Of The LordWalk Worthy Of The LordColossians 1:10-11
What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?What Does It Mean To Call God Our Father?Colossians 1:12a
What Does It Mean To Be Citizens Of God’s Kingdom?What Does It Mean To Be Citizens Of God’s Kingdom?Colossians 1:12b-13
I Am Redeemed And ForgivenI Am Redeemed And ForgivenColossians 1:14
Christ, The Invisible GodChrist, The Invisible GodColossians 1:15
Jesus Our Creator Loves Me, This I KnowJesus Our Creator Loves Me, This I KnowColossians 1:16-17; Romans 8:37-39
What Is Christ’s Relationship With The Church?What Is Christ’s Relationship With The Church?Colossians 1:18
What Does It Mean To Be Reconciled To God?What Does It Mean To Be Reconciled To God?Colossians 1:19-22
The Evidence Of Our SalvationThe Evidence Of Our SalvationColossians 1:23a
Are We Willing To Suffer For Christ?Are We Willing To Suffer For Christ?Colossians 1:23b-24
How Faithful Are We?How Faithful Are We?Colossians 1:25-27
What Does It Take To Be Faithful In The Ministry?What Does It Take To Be Faithful In The Ministry?Colossians 1:28-29
The Indispensable Component In Serving GodThe Indispensable Component In Serving GodColossians 2:1-2a
This Is What I Wish For You To Have And To BeThis Is What I Wish For You To Have And To BeColossians 2:2b-5
Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!Message 3: What is Christ to you? My Covenantal Head!Colossians 2:4-9, 19
The Evidence Of Our SalvationThe Evidence Of Our SalvationColossians 2:6-7
Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!Message 4: What is a healthy and sound church? My Covenantal Haven!Colossians 2:7
Our Spiritual Union With ChristOur Spiritual Union With ChristColossians 2:11-12
Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Message 2: What is Church to you? My Covenantal Family!Exodus 12:48-49, Colossians 2:11-12
What It Means To Be ForgivenWhat It Means To Be ForgivenColossians 2:13-14
Faith In Christ Is The VictoryFaith In Christ Is The VictoryColossians 2:15
The Danger Of Being LegalisticThe Danger Of Being LegalisticColossians 2:16-17
The Danger Of Spiritual DeceptionThe Danger Of Spiritual DeceptionColossians 2:18-19
The Vanity Of Self-Denial To Achieve SpiritualityThe Vanity Of Self-Denial To Achieve SpiritualityColossians 2:20-23
Seek Those Things Which Are AboveSeek Those Things Which Are AboveColossians 3:1-2
What Does It Mean To Be In Christ?What Does It Mean To Be In Christ?Colossians 3:3-4
Mortification Of SinMortification Of SinColossians 3:5-7
Put Off All These ThingsPut Off All These ThingsColossians 3:8-9
Put On The New ManPut On The New ManColossians 3:10-11
Human Wisdom Versus God’s WisdomHuman Wisdom Versus God’s WisdomColossians 2:8-10
