Daily Reading: Colossians 3:1- 17: Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 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.
Paul’s focus in writing to believers in the church of Colossae in chapter three is to exhort them to live as they are and were made to be which is alive in Christ.
“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ” (Colossians 3:1) -The Greek word is (synegeirō)- and it means: raise up together from mortal death to a new and blessed life dedicated to God. This teaches us three things: 1) raised to new life 2) given a blessed life 3) and your life is dedicated to God.
Every man-made religion preaches self-denial and dying to self but the Bible simply declares, “For you died” (Colossians 3:3).
If you think you are still in Adam, then the best you can hope for is to be a decent sinner. But when you know that you died with Christ, you will be empowered to live with Him here and now (2 Tim 2:11, Colossians 3:5).
John Piper said, “God’s aim in creating new people was that they would stop boasting in their distinctives (what separated them) and boast in Christ (who united them)” (Colossians 3:11).
To recap- in Colossians 3:9 we are told we have “put off the old self”, in Colossians 3:10 we have “put on the new self” which leads to Colossians 3:11 where because of our new self we can stop measuring our meaning by comparing ourselves with others because “Christ is all in all”.
John Piper. Living Together When Christ Is All in All. September 13, 1992. https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/living-together-when-christ-is-all-in-all
