Colossians 3:1-8 → Seek the Heavenly, Put to Death the Earthly
- Steve Schott
- Jan 21
- 7 min read
Updated: Jan 21
Theme
► The main theme of Colossians, in my opinion, is the deity of Jesus Christ - His fullness as God, and His complete sufficiency as having done all that is necessary to save us from our sins.
► Colossians 2:9-10a → "9 For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, 10 and in Him you have been made complete,..."
→ Who Jesus is, is complete - the supremacy of the Person of Jesus
→ What Jesus has done, is complete - the sufficiency of the work of Jesus
• There is nothing that we can add to this to effect, improve, or add value to, our salvation.
► Paul will spend the rest of this letter, both carefully elaborating on the divine character of Jesus, and also being very specific about the completeness of what Jesus did on the cross to obtain our salvation.
► Attacks, if you will, from outside the church (and perhaps some from inside the church), that suggest that more is needed, specifically within the framework of our human efforts, to fully obtain salvation, will be shot down like enemy missiles, the intent of which is to destroy our faith.
Outline
► An outline of the Book of Colossians
→ (This is the outline used by the group of teachers I participate with at our church. All of my blog postings for Colossians are following this outline)
Theological
• Pretty much everything in this section (chapters 1 and 2), including Paul’s greeting, is dialoguing about the truth of Jesus, and how it has impacted our lives, and will continue to do so in the future.
• Even when Paul is dealing with the false teaching, he’s dealing with the false teaching in light of the truth about Jesus he’s already dealt with up to that point.
1 → Introduction to the Book of Colossians
2 → 1:1-12 Greeting and Prayer for the Colossians
3 → 1:13-18 The Preeminence of Christ
4 → 1:19-23 Reconciliation Through Christ
5 → 1:24-29 Paul's Ministry to the Church
6 → 2:1-7 Reaching the Riches of Full Assurance
7 → 2:8-15 Made Alive Together With Christ
8 → 2:16-23 Let No One Disqualify You
Practical
• Once we get into chapter 3, and through chapter 4, Paul’s approach will be much more centered on how to live out this true gospel in our everyday lives, in the community of the body of Christ.
9 → 3:1-8 Seek the Heavenly, Put to Death the Earthly
10 → 3:9-17 Put on the New Self
11 → 3:18-4:1 Rules for Christian Households
12 → 4:2-6 Steadfast Praying, Wise Walking, Gracious Speaking
13 → 4:7-18 Final Greetings
Intro to today's passage
► In today's passage we've now moved from the predominately THEOLOGICAL section of Colossians (chapters 1 & 2) to the mostly PRACTICAL section (chapters 3 & 4).
► While we will still see some theological overtones, the main emphasis in these remaining passages will be on how to live out these theological truths in our everyday world.
► And how to be the Light of Christ while doing so.
Passage
1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
→ One must always ask, what is the "therefore" there for.
• Paul's 1st challenge to us, in this more practical section, is to bounce all the forthcoming instructions on how to live our Christian lives, off of the immutable truth that he has so eloquently presented to us in chapters 1 & 2.
→ Paul goes on with "if you have been raised up with Christ,...".
• He's not confused about their salvation when he says "if".
• Some translations say, and some commentators state, that a better translation for "if" should be "since".
• Paul is simply stating that when you identify as believing in Jesus Christ, you are positionally "raised up with" Him. Your actual citizenship is now in heaven.
→ And if that is the case, then we are to keep our focus on "the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."
• It's been often said of someone who is totally sold out for Jesus, that they are "so heavenly minded that they are of no earthly good."
• I would disagree with that from the standpoint, that if they were "heavenly minded", that they would be focused on living out the rest of their "earthly" time in a way that would draw others towards Jesus. I believe that being a good citizen of heaven requires us to be good citizens on earth as well.
• So be a good employee. Be a good family person (husband, wife, father, mother, child, etc.). Be a good neighbor. Treat others, wherever you meet them, regardless of the situation, as those who are loved by God, and have been created in His image.
→ The "big picture" for those of us claiming the name of Jesus, should always be the eternal.
→ Whether we are at home, at work, at the movies, at a game, or wherever, we should always remember that this life is temporary, and short.
3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
→ Technically, we were already dead in our sins before we came to Christ.
→ But when we are "born again" as Jesus talked about with Nicodemus in John chapter 3, our life is "hidden", which has the connotation of being in secret, and I sort of get the idea that Jesus has collected us and tucked us into his coat for safe-keeping. It's not like we are invisible; it's more like we are protected.
→ And of course, when He returns to earth glorified, we will be with Him.
5 Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.
→ Again "therefore", because of what Paul just told us, he tells us to "consider the members of your earthly body as dead to...".
→ Before I comment on the "dead to" list, when comparing a variety of translations, I see that the NASB1995 that I use, has the least aggressive idea.
• In this translation, it seems more to be saying "you should think about this", but that seems kind of weak compared to the KJV, NKJV, ESV, NIV, and NLT that all seem to be very direct as they all tell us to "put to death" these sinful items.
• When we see that, I think it makes it a little more clear how serious Paul is about us committing to a changed lifestyle.
→ What does the "dead to" list consist of?
• "immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed,..."
• I was originally going to comment on each one of these individually, but when I looked up all the Greek words from which these English words come from, I noticed a consistency amongst them.
• All of these words are talking about some form of lust. Whether it is lustful actions, thoughts, or pursuits, they are all about living in a way to gratify our own human desires.
• And Paul says that all of these are expressions of putting ourselves first, of loving ourselves before anything else, before God, "which amounts to idolatry.", which is, of course, the sin of worshipping a false god.
6 For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7 and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them.
→ All of the things on the "dead to" list, are things that are the character traits of those who are disconnected from Jesus, things that are deserving of the "wrath of God".
→ And Paul reminds us that "you also once walked" in them - BUT NOT ANY MORE!!
8 But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth.
→ So since we've turned our backs on how we were living previously, "if you have been raised with Christ", and since we are "dead to" that entire list of lustful behavior and desires, now we need to clean up our speech.
→ Paul encourages us to lay aside "anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech", all of these out of control items "FROM YOUR MOUTH." (emphasis mine).
→ If we are going to be focused on heaven, and working to keep our hearts clean, we also need to conform our speech to reflect the love of Christ, to express thoughts of love and peace, rather than hate and animosity.
So What?
► Believers in Christ should live consistently with WHO WE ARE IN CHRIST!
► When we do this: we reveal who we are IN HIM.
► When we don't do this: we conceal who we are IN HIM.
(Thanks to Brad McCoy, one of my co-teachers at church, for these 3 points)
► My prayer for all of us who claim to be believers in Christ is that we would seek to live in a way that draws others toward the love of Jesus.
Photo • 02/17/2025 - Overlooking Badwater Basin from Dante's View, in Death Valley National Park, CA
“Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995
by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org”
All linked verses are from the YouVersion at www.Bible.com
You have a gift as to interpreting Scripture and always have a great Godly balance as you deal with both the content/meaning of biblical texts AND ALSO the implications/practical expresses of biblical texts. Keep up the good work...and give yourself a raise (see Galatians 6:6-9.
BMc