Heavenly Living While Still on Earth
Colossians 3:1-4
We have probably all heard the saying, “He’s so heavenly minded that he’s no earthly good.” The idea is that someone is so consumed by thoughts of heaven that he neglects the important things of daily living. And although we can certainly imagine someone doing that, I believe that the greater problem in our day is people who are so consumed with temporal earthly things that they neglect important eternal matters.
The apostle Paul encourages us to be heavenly-minded. In Colossians 2, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he commands us to “seek those things which are above” (Col. 3:1) and “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). And he expected that heavenly-mindedness would result in us being earthly good. After commanding the Colossians to have a heavenly mindset, in the rest of Colossians 3 and 4 Paul applies this truth to godly living for Christ in areas like our moral and sexual purity, church and family relationships, work ethics, and our witness to a lost world. Having a heavenly mindset is decidedly practical. C.S. Lewis said it effectively in Mere Christianity,
…a continual looking forward to the eternal world is not (as some modern people think) a form of escapism or wishful thinking, but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. It does not mean that we are to leave the present world as it is. If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next… It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this one. Aim at Heaven and you will get earth “thrown in”: aim at earth and you will get neither.[1]
Remember that in Colossians 1-2 Paul has set forth Jesus Christ as the very fullness of God, having preeminence over creation, the church, and empty human philosophies. We have a complete salvation in Jesus Christ. So, Paul warned about being taken captive by human traditions and false teachings that promote legalism, mysticism, or asceticism as ways to spiritual fullness. As He summarized in Colossians 2:23, “These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh.”
Why are these things ineffective at helping us against sin? Why do they all fail to make us righteous and godly? Because sin is not just a matter of outward behavior; it is a problem of the heart and of the mind. And the only one who can change our heart and mind is God Himself. And the only way He has provided for redemption and forgiveness of sins is Jesus Christ. So, the only way to live a righteous and holy life is to live in Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. The key to living in godliness is Christ. Notice that in Colossians 3:1-4 Paul refers to Christ five times: We are raised with Christ (Col. 3:1); Christ is sitting at the right hand of God (Col. 3:2); Your life is hidden with Christ in God (Col. 3:3); Christ is our life (Col. 3:4); and we will appear with Christ in glory (Col. 3:4).
Christ is all we need. And Christ is in heaven at the right hand of God the Father. So, Paul is saying in Colossians 3, “If you want to be more earthly good, you need to be more heavenly minded!” Let’s take a look at what Paul says about heavenly living while still on earth. First, we see that Paul gives,
1. Two Requirements for Heavenly Living (Col. 3:1-2)
Paul instructs his readers to “seek those things which are above” (Col. 3:1) and “Set your mind on things above” (Col. 3:2). The foundation for these commands are at the beginning of Colossians 3:1, “If then you were raised with Christ.” Our position in Christ is the determining factor in how we think and how we live as Christians. Paul has written two chapters in this letter establishing the truth of Christ and our position in Him. We just saw in Colossians 2 that you should reject the false philosophies and practices of human tradition because “you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world” (Col. 2:20) Now its because “you were raised with Christ” that you must pursue heavenly living.
It all goes back to what Christ has done for us in our salvation. By faith, we have been joined with Christ, united together with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection. This is what we saw that baptism symbolizes in Colossians 2:12, “buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.”
In light of our union with Christ in His death and resurrection we are to have,
A. A heavenly pursuit “Seek things above” (Col. 3:1)
The verb “seek” means to ‘aim at,’ “strive after,’ ‘investigate,’ or ‘pursue’ in order to obtain something. It’s the word Luke used in Jesus’ parable of the woman who “search(ed) carefully” for her lost coin (Luke 15:8). It’s the word Jesus used in the Sermon on the Mount when He said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33). So, Paul is talking about what you pursue in life. He is saying that because you are raised up with Christ to a new life, you have a new aim, direction, or pursuit. Seeking things above is our ongoing daily pursuit.
What is your new heavenly pursuit? You are you “seek those things which are above” (Col. 3:1). “Things above” is in contrast to “things on the earth.” Things on earth are temporary while things above are eternal. So Jesus teaches in Matthew 6, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matt. 6:19-20). Our Lord says that our pursuit should not be these things, “For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” (Matt. 6:33).
What is it about “things above” that demands our wholehearted pursuit? Because, Paul reminds us that is “where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God” (Col. 3:1). Our passion and pursuit of heavenly things is all about being with Christ. He is the supreme focus of heaven.[2] Paul alludes to Psalm 110:1 where David writes about the Messiah, “The LORD said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool”” Jesus made it clear in Matthew 22 that by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit David prophetically wrote about Christ.
The “right hand of God” is the highest place of honor and authority. “Heaven is not just the place where Christ resides; it is where Christ reigns.”[3] The fact that Jesus is “sitting” indicates His complete victory over sin and death. Hebrews 1:3 speaks about Jesus Christ, “who being the brightness of [God’s] glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,” (Heb 1:3; cf. Heb. 10:12; 12:2).
Ephesians 2 tells us that not only has Christ been raised and seated in the heavenly realms, spiritually we are sitting there with Him. Ephesians 2:6 says that God “raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” We participate in the honor, authority, and victory of Christ. We are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life (Rom. 6:4).
Seeking things above doesn’t mean that we checkout of our responsibilities or that we neglect our duties to work, church, or family. But it means that we do all these things recognizing that Jesus is Lord and King. We no longer love the world or the things in the world (1 John 2:15), but we love the Lord with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-39).
Seeking the things above is to pursue the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). It is to set the goal of your life to live for God’s glory instead of your own (1 Cor. 10:31); to serve Him in building His kingdom instead of yourself in building your own (Col. 3:23-24). It is having your treasure in heaven instead of pursuing the things defined by this world as success (Matt. 6:20). That is our heavenly pursuit.
Paul’s next instruction is for us to have,
B. A heavenly posture “Set your mind on things above” (Col. 3:2)
The second command comes in Colossians 3:2, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” This may sound like Paul is just restating the instruction from verse 1, but there is a different emphasis here. We are not only to seek heavenly things, we are to think heavenly things. The word translated “set your mind” is a word that means “to think about something,” and it is phrased in such a way here that it means “to think about constantly.” And so if seeking things above means having a new direction or pursuit, setting your mind on things above means having a new attitude and outlook.
Paul writes about two different mindsets in Romans 8:
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. (Rom. 8:5-6).
We’re to no longer have our thoughts, beliefs and attitudes centered on the things of this world. Paul goes on in Romans 8 to say that “…the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Rom. 8:7-8).
But we are no longer in the flesh, we are in Christ. We have died with Him and been raised to live in Him. His Spirit dwells in us (Rom. 8:9). Therefore, as Paul writes in Romans 12, we are no longer to have a mind that is conformed to this world, but we are to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Rom. 12:2).
Paul also writes in Ephesians 4,
22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph. 4:22-24).
Setting our minds on things above is contrasted with “things on the earth” (Col. 3:2). Paul repeats that exact phrase in Colossians 3:5, where Paul instructs us to “put to death your members which are on the earth.” Then he lists sins that having an earthly mindset produces: “fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). Instead, the heavenly mindset will produce “tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another,” (Col. 3:12-13).
Listen, a heavenly mindset produces godly living. How you think about God, yourself, and others determines how you act. Setting your minds on things above will not pull you away from helping others here on earth. It will compel you to love and serve them. You must be heavenly-minded if you want to be any earthly good. A heavenly mindset views people around you differently. You view each person in light of eternity. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5 that Christ, “… died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.” (2 Cor. 5:15-16).
Is your mindset conformed to the world or transformed by Christ and His word? Don’t let the world influence your thinking, but let your mind be transformed by Christ and his word. Let your mind be soaked with Scripture and with thoughts of Christ. Since you have been raised with Christ, you have a new direction and a new focus. Seek things above and set your mind on things above.
Then in Colossians 3:3-4, Paul gives,
2. Three Reasons for Heavenly Living (Col. 3:3-4)
Paul gives us three motivations for seeking and setting our minds on things above. The first one is what Christ has done for you in the past.
A. You died with Christ (Col. 3:3)
Colossians 3:3 says, “For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Before you were saved, you were alive to the world and dead to God (Eph. 2:1-5). You were “dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh” (Col. 2:12). But now, having died with Christ, you are no longer dead in sin, you are dead to sin. We are now dead to sin and alive to God. Christ has cancelled your debt, given you a new heart, and filled you with His Spirit. Romans 6 says,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. 7 For he who has died has been freed from sin. (Rom. 6:6-7).
The sinful pleasures and fleshly enticements of this world once held an attraction for us—but no more![4] Those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. (Gal. 5:24). Warren Weirsbe tells the story about two sisters who enjoyed attending dances and wild parties. Then they were converted and found new life in Christ. They received an invitation to a party and sent their RSVP in these words: “We regret that we cannot attend because we recently died.”[5] Those women had set their mind on things above. It’s the truth that Paul declared in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
That’s the first reason you should seek and set your mind on things above. You died. The second reason is,
B. Your life is hidden with Christ (Col. 3:3)
Here is our present reality. Paul says, “… your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:3). What does it mean that your life is hidden with Christ? I think it refers to at least three things. First, our identity. To have our life hidden in Christ means that our lives are so wrapped up in Jesus, that you can’t see us without seeing Jesus. Our identity is in Jesus. The Bible declares Jesus is the light of the world (John 1:4; 8:12; 9:5). But because we are in Him and He in us, Jesus also Our Lord taught, “You are the light of the world,” (Matt. 5:14) and you are to “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16). Christ is our identity. As Paul says in Colossians 3:4, “Christ … is our life.”
Second, Christ is our security. Your life is hidden with Christ. And where is Christ? At the right hand of God in heaven. Can you get any more secure than that? Who can steal your salvation if your life is hidden with King Jesus at the right hand of God? I can’t think of any safer place to be. The old hymn says,
My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand,
All other ground is sinking sand.[6]
A newer hymn says,
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.
One with Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased with His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God![7]
The third aspect of our being hidden with Christ in God is the mystery. By this, I simply mean that there is an aspect to our life that isn’t entirely evident for all to see. When we are born again as a child of God by faith in Christ, most of the time we don’t look significantly different physically. We still look like the same person from the outside. But there has been a transformation on the inside. And certainly, that will change our attitudes and actions. And when lost people see that change, they often don’t understand it. They may even oppose it and persecute you.
It’s a mystery, and those who do not know Christ cannot possibly understand it. We can barely understand it ourselves! But your life is hidden with Christ in God.
The third reason to for heavenly living is,
C. You will appear in glory with Christ (Col. 3:4)
Paul writes, “When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” (Col. 3:4). You died with Christ in the past, your life is now hidden with Christ in the present, and in the future you will appear with Christ in glory. On that day when Christ returns, what is hidden will be revealed. The world will finally see Jesus as He is, as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Every knee will bow before Him and every tongue confess that He is Lord (Phil. 2:10-11). And when the world see Him for who He is, it will see you for who you really are in Christ.
John makes this clear in his first epistle, writing,
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. (1 John 3:1-2).
When Christ is revealed in glory, you will be revealed along with Him. Your life is totally bound up with Christ. Remember, you are united with Christ by faith, so what happens to Christ, happens to you. Christ died—that means you died with Him. Christ rose again—so, you were raised with him. Christ will appear in glory—and you will appear in glory with Him. You are united with Christ not only in His death, burial and resurrection but also in His ascension and His return.
The world presently does not know us. It has no clue of the glory that will be revealed in us at the coming of Christ. God will take a bunch of ordinary saved sinners like you and I, and He will glorify us with Christ. When Jesus comes back to earth and is revealed in full glory, we will also be raised up bodily with Him, and revealed in glory with Him. What a life changing hope that is! And this hope of heavenly glory motivates us to heavenly living today. 1 John 3:3 says, “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”
Are you longing for that day? Are you living for that day? Do heavenly thoughts fill your mind? Are heavenly pursuits what you live for? You have died. You are hidden. You will be revealed. This is your life. But, there is only one reason why these things are so. It’s because of Jesus. He is our life. He is our only hope and joy! He is the only one that gives life. What else is there to live for? What other hope might we have?
[1] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, book III, Chapter 10.
[2] H.B. Charles, Living with Heavenly Priorities, https://hbcharlesjr.today/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Living-with-Heavenly-Prior_Col-3_2-pg-up1.pdf.
[3] Charles, ibid.
[4] Greg Allen, Living the Resurrection Life, https://bethanybible.net/index.php/2013/04/10/living-the-resurrection-life-colossians-31-4/.
[5] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 133.
[6] Edward Mote, The Solid Rock, Baptist Hymnal 2008 #511.
[7] Vikki Cook, Before the Throne of God Above, Baptist Hymnal 2008 #448.