If you would like to download and print this transcript, please click here.
Living the Risen Life!
Colossians 3:1-9a
Why is today called Palm Sunday? Well, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on the Sunday before His crucifixion the people cut down palm leaves and some waved them over Him as He rode in on the donkey while others laid them down in front of Him as He entered.
Now, one Palm Sunday a little boy had to stay home because he was sick. When his father and siblings returned home from the service they had palm leaves with them. The little boy asked what they were for.
His father explained that palm leaves were used to wave over Jesus and to lay in front of Him as he entered.
The little boy said, “I miss one Sunday and that’s the one Jesus shows up for.”
Imagine being in that crowd on Palm Sunday. They knew the prophecies and they were being fulfilled right in front of their eyes. Prophecies like:
Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
The people in the crowd knew the symbolism, but so did the Sanhedrin and that is why they would do what they did during this most holy of all weeks in human history.
We are in the letter to the Colossians and today we turn to the third and final section of the letter which deals with practical matters. So, turn to Colossians 3 as we begin.
- Living the risen life! 3:1-4
- The Reminder
Colossians 3:1a, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,”
Paul states a fact here, affirming that those who are in Christ have also been raised with Him. Paul told the Galatians the same thing in:
Galatians 2:20a, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.”
When we have truly turned our lives over to Christ our lives reflect His character as He lives through us.
- The Responsibility
Colossians 3:1b, 2, “set your hearts on things above,” “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
To set your heart upon something means that it is something you continue to pursue, it is ongoing. The ‘things above’ is the character of Christ which is proven by the fruit of the spirit growing in us.
As you ‘set your mind’ it means your thoughts will be on becoming more like Christ and your disposition, your character will continue to become more and more like Jesus’.
- The Resource
Colossians 3:1c, “where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
Catch this, Jesus is in His place of power, He is at the Father’s right hand. This is the power we have as we ‘seek the things above’.
Jesus told His disciples of this power in:
John 14:13-14, “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”
The catch here is that it must be “in my name.” When we seek the power of God by asking for God to do His will, through His Son, anything we ask will be given. Do you know how to pray like that? Do you want to learn?
God wants the very best for us. He wants to pour out these blessings. We simply need to be able to see the blessings in spite of the storms. There are rain drops of blessings in every storm; do you know how to see them?
Jesus is sitting beside the Father to intercede on our behalf. That’s better than any mysterious force the world has to offer. We have access to the creator of all things through Jesus.
- The Reason
Colossians 3:3, “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
At the point of salvation we died. This death was to the bondage of sin and it was removed from us so that we could now truly live.
Paul then tells us that our “life is now hidden with Christ in God.” What does ‘with Christ in God’ mean?
Here are 3 things it means:
- Believers share a common life with the Father and Son!
- That new life is concealed from the world.
This means that those outside of Christ don’t understand the union between those who have received Christ and the Godhead.
- Believers have eternal security.
Our new life comes from God, so we stand on His promise of how we are made new in Him.
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
You can’t return to the old if it is truly gone. Now, remember, this promise is for those who have truly entered into a relationship with Jesus. Going to church and acting like a Christian doesn’t make you a Christian. Every one of us must make that decision for themselves and it must be real with Jesus.
Going to church, knowing the Bible, being a nice person doesn’t make you a Christian. You have to die to self in order to gain life in Christ.
- The Revelation
Colossians 3:4, “When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
There are a couple important things to understand here. The first is that at the 2nd coming when Christ is revealed those of us who know Him will be with Him.
The second thing is that Christ not only gives life, He is our life. Without Christ there is no life, there is only death outside of Jesus.
Therefore, the key to the risen life is to have Jesus at the center of your life. What is at the center of your life? If it is anything other than Jesus, you have some alignment to do.
For some their sexuality is the center of their life. For others it’s money. For still others it’s power. But all of those are outside of Christ so they lead to death. Choose the path which leads to life, Jesus.
This brings us to the next section of Paul’s letter:
- Putting sin to death! 3:5-9a
To live the risen life, we must put sin to death.
Romans 6:6, “For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.”
- Reasons for putting sin to death. 3:5-7
- Sin brings God’s judgement.
Colossians 3:5-6, “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.”
In this section of Colossians Paul provides 2 lists of sins. Here is the first one which deals with sexual sins.
‘Sexual immorality’ is any form of sex outside the marriage bonds between a man and a woman.
Let me be bold here, young people, especially you young guys. A woman is a very precious gift that God has given to us and our role as men is to love them like Christ loves the church.
Practically what this means is that it is our role to protect them from sin. This means we protect their purity. Women are not a car or motorcycle that we take for a test drive. Trust me, their motor works and so does yours. And one of the most beautiful aspects of marriage is how you, as a man of God, loves her for an entire lifetime.
Older guys, if you find yourself living with a woman to which you are not married. God’s command to you is the same: love that woman like Christ loves the church. Don’t lead her into immorality, lead her to holiness.
Paul goes on and uses the word “impurity.” Impurity is filthiness. This evil behavior begins in the mind, so when you find your thoughts straying this is the time to check yourself.
Paul expands on this with 2 phrases, “passion” and “evil desires.” Passion refers to the physical side of lust while evil desires refer to the mental side of lust. This is what Paul is telling us to bring under the authority of God.
Finally, Paul shows us that the root of evil comes from ‘greed’ that arises within us. We want what we want no matter the cost to others and ourselves.
When we place selfish desire above obedience to God it becomes idolatry to us. How serious should we take this?
Ephesians 5:3, “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people.”
God has called us to be content, not covetous.
- Sin is a part of the believer’s past.
Colossians 3:7, “You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.”
You know what living in sin was like and in turning to Christ you turned away from sin. Why would you, after tasting of God’s goodness, return to a life of sin?
If we died to sin, how can we still live in it?
- Sins of wicked hate.
Colossians 3:8-9a, “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,”
Here is the 2nd list of sins. The first list of sins were sins against our own bodies; this list are sins against others.
The word ‘anger’ here holds the concept of a deep resentment where the word ‘rage’ is the sudden explosive anger.
Malice, well, that is only being bent on doing harm to others.
Slander is the word from which we get our word blasphemy from. Blasphemy is telling a lie about God and slander is when we tell a lie about another person.
Ultimately when we slander people it is also blaspheme toward God since we were made in His image.
Filthy language is something intended to hurt or wound someone.
Finally, we are told not to lie. Lying is a characteristic of Satan, not God. Satan is the father of lies.
Have you died to sin?
If not, you need to receive Jesus!
If you have, have you returned to your sin? Will you commit to living in obedience?