Put On The New Self

"Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is  seated at the right hand of God" (Col 3:1).                                      

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Hey Gang:  I love the Word of God, cover to cover!  I am a literalist - take the Word as it is written.  I believe God has protected His Word down through the generations.  Although I love very jot and tittle written, there are parts that have made a special impact on my life.  Chapter three of Colossians is one of those passages. We share this formula for change in nearly every teaching and workshop.

As I researched for this morning thought, I found myself looking more closely at word meanings and how this fits into Paul's total teaching.  Six phrases, I have color-coded in multi colors with arrows, that we need to focus on are Die, Put Off, Put On and Let God.

Paul always lays a solid foundation for what he is about to teach us.  In Colossians 2:12 he laid such a foundation with these words, "Having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead."

The point: Baptism is more than being dipped under the water; it represents a cleansing process, but it is only a second step.  In conversion we confess our sins and in baptism our sins are washed away.  But be advised, confession and forgiveness is a process that never ends, for we continue to sin overtly and covertly.  That is why Jesus said, "We need to take up our cross daily.”

Pastor Wilkerson wrote, "Our greatest danger as Christians is ‘drifting’".  Jesus said that Christians are to be “Yes, Yes and No, No” people (Matt. 5:37).  We need to have "I know what I believe and who I believe in” firmly planted in our hearts.

Notice Paul begins this teaching with the trigger word "if".  “If you have been raised with Christ" is the key phrase to understanding the remainder of Paul's teaching.  What he is saying is, "If you have been raised up with Christ" a profound change will take place!

Paul tells us the key to that change is that our minds begin to "seek things above". In other words the mundane things of the world becomes less and the things of God have become more important.  Money, prestige, position take on a new meaning - a secondary meaning.

Through resurrection with Christ as our Lord, we now belong to  higher world and our desires and conduct must model that higher world.  And how do we do this?  "By focusing our thoughts on things above".     

Does that mean that when we go under the water of baptism some sort of miraculous cleansing takes place that removes the old and replaces it with the new?  That would certainly be nice....but!  Peter tells us that after the cleansing process is completed, the silversmith process follows.  He said you must work hard to learn more and more about God and one day you will begin to grow into the image of God. Silver is pure when the Smithy/God can see His reflection in the pot.

Soooo, Now hear this!  Paul is not advocating that we withdraw from the world.  He is talking about a radical change process that provides the formula for growing into the image of Christ while in the world, but he also makes it clear that we are to be ambassadors and warriors for Christ; that means we must be in the midst of the fray.  Keep in mind when you leave the parking lot of the church you are entering the mission field.

BEGINNING next week new MORNING THOUGHT days will be Tues and Fri.

Blessings,

Gramps