The Saviour is now seated on the right hand of God. This signi fied that He has finished His work of atonement. It shows His su preme authority in every sphere of activity. In a coming day Christ will bring the whole world into submission (Phil. 2:5-11). Our pur pose should be to do our part in reaching a lost world for the Sav iour. In verse four we have the prom ise, 'When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." There is a past: He has raised us. There is a wonderful present: He chal lenges us to give ourselves to His hands. There is a great future: we shall appear with Him in glory. The world will not understand what our goals are. But we know how the puzzle of life will all work out. The Lord is going to accom plish it all according to His divine plan. Let us make sure that our af fections are on things above, not on things on the earth! CONFORM ITY TO GO D Have you ever stopped to real ize that regardless of the financial status which may be ours, as be lievers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are assured of our standing with Him and our eternal home in hea ven. Paul exhorts us, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:1, 2). When Jesus died on the cross we died with Him. This is the basis by which He has for given our sins. We rose with Him from the grave to guarantee that we have this eternal life which He
keeping the laws of the Old Testa ment but through the person of Christ Himself. The laws were only a shadow of things to come. Do you foolishly base your hope on shadows? Such w ill come to naught! Our completeness in this life can come only as we continue in the fellowship of our Saviour. PRESENCE AND POWER If you have ever been in an air plane, or even on top of a high building you have noticed the dif ference in such a perspective. The purpose of Colossians is to give us a proper panoramic view of Christ. The Christian life is not a negative life. It is filled with the presence and power of the Saviour Himself. God wants us to gain full benefit from the person of Christ (2:19). We are to die to self that we may live unto God. We are told that we are "risen with Christ". When Jesus came forth from the grave by faith we were literally risen with Him. In this manner God automatically counts you as already having been raised with Christ. You have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. It is like a criminal who might die before his execution. There is no longer any judgment which can touch him. This is our identification with the Lord. There is no condemnation, for Jesus took your whole penalty. Similarly, in God's mind you are already with Christ in heaven. All you have to do is to claim that which God of fers to every individual as a free gift through faith. As a result, we are to seek those things which are above (3:1). Our affections are not to be centered on things on the earth (vrs. 2).
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