THE POWER OF A NEW AFFECTION

Devotion 6 of 12

"If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God." -- Colossians 3:1-3, NASB

THE TEXT Risen with Christ

The issue here is whether or not the individual is "risen with Christ." Notice, the question is not if we HAVE been risen with Him, but if we ARE risen with Christ. Present identity with the risen Christ is the point. The believer does not live in view of what he was, but where he is now. If you are not "risen with Christ" now, your past identity with Christ obtains no power. Originally, that identity took place when we were "buried with Him in baptism, wherein also" we were "risen with Him through faith in the operation," or activity, "of God" Himself (Col 2:12). Our current walk with Christ in "newness of life" is the condition called "risen with Christ." This is a contemporary, not an historical, experience. Those that place an inordinate emphasis upon baptism itself rarely speak of this reality. Being "risen with Christ" is a very real condition. It is not an hyperbole or exaggeration. The Holy Spirit affirms that God "hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Eph 2:6). We have been identified with Jesus in the most intimate way. He is in us (Col 1:27), and we are "in Him" (Rom 8:1). By faith, our lives are "hid with Christ in God" (Col 2:3), and He dwells in our hearts by faith (Eph 3:16-17). That joyful condition qualifies us to engage in a quest for "things above." It also disallows setting our affection on "things on the earth." If, indeed, we are risen with Christ, then our quest must be for "things above." These things are to be sought, and sought diligently. They will not come to us accidentally or by happenstance. Seeking is required because they are hidden from the "natural man" (1 Cor 2:14). The blessed "things that are above" elude everyone that does not seek them. They cannot be seen inadvertently.

-- TOMORROW: THINGS ABOVE --