Seek Things Which are Above Colossians 3:1

Paul the apostle addressed the false-teaching of the Gnostics and Judaizers who were attempting to persuade the church members of Colosse toward their ideas. The Gnostics believed that Jesus was not deity, and the Judaizers believed that a person had to follow the law of Moses in addition to believing in Jesus for salvation. After Paul showed Jesus to be God, and demonstrated how the “rudiments of the world” were temporary and not eternal, he tells the Colossians where their seeking should be. We read in chapter three and verse one:

If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,

where Christ sits on the right hand of God.

The verse begins, “If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,” Paul employed the word “If” which in this case means “if or whether” and implies that there is two or more selections possible. There is the possibility that those to whom he is writing are or “are not” as he is about to write. He wrote, “If you then be risen with Christ” or “raised up together from mortal death to a new and blessed life dedicated to God”, “seek” which means “aim for, strive after, require, demand, or crave” “those things which are above” or “in a higher place, up, upwards, on high and of the quarters of the heaven”. Rather than being concerned with the temporary “things” of the earth, the Colossians were to be “aiming at and craving” the things which are eternal.

The verse continues, “where Christ sits on the right hand of God.” As a further motivation to the Colossian church members, Paul tells them where these “things which are above” are specifically located: “where Christ sits on” or “is seated, fixed, occupied and abides” “on the right hand” which is the place of honor and authority “of God”. When Jesus Christ went back to heaven after His ascension, He was seated at the right hand of God. This is where Paul the apostle directs the attention of the church members in Colosse, because where Christ sits, things are eternal and not temporary as the heretical teachers were promoting.

While we meditate upon Paul's words, let us think about the idea of “seeking”. Jesus said, “Seek, and you shall find”, and “aiming at and craving” the eternal “things which are above” is the best use of our time alloted on the earth. As we think on these things, perhaps we should take inventory of our time and measure how much of it we devote to seeking the heavenly things, and if we find that we need to make adjustments, let us be obedient to the words of Paul and seek for the things that last.

Next time we will see where Paul says to set our affection, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow...there is more...

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