This shows Being Raised With Christ means more than believing that Jesus lives. It means allowing Him to change the way we live. Colossians 3 teaches us to set our hearts on things above, put away impurity and sinful desires, become compassionate and forgiving, live in peace, and serve the Lord in everything we do. Before God, earthly status does not determine our worth.
Obedience, God’s Covenant, Impurity, Working For God, Compassion, God’s Wrath, Redemption Plan, Jesus Christ
📖 Colossians 3:1 (NIV)
“3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.”
Paul begins this chapter with a powerful statement: you have been raised with Christ.
That changes the direction of life.
Instead of setting our minds only on earthly things, Paul tells believers to set their hearts and minds on things above, where Christ is.
The old life is supposed to be left behind.
Paul specifically identifies sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, and lying as things believers must put away.
Then he gives us the picture of a new life.
Compassion.
Kindness.
Humility.
Gentleness.
Patience.
Forgiveness.
Love.
Peace.
Thankfulness.
The change is not simply outward behavior. Paul says the new self is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.
And then comes a powerful statement about humanity:
There is no Gentile or Jew, slave or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
Paul carries that message into the home and workplace.
Wives, husbands, children, fathers, and servants are all given instructions about how they should live.
Then he gives one of the strongest work principles in Scripture:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.
The chapter ends with a reminder that God sees everything.
There is no favoritism.
📖 Colossians 3:2-4 (NIV)
“2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your[a] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Paul begins by directing our attention away from the temporary things of this world.
Set your hearts on things above.
Set your minds on things above.
This does not mean that we ignore our responsibilities on earth.
We still have families.
We still have jobs.
Still have bills.
Still have responsibilities.
We still have decisions to make.
But Paul is teaching us where our ultimate focus should be.
Earthly things are temporary.
Christ is eternal.
When our minds become completely controlled by money, possessions, status, success, popularity, or recognition, we can lose sight of what truly matters.
Being raised with Christ means our priorities begin changing.
We start asking different questions.
Is this pleasing to God?
Is this helping someone?
And if this is drawing us closer to Christ?
Am I making a decision based on faith or simply on what benefits me?
Our lives are still lived on earth, but our hope is no longer limited to earth.
We work here, but we belong to Christ.
📖 Colossians 3:5-7 (NIV)
“5 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.[b] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.”
Paul does not soften the message about sin.
He tells believers to put to death what belongs to their earthly nature.
He names impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, and idolatry.
Then he continues with anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, and lying.
Why such a strong message?
Because the Christian life is not simply about adding Jesus to our existing lifestyle.
Something has to change.
We cannot say we are following Christ while intentionally holding onto everything that separates us from Him.
This is where obedience becomes important.
Obedience does not mean we will never fail.
It means we recognize that sin matters.
God’s wrath is real.
Judgment is real.
Choices matter.
But so does mercy.
When we recognize that we have done wrong, we have a choice.
We can defend our behavior.
We can blame someone else.
Or we can turn toward God.
Jesus Christ provides the path to forgiveness and redemption.
We put the old life away because Christ is calling us into something new.
📖 Colossians 3:8-10 (NIV)
“8 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, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.”
Paul does not only tell believers what to remove.
He tells them what to put on.
Compassion.
Kindness.
Humility.
Gentleness.
Patience.
Forgiveness.
And above everything else:
Love.
This is a completely different message from simply following a list of rules.
Christianity is supposed to change the heart.
Someone may stop using certain words but still carry hatred.
Someone may follow religious rules but refuse to forgive.
They may appear humble while secretly believing they are better than everyone else.
Paul points believers toward something deeper.
The character of Christ.
We are called to bear with one another.
Called to forgive.
Called to love.
And Paul gives us the standard:
Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
That is difficult because people hurt us.
People disappoint us.
People sometimes make choices that affect us deeply.
But remembering how much mercy God has shown us changes the way we look at others.
We are imperfect people asking for forgiveness from a perfect God.
That should make us slower to judge and quicker to show compassion.
📖 Colossians 3:11-13 (NIV)
“11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.”
“12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. “
This is one of the most powerful messages in the chapter.
Paul says there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian or Scythian, slave or free.
Why?
Because Christ is all and is in all.
Humanity constantly creates divisions.
Compare ourselves.
We rank people.
We look at wealth.
Education.
Social position.
Background.
Appearance.
Success.
Power.
But God does not judge people according to the standards humanity creates.
The final verse makes this even clearer:
There is no favoritism.
God sees the person.
And sees the heart.
God sees our choices.
And sees our obedience.
God sees our faith.
And sees what we do when nobody else is watching.
This does not mean everyone receives the same judgment regardless of their choices.
Paul has already warned that wrongdoing brings consequences.
Instead, it means God does not give one person special treatment simply because of their earthly position.
And the rich person does not receive a different God.
The poor person does not receive a different God.
The powerful person does not receive a different God.
And the unknown person does not receive a different God.
Jesus Christ is Lord over all.
And that means every person matters.
📖 Colossians 3:14-18 (NIV)
“14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”
“15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
“18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”
Paul then brings faith into everyday work.
He tells believers:
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.
This is a powerful principle.
Our work is not supposed to be determined only by who is watching.
If the boss is watching, we work hard.
If nobody is watching, we slow down.
Paul says that should not be the standard.
Why?
Because ultimately, we are working for the Lord.
This changes our work ethic.
Whether someone is running a company, cleaning a building, raising children, working in an office, repairing equipment, serving customers, or doing work that receives little recognition, God sees it.
The world may not recognize everything we do.
God does.
And Paul says there is an inheritance from the Lord.
That means our ultimate reward does not come from human recognition.
We should do our work with integrity because the Lord Christ is the One we serve.
This is obedience in everyday life.
Faith is not only what happens on Sunday.
Faith follows us into Monday morning.
Work becomes an opportunity to serve God.
📖 Colossians 3:19-25 (NIV)
“19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.”
“20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”
“21 Fathers,[c] do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.”
“22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism”
Paul brings the entire chapter back to Christ.
We have been raised with Him.
Our life is hidden with Christ in God.
Christ is our life.
That changes everything.
The goal is not simply to become better people.
The goal is to become people whose lives are being transformed by Jesus Christ.
That transformation reaches every area.
Thoughts.
Desires.
Language.
Relationships.
Marriages.
Families.
Parenting.
Work.
Attitude.
Forgiveness.
Patience.
Compassion.
Obedience.
The Christian life is not separated into compartments.
Jesus is supposed to be part of all of it.
And this is where the Redemption Plan becomes personal.
Jesus did not simply die so we could receive forgiveness and continue exactly as before.
He died and rose again so that we could have new life.
Raised with Christ means a new direction.
We are still imperfect.
We will still make mistakes.
And We will still have moments when we fail.
But our failures do not change who Christ is.
They remind us why we need Him.
grow.
Learn.
Repent.
And we continue to seek God’s guidance.
And we continue forward in faith.
Colossians 3 reminds us that God’s Covenant is not simply something we read about in history.
It reaches into our lives.
God has always been working toward redemption.
The Old Testament reveals the problem of sin and humanity’s need for God.
Jesus Christ brings God’s Redemption Plan into fulfillment.
Through Christ, we can die to the old life and begin walking in the new.
God’s Covenant gives us hope beyond this temporary world.
Earthly circumstances can change.
Positions can change.
Wealth can change.
Health can change.
Relationships can change.
But Christ remains.
And because Christ remains, our hope remains.
Colossians 3 teaches us that being raised with Christ should change the way we live.
Look upward.
Put away impurity.
Control anger.
Stop lying.
Show compassion.
Practice humility.
Be patient.
Forgive.
Love.
Live in peace.
Be thankful.
Work for the Lord.
And remember that God does not show favoritism.
We cannot earn God’s approval through earthly status.
And We cannot buy salvation.
We cannot become perfect through human effort.
And We need Jesus Christ.
That is the beautiful balance of the Christian life.
God calls us to obedience while knowing that we are imperfect.
He calls us to holiness while providing mercy when we fail.
And he calls us to work while reminding us that our ultimate reward comes from Him.
He calls us to love because He first showed us love.
We do not obey because we are perfect. We obey because Christ is changing us.
Colossians 3 begins with being raised with Christ and ends with the reminder that there is no favoritism.
Between those two truths, Paul gives us a picture of what a Christ-centered life should look like.
The old nature must be put away.
The new nature must be developed.
Compassion replaces cruelty.
Humility replaces pride.
Patience replaces anger.
Forgiveness replaces resentment.
Love brings everything together.
Peace begins ruling the heart.
And our work becomes service to the Lord.
This is not a message about becoming perfect.
It is a message about becoming new.
Jesus Christ is our example.
Jesus Christ is our Savior.
He is our Redeemer.
Jesus Christ is the One who gives us the strength to change.
And when we fail, we do not have to pretend we did not fail.
We turn back toward Him.
Forgiveness.
Learn.
Grow.
Continue.
Because the Christian journey is not about proving that we can become perfect.
It is about allowing the perfect Christ to transform imperfect people.
And when God looks upon His people, there is no favoritism.
The question is not:
What position did you hold?
It is not:
How much did you own?
It is not:
How important did the world think you were?
The question is whether we followed Christ.
Whether we believed.
Obeyed.
Loved.
Whether we showed mercy.
Whether we remained faithful.
And whether we allowed Jesus Christ to become the center of our lives.
We have been raised with Christ.
Now we are called to live for Christ.
