Colossians 3:1-3 – Seek Those Things Which Are Above | KJV Bible Study
“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. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.”
— Colossians 3:1-3 KJVColossians 3:1-3 contains the most comprehensive statement of the grace-age believer's security and the most radical reorientation of life perspective in all of Paul's practical instructions.
'If ye then be risen with Christ' — this is not a conditional 'if' of uncertainty but of logical consequence: since you have been raised with Christ (which Colossians 2:12 already established as fact for all believers), therefore seek the things above. The resurrection of Christ and the believer's co-resurrection with Him is the foundational reality from which the ethical instruction flows. This is characteristically Pauline: ground the imperative in the indicative. Because of what God has done in Christ, this is how life should be oriented.
'Seek those things which are above' and 'Set your affection on things above' are two distinct commands covering two dimensions of the inner life. 'Seek' (zēteite) involves active pursuit, deliberate orientation of priorities and energies. 'Set your affection' (phroneite — mind, think, be oriented toward) involves the habitual mental posture, the direction of thought and desire. Both the active pursuit and the habitual orientation are to be upward — toward Christ at the right hand of God — rather than earthward.
'For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God' (verse 3) provides the theological ground for this heavenly orientation. Two layers of security: hid WITH CHRIST — the believer's life is located in the person of Christ. And in GOD — the believer's life is located in the very being of God. Nothing can reach you there. No earthly loss, no spiritual attack, no circumstance of any kind can penetrate the place where your true life is hidden. This is the grace-age counterpart to Israel's earthly security in the land; the Church's security is heavenly, indestructible, hidden in God Himself.
The contrast of 'things above' versus 'things on the earth' is not a rejection of material life or earthly responsibilities. Paul elsewhere gives extensive practical instruction about family, work, and civic life. The contrast is one of ultimate orientation and primary loyalty. The things of earth — success, comfort, reputation, security systems — are temporary and secondary. The things above — righteousness, holiness, the will of God, eternal relationships, the glory of Christ — are permanent and primary. The heavenly-minded person is not impractical; he is the most clear-eyed person in the room.
Identify one earthly concern that is currently dominating your mental and emotional energy. Deliberately lift your gaze to Colossians 3:1 — Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Your life is hidden with Him in God. Address your earthly concern from that heavenly perspective. Not with denial, but with proportion: the eternal reality is greater than the temporal difficulty.
Your true life is hidden in the safest place in the universe — with Christ, in God. Nothing can reach it. Let that indestructible security free you to live heavenly-mindedly in a very earthy world. Set your affection on things above. Study to shew thyself approved. Amen.
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