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Colossians 3:2-4
Paul begins his exhortation of the believers in the assemblies with a reminder of just what happened, when
they united themselves to Christ, by faith. They died with Him, were buried with Him, and were raised
with Him - raised from the dead, in new Life - a whole new creation, in Christ - Christ Ones. Since this is
true, Christ Ones should be occupied with seeking those things which are above.
We looked at one of those things above last week - the one that Paul singled out, in the account - what
was that? It was Christ, sitting at the right hand of God. There, Christ is resting, in the finished work of
redemption; there, He carries on His ministry of reconciliation, and intercedes for His Body of believers, on
earth.
As Paul continues, notice he again emphasizes believers setting their minds there - on the things above.
Well read from verse 1 again.
[Colossians 3:1-4]
The fact that Paul essentially repeats the exhortation of verse 1 again in verse 2 indicates the importance of
what he is saying, to believers. In addition, Paul even indicates what not to do - not to set your mind on the
things on the earth - which gives even greater weight to his words.
What does it mean, to set your mind on the things above? Does it mean to read Gods Word and pray,
24-7? No. You have to sleep, dont you? And eat; and prepare food, and buy food, and that takes time.
And what about those other people in your life - kids, husbands, wives, parents? They take time too, dont
they? Then theres work - and other obligations. And all of these things take time - in fact, quite a lot of it.
The truth is, we have many earthly concerns and responsibilities. So then, how can you have your mind set
on the things above - when you have to be minding these things? Is it even possible?
In fact, God has made it possible for us. All of us who believe have the Holy Spirit, dwelling with us in our
earthen vessels - the vessel in which we are currently living. And through the Holy Spirit, we have the
ability to commune with God.
At any time while here on earth, we can talk to our heavenly Father. We can find out what He thinks, about
whatever situation we find ourselves in. We can ask for His help, for His wisdom, in our circumstances in
life. We can choose to be mindful of what He desires us to do, where to go, what to say.
And, we can get His viewpoint, on those difficult people in our lives; on the challenging situations, we can
find ourselves in; and especially, on the motives and intents of our own hearts. To commune with our
heavenly Father through the circumstances of our earthly lives is to set our mind on the things above; and
in His light, we see light (Ps 36:9) - light, by which we see how to live.
And what about the times in our lives, which are not filled with earthly responsibilities or cares? What we
might call down time? Now, the world tells us that down time should be for us - that we should take
time for ourselves. You deserve down time; you earn down time. Down time is all about pampering, and
entertainment, and escape. Thats what the world holds out to you, enticing you to waste the very precious
time that God has given you on earth, to prepare for your forever life with Him.

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Dont take the bait! That would be minding the things on the earth. Pauls exhortation here - stated in three
ways, for emphasis - is to make your down time, up time. Spend those precious unclaimed moments with
God; in fellowship, with the Father and the Son.
God will not pamper you, but He will comfort you; and His comfort is strength; the strength we need to
live. He will not entertain you, but He will engage you, in His Word - so you can know the deep things of
God, which give true satisfaction.
And He will not make a way of escape for you, but through your time with Him, He will show you how to
go through things, instead; and you will learn endurance. These are all qualities that will fit us for living
with our Lord, forever.
Verse 3 is meant by Paul as an explanation of why he is exhorting the believers to set their minds on the
things above. Paul explains, For you died. You died out of that old creation, in Adam; thats an earthly
creation. So you are no longer of the earth; should you then be minding earthly things? No.
Now your life is hidden with Christ, in God. Heaven is the source of your Life - eternal Life; and the
kingdom of heaven is the place in which you will conduct yourself in that Life, forever. That makes heaven
both your origin and your destiny; having been born again, born from above, Christ Ones are a heavenly
people.
Since Christ Ones already possess that Life, the remainder of their time on earth is their time of
preparation, of practice, in living that Life. And in order to practice, Christ Ones MUST set their minds on
the things above.
Lets look at a practical illustration of this. Lets say you are having a home built for you; your dream
home. But while it is being built, you have to live in a tent. Now a tent was never meant to last forever;
its strictly temporary housing. And youre reminded of that every day; because the tent is wearing out.
The fabric is fading, tearing; its even got dry-rot.
Now, you know youre going to be in your dream home some day; the Architect has planned it, and in fact,
its already fully paid for. Still, right now youre in the tent.
But you have some money to spend. So would you buy for the tent, or for the permanent, forever
home? Not that you couldnt use the item, while youre still in your tent; you could very well use it, here
and now; in the tent. But what would you buy for? For the home, of course. Because when its time to
move to your home, you want it to be ready; furnished; functional; useful. Ready for everything you will
do there - right?
This earthly body is your tent. Its strictly temporary housing; and it has dry-rot. Its not going to last
forever. But you have a building from God - a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens (2 Cor
5:1).
Now, its not money you spend on your life; its time. Lets reflect for a moment. How much time did we
spend today - this week - this year, so far - minding the things above, which is for our forever home - the
one that was planned by the Master Builder, that has already been paid for, by our Redeemer? And how
much time did we spend minding the things of the earth, for our tent-life - the one which is perishing?

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It doesnt matter whats past, now; what matters is what we do, with the time we still have. And the
amazing truth is that, if we choose to spend that time on the things above, it will still benefit us in the here
and now; while were still in these tents.
Paul says, Your life is hidden with Christ in God. What does he mean, by this? You died, and now you
have a new life. Christ is our life; and the incorruptible Seed of His eternal Life abides within us (1 Pet
1:23, 1 Jn 3:9); the spirit of Life, for a new body.
Can you, or anyone else, actually see that new life, in you? Undoubtedly, the evidence of the new life can
be seen in you, but the new life itself cannot be seen. In fact, all that is seen is the same old body; you
know, the one with dry-rot. Our new life is hidden.
But Paul points out that our new life is hidden with Christ. When Christ died, we died with Him; when He
was buried, we were buried with Him; and when He was raised from the dead, we were raised with Him.
Where is He now? Verse 1 - Hes seated at the right hand of God.
And were already there, with Him - in God - for in the eternal heavens, outside of time, Gods plan is
already complete; whom God justified, these He also glorified (Rm 8:30). Paul wrote that God has made
us alive together with Christ, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenlies, in Christ
Jesus (Eph 2:5-6). Its all finished.
And yet Paul says, our lives are hidden; they are concealed, with Christ. At the right hand of God, Christ,
in His glorified body, is hidden from the earth; in the eternal heavens, He is concealed from the temporal
view. And our lives are concealed with Him there; our eternal Life in a body of glory, still hidden from
view. It has not yet been revealed what we shall be, has it (1 Jn 3:2)?
But it will be revealed. Paul goes on to say that when Christ appears, we will appear with Him in glory.
Notice that the believer is always spoken of, as being with Christ; died with, raised with, hidden with,
appear with. Thats because the believer has united himself to Christ, by believing into Him. As Paul says
in verse 4, Christ is our Life; we share His Life; and so will share in His glorious destiny.
Christ is now hidden from view; but Paul indicates that He will appear; He will be made manifest. Since
the place that He is hidden is heaven, we understand that He will emerge from heaven; then He will appear;
He will be seen, in His glorified body.
We know of two occasions based on Scripture when Christ will do this; when He comes for His church, and
when He comes back to the earth, to set up His kingdom - His Second Coming, to the earth.
Which would Paul be referring to, here? He would be referring to when Christ comes for His church. Paul
is speaking of when the members of the Body of Christ will appear with Him in glory; their lives, no longer
hidden, but revealed; manifested in their glorified bodies.
And when will this happen? We can know several things about the when. We know that it will be
according to Gods perfect timing; and we know that it will be when the church is complete.
We know it will be before the Great Tribulation; for Jesus will deliver us from the wrath that is to come (1
Th 1:10). And current events would suggest that it will be soon. But the most important thing for the
church concerning the when is that believers are to be ready, when Jesus comes for them; ready to meet
their Lord.

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Were going to take a closer look at that meeting; its one of those great above things that we can set our
mind upon. First lets see what Jesus told His disciples, concerning it.
Turn to John chapter 14. Having completed His prophetic ministry, Jesus knew that His hour had come,
when He should depart from the world, to return to His Father. But before He did so, Jesus spent time in
fellowship with His disciples, preparing them for what was to come; loving them through, to the
completion of what God was about to do, through Him (Jn 13:1) - to bring many sons, to glory.
Now, Jesus had spoken of going where His disciples could not come, for He was about to return to His
Father, by way of the cross. Then the disciples became concerned at the prospect of being separated from
their Master (Jn 13:36-37).
It was then that Jesus gave them a further assurance - one upon which they could rest their hearts, so that
they would not be troubled.
[John 14:1-3]
v. 1 The answer to a troubled heart is always to trust God; trust in Jesus.
v. 2-3 Remember that Jesus is reassuring His disciples concerning His leaving them; although they cannot
follow Him now, they will follow Him afterward (Jn 13:36). They cannot follow Jesus now, because He is
going to the cross. But to where will they follow Him afterward? Lets see what Jesus said.
In My Fathers house are many mansions. The word mansions is literally, dwellings; habitations;
abodes; the idea is where a person lives. In My Fathers house are many dwellings. What is the Fathers
house? Heaven. Jesus said that there are many habitations there, in which to live.
Jesus was not speaking of mansions; He was not speaking of houses. Jesus was speaking of the dwellings,
in which all who believe in Him, will live with Him. These dwellings are in the Fathers house.
What are these dwellings? Bodies of glory; as Peter wrote, they are already reserved in heaven for us (1
Pet 1:4); already a reality in the eternal heavens, according to the Fathers plan for His sons. That plan will
be realized in time, when our earthly dwelling is changed into a glorified dwelling.
Jesus indicated that the dwellings are already there; theyre already reserved, in the plan of God. But notice
what Jesus said, next: I go to prepare a place for you. The dwellings, in the plural, are already there; but
the place, singular, that Jesus speaks of was yet to be prepared; yet to be made ready by Him, for those who
believe in Him. What is this place?
Its not heaven; heaven is the Fathers house; that already exists; always has. So what is this place? Its the
New Jerusalem. Thats the place that Jesus is preparing for all of His disciples; for the true church. He will
come again, and receive them to Himself; and the New Jerusalem will be their home, together.
The words of Jesus suggest the ancient customs involving marriage, among the Jews - which of course, His
disciples would have been familiar with.
When a man and a woman decided to marry, they bound themselves to one another in a formal marriage
contract, or covenant. This initiated the period known as the betrothal, during which the couple was
considered legally married. Nevertheless, the man and the woman would remain apart in their respective
homes during this one to two year period of betrothal; a period of preparation.

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During the time of betrothal, the man returned to the house of his father, and prepared a home for his bride,
often adding it right on to his fathers house. Meanwhile, the woman remained in her home, where she
prepared her wedding garments. She also prepared, by learning the customs of her husband during the time
of betrothal.
When the betrothal period came to an end, the bridegroom came to fetch his bride, heralded by the trumpets
of his attendants, and took her to their new home, where the marriage was then celebrated with a feast and
the couple consummated their marriage. The two had become one flesh.
The members of Christs Body are His betrothed on earth, having bound themselves to Jesus, through faith
in Him; the Eternal Covenant is their marriage contract.
You can see Jesus drawing on this imagery here, with His disciples; like the bride and the bridegroom, they
are to be separated for a time, while He is preparing a home for them - the New Jerusalem. But then Jesus
will come, as the bridegroom, and receive His bride to Himself - and they will be together, forever.
In a moment, were going to take a look at when Jesus comes for His Bride. But before we do, we need to
consider exactly what Hes saying to His disciples here. Jesus said to the disciples that He will come again
and receive them to Himself. But they have long since died, and Jesus hasnt come back yet. So what
happened to the disciples?
Paul clears that up for us in his second letter in Scripture to the church in Corinth. Turn to Second
Corinthians chapter 5. Paul has been speaking of how it is that he and his fellow ministers of Gods Word
do not lose heart, despite their many trials and tribulations. Its by keeping their eyes on the unseen,
heavenly realities - the things above. Then Paul gives the Corinthians a glimpse at this heavenly reality.
[Second Corinthians 5:1-9]
v. 1-4 In this whole passage, Paul is speaking specifically about believers. Here hes showing what happens
when the tent gets beyond the dry-rot phase; when its destroyed.
Of course, he is referring to a believer dying. What would happen? Well, Death would take his earthly
body; but thats of no concern to the believer. Why not? Because he has another body; a permanent one,
from God; a body of glory, in which he will live forever.
Notice that Paul says this body is eternal in the heavens and that it is our habitation, or dwelling
which is from heaven - In My Fathers house are many dwellings; we see the same idea, here.
We earnestly desire that new body, dont we? More every day! Why wouldnt we; it is incorruptible; it
cant be defiled; and it wont fade away, like this one is doing. Most importantly of all, it fits us for heaven.
So we look forward to when our bodies will be changed - and mortality is swallowed up by eternal Life.
Verse 3 begins with an If thats really a Since: Since indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be
found naked.
When a man dies, and he did not receive the Incorruptible Seed of eternal Life for a new body, what would
happen to him? His body would corrupt, and without a new body, that would leave him . naked; and
therefore, unfit for the presence of God.

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But the believer has been clothed already; His forever-living body is already reserved in heaven, for Him.
This means that he will not be found naked.
v. 5-7 The Father has actually given us His Holy Spirit as the seal on His promise to us, that our bodies
will absolutely be redeemed from death, through their glorification (Eph 1:13-14). There can be no greater
assurance.
And that gives us confidence. While we are still living in these earthly bodies, and are absent from our
Lord, we walk by faith in the spirit of Life that He has given us - eternal Life. Thats the same Life that we
will live by, in our bodies of glory.
We live now, just as we will live when we have been glorified - so that becomes our reality. We walk by
faith, in the spirit of life, in submission to our Lord. This is the walk of the believer no matter what body he
dwells in - which is what Paul brings out next.
v. 8-9 Our aim is to be pleasing to the Lord - wherever we are. Now, Paul is speaking of believers in his
day, as being in one of two places. That was true in the disciples day, and it is still true, in our day.
Paul has already made it clear that while we are at home in our earthly bodies, we are absent from the Lord.
Were on earth; were confined to these bodies; so were not yet with our Lord.
But what is the other possibility, for the believer? Its to be absent from the body, and to be present with the
Lord. If you were absent from this earthly body, what has happened to you? You died; that is, your body
did.
But what about you; that is, the real you - the one that dwelt in that body; your spirit being? Paul indicates
that you are present with the Lord.
For the believer, to be absent from the body is to be immediately present with the Lord; and where is the
Lord? In heaven; at the right hand of God. And that is where all believers go, upon the dissolution of their
earthly bodies; until the Day when Jesus returns, and their bodies are loosed from Death.
Now, although these believers still await their bodies of glory, this is not the same as being naked, for their
glorified bodies are guaranteed; reserved; God sees them as clothed, and they are fit for His presence. And
also, there is no sense of dissatisfaction for them, in not yet having their new bodies.
In fact, Paul indicates in verse 8 that believers are well-pleased to be absent from their earthly bodies - it is
preferable to them - because they are present with their Lord. They are completely satisfied, with Him and
in Him. And Paul himself has been experiencing that great satisfaction for some time, now.
But the day is coming soon when every member of the Body of Christ will experience that satisfaction of
being in the presence of their Lord; the day when the Bridegroom comes to fetch His bride.
Turn to First Thessalonians chapter 4. Despite the very short time that Paul had to establish the assembly in
Thessalonica, the believers there were thriving, even under fierce persecution. Nonetheless, they were not
quite clear on all that Paul had taught them, concerning the Lords return.
Paul certainly would have shared with them about their assured hope of glory, based on the resurrection of
Jesus from the dead - a fundamental truth.

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But some of the believers in Thessalonica had by now died, and the rest found themselves unsure of that
hope of glory for them - death just seemed so final, so irreversible. And as time went on, without the Lord
coming back, with corruption setting into those dead bodies - the Thessalonian believers had begun to
despair - just like those who had no hope.
Through his letter, Paul was seeking to encourage this assembly, showing them that Death has no hold on
those who are in Christ; Death is a vanquished foe.
[First Thessalonians 4:13-18]
v. 13 From what Paul has already written in this letter, it is clear that he had taught the believers that Jesus
would be coming back for them, and that they would then enter into His presence (1 Th 1:10, 2:19). Their
lack of understanding concerned those believers among them who had died; they had become uncertain
what would happen to them.
Notice that Paul speaks of believers who have died as those who have fallen asleep. This is a powerful
metaphor for the believer who has died in Christ.
Someone who has fallen asleep is no longer conscious to the earthly realities, but they are still conscious to
a different reality; the dream world. And sleep is only temporary; when they awake, they continue with
life.
And so it is for the believer, who has died in Christ. They are no longer conscious of the world, but they
are fully conscious to heavenly realities; they are absent from the body, but present with the Lord. And one
day, their body will awake from sleep, rising from the dead in glorious Life; and they will then continue to
dwell in that glorified body, forever.
This is what Paul desires the Thessalonians to understand, about those among them, who have died in
Christ. Alive or dead, every believer has the same hope of glory - and it is an assured hope, because it is
founded on no less than the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Whether we wake or sleep, we will live
together with Him (1 Th 5:10).
v. 14 The Father has secured the destiny of those who have joined themselves to Christ, by faith. As we
have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be of His resurrection (Rm 6:5); for we are
of the same Seed.
And just as Jesus rose from the dead, returning to the Father, those who have died believing in Jesus will be
brought back with Jesus, into the presence of the Father. When Jesus comes for His church, they will not
miss out.
Now Paul gives some details about when the church is caught up to be with the Lord.
v. 15 This was likely something that the Lord had revealed personally to Paul, to be shared with the Body
of Christ. Paul speaks of those believers who are still alive on the earth when Jesus comes for His church and of those believers who have died. Who gets to go first? The ones who have died; they will precede
those of us who are still alive. After all, some of them have been waiting for thousands of years!

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v. 16-18 So the Lord descends from heaven. In the Revelation, He indicates that He will come quickly,
and His reward is with Him - the glory, which each one who has believed, will receive - according to their
work of faith (Rev 22:12). In all likelihood, the spirit beings which are present with the Lord in heaven
will come with Him; for they are about to receive their glorified bodies.
Where does the Lord descend to? Not to the earth; He will not set His foot upon the earth until He comes
to set up His kingdom there. Where do we meet the Lord, in verse 17? In the air. He descends into the air;
into the atmosphere of the earth.
The shout, the voice of the archangel, and the trumpet of God all speak of a signal, a summons (Rev 4:1).
The Bridegroom has come, and He is calling for His bride. This is the moment she has been waiting for!
She has been watching eagerly for His return; and she is ready (1 Th 5:6).
So those believers who have died are given deference; they rise first, speaking of their bodies, rising in
glory into the air - bodies of spirit - where they are reunited with their beings of spirit.
Then those believers who are still living are caught up together with the others, their bodies being changed
on the way up. Paul says elsewhere that this change - the body being glorified - occurs in a moment; in the
twinkling of an eye (1 Cor 15:51-52).
The term for caught up is where the term rapture comes from (from the Latin noun, rapere). Its the
same word used to describe Jesus being caught up to heaven, in His ascension (Rev 12:5). Its a word that
conveys force being suddenly exercised; a snatching, or seizing.
Think of the Bridegroom, whisking the bride off of her feet. He, too, has been waiting for this moment.
After so much waiting, everything happens swiftly; Christ, our very Life, appears; and we appear with
Him, in glory (Col 3:4).
Just like that, we are face to face, with our Lord. All that is not of Him has been consumed by the fire of
Gods holiness (1 Cor 3:13-15). The Lord presents us to Himself - a church of glory; not having spot or
wrinkle or any such thing; holy and without blemish (Eph 5:27).
And then the Bridegroom escorts the bride to their new home - and carries her over the threshold of
eternity, into the New Jerusalem. In the Revelation given to John, he was given to see this city, which he
describes as coming down out of heaven from God (Rev 21:2); and descending out of heaven from God
(Rev 21:10).
That means this city has a heavenly origin; that it has been built in heaven; therefore it has no earthly
foundation.
In the Greek, the word New here means of a new kind. There has never been a city like this; a heavenly
city, with no foundation on the earth.
John goes on to say that this city has been prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. The city is the
bride, for the glorified Christ Ones are its inhabitants. We might say, we are the city of Escondido.
Jesus had said to His disciples, I go to prepare a place for you. Here is the New Jerusalem, which He has
prepared; its His bride, who is now adorned for her husband; glorified. The two have become one flesh - in
bodies of glory - who will now bring forth the fruit of Life on the earth - sons of God, during the Kingdom
age.

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Jesus is, at this very time, preparing the New Jerusalem for His bride; and preparing the bride for her new
home. That preparation is the work of His Spirit in us, to sanctify us.
What do we need to do, to receive that preparation? Submit to the leading of the Spirit; and as we purpose
in our hearts to set our mind on the things above, which He is continually sharing with us, we will be
prepared. After all - we want to be ready when the Lord comes for us - not long from now.
Reading: Col 3, Rom 8:1-13, Eph 17-24.