Christ is Our Life

“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.  Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.  For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” -Colossians 3:1-4

In these four verses, Paul lays out six indicative statements about our reality as believers:

• We have died

• We have been raised with Christ

• Christ is seated at the right hand of God

• Our life is hidden with Christ in God

• Christ is our life

• When Christ appears, we will also appear with Him in glory

These statements spell out what is true for us as believers in Christ.  Paul is teaching the church at Colossae that they have died.  Their life is no longer their own.  It is hidden with Christ in God; now Christ is their life.  These realities are true for us as believers.  

Colossians 2:13-14 says, “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”  Because of Christ’s work on the cross, we can be set free from the bondage of our sin and experience new life in Christ.  

Galatians 2:20 says, “I have been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” Christ is “our life” so much that we are not even alive anymore.  Christ is not just a part of our life; a box that we check off every Sunday morning when we enter the church building.  He is our entire life.  Our every thought, motive, and desire now flow out of the reality that we only have life because of Christ.  He is holding us together (Col 1:17).  In John 14:19, Jesus tells his disciples, “Because I live, you also will live.”  It is because of Christ’s resurrection that our sins are atoned for, and we may live.  Apart from Christ, we can do nothing on our own (John 15:5).  

Let this reality sink in.  Christ is our life.  Apart from him, we can do nothing.  We are no longer waking up every morning and making our own plans, setting our own goals, and living by our own priorities.  We are no longer our own but have been bought with a price (1 Cor. 6:19-20).  This should transform how we live this life that is no longer our own.  May our first thought every morning be “Lord, I surrender this day to you.”  When we make our to-do list for the day, may we write at the very top “If the Lord wills, I will…...”  

I encourage you to join me this week in thinking of a few small ways by which we can daily acknowledge that our life belongs to Christ and our whole purpose is hidden in His greater purpose - that we might know Him and make Him known.  

Praying for you this week!

Andrea