The apostle Paul made an eye-opening statement in his third chapter to the Colossians: “If you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.” Paul’s words should be very provoking and cause us to ask ourselves a very important question; Have I been risen with Christ?
This scripture shows us that if you have risen with Christ, then you’re seeking for God will be of heavenly things and not of the things on the earth. This teaching is a constant pattern in Paul’s writings to the churches he oversees. After his experiences with Christ, he is aware of the heavenly perception of God that most people are unaware of. He is one person that truly believes in the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and you can hear it in his teachings.
Once he saw the risen Jesus, he left serving God after the commandments of the flesh and started living for Him as if He was resurrected with Him. Paul no longer taught that you have to live under the law and work out your salvation by doing things in the flesh on the earth. Instead, he taught that salvation is a gift from God and comes by grace through the faith of Jesus Christ, the resurrected King of Kings.
While every Christian claims to be spiritual, it is evident in Paul’s writings that his continual teaching on this subject is because many who called themselves children of God and followers of Christ followed Christ after the flesh and not the Spirit. It’s very common for people to get stuck in doing works in the flesh over walking in faith. These works either make you feel condemned for not doing enough or makes you feel justified because you accomplished what you think God requires of you. The truth is both are wrong. (More explanation of this in another teaching).
Paul’s teachings will help us realize that Jesus has been resurrected and sits above the earth at God’s right hand. This teaching is important because our nature is to follow after the flesh, the things we can see, touch, and handle in the flesh. We must be taught that there is a higher perception of heavenly consciousness if we are ever going to walk in the Spirit with Christ and in Christ. This means we need to believe that Jesus not only has been resurrected but that He is the resurrection as well.
While many say they believe that Jesus has risen from the dead, making this seem so simple and even silly to bring up, most people’s works would make those statements questionable. Once again, if Jesus is alive, why aren’t you alive with Him in His resurrection? Why aren’t you living and walking in the things that are above? Why are your desires still after the things on the earth? Is it possible that death (earthly mind) is still at work in you? I would say yes, and that’s why Paul had to address this mindset to his churches continually, and that’s why we need to talk about it now.
All of this brings us to the question we are asking in this teaching. Have you risen with Christ? If your answer is yes, then the proof in your life is that you seek things above and not on the earth. Your affections and desires are on heavenly things and not on the things of the earth. If you know a tree by the fruit it bears, then you also know a risen soul by the way it perceives and acts on the words of God. The risen soul will be heavenly-minded and walk according to the truth after the Spirit, not the flesh.
The key to being raised with Him is death.
The key to resurrection is death. The key to being raised is in dying with Christ. To die with Christ is also to be raised with Him. If you die with Christ, your life is hidden with Him in God. To die with Christ is to be dead to sin, which makes you a servant of righteousness and not a servant to sin. Paul addresses this in his letter to the Romans. (Romans 6). You can’t have a resurrection without a death and a burial. To be baptized is to be put into Christ in death and the resurrection.
Death is why you can live in the world and not be of it. Your desire for it departs because you’re dead to it. The resurrection gives you new insight into the heaven where Jesus Christ lives and abides. When you experience both together, you will easily walk in the mindset of resurrection and know that you have risen with Him from the dead.