(continued from December 2025)
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:1–2 NKJV)
Schaff’s Popular Commentary contrasts the “seek those things which are above” of verse 1 with the “set your mind on things above” of verse 2, suggesting that the former pertains to outward action while the latter refers to the discipline of the mind. “‘Seek’ pointed to the outward conduct, this [“set”] carries the injunction to the inward thought and controlling desire” (Schaff’s). In any case, ‘seeking those things which are above’ and ‘setting your mind on things above’ are inseparably tied together; they are a package or necessary components forming a single unit. Really, ‘setting the mind on things above’ precedes ‘seeking those things which are above’; ‘setting one’s mind on things above’ is the catalyst or the motivation to “seek those things which are above.”
“Risen with Christ, they were to set their affections on things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God, and not on things on the earth. The two could not go together” (Darby’s). “That is, concentrate your concern on the eternal, not the temporal” (Bible Knowledge Commentary). “You must not only seek heaven; you must also think heaven” (Lightfoot, qtd. in Thomas Constable’s Notes). “To set the mind upon him in the affections is to direct the thoughts, desires, and affections toward the things that are in heaven, cultivate an earnest desire for them, and follow the path that leads to them” (Lipscomb emphasis added). Have you and your family set about to “cultivate an earnest desire” “toward the things…in heaven”? If not, why not start now? Such can help make a difference between two alternative eternities awaiting souls!
Aside from a one time achievement, “set” requires continual action from which the child of God never retires. Setting one’s affections on things above is the opposite of the aspirations of lost souls who remain in their sins—“who set their mind on earthly things” (Philippians 3:19). Instead, “Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20). “Do not love the world or the things in the world [right things as well as sinful things]. If anyone loves the world [more than God and His Word], the love of the Father is not in him” (1 John 2:15; cf., Luke 14:26; Matthew 10:37). “You say that you were dead with Christ, and that you have risen with Christ. Live, then, the risen life, and not the life of those who have never undergone this matchless process. Live above” (Spurgeon’s). “The thoughts should be occupied about the things where Christ now dwells, where our final home is to be, where our great interests are. Since we are raised from the death of sin, and are made to live anew, the great object of our contemplation should be the heavenly world” (Barnes’ Notes). “Paul does not mean that we should never think the things upon the earth, but that these should not be our aim, our goal, our master. The Christian has to keep his feet upon the earth, but his head in the heavens. He must be heavenly minded here on earth and so help to make earth like heaven” (Robertson’s).
The practical conclusion from this blessed union with Jesus is that we are, as Christians, bound to be true in our conduct to the facts of our spiritual life, and to turn away from the world, which is now not our home, and set our mind (not only our ‘affections’) on things above. Surely the Christ, ‘seated on the right hand of God,’ will be as a magnet to draw our conscious being upwards to Himself. Surely union with Him in His death will lead us to die to the world which is alien to us, and to live in aspiration, thought, desire, love, and obedience with Him in His calm abode, whence He rules and blesses the souls whom, through their faith, He has made to live the new life of heaven on earth. (MacLaren emphasis added)
“Unless the affections are set on them [“things above”], they will never be sought after in a proper manner” (John Gill’s). Again, we see that a Christian’s priorities must be redirected from focus on the physical and temporary sphere on which we live, along with its treasures, to the spiritual worldview depicted in the Scriptures (Matthew 6:33). Mind you, something in the physical world that mankind may find attractive does not have to be a sinful activity. Obviously, the children of God must make every effort to avoid committing sins (Romans 6:1), but even non-sinful tenants of our world must be relegated below embracing the spiritual. “We may use the world without abusing it. But it must be secondary, and made subservient to the higher and heavenly interests of the soul” (Lipscomb). Every Christian needs to practice total commitment—complete submission—to Jesus Christ and His New Testament!
However, Christians need to be careful not to leap to the erroneous conclusion and corresponding behavior of either asceticism or Gnosticism.
Paul was not enjoining an otherworld asceticism; he had just condemned that (2:20-23). He was saying that life in this world will be better if it is lived by a power beyond this world, the power of the resurrected, ascended, glorified Christ. The “earthly things” (lit., “things upon the earth,” 3:2…) to be avoided are moral, not physical (cf. immorality, impurity, lust, etc.…). Paul was not encouraging a kind of Gnostic disdain for material things. Every physical thing God created, including the body and sex, is good (cf. Gen 1:27-30; 1 Tim 4:1-4). (Bible Knowledge Commentary)
Today, most Christians live in moderate environments that are only interrupted occasionally by illness, accidents, death of loved ones and disappointment in interpersonal relationships. Many other Christians scattered around the world face the same life circumstances plus many more real and dreadful incidents such as war, terrorism, famine and poverty. Irrespective of what it is in life that drives us to our knees, figuratively, our relationship with Jesus Christ and our Christian fellowship can, in a sense, allow us to rise above earthly turmoil. Jesus said, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matthew 10:28). The worst anyone can do to a Christian personally is to take his life from him, but for the Christian, life goes on beyond his earthly existence. “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.” Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:35–39)
Even death, which we dread, is merely a threshold from one’s earthly and temporary existence to an immortal spiritual existence—Heaven for the child of God. Revelation 2:10 declares that a torturous life as a Christian or even his martyrdom will be amply rewarded in Heaven. “Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”
Conclusion
Translation and Paraphrase: 3:1. Therefore since you were raised with Christ (at the time of your baptism, from your state of spiritual death), be seeking the (holy and spiritual ) things that are above, where Christ (now) is, seated at the right hand of God. 2. Set your mind on (the) things that are above; (be earnest about them); and (set) not (your minds) upon the things upon the earth (which are disappointing and perishing). (Fields)
Colossians 3:1–2 teaches us “from now on the Christian will see everything in the light and against the background of eternity. He will no longer live as if this world was all that mattered; he will see this world against the background of the larger world of eternity” (Barclay qtd. in Thomas Constable’s Notes). “Wealth, honor, pleasure. Our affections should not be fixed on houses and lands; on scenes of fashion and gaiety; on low and debasing enjoyments” (Barnes’ Notes). “This is a very good general rule: ‘Be as much, in earnest for heavenly and eternal things, as ye formerly were for those that are earthly and perishing’” (Adam Clarke’s). The extraordinary zeal (though misguided) of Saul (Hebrew) of Tarsus before his conversion was after his conversion reflected in the apostle Paul’s (Greek) widespread travel to declare the Gospel of Christ (Acts 8:1–3; 9:21, 29; 13:1–3 ).
The Bible is often said to be its own best commentary. As such, Galatians 2:20 basically summarizes the thought of Colossians 3:1–2. “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” The following quote from The Pulpit Commentary weaves together some of the Scriptures that relate to Colossians 3:1.
We are not only “dead with Christ,” but “risen with him;” “not only planted in the likeness of his death, but planted together in the likeness of his resurrection;” “that we may walk in newness of life” (Rom 6:2-4). This translation [transformation] has altered our standpoint. We are “quickened together with Christ, and raised together with him” (Eph 2:5,6). We have now an entirely new sphere of intellectual conception and moral aspiration. “Old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Cor 5:17). (emphasis added)
Here is a fitting summary of Colossians 3:1–2 by F.B. Meyer.
Let us repeat the glorious truth, which was doubtless the heart of Paul’s teaching, that our old nature has been nailed in Christ to the Cross, and laid in the grave; and that our real self, the second Adam, has entered the new world of resurrection. We belong to the world on the threshold of which Jesus said, “Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended.” We must guard against the defiling touch of the world, of sin, and of the old self-life. We stand between two worlds, each solicits us: let us yield to the influences that pull us upward, and not to those that anchor us to this sinful and vain world. Our eternal blessedness has begun, let us walk in it. (emphasis added)
A takeaway from the first two verses of Colossians 3 should be something akin to the following.
…Let your earthly practice be worthy of your heavenly position. Once you were dead in sin (Eph 2:1-3), but now you are dead to sin. Christ is in you, the hope of glory (1:27), and someday soon that glory will be revealed (v. 4). In brief, Paul says, “Live up to what Christ has done for you!” This simple principle of Christian living is more powerful than all the rules and regulations men can devise. “You are made full in Him” (2:10); now live out that fullness in daily life. (Wiersbe emphasis added)
Works Cited
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