Raised Up to Move Up
1. If you then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God.
2. Set your affection on things above and not on things of the earth.
3. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Colossians 3:1-3
What Deliverance Means
It is a common theme throughout the Bible that God raises people up from their dire circumstances and needs. This embraces the very meaning of “salvation” and that is to save or “salvage” something from destruction. God’s Salvation involves the raising up of that which is considered powerless. Whether the raising up has to do with the threat of an evil enemy, or the perils of danger, or the devastation of poverty, or even death itself, God Almighty saves.
When this Salvation is given, it usually comes in two phases. The first phase is to remove the intended subject from danger. When the Psalmist expressed the joy of God’s Salvation in Psalm 40:2, he was jubilant and stated God brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Pits were storage places for water and other things in order to keep them cool from the desert heat, but they were terrible places for humans if you fell into them. For God to deliver from such an awful place was an act of mercy. Now, you and I may share a different testimony about being delivered from our “pits” in life, but the result is the same. God Almighty extends mercy on us and raises us up. It is all credited to God’s Gift of Salvation.
We are cautioned at this point to not take God’s Salvation and deliverance from danger as something light and insignificant. Every time The Lord exerts His Power of Deliverance it costs something. Deliverance is indeed a free gift for the one receiving it, but make no mistake, it is a costly Gift for God. What does God give? He gives His Love and offer of Grace. He gives His Power to remove the burden. He gives His Kindness to the one being delivered as He sets their feet on a solid rock. Yes indeed, God always gives when it comes to deliverance. We can rejoice in that God freely offers His Love and Kindness but we must be ever mindful of His favor that is being offered and for that reason to never take the gift for granted.
There is a second part of God’s Salvation and Deliverance that is even more critical for us to embrace. Not only does God bring us out, but God also brings us into a new inheritance that could never be achieved by the one being delivered. In other words, God raises us up so that we may move up. God brings us out of darkness but He also brings us into His marvelous Light. God delivers the soul from hell and sin but also brings it into the heart of His Own Love. God frees us from bondage but He also brings us into the freedom of walking in the Spirit.
When God delivered Abram from the influences of his old country, the Lord also brought him into the Promised Land. This Deliverance or Salvation into the new promises would involve the Gift or inheritance. Abraham, as he would be called later, would involve nations, blessings, and spiritual promises that would extend beyond the natural borders of the land of Israel. God would bless Abraham and that blessing would extend to the entire world. That is how strong and powerful God’s Salvation really is.
In the Scripture text, the Apostle Paul shares how God’s deliverance has worked to bring the believer out of the darkness of sin and into the Light of God’s Grace. In expressing this Gift, Paul urges the believer to not take this action for granted. If you then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. He refers to our deliverance as “risen with Christ.” What a powerful statement of both position and positive influence. The believer now shares with Christ a new position in the Body of Christ. Of course, Jesus Christ is the Head, but we join Him as members of His Church. Not only is this a shared position, but it is also shared power. The same Resurrection Power that raised Jesus now lives in each child of God. That is amazing!
Seeking the Heavenly Treasures
It is absolutely incredible to think of what being raised up actually does for the believer. Listen to this. The believer is risen with Christ. That covers the benefit of complete rescue from sin. There is no partial work or phases to bringing the child of God out of darkness. When Jesus got up, the children of God were raised with Him. How awesome! The children of God have been given a new relationship with God Almighty because we are now “with Christ.” This relationship can never be severed by anyone nor can it be forfeited. It is permanent.
Now that the children of God are raised up, they also share in a new inheritance in Christ. They are to seek those things which are above. This means also that there are not only heavenly but also Divine treasures that are being allocated to the children of God. Everything from the riches of faith to the gifts of God’s Love to the power of God’s Wisdom is now being freely poured out upon the believer. What an amazing thing!
Here is the dilemma. Why would the child of God even be tempted to go back to the bondage of worldly things? We are forced to admit that the gravity of the sinful world is always working to pull us back down. These are manifested in three different forms. The lure of the world is always tempting. That is one thing. The lust of our own flesh will always make us vulnerable. That is the second thing. The love of earthly gain or money is always appealing as some seek temporary pleasure over spiritual blessings. That is the third thing. So Paul admonishes the Child of God to not only “seek those things which are above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God,” but to also Set your affection on things above and not on things of the earth. It is only when we remain bound to Christ that we can actually remain free from the world.
So, what does this have to do with Easter? Without embracing the truth of being “risen with Christ” the celebration of Easter is only a ceremonial acknowledgement of God’s Gift of Salvation. It is only when the heart has been flooded with the truth of being “risen with Christ,” that the child of God can understand that they possess the Easter blessing. Jesus rose not just for Himself, but for us. Jesus rose from the dead and at the same time raised us with Him. Every “saved” Child of God possesses that new position of glorious majesty. To be “risen with Christ” joins us in company with Jesus. The child of God is not looked upon as an earthly creature, under earthly control, and one who will suffer an earthly fate. The Child of God is raised up and placed among the highest positions in Heavenly Places because we are “risen with Christ.” It was His Holy desire that we should be with Him in Glory. So from the moment of His own resurrection, we too have been raised up as a glorious Church. We may possess the same bodily features, but make no mistake about it, we are the children of God and if children, we are also heirs with Jesus Christ because of that new position. Glory be to God!
Not only are we given a new position as a result of being risen with Christ, but we also have a new purpose in the Lord. Easter would only be an historical reflection if God was not calling me to a higher purpose in Christ. Being stuck in the same old lifestyle and same old living patterns and the same old sin would point to the purpose of death. Since Jesus has raised up the children of God to be with Him, that is a calling to a new purpose of living for God’s Glory by God’s Power. The same Power that raised Jesus from the dead is now working to raise the children of God to a life of pure living. The habits that held us hostage and the weights and behaviors that kept us from reflecting God’s Glory have now been removed. We are free in Jesus because we are freed through Jesus own Resurrection Power. Now, each time a temptation comes, the Power of Jesus will be stirred to resist the temptation and instead yield to God’s Will to do right. To put it plainly, Jesus’ Power is working in us so that we will be “well-behaved” as children of the Almighty.
We are also “risen with Christ” in that we share that same Power from God. In many Easter celebrations, worshippers think of the Resurrection as a singular personal event that was exclusive to Jesus alone. Yes, it is true that Jesus Christ conquered the grave by coming out of the tomb. Yes, it is true that Jesus Christ was declared Lord of All by His Heavenly Father when He rose again. Yes, it is certainly true that no other display of God’s Power is more significant than the Resurrection because through His Resurrection, the Gift of Eternal Life is given to all mankind. All of that is true, but Jesus does not keep the power to Himself. He shares that same Resurrection Power with His followers. No other king anywhere has ever given their subjects the treasures of their kingdom except King Jesus. We possess what He possesses and that includes His Resurrection Power. If you then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. The Church is indeed, risen with Christ.
So, what are the take-a-ways if the Church now shares a new position in Christ, a new purpose for Christ, and a new power for Christ. If the same Resurrection Power that raised Jesus from the dead now resides in me, what are my responsibilities? How will this impact my life going forward?
For starters, everything has been done by God, our duty is to simply respond to God through obedience. This will mean three specific things. We need to seek. We need to set. We need to separate. Each of these responses will move us closer to fulfilling God’s purpose in life.
First, if you then are risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Jesus called us to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and His Righteousness. Those are the things above where Christ sits. Seek God’s Love not just to possess it but to share. Seek God’s strength and then give it away because there is more strength available. Seek the treasure of God’s Righteousness as your own testimony that living for God is truly the way to live. If you are going to move up, it starts with seeking those things which are above where Christ sits.
Second, our response is to set our affections. Set your affection on things above and not on things of the earth. The things we desire the most should be Heavenly and not earthly. Fame, fortune, and power (including political) are all earthly things. Gaining earthly things will only give you temporary, finite, and earthly rewards. There are people who live for those things and still try to hold on to God’s treasured gifts. You cannot serve God and serve earthly things at the same time. We are to emphatically “not seek” things of the earth. While they may sound tempting, they cannot yield the same Heavenly results and will certainly not display Jesus’ Resurrection Power. Instead of targeting earthly goals and ambitions, aim higher to the things in Heaven and even God’s Throne itself, and by the Resurrection Power, you will achieve those things.
Lastly, our response to God’s Resurrection Power should also focus on separating ourselves from the world of corruption. Why? Because you are dead to the world and the world should be dead to you. For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. In other words, consider yourself dead to the world but alive unto God. That is the real meaning of Easter. You are raised up to move up.