This blog post marks the 1st of a 3-part miniseries regarding 3 commands for the dead church member. The first command is to “seek those things”. It is from the Bible text Colossians 3:1-4 as follows …
v. 1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
v. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
v. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
v. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
According to v. 3, born-again Christians are “dead”. This is because, in the mind of God the Father, He has positioned us in His mind as being forever associated with His Son Jesus. Because Jesus died and rose from the dead, in God’s mind so have we! Therefore, in one sense we are dead church members! We have died to our old way of life that was under the judgment of our holy God.
Because this is true, God wants us to do 3 things as “dead” church members. The first is in this post and it is …
I. We are risen to CONSIDER (“Seek”) v. 1
Verse 1 says, because in God’s mind we have already died with Christ and have risen with Him, we are to “seek”. But what does that mean?
A. What does it mean to seek?
In verse 1, the biblical word “seek” means to consider or think. We are therefore commanded to be a people who actively use our minds. We are to read, research and rehearse what we learn in our daily meditations. But what exactly are we to be considerate of?
B. What am I seeking?
Verse 1 ends by notifying us that we are to be seeking, “those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.”
This is an amazing task because so much of our life is caught up with thinking about things on the earth. We are consumed with information and data and opinions streaming through our TVs, computer, and smartphones. We cannot seem to get away from the things of this earth and yet that is the task that God has assigned to us.
So, if we are to be considerate of the things above (the things in Heaven where Jesus is currently), where would we find such fuel for thinking?
C. Where am I seeking?
The best way to answer this is by asking, “where is the only place on earth that you can find information that originated in Heaven?”
Of course, it is the Bible. The Bible is the Word of God and is given to us through God the Holy Spirit as He inspired the writers of the Bible to present it to us. This again may seem obvious but so many people get their guidance from news outlets, social media, and man-made church rules.
We are not to seek those things from earthly sources because they are not where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Rather, we are to think, meditate and investigate upon God’s Word in print as it is sourced in Heaven where God’s Word in flesh sits.
Challenge
Are you a seeker? A thinker? An explorer after God, God’s Word, and God’s will? Or have you already decided to check your brain at the doorway of the church’s entrance?
If you are a seeker, where are you seeking the things, you think about? Are they Heavenly things where Christ sits, or are they the perishing matters that are bound to this earth?
The challenge for each of us born-again Christians is to shut out the things of earth and tune into the things of Heaven where our Saviour currently is residing! Our goal must be to understand God’s truth.