HIDDEN ABOVE

Colossians 3:1-4

1 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Paul says so much here in just a few words.

A few early notes on the passage I will be preaching this coming Sunday ...

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 

Verse 1 - The verb "strive for" is the same word Jesus uses in Matthew 6:13, there translated as "seek": "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you."

The image of Christ seated at the right hand of God is significant. "In Jewish traditions, God alone sits in the heavens, while the other subordinating angelic beings (i.e. the divine council) stand before him. Christ's being seated at the right hand of God, therefore, points to his sharing of God's sovereign rule." (Pao, p.211)

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 

Verse 2 - If the main feature of "the things above" is Jesus seated in power - as King - alongside the Father, then "setting your mind on things above" has to do with giving serious thought to God's will. In contrast, "the earthly things" are "practices that refuse to acknowledge Christ as the sovereign Lord of all". (Pao, p.212)

"Believers are not to escape from this material world; rather, they are to focus on Christ as they live faithfully on earth." (Pao, p.213)

For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Verse 3 - In Colossians 2:3, Paul has already asserted that "all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden" in Christ. Now, he says the believer himself is hidden there. This is a place of safety, security, and fulfillment, as well as identity.

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

Verse 4 - This "hiddenness", and the security which it brings, lasts right up until the moment Christ returns - when He is "revealed". When His glory is revealed, we who were hidden with Him will also erupt into glory! 

THE SECOND ACT GOSPEL

I've been looking for a metaphor to explain the shortcomings of the typical American "gospel": i.e., "You're a sinner so Christ died in your place to enable you to someday go to Heaven." 

Here's one that came to mind today that might have some potential: the Gospel as a Three Act Play.

In your typical play, the acts fall along these lines:

Act 1 = Exposition. All the relevant background information is established and the conflict is introduced.

Act 2 = Complication. Something stands in the way of the hero's achievement.

Act 3 = Resolution. The hero succeeds. He reaches his ultimate goal. 

So for the Gospel, my rough draft of the layout would be something like this:

Act 1 - Jesus is introduced. He is the Son of God and announces Himself as the King of the coming Kingdom of God (with the entirety of the Old Testament as exposition). This is Good News - this Kingdom is the very place every man and woman ultimately desires - it is fulfillment of Purpose. Although a small group hang on His every word and soak up His teachings about the nature of this Kingdom, most people have grown accustomed to the dark and they reject both the King and His Kingdom. 

Act 2 - Even for those who desire to join God's Kingdom, there's a major problem: sin cannot coexist with God's presence. Sins must be washed away and forgiven once and forever. But this requires a perfect sacrifice. There is only One on earth who can serve as that sacrifice and it is the King Himself. Even as humanity does its worst to the Creator God, He uses their violence to provide the Blood which will cleanse them. Death - the ultimate consequence of sin - seems to have won, but it cannot hold the perfect Son of God. Jesus rises from the dead!

Act 3 - The King returns (temporarily) to Heaven but sends the Holy Spirit to enable the birth of God's Kingdom on Earth, the Church. Many who had rejected Jesus as King are now eager to join His Body. They enter the Kingdom by following Jesus' example: they die to self, are cleansed of their sins, and are raised to a new life, becoming a new, unstoppable creation. 

Epilogue: The Kingdom spreads and grows but finds resistance at every turn since much of the world continues in darkness. But the King has promised that He will return one day and put everything right, fully establishing His perfect Kingdom on Earth. 

Now, if the biblical Gospel is a 3 Act Play, then the American "gospel" is a "Second Act Gospel". 

It skips over Act 1 and focuses on Act 2. 

And because it has skipped Act 1 and all the Kingdom exposition, it largely neglects Act 3 and then goes on to misunderstand the Epilogue - having Jesus whisking His followers off to Heaven instead of joining them on the earth as their King. 

Too many modern American Christians are Second Act believers, missing the flow of the overall Story. 

No wonder they can't adequately explain the Gospel - Act 2 doesn't really make sense without the context of the whole play.

What a mess.