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Outline 071 of 100 · Colossians

Risen With Christ

Colossians 3:1-4 — The hidden life secured in Christ as the ground of a transformed life

Hands-free narration of this study — good for the car.

Synopsis

Paul grounds Christian living in a settled fact of union with Christ: 'If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above.' Because believers died with Christ and their old life ended at the cross, and because they were raised with Him, the direction of their affection and attention must now match their new position. Paul states the mystery plainly: 'Your life is hid with Christ in God' — present security guarded in the very presence of God Himself. The promise that 'when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory' anchors present obedience in future certainty. This is not moralism demanding effort from an unchanged heart, but an appeal to live consistently with who we already are in Christ. Righteousness by faith secures the believer's standing so completely that even our life itself is described as hidden safely with Christ in God.

  1. I. The fact established

    • ‘If ye then be risen with Christ’
    • Union with Christ's death and resurrection
    • A settled reality, not a hoped-for possibility

  2. II. The affection redirected

    • ‘Seek those things which are above’
    • ‘Set your affection on things above’
    • Not on things on the earth

  3. III. The life hidden

    • ‘Ye are dead’ — the old life ended
    • ‘Your life is hid with Christ in God’
    • Security guarded in God's own presence

  4. IV. The glory anticipated

    • ‘When Christ, who is our life, shall appear’
    • ‘Then shall ye also appear with him in glory’
    • Present obedience anchored in future certainty
The appeal

If you are risen with Christ, your life is now hidden safely with Him in God. Will you set your affection on things above today, living from that secure identity rather than earthly distraction?

Key points

  • Union with Christ's death and resurrection is the ground of Christian living.
  • Believers' true life is hidden securely with Christ in God.
  • Future glory with Christ anchors present obedience and hope.

Key passages

  • Colossians 3:1-2
  • Colossians 3:3
  • Colossians 3:4
  • Romans 6:4-5