“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.”

“But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” (Colossians 3:1-11)

A Transformation “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ …” (Colossians 3:1) It’s a point of fact, according to Paul, that when we believe in the Good News of Jesus, a transformation has taken place; there nothing hypothetical or theoretical about it.

An Incredible Transformation “You died … and you have been raised with Christ” (Colossians 3:1,3) In a very real spiritual sense, by faith in Jesus, we have died to the bondage of sin – our old self - and have been raised to new life with Christ. “[Jesus] died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again … therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”. (2 Corinthians 5:14-17)

Our Identity in Christ “… your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:3,4) We know our lives are with Christ, and as such, our focus is also on Christ and things above. “… set [our] hearts on things above, where Christ is .. set [our] minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2)

Things like “sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed … anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language” (Colossians 3:5,8) have nothing to do with our new identity found in Jesus Christ. They are useless burdens carried pointlessly. It’s not enough that we just fix our eyes on Jesus; we must also intentionally put to death whatever belongs to our earthly nature.

Putting on the New Self “You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator”. (Colossians 3:9-10) The unblemished image of our Creator is gradually being shaped and formed in us as we follow Jesus. We are to clearly reflect this image of Jesus which is forming in us as we become a Christ-like community. We refrain from such “earthly” behaviour to ensure that the image of God being shaped in us isn’t marred or distorted , because in us, others will clearly see the secret of “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27).

The Realized and Progressive Nature of Our Faith Realized: We are made new, we have died and are raised in Christ, we are forgiven; these are indisputable facts you can bank on. Progressive: We must also put to death earthly things, set our hearts on heavenly things, rid ourselves of unbecoming behaviours, and put on the new self; these are progressive ideas that require both time and effort. Let us “put to death” earthly things, put on our new selves, set our hearts on things above and start walking towards Jesus