Col. 3:1-4 - Keep Your Mind on Christ

Chapter 3 - Begins a section on general Christian living, instructions for coping with others. This is applied theory from ch. 1 & 2, or practical living. Believers do not just stumble into discipleship, they must be led and trained up in it. Verses 1-4 caps the section on ‘Christ as head over all’ ... If we try to live according to the systems Paul warns against in chapter 2, and these are of “no value”, what then do we do?
In verses 1-4 he offers up two (2) solutions and two (2) amazing promises!

Keep Your Mind on Christ

Vs. 1 - Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

“Therefore” - Based on the supremacy of Jesus Christ; based on the premise that salvation is by faith in Jesus Christ; based on the premise that philosophy will not save you, nor will religious practices, nor will denying yourself (self-abasement and asceticism) save you, the following is Paul’s answer to the Colossian church on how to deal with these obstacles being thrown up in front of them.

- "If you have been" - is not a question of whether you are actually raised with Christ. It is "since you are..." Paul lists a few guidelines for Christian living. But first he lays the groundwork, the foundation - our position in Christ. He is the reason we can live the way we do. Without the new life supplied by Christ, there is no reason for new action.

"raised up with Christ" - See Col. 2:12,13; Eph. 2:5,6; Rom. 6:8, 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:3,4, 42-44; 2 Cor. 5:1, 15; John 3:15, 36, 6:44, 11:25,26; 1 John 5:11ff. If we are Christ's (and we are) then we are already in heaven. (How's that for a mind bender?!) Our new life is with Christ, who is in heaven seated at the right hand of God the Father. While still in our physical bodies we have two natures living in us. The following verses are a reminder to focus on Christ's nature.

“Keep seeking things above” - This is the First solution. Don’t focus on earthly things, rules, procedures, rituals. See: Mark 16:19.

Vs. 2 - Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

“Set your mind on things above“ - This is the Second solution - See James 3:15, 17; 1 John 2:16,17. All good things come from God. James 1:17 The sense of this verse is: Be intent upon the things of God; savor, think on, meditate on; be intensely interested in these things.

Vs. 3 - For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

- “You have died...” As believers we share in Christ’s death. We also share in His new Life. This is not just a theological concept. Jesus Christ died a physical and spiritual death on the cross. When we accept Him as Lord and Savior we also die. Now, I did not drop dead June 20, 1972 when I understood and committed my life to Christ. I’m still breathing and kicking around. The "old man", the "worldly nature" is condemned to death because of sin. God has given us a new nature in Christ (Gal. 2:20). The same thing is seen in Phil. 1:21 - our life is in Christ. My physical body will die one day. It will not be resurrected. I will be given a new body that is not damaged and broken by sin. My spirit will be re-born. The new body, spirit and my soul will now be perfect, spotless, without blemish. The new life Christ provides, because of His resurrection will stand before God the Father. I will not fear because I am new and spotless child of God. All I can say to that is, “Praise God. Praise Jesus, and thank You Jesus.”

“Life is hidden with Christ in God” - See: 1 Cor. 15:51-57. This is the First Promise. The "hidden" is nothing like ‘secreted away’ from prying or finding, but hidden as in totally protected within the power and glory of God Almighty and the matchless person of Jesus Christ.
Hidden has at least a three-fold meaning:

1. Common Spiritual life with the Father and Son - 1 Cor. 6:17, 2 Pet. 1:4;
2. The world cannot understand the full import of the believer’s new life in Christ - Rom. 8:19, 1 Cor. 2:14, 1 John 3:2;
3. Believers are eternally secure, protected from all enemies, with access to all God’s blessings - John 10:28, Rom. 8:31-39, Heb. 7:25, 1 Pet. 1:4. See note 1

Vs. 4 - When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

“will be revealed with Him in glory” - This is the Second Promise - When Christ returns in glory to establish His eternal kingdom - new earth and new Jerusalem - we will be there! See Gal. 2:20, John 11:25

For Christ is our life. Christ will be revealed again when He returns - see 1 Cor. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:13; 1 John 3:2, and 1 Thess. 4:16.

We will be with Him - see: John 11:23,24; 1 Cor. 15:39-44, 51-58.

There are at least three reasons people do not grow in discipleship: (1) They don’t know what to do. (2) They don’t know how to do it. (3) They don’t want to do it. The first two are leadership problems. The latter is personal pride and stubbornness, willful disobedience.

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Note 1: (quoted from John MaCarthur’s Colossian Bible Study)