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Please turn in your Bible to 
Colossians chapter three. Colossians chapter three. Colossians three, I'll pick up 
reading in verse one. If then you were raised with 
Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting 
at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, 
not on things on the earth, for you died and your life is hidden 
with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, 
appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Therefore, 
put to death your members which are on the earth fornication, 
uncleanness, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things, the 
wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience in which 
you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. But now you 
yourselves are to put off all these anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, 
filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another since 
you have put off the old man with his deeds and have put on 
the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image 
of him who created him. where there is neither Greek 
nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor 
free, but Christ is all and in all. Therefore, as the elect 
of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, 
humility, meekness, long-suffering, bearing with one another and 
forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against 
another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things, put 
on love, which is the bond of perfection, and let the peace 
of God rule in your hearts, to which you were all or were called 
in one body and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell 
in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one 
another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with 
grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or 
deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to 
God the Father through him. Wives, submit to your own husbands, 
as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives and 
do not be bitter toward them. Children, obey your parents in 
all things, for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, 
do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 
Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the 
flesh, not with eye service, as men pleasers, but in sincerity 
of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, 
as to the Lord and not to men. knowing that from the Lord you 
will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the 
Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be 
repaid for what he has done. And there is no partiality. Masters, 
give your bond servants what is just and fair, knowing that 
you also have a master in heaven. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we come now to consider your Holy Scripture. We pray for the 
ministry of your spirit. We thank you that you are the 
Lord God of truth and that the spirit is the spirit of truth 
who guides us and who leads us and who directs us. We pray even 
now, Lord, that you would forgive us for all of our sins and cleanse 
us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and help us to take every 
thought captive to the obedience of Christ, to glorify you, Lord 
God, in the way that we think and in the way that we function 
in this lower world. And we ask in the name for of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, if you notice in 
this particular chapter, the apostle Paul is focusing on or 
is highlighting those things as Christians. We must put off. We must get rid of certain sinful 
practices and tendencies, and we must put on various virtues. We must put on tender mercies, 
kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering. We must bear 
with one another in love. We must be forgiving all these 
things. Paul enjoins upon the Christians 
versus eighteen and following. He deals with our social relationships, 
how wives that are interact toward their husbands, how husbands 
are to deal with their wives, how children are supposed to 
relate to their parents. And I submit to you that in the 
church today, there is a whole host of practical instruction 
concerning these various elements. But I fear that the church has 
missed the foundation upon which these practical implications 
are to be grounded. And that's verses one to four. 
We are to set our minds on Christ. We are to think God's thoughts 
after him. We are to take the Bible and 
internalize it. That means we are to study it. 
We are to meditate upon it. We are to contemplate it. We 
are to fill our minds with the knowledge of Scripture. For in 
doing that, it is then that we're able to put off vice, to put 
on virtue and to get along well with one another in a manner 
in which the Lord calls us to. So I want to consider primarily 
this morning versus one to four and what I call the need for 
biblical mindedness. And there's a reason why I say 
biblical mindedness being spiritually minded is good. But spirituality 
is very misunderstood and very abused in our day. Very often 
people that light crystals and are engaged in the New Age movement 
or study angels or have any concept whatsoever of afterlife or of 
ghosts or spoofs or something like that, they're considered 
spiritual. We want to be Christian-minded, 
but Christian even itself is often open to various interpretations. Some people lump Roman Catholicism 
in as Christianity. Some people lump Eastern Orthodoxy 
in as Christianity. There are the Pentecostal there 
are charismatic there are all these abuses of what it is to 
be a Christian. I think it is good for us to 
adopt a biblical mindset to seek by God's grace to be biblically 
minded with reference to this world that we find ourselves 
in. And very simply, the structure 
of the passage in verses 1 to 4, there is a command given by 
Paul in verses 1 and 2, and then there is a theological basis 
or reasons for following or obeying that command in verses 3 and 
4. So basically, you are to do this, 
and the reason why is because you've died with Christ. Your 
life is now hidden with Christ in God. Christ is coming again 
in glory to judge the living and the dead. Based on these 
reasons, you are to seek those things which are above and you 
are to set your mind on things above. So we're looking at looking 
at the command specifically. And I have three observations 
on this command. And the first is simply this. 
This command presupposes that Christians use their minds. I 
know that may be revolutionary for some, but this command presupposes 
or assumes that a Christian uses his mind. We are to use our noggin. That head that is on top of your 
shoulders or on top of your neck isn't simply a place for your 
ears to rest and for your nose to be and for your glasses to 
sit on. You're to take that noggin and 
you're to apply it. You're to employ it, you're to 
use it, you're to take it and do with it what God has intended 
for you to do with it. And this presupposition or this 
assumption is that Christianity ultimately is a religion of knowledge. 
Faith comes by hearing and hearing by what? By the word of Christ. We are to believe truth. We are 
to believe specific things. Again, there is a teaching today, 
spirituality, that faith is what's important. No, the object of 
faith is what's important. It doesn't matter if you believe 
in a rock. That rock has no power whatsoever 
to save you from your sins. It does not matter that you believe 
in the teachings of the Buddha. Buddha has no ability or power 
to save you from your sins. Faith is only as good as its 
object. We must learn of Christ. And in the context of Colossians, 
the apostle is highlighting this very thing. Go back to chapter 
two at verse six. He says, as you therefore have 
received Christ Jesus, the Lord, so walk in him. How do we receive 
Christ Jesus, the Lord? By believing the gospel. If you're 
here this morning and you're not a Christian, the answer to 
you is not go out and live a better life. Your answer today is not 
go out and try a bit harder. Stop doing the bad things and 
start doing the good things so that at the end of your days, 
God will reward you. No, you receive Christ by believing 
the gospel, by believing the truth that God is a holy God, 
that man is desperately wicked. His heart is deceitful above 
all things. He cannot merit God's favor. 
He cannot do enough good. He cannot work for his salvation. And in God's grace and in God's 
mercy, he sent his son and his son lived in complete obedience 
to the law of God. And his son died as a sacrifice 
and as a substitute at Calvary. The son was then buried. And 
on the third day, he rose again and then he ascended into heaven, 
where he is now seated at the right hand of God, most high. 
The Bible says, when you believe these truths, you are saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, 
Paul and Silas told that Philippian jailer, and you will be saved. So don't go out from here if 
you're not a Christian saying, boy, I better stop this or I 
better start that. No, you need to believe the gospel 
of Jesus Christ in order to be saved. So Paul is highlighting 
this reality. You've received Christ. You need 
to walk in him. Don't walk this way. Versus eleven 
to twenty three. And then here in chapter three, 
verses one to four. But rather, this is the way you 
got to get your mind right. You got to get it steeped in 
the word of God. You got to have it saturated with the scripture. 
You got to know Jesus for it is based on that knowledge of 
Jesus that you can put off these vices and put on virtues. Are 
you struggling with being a godly wife? Your problem is theology. Theology. You need to know God 
better. Are you struggling with loving 
your wife as Jesus loved the church? Are you struggling with 
being a bitter towards your wife? You need to know Jesus more. 
You need to understand his word. You need to be a theologian. 
Need to be saturated with the word of truth to the presupposition 
of this command is that Christianity is a religion of knowledge and 
that we as Christians must use our minds. And then look at chapter 
three, verse 10 for just a moment. Chapter three, verse 10, he says, 
and you have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according 
to the image of him who created him. See, that's one of the primary 
elements or the primary ways that we distinguish man from 
the animal. I have a little office set up 
at home. My main office is here, but I got a desk in our bedroom. 
And there are times when I'm at the desk there. And the cat 
may be looking at me, and the dog may be underneath the table, 
because she likes to sleep under there. And I've often thought, 
as I fish books out of my bag, or as I open up the book, or 
as I take my pencil in hand, or I start to write something, 
or I flip open my laptop and maybe catch the dog or the cat 
looking at me, they have no clue what I'm doing. None whatsoever. They don't bear 
the image of God. The image of God is primarily 
seen in us through our rationality, through our thinking. You go 
back to Genesis for a moment. You can see that is true in the 
case of the creation of Adam in Genesis chapter two. We see, first of all, that God 
was or that Adam was able to communicate with God. Again, every time I've talked 
to my cat or my dog, they don't answer back. Now, the dog may 
run after the ball because God's cool or God's great. He's made 
the dog cool so that he can do certain things by intuition or 
by, you know, whatever the way he has wired him to do so. But 
if I say to the dog, I want you to go do this, that and the other, 
he can't do it. She can't do it. Man can man can communicate 
with God. Notice in Genesis chapter two 
at verse fifteen. Then the Lord God took the man 
and put him in the Garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And 
the Lord God commanded the man say of every tree of the garden. 
You may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good 
and evil, you shall not eat for the day that you eat of it. You 
shall surely die. Language is not a development 
of evolutionary process. It wasn't as if the first man 
started to grunt, and then another man came along and grunted another 
sound, and then out of these grunts they developed a convention 
called language. No, God made us this way. God 
made us to communicate with him. God made us to communicate with 
one another. We know that Adam understood 
this prohibition because later when the serpent comes to test 
Eve or to tempt Eve, she rehearses the same prohibition. Adam received 
it, he understood it, and he therefore communicated it to 
his wife. You want to know how we bear 
the image of God? It is in the mind. It is in our 
abilities to think. God is Spirit, as John 4, 24 
says. He doesn't have arms. He doesn't 
have legs. He doesn't have eyes. He doesn't have feet. He doesn't 
have all those things that we have physically. The image of 
God lies in our ability to think. We see as well that Adam was 
able to use logic. You say, oh, what do we need 
to hear about logic for? Logic is fundamental to communication. Logic is fundamental to you understanding 
two plus two. We not only need to know that 
2 plus 2 equals 4, we need to know that 2 plus 2 doesn't equal 
5. Adam knew this. How? Because 
God made him this way. When God forbid him to eat from 
the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he was able to 
understand which tree that was. He was able to understand that 
it was not the tree of life. You see, there's a lot of instruction 
in the life of Adam in terms of being a rational thinking 
being, and it has to do with or it does lend itself to our 
text in Colossians 3 verses 1 to 4. This ability, this rationality 
was instrumental in Adam's use or Adam's engaging of dominion 
over the creatures. Remember, God said you will have 
dominion over the creatures. What's the first demonstration 
of that dominion? God brought the animals to Adam 
and he named them. He called a dog a dog, he called 
a cat a cat. He named them. He exercised dominion 
over them. He classified them. He categorized 
them. He engaged in dominion, as the 
Lord had called him to do. We see, as well, this rationality 
is evident in the fact that God entered into a covenantal arrangement 
with Adam. There is a covenant of works 
in Genesis chapter two. A lot of theologians today deny 
this, but it is there. God gave him a command. God gave a prohibition. God promised 
blessings for obedience, and he promised a curse if he would 
disobey. Adam understood this. He'd have 
to say, wait a minute, God, I have no clue what you're talking about 
whatsoever. The rational ability of man is 
how we image the Lord God most high. And then, of course, Adam 
was given that task to subdue and to fill the earth. So, Christianity 
from the very beginning has been one of knowledge, knowing God, 
knowing his word, understanding his truth, and living according 
to that truth. The first departure, as we alluded 
to last week, was when Eve stopped believing God. The devil came 
and he introduced doubt. In his subtlety, he said, has 
God indeed said? And what did Eve do? Experience 
Trump revelation for her. The fruit looked more appealing. 
It was desirous to make one wise. It was very alluring to her. So she took and ate and then 
gave it to her husband who was with her. She traded The word 
of truth for experience and for feeling, and in the context of 
Colossians, Paul is highlighting the danger of trading truth for 
feeling and experience. So Colossians 310 says that we 
are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of him 
who created him. So God made man in his own image. He fell into sin that didn't 
get rid of the image completely, didn't make him insane, didn't 
make him incapable of thought, didn't make him unable to ever 
conclude the two plus two equals four. But it seriously impeded 
his ability to ration properly. But in Christ, you see what's 
happening here. In Christ, we are being renewed 
in Christ. We are now able to think God's 
thoughts after him. In fact, in 1 Corinthians 2 16, 
Paul says that we have what the mind of Christ. So, when we come 
to these two exhortations or commands in Colossians 3 verses 
1 and 2, when he says we're to seek those things above, we're 
to set our minds on things above and not on things on the earth. 
We have to realize, brothers and sisters, that the first means 
by which we can be good husbands, the first means by which we will 
be good wives, the first means by which you'll be a good worker 
or a good master is to seek Christ mentally to understand his word 
to take in the data of Holy Scripture, because as a man thinks, so then 
does he conduct himself. The very being and character 
of God goes along with this presupposition that Christianity is a religion 
of knowledge and that Christians are to employ their minds. Hannah, 
godly Hannah, in her prayer in 1st Samuel 2, 3 said, For the 
Lord is the God of knowledge and by him actions are weighed. That's what's always surprised 
me when I've met Christians that really aren't diligent in studying 
the Bible or have sort of a careless attitude when it comes to doctrine 
or they say things like doctrine divides. We just need Jesus. Well, hopefully we'll ask the 
question, which Jesus Paul says not every Jesus is the Christ 
of the Bible. But if this is what God is all 
about, And we have been saved by His grace. We are being renewed 
in the image of Him who saved us. Shouldn't we want to take 
in the knowledge of God? In Psalm 111, verse 2, it says, 
The works of the Lord are great. They are studied by all who have 
pleasure in them. You know, there's botanists that 
spend, you know, morning till evening studying plants. Zoologists 
study morning and evening animals. Coin collectors with their magnifying 
glass are studying their coins. Stamp collectors with their magnifying 
glass are studying their stamps. That language of the psalm is 
accurate. The works of the Lord are great. They are studied by 
all who delight in them. What's the greatest of all works? 
The work of redemption. The work at Calvary. The doing 
and dying of our Lord Jesus Christ. And yet we have a whole church 
today that is indifferent to doctrine, that is indifferent 
to knowledge, that is indifferent to taking in the word of God. 
They want to be good husbands. They want to be good wives. They 
want to be good fathers. They want to be good masters 
and employees. And that's not wrong. But it is when we bypass 
the Christ who gives us the ability to do that, we need to think 
God's thoughts after him. Psalm 31, verse five, into your 
hand I commit my spirit. You have redeemed me. What? Oh, 
Lord, God of truth. Psalm 36, verse nine, for with 
you is the fountain of life in your light. We see light. Actually, I think this is the 
backdrop for John one nine. When it speaks of Christ as being 
the true light, which gives light to every man coming into the 
world, every man can think because of Jesus. They don't acknowledge 
that they don't adore him for it. They don't honor him as Lord. But the very reason that a sinner 
can conclude that two plus two equals four is because Christ 
is the light who is enlightened the minds of every man. By virtue 
of this whole act of God's creating us in his own image, Jesus said 
in John fourteen, verse six, I am the way, the truth and the 
life. No one comes to the father except 
through me to be negligent of truth, to be disinterested in 
doctrine, to not be concerned for the Bible, is to not be concerned 
with Jesus himself. This might be a good time just 
to pray and get on our faces and ask God to forgive us, because 
how many of us have searched the Scriptures as we ought? How 
many of us have prized the Word of God above all the rubies and 
all the gold and all the silver that this world has to offer? 
We'll give our attention, we'll give our duty, we'll give our 
understanding, we'll give our diligence to those things which 
matter the most. That's why Paul says we need 
to seek those things which are above. We need to set our mind 
on things above. Consider the command of Jesus 
in response to the question, which is the great commandment 
of the law? Our Lord responds, You shall 
love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul 
and with all your mind. We just need to love God, then 
you better start studying your Bible. We just need to love God, 
then you better start studying doctrine. We just need to love 
God. Then you need to use your mind. 
It's one of the means by which Jesus describes our loving God. That's the whole point of Colossians 
3, 1 and 2, if then you were raised with Christ, seek those 
things which are above where Christ is sitting at the right 
hand of God, set your mind on things above, not on things on 
the earth. Where your treasure is there, 
your heart will be also. We must have this idea today 
that there's the heart and the head. Oh, head knowledge, all 
that cerebral knowledge, all that intake of doctrine, all 
that, all that, all that. The Bible doesn't make the difference 
between the head and the heart the way we do. Very often in the Bible, those 
terms are used synonymously, and again, it refers to that 
ability of man to think. That inner man who thinks like 
God, who has the mind of Christ, I'm not telling you simply to 
go out and just get a bunch of knowledge and be, you know, dead 
weight for Jesus. But in order to serve Jesus, 
you've got to have knowledge. How are you ever going to not 
be submissive to your own husbands if you don't know theology? You 
don't know Christ. You're not going to be able to 
do it. How are you going to be a good employee? Rendering not 
eye service as on demand or trying to be a man pleaser, but serving 
the Lord Christ. How will you ever do that if 
your mind isn't focused on Christ? How can you ever comply with 
the instructions in this passage to put off fornication if your 
mind isn't focused on Jesus? Because you see, the Bible sees 
and knows the reality. Those things which we think about, 
those things which we prize, those things which we love, those 
things we follow. If you're filling your mind with 
pornography, you're filling your mind with ungodliness, you're 
filling your mind with worldliness. The next logical step is to follow 
that out and do what your master bids. So it's not a matter of, 
oh, let's just get to the good stuff on how to be a Christian. 
The church, frankly, is drowning in how to be a Christian when 
she should be studying theology. For that is the means by which 
we are Christian. We are to think God's thoughts 
after him. Jesus, in his high priestly prayer 
in John 17 3 said this, and this is eternal life. That they may 
go to that place where there's streets of gold, that they may 
go to that place where there's great big pearly gates, that 
they may go to that new heavens and earth and never have another 
problem in the rest of their lives, where they will have no 
more sorrow, no more pain, no more tears, no more difficulty. 
Those things are all true. But in his high priestly prayer, 
when he defines eternal life, he says that they may know the 
the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent. That's the 
essence of eternal life. When you get to heaven, it's 
not going to be, wow, look at those great big pearly gates. Wow, look at 
those gold streets. Wow, look at all the rubies. 
Look at all the gems. Look at all the grandeur. You're going 
to be like, look at Jesus. Look at Christ. What does the 
hymn writer say? The land is all the glory of 
Emmanuel's land. The bride is not her garment, 
but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze at glory, but 
on my king of grace, not at the crown he gifted, but on his pierced 
hand. The lamb is all the glory of 
Emmanuel's land. That's the very essence of eternal 
life, the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent. 
You know what, brethren, we need to be practicing. If that's going 
to take us up for eternity to grow in our knowledge of who 
God is, what are we waiting for? Why the antipathy against doctrine, 
against knowledge, against using the mind? Ah, we just need to love Jesus. 
I agree, we do need to love Jesus, and it needs to be according 
to knowledge. Paul's indictment of the Jews in Romans 10, they 
have zeal, right? They have zeal, but it's not 
according to knowledge. I think the idea isn't that we 
just have knowledge or zeal. It's that our knowledge drives 
our zeal. Isn't that the goal? Isn't that 
what the Bible envisions? Isn't that what animated the 
apostle Paul, a man who had been a Christian for probably 30 years, 
wrote this in Philippians 121. He said, for to me to live is 
Christ and to die is gain. How could he ever make such a 
declaration? Because he did what he says in 
Colossians 3, 1 and 2, he sought those things which were above 
and he set his mind on things which were above and not on things 
on the earth. Now, there is a qualification. This does not mean that every 
Christian must go to seminary. In fact, concerning some seminaries, 
it probably means they shouldn't go to those ones. It doesn't mean that every Christian 
is going to be the brightest bulb in the chandelier. Doesn't 
mean you're going to be the sharpest tool in the shed. Doesn't mean 
you're going to be able to outthink everybody else all the time. 
That's not what I'm saying. It does mean, however, that the 
law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The testimony of the 
Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Psalm 19, verse seven. I love that passage. Making wise 
the simple. It does mean that as we saw in 
Psalm 36 verse 9 in your light, we see light. In other words, 
intimacy with our God in a study of the Scriptures can only mean 
good things for the believer. It does mean the entrance of 
your words gives light. It gives understanding to the 
simple Psalm 119 and verse 130. And it does mean that you, through 
your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies, for they are 
ever with me. I have more understanding than 
all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. Psalm 119, 
verses 98 to 99. You know, a study of the history 
of philosophy, a study into the ideas of men, Causes one to appreciate 
those statements. And there were guys with a lot 
of schooling, guys with a lot of letters behind their names, 
guys who had, as far as the world is concerned, accomplished wondrous 
and great things. But you give me one child in 
here. It says the Bible is the word 
of God and they are much wiser. than those men. It truly is the 
case, for since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom 
did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of 
the message preached to save those who believe. And those 
who believe by the grace of God are made wise. In all these ideas 
about how the world began, or evolution, or how many billion 
years they keep throwing on at the beginning, Give me a child 
that can say the work of creation is God's making all things out 
of nothing by the word of his power in the space of six days 
and all very good. A child is far more wise than 
the scientists of our age. You see, Paul is not telling 
you here. You got to quit your job, you 
got to join a monastery. You got to listen to your iPod 
constantly with sermons and reading and all that sort of thing. But 
at a minimum, I believe Paul is telling you to set apart some 
time during the day to read the Bible. Set apart some time to 
meditate, to contemplate, to reflect, to think. Avail yourselves 
of the means that God has ordained for your growth and grace and 
in the knowledge of God. Listen to a sermon once in a 
while on the iPod. Go to Sermon Audio once in a 
while, take a book on vacation and read theology. Again, I can't 
understand this sort of antipathy to theology. It just means the 
study of God. What better thing to read? What more excellent pursuit? 
What more glorious and noble use of the mind than to study 
the one who fashioned the mind? So let us look at the particulars 
involved in this command. He says two things. Seek things 
above. If then you were raised with 
Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is sitting 
at the right hand of God. If then you were raised, you 
see what he's saying. Since you've received Christ, 
since you've believed the gospel, since you've been raised from 
the dead, since you are a new creature in Christ Jesus, since 
these things are true of you, here's the next step. What am 
I supposed to do after I believe the gospel? You are to continue 
to believe. You are to continue to look to 
Christ. You are to continue to learn. You are to continue to 
use your mind. And he displays Christ here, 
sitting at the right hand of God. An allusion to Psalm 110, 
verse 1. The Lord said to my Lord, sit 
at my right hand till I make your enemies your footstool. 
He shows Christ in chapter two is the one who has died and is 
risen here. He demonstrates Christ is the 
risen, the ruling, the exalted Savior, who is now in the current 
session at the right hand of God most high. You need to think 
about this. I think one of the clear implications 
from this is that, yes, we need to focus on the priestly office 
of Jesus Christ as priest died for us and rose again. We need 
to think about his death at Calvary. We need to think about Christ 
as a prophet. Since you have received him or 
since you have received the gospel or since you have received Christ, 
so walk in him. We need to listen to him. We 
need to hear his word. But Paul also says you must not 
neglect his crown. He is at the right hand of God 
most high. He is ruling and reigning over 
all things for the good of his church. He is in a position of 
absolute authority and power. Yes, you need to seek this one 
who is prophet and priest and king. You need to know all of 
Christ. You need to know about his particular 
offices, his particular function, his particular role. You need 
to know him as the God man. You need to know him as incarnate. 
You need to know him as perfect. You need to know him as sinless. 
You need to know him as holy, harmless and undefiled. You need 
to know Jesus. That's the issue. Do you know 
Jesus? You're learning more about Jesus. 
Jesus, the love of your heart. Can you actually say, I want 
Christ more than I want anything in this world? Can you say with 
the apostle Peter, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words 
of eternal life. You say with Luther, even if 
he had a sword and it was pointed at my neck, I'd still come to 
Christ. Is Christ the altogether lovely 
in your lives? Is he chief among ten thousand? 
Is he the most precious one in your thought life? That's what 
Paul is saying. If then you were raised with 
Christ, seek those things which are above. Douglas Moose has 
believers seek the things above by deliberately. I love that 
deliberately. You just lay on your couch and 
say, hit me with it, Jesus, make me to seek after you. That's 
not the way you operate. It's amazing you want to study 
math, you go learn math, you buy a book, you read it. You 
want to study botany, you buy a book, you read it, and then 
what do you do? You go explore, don't you? You go on hikes, you 
look at plants, you collect samples, you put them in your jars, you 
take them home, you're excited, you're happy, you tell people 
about it. And yet, for the life of me, I can't understand Christians 
who don't read their Bibles, who don't read theology, who 
don't pray, who don't seek after Jesus. Paul says that's not consistent. If you've been raised with Christ, 
if you have been raised with Him, this is the natural progression. You'll seek Him. Doug Moo again. Believers seek the things above 
by deliberately and daily committing ourselves to the values of the 
heavenly kingdom and living out those values. Deliberately and 
daily. Does that describe your walk 
with the Lord deliberately and daily? You deliberately and daily 
start with the Lord. You deliberately and daily end 
with the Lord in the midst of your deliberateness and dailyness. 
You constantly reflect on the Lord. Now, again, let me qualify 
this. God does not tell you that if 
you're reaching your arm into farm equipment that you should 
be contemplating whether interlapsarianism or superlapsarianism is God's 
decreed away. He says, reach your arm into 
that farm equipment, do the best you can so you don't get it chopped 
off. You know, at lunch, you can take 
a moment. Thank God you didn't get your arm chopped off. Now, 
you're going to get to go home and pat your dog or love your 
wife or hold your child because your arm didn't get chopped off 
and mangled. So there's a way we can deliberately and daily 
do this. And I believe the second aspect 
that Paul highlights or the second thing that he says actually explains 
the first set your mind on things above when he says those things 
which are above, what are we thinking? Oh, well, how do I 
do that? Well, here's how you do it. You set your mind. You do what the preacher was 
telling you earlier. You take that head, you take that heart, 
you put it into God's service. You use it. You set your mind. Paul is not saying here that 
the physical or the created are evil in and of themselves. Notice 
when he says set your mind on things above, not on things of 
the on the earth. He's not saying that the earth 
in and of itself is wicked, bad and evil. God made the world 
and he made it good. I think his list of vices, of 
things that we are to avoid highlights what he means by things on the 
earth. The fornication, the idolatry, 
the passion, the evil desire, the covetousness. Those are the 
things of the earth that he says you don't want to focus on. He 
doesn't mean it's wrong for you when you see a beautiful landscape 
to be taken in by the majesty and wonder of it. He doesn't 
mean that when you eat a steak or drink a nice beverage that 
it's evil or bad or God has an axe to grind against it. No, 
he condemned that kind of thought in Colossians 2, 20 to 23. Those people who said, don't 
taste, don't touch, don't handle. He says they're wrong. They have 
an appearance of wisdom, but it's self-will. It's ungodly. It's false religion. It's vanity. The idea here is not set your 
mind on things above because you live in a sewage pit. The 
idea is set your mind on things above, so that as you live in 
this world, you can do so without the passions, the idolatry, the 
greed, the hate, the malice, the envy, the lack of forgiveness 
and all those things. Paul is saying that we are to 
engage our minds and to think God's thoughts after him. Paul is saying that we are to 
be biblically minded. We are not to seek God or seek 
Christ through legalism. He's condemned that. Chapter 
two, verses sixteen to eighteen. We are not to seek Christ through 
mystical experience. He's already condemned that in 
chapter two, verse eighteen. We're not to tune out and tune 
in. We're not Timothy Leary dropping 
acid and opening ourselves up to demonic influence. We are 
Christians who are to take our minds and to think like Jesus. Mysticism and experience and 
sensation and all those things are no sure guide. The word of 
God written in its entirety, all sixty six books of verbal 
propositional plenary revelation. That is to be our pursuit. How do we know Jesus? We know 
him through his word. We are not to see Christ through 
asceticism. Somehow, if you go live on a 
mountain, you'll be closer to God. You'll be able to run through 
the fields and eat berries and sing Born Free. And in that, 
you'll be closer to the Lord. No, you won't. You'll be closer 
to your father, the devil. You need to take the Scriptures 
and internalize them. We are to study to show ourselves 
approved. We ought to be workmen who need 
not be ashamed. We are to rightly divide the 
word of truth so that in doing so, we are seeking, we are setting, 
we are putting our minds where they ought to be and getting 
them out of the gutter of sin and depravity. Quickly and finally, 
notice the theological incentives given for obedience to the command, 
verses three and four. The past, the present, the future. 
Why should you do this? Paul says, because your past, 
because your present, because your future. You died. It doesn't mean physically. They couldn't have listened to 
this letter if they were dead physically and in the grave. He means spiritually. You died. He's already highlighted 
this in Colossians 2, 11 to 13. We won't look back there, but 
you can look at it later. You have died. And you've been 
raised with Christ. Paul uses the same language in 
Romans 6, 1 to 4, I call it a theology of death, spiritual death, we 
are dead and we are dead now to sin and alive to God in Christ 
Jesus, our Lord. How can we set our mind on things 
above? How can we seek those things which are above? Because 
you died. You died to bondage, you died to that tyranny. You are no longer slaves of sin, 
Paul says in Romans 6, says you are to glorify God in your body. You died, you have died with 
Christ, you've been freed from the bondage of sin, therefore 
no longer dwell on sinful things in your thoughts. You don't have 
to. See, people often say, well, I couldn't help it. As a Christian, 
you can. I couldn't help it is an unbiblical 
position. We often look at First Corinthians 
10 and we so misinterpret that. Oh, God is gracious. We're all 
wretches. We all have common temptations 
to each of us. But God has provided a means 
of escape. Exactly. That text is a text 
that speaks of our responsibility. Yeah, we have temptations. Yeah, 
they may be common to men. But you know what? God has provided 
a way of escape. Right. Oh, I couldn't help it. God provides a way of escape. You didn't want to help it. That's the issue. God doesn't 
point a .45 caliber at your head and make you sin. God isn't in 
the heavens with a .50 cal plucking people off who don't sin. You can never say, I couldn't 
help it. Oh, we can help it because we have the mind of Jesus. We 
often don't help it because we really don't care what Paul says 
here about where our minds go. He says the present is a motive 
or incentive. Verse three, for you died and 
your life is hidden with Christ and God. That's your current 
station. Your life is hidden with Christ 
and God. Remember, Paul says that in Ephesians 
two, we have been seated with Christ in the heavenly places. The whole idea here is union 
with Jesus. I know we hear a lot about union 
with Jesus. I don't think this union with 
Jesus is mystical. I don't think it's ethical. I 
don't think it's metaphysical. I think it's legal, first and 
foremost. We are in union with Christ based 
on legal things because he lived for us and he died for us and 
he rose with us. We are blessed in him. We are 
legally connected to the second Adam by God's grace through faith 
alone. And I think the other aspect 
has to do with the mind. That union with Christ now means 
we have the mind of Christ and we are to think his thoughts 
after him. That's what Paul says, your current 
position, your current status. And then he points to the future. 
Verse four, when Christ, who is our life, appears, then you 
also will appear with him in glory. Eschatology or the doctrine 
of the last things is not supposed to be an area for wild eyed speculation. and for sensationalism, but it 
is to promote hope. It is to promote godliness. It 
is to promote longing. What does John say when Christ 
appears? We shall see him as he is. And then he says, and everyone 
who has this hope in him purifies himself, even as he is pure. So, I get this zany idea that 
when we study the doctrine of end times or last things, we 
ought to come away more fearful of God, more holy in our conduct, 
more sanctified, and more longing to grow in the grace and in the 
knowledge of Jesus Christ. Well, in conclusion, first, by 
way of exhortation, biblical mindedness is not an option for 
those who have died with Christ. It is necessary. You can never 
say, well, that's just not for me. Again, there's various stations, 
various degrees, people with various intellectual equipment 
and endowment, but to say it's just not for me to study the 
Bible. Then it's questionable whether 
you've received Christ. If you know Jesus as Lord. The 
implication is, if then you were raised with Christ, you'll seek 
those things which are above. You'll set your mind on Christ. 
Biblical mindedness is necessary for proper worship. How can we 
properly worship a God and we don't know? Remember that scene 
at Mount Carmel when Elijah was challenging the prophets of Baal? 
It was a time about midday that the prophets of Baal started 
going into a frenzy. They started cutting themselves 
with stones and calling upon Baal to hear them and to answer 
them and all those sorts of things. It is really quite a horrible 
picture of man in his departure from God. Culture of Satan, false 
religion, idolatry and wickedness. God doesn't call us to gash ourselves 
with stones and to bleed on ourselves and to frenzy ourselves up to 
call upon him. How horrible it is for the pagan 
who knows not God. There's no conception of what 
it is that pleases his God to enter into the worship of God. 
The Bible say we become like what we worship. We have to know 
God to worship him properly, to know him in order to enter 
in. Fearfully, joyfully, biblical 
mindedness is necessary for sanctification, as we will see in the remainder 
of this chapter. If your wife ever says to you, 
man, you're a lousy husband, instead of getting upset, go 
read theology. First, say you're sorry, repent, 
and then go read theology. And maybe later, once you've 
got that done, you kind of encourage your wife that there's better 
ways of going about it than just saying you're a lousy husband. 
Because that's really not consistent with what we find in the remainder 
of this chapter. Biblical mindedness is necessary 
for our faithful witness to unbelievers. There's a lot of Jesus is out 
there. There's a lot. Quite frankly, 
we ought not to want to be associated with the Jesus of the health, 
wealth and prosperity gospel. We ought not to want to be associated 
with a gospel or a professor, proclaimed gospel or a Jesus 
who can't save his people from their sins. when he sets forth 
an example. So we need to know that Jesus, 
we need to understand that Jesus, so we can effectively witness 
to a lost and dying generation. Biblical mindedness is not gained 
through legalism, mysticism, asceticism, but ultimately, you 
know what? Through prayer and study. Here's 
Butler again, harping on that same drum, beating on that same 
drum. Yeah, because it's so important. When all is said and done, you'll 
be the better off for praying and studying your Bible. It's 
not magic, it's not hocus pocus, it's not brain surgery. You prayerfully 
study the scriptures. And I do want to end by an encouraging 
word. Our status with God does not depend on our seeking and 
setting. Our status with God promotes 
this setting and seeking. But our status with God, Pastor 
Cam alluded to it last week, re-quoted at number 33 in the 
Westminster Shorter Catechism. Justification is an act of God's 
free grace, wherein he pardons all their sins and accepts them 
as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ 
imputed to them and received by faith alone. Please do not 
forget that you are seeking in your setting doesn't save you. You are seeking in your setting 
is simply the result of God having saved you by imputing the righteousness 
of Jesus unto you and that by grace alone through faith alone 
in Jesus Christ alone. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for the Holy Scriptures, and we thank you that you have 
given us the mind of Christ, that you have given us the ability 
to think. And I pray, God, that we would take this faculty and 
that we would seek those things which are above, where Christ 
is sitting at the right hand of God Most High. Help us, Lord, 
to set our mind on things above and not on those things which 
are on the earth. But by your grace and for your glory, God, 
to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, our Lord, we ask now 
that you would go with us. We pray that you would watch 
over us. We just thank you, Lord God, for the scriptures, that 
they are a light to guide us in this very dark world. Help 
us to use them. Help us to prayerfully study. 
And please go with us in Jesus name. Amen.