The Glory of Kings
Introduction
Proverbs 25:2 states that, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.”
Colossians 3:1-4 emphasis both the fact that Jesus reigns as king and that Christians are seated with Christ on his heavenly throne.
Because of this, Christians are to “seek out” and to “set their minds” on these realities.
As adopted children of God we are co-heirs and rulers with Christ. We are royalty. And yet, we live out our royal lives by faith. This reality is hidden and will only be fully revealed on the last day when Jesus is revealed in all his glory.
But for the time, we learn how live and grow in Christian maturity as we set our minds on the reality of Christ’s enthronement in heaven and our union with Christ as he lives and reigns.
Your life may be “hidden” with Christ in God, but God calls you to look into and to search out all its ramifications and what it means.
Our four verses this morning break into two parts:
1. Verses 1-2, there are the commands to “seek” and “set your minds” on the things that are “above”.
2. Verses 3-4, there is the explanation as to why (union with Christ in his death/reign/future glory).
Set Your Minds on Things That Are Above (vv. 1-2)
Col 3:1-2 “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”
Going back just a few verses to Col 2:20 Paul states the implications of the Colossians death with Christ:
In chapter 3, Paul begins to look at the positive implications of the Colossians also being raised with Christ.
Throughout this series on Colossians I have noted that Paul’s language repeatedly points to the fact that a new age has dawned because of what Jesus has done. In verses 1 & 2 Paul shows what it means for the Colossians to be members of this new age.
The threat that Paul was dealing with in chapter 2 was a threat coming from people who might convince the Colossians that they aren’t really participating in the fulness of God’s blessings for his people. At the beginning of chapter 3, Paul wants to show the Colossians not only the fact that they are members of this new age but also how they should act as members in the age to come (Wright).
One of the ways Paul attempts to assure the Colossians of their status is by placing their resurrection with Christ firmly in the past tense. When did the Colossians rise with Christ? They rose with Christ when Christ rose. Their present status is tied up with Jesus’ status as the Risen Lord.
Just as surely as their death with Christ (“past tense”) severed any links that bound them to the old world, so to their resurrection with Jesus establishes their ties with the new and heavenly world that they are members of (O’Brien & Bruce).
› So the first and most straight forward exhortation or application I can give to you this morning is to be assured that your break with the old world and your connection to the new world are completely secured in your union with Christ in his death and resurrection.
› Did Jesus die on the cross? If the answer is yes, then you died with him to sin and death. They no longer have any hold on you.
› Did Jesus rise from the grave? If the answer is yes, then you rose too and you have full access to the resurrection life of Christ in the heavenlies.
And that is exactly where Paul takes his argument. It is as though Paul is simply following the events of the gospel noting the believer’s union with Christ in these events.
If Paul has just considered how the believer is united to Christ’s resurrection, then what is the next event that the believer is united to Christ in? The answer is Christ’s ascension into heaven and his session at the right hand of God.
Paul is telling the Colossians that just as you must consider yourself buried with Christ and risen with Christ you must also consider yourself ascended with Christ at the right hand of God and it is for this reason that you must “seek the things that are above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.”
One of the first things to notice here is the clear allusion to Psalm 110:1 “The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.””
What Psalm 110 and Paul make clear is the fact that Jesus is the sovereign king in his enthronement. So when Paul tells the Colossians to seek the things that are above and to set their minds on things that are above Paul is essentially calling them to the the second and third petitions of the Lord’s Prayer when Jesus tells his disciples to ask for God’s kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Our interests are to be Christ’s interests. And the verbiage here assumes continuous effort. To seek the things that are above assumes that you are doing something that doesn’t come “naturally” to you.
This is one of the areas where our culture runs in opposition to Christian discipleship. Our culture trains us to take the path of least resistance. If something doesn’t feel right then you should just move on to something else.
Paul teaches that Christian discipleship is not like this. The Christian is to seek and to strain with their whole being to orient their lives to who Jesus is as king, and who they are as those who are united to Jesus.
› You must pursue Christlikeness with vigour and energy. When you are tempted toward sin or when you are encouraged toward righteousness you must respond with the kind of earnest energy that Paul mentions here.
› Do not shrink back from the this but embrace it as the way the Holy Spirit works through you in your sanctification.
As Paul continues this admonition to the Colossians in v. 2, he gets a little more specific. He tells not just to “seek” the things that are above but to “set their minds” on things that are above. There is a sense here that Paul is highlighting the intellectual responsibility of the Christian to “set their mind” on the heavenly things. And this is certainly present. Christians do have a responsibility to love God with their minds and to think about God and the world in clear ways. Great damage is done when Christians do not disciple their minds.
But the word Paul uses here in verse two emphasizes the connection between the mind and the will. As one sets their mind on Jesus as he is seated in the heavenly places, this should impact how they live their lives before God.
One final remark before moving to our next section. It is easy to read Paul speak of being heavenly minded and to reject the things of the earth and misunderstand what is actually being said. When the Bible speaks of heaven it is not a rejection of the physical in favor of the spiritual. It is an ethical distinction. In heaven, there is no opposition to the rule of king Jesus. On earth there is. So when Paul tells us to be heavenly minded, he is telling us to submit to the sovereign reign of Jesus in our lives as his rule is submitted to in heaven.
For You Died with Christ, Your Life is Hidden with Christ, and you Will be Glorified with Christ.
Col 3:3-4 “For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
In verses 3-4 Paul offers a brief description of the Christian’s true status (Wright). The Christian has died, the Christian is risen, and the Christian will appear in glory.
These two verses clearly articulate what New Testament scholars often refer to as the “already and the not yet.” The new age, the “age to come” has truly started because of Jesus’ resurrection. What’s more, the Christian already belongs to that new age. But, the old age has not yet passed away fully (Wright).
The new age has already started but the old age has not yet fully passed away. The Christian is already risen with Christ but the Christian has not yet appeared with Christ in glory.
This is why Paul says that the life of the Christian is “hidden with Christ in God.” The glory of the Christian and the indeed the glory of Jesus is not revealed to the world yet.
Romans 8 is a parallel passage in Paul’s letters to these verses in Colossians and in vv. 18-25 of Romans 8 Paul states the following:
Rom 8:18-25 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.”
Christians have received the Spirit and our lives are really with Christ in God. But this life is a “hidden” life still waiting to be fully revealed on the last day. But on that last day, when Jesus does return in glory. Christians will be revealed with him. Our lives are tied up with Christ’s life!
And it is this promise of future glory that Paul tells the Colossians should animate their current lives. Paul knows full well that the Christian life is a difficult one. He says in 1 Cor 15:19 “If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.”
If there is no future hope and glory for Christians then our lives are lived in vain, they are futile and we should be pitied.
But this is not the case, we have a future hope of glory. We have a hope that all the pain and suffering we might bear is not comparable to the eternal weight of glory that is beyond all comparison (2 Cor 4:17).
Conclusion
So I want to conclude with this final exhortation by circling back to what I mentioned at the beginning. Pr 25:2 states, “It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.”
God has concealed our future glory from us for a time. Our lives are hidden with Christ in God. But we are called to “search it out”. We are called to consider Christ’s glory as it is presented to us in Scripture. We should also search out how the glory of Christ will be bestowed upon us on the last day when we are revealed with Christ.
This should teach us to have a low time preference. The decisions we make for our lives and our families and how we worship should all be impacted by this guarantee of future glory.
Doing this should teach us to be like the man in the parable who bought an entire field because he knew the value of the great treasure that was hidden in the field (Matt 13:44).
Centering your life on the king of kings is of eternal and infinite value.
Share this post