Look Up!

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Let’s look at a passage of Scripture where God tells us pretty clearly to “Look up!”

Colossians is a letter written from prison by the Apostle Paul to the Body of Christ in Colossae, a city in modern day Turkey. The Colossian church was being tempted to believe false things about Jesus and The Gospel. Some of these things seemed wise and super-spiritual, some told believers they needed to DO certain things to be secure in their salvation. Paul beautifully and powerfully refutes these heresies by reminding Christ’s followers WHO Jesus Christ is, WHAT He did on behalf of His people, WHAT is true of them because of His finished work, and HOW they can reflect what is already true of them.

As we look at Colossians 3:1-4, you may leave with unanswered questions. The questions we will look at today are the kinds of questions you can learn to ask yourself as you deeply study a passage of Scripture. If you don’t understand, that’s ok! Write down your questions. Sometimes you’ll find the answers to things that seem confusing in the passages that surround the verses you’re looking at. As a helpful hint, Colossians 3:1-4 are transition verses from truth to application. Verses 1 & 2 are really reminders of Chapters 1 & 2: Christ is supreme and He has saved you!

 
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Read Colossians 3:1-4

  • How is a person “raised with Christ?”

  • What does it look like to “seek” something? Is it easy? Difficult? Time-consuming?

  • What are “the things above?”

  • How do you “Set your mind” on something? What are some things that you naturally set you mind on?

  • Why (according to this passage) should we set our minds on things above?

  • When did we die? When was our life hidden with Christ in God?

  • What does it mean that Christ is your life? Think about the language Paul used to describe people who know Christ and people who don’t.

  • What does it mean that Christ will “appear?” How does this affect our seeking and setting?

  • What difference does it make to know that you will appear with Him in glory?

 

Putting it all together,

  • How does your mind affect your actions? For example, how does obeying the commands in 3:1-4 affect the actions in 3:5-11?

  • What difference does it make in what you do, what you love, and what you believe if you look at things above instead of things on earth?

  • Summarize what you learn from Colossians 3:1-4 about what is true of you as a Believer and some specific ways you can reflect this in our mindset.

By Robin Langford
Cru Staff at Michigan State University

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