“1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:1-11).

     A favorite saying of mine is, “You always fall in the direction you lean.” As I have said repeatedly in these studies, holiness is not something that will ever happen by accident. A relationship with the Lord demands personal holiness in our lives (separation from worldliness and separation unto serving the Lord).

     This point cannot be overemphasized. Holiness is about doing things God’s way. Holiness is the word that describes the only medium in which a relationship between a believer and God can exist. Apart from holiness, no relationship with God can exist. Habakkuk said, “Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13). A relationship with God is absolutely impossible apart from practical holiness.

“Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14).

     However, practical holiness can never be achieved by merely ceasing to practice sin. That is all that most people think is necessary to be holy. Thinking that way will just result in religious externalism. Sin has to be dealt with within the heart. We sin because we love the pleasures of sin. It is a love issue. If we want practical holiness in our lives, holiness must become a love issue. We love sin because we love the things of this world. We love the things of this world because we love ourselves. If we want to have a love for holiness in our lives, we must learn to love the Lord.

     Loving the things of God is the beginning admonition of the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:1-2, expressed by the words, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” True practical holiness (separation from worldliness and unto God) will never be realized without the believer setting his “affection on things above, not on the things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). The Christian who truly hungers and thirsts after righteousness understands he must preoccupy his body, soul and spirit with “things above.”

     Preoccupying one’s self with the things of God is what is meant by the words “set your affection on things above” (Colossians 3:2). The words “set your affection” are from the Greek word phroneo (fron-eh'-o). It means to feel or to think. It means to cherish the same thoughts that God cherishes. It means to think like He thinks. That will never happen until our relationship with God becomes the priority of our lives.

     The admonition of Colossians 3:1-11 is based upon a hypothetical question. The hypothetical states that if one thing is a reality then another thing will naturally follow. “If ye” (Colossians 3:1) believe that you have been spiritually resurrected out from among the spiritually dead to a state of spiritual life, then you will be constantly seeking spiritual things. That is quite a statement of expectation, but it is God’s expectation.

     You see, when He says we are to “seek those things which are above,” it qualifies itself. He is talking about something quite specific, “Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” The idea refers to more than merely seeking spiritual things above the worldly things. It refers to seeking the same things that are important to Christ.

     “Ye are dead” (Colossians 3:3). This refers to the believer’s position in Jesus Christ. If we are saved, we are risen with Him (v 1) and we died with Him. Positionally the believer is separated from all the lusts and enticements of this evil world and, therefore, should be walking in the reality of a resurrected spiritual life.

     In fact, that reality should be so vivid that the world should not be able to see our old life styles, but only the life of Christ. Those old life styles and affections should be “hidden with Christ.” As Christ is hidden from the view of the lost world in the Godhead, so should our affections for the things of this world be hidden from the world “with Christ.”

     All the things God commands the believer to “mortify” in Colossians 3:5 involve the believer’s carnal thought life. The word “mortify” is from the Greek word nekroo (nek-ro'-o). It means to put to death or to deprive of power. Sin’s power of temptation lies in its ability to consume our thought life. When we bring our thought life under the control of the Spirit, we virtually eliminate the power of temptation in our lives.

“4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. 5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? 6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up” (James 4:4-10).

     The admonition to “submit” to God (James 4:7) comes before the admonition to “resist the devil” because this all takes place in the mind and heart of the believer before it ever becomes part of our external obedience. There must be a motivation to obey from the heart before we will “submit” to God and “resist the devil.”

“4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; 6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled” (II Corinthians 10:4-6).

     If we want holiness in our lives, we must learn to put to death the thought-life that dwells on “fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness.” The “carnal mind” is preoccupied with this kind of thought life. The choice is between feeding this thought life or putting it to death. Sin takes place in our thought life before it exhibits itself in practice. Each of these five areas of thought life must be confronted and died to each, and every, moment of the day (I Corinthians 15:31).

     Before we look at what each of these five areas of our thought life pertains to, we need to insure that our motivation for confronting these things is out of a genuine concern about our relationship with the Lord. In fact, we might go as far as to say that the motivation must come from that relationship with the Lord. An amplified interpretation of Colossians 3:10-11 might help us to understand this better.

     Amplified: Verse 10 -“And having enveloped yourself with the new life in Christ, the resurrected life, the one that is re-created with a full and maturing knowledge in the likeness of the image of Jesus, Who the knowledge reflects, and Who is the One by whom you were recreated. Verse 11 - In which state, namely the resurrected life, there cannot be any prejudicial or cultural indifferences such as the cultural differences of the Jew and the Greek, the religious differences between the circumcised and the uncircumcised, the intellectual or educational differences that divide the Barbarian from the Scythian or the social differences that divide the slave man from the free man, but Christ is our common denominator, He has obliterated all cultural and religious distinctions, all intellectual elitism, all social classes, and has substituted Himself for all of these, and He alone should occupy the full spectrum of our human existence and fully saturate all that our existence becomes.”

     A Christian will not hunger and thirst after righteousness if that righteousness is not pursued because that person is motivated to please God more than anything else in this life. Christ alone should occupy the full spectrum of our human existence and fully saturate all that our existence becomes. Just ending a carnal thought life will not result in holiness. We must replace a carnal thought life with a spiritual thought life. That is why separation from worldliness is essential. Worldliness will feed the carnal beast within us and stimulate a carnal thought life. Prayer, Bible study, meditation on the things of God and involving ourselves in evangelism and the work of the ministry will stimulate a spiritual thought life.

“8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you” (Philippians 4:8-9).

     What are these five areas of thought life in Colossians 3:8-11 that keep Jesus from occupying the full spectrum of our human existence and from fully saturating all that our existence becomes? The first area of our thought life that must be put to death is revealed by the word “fornication.” It is from the Greek word porneia (por-ni'-ah) and refers to illicit sexual activity. The carnal mind is a pornographic mind. The carnal mind will dwell in a world of sexual fantasies. We live in a society that is driven by illicit sexuality. A person is bombarded with illicit sexuality everywhere he looks. Some of it he cannot control, most of it he can.

     The word “uncleanness” is from the Greek word akatharsia (ak-ath-ar-see'-ah). It means impurity. It is a very broad application and refers to any kind of immoral thinking. This can apply to the kind of rationalism that seeks to justify any lifestyle or practice that is clearly sin.

     The words “inordinate affection” is from the Greek word pathos (path'-os). This refers to allowing ourselves to be controlled or motivated by carnal feelings such as anger or loneliness. In Romans 1:26 it is translated “vile affections” and refers to homosexuality. In the broadest sense, it refers to allowing our carnal emotions to determine or govern our actions.

     The word “concupiscence” is from the Greek word epithumia (ep-ee-thoo-mee'-ah). It is a broad term referring to a desire for forbidden things. Our natural (carnal) tendency is to allow our thought life to dwell on the forbidden. We want what we are told we cannot have. We need to turn our minds off to that kind of thinking.

     “Covetousness” carries climactic force in the Greek and could actually read “especially covetousness.” It is a category of sin that stands by itself called IDOLATRY. Covetousness puts wants and things in the place of God. For the covetous person, God, and a relationship with Him, is only important if it will help that person get what he covets.

     Until the Christian can honestly say, “Christ is all, and in all” the total depravity of his soul will never rise above the slime pits of worldliness. Until “Christ is all” in a person’s life, that person will never rise up on eagle’s wings to truly fellowship with the Lord.

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31).

     Until “Christ is all,” the total depravity of our fallen nature will keep us from knowing God and the power of His might in our lives (Philippians 3:10). We will continue to deceive ourselves into thinking we have something we do not have or are something we are not. One thing we will continue to deceive ourselves about is this issue of personal holiness. Only when we begin to understand and know the God of the Bible will we really understand just how far short of His glory we are, just how far we have fallen and just how unsearchable are His riches of grace.

     “Christ is all, and in all.” He loves you and wants to fill your life with His presence, if you will let Him. The Creator’s essence fills the universe with His glory. The only place His glory does not fill is the lives of fallen creation. He will only fill those lives by mutual consent.

“16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Colossians 1:16-17).

     Jesus Christ is the Creator of Heaven, Earth and everything in between. He controls every aspect of His creation, but one thing. He gave mankind a free-will. Before Jesus will fill a person’s life with His divine essence (“life”), that person must be “born again” by grace through faith. Before Jesus will fill a believer’s life with Himself, that believer must empty himself and his life of every worldly contradiction against the holiness of God. Then Christ, who “is all” will also fill once more the small part of this universe that has locked Him out. He will fill you and your life with His presence. Will you “let the peace of God rule in your hearts” (Colossians 3:15)?