Seek Things Above
Introduction:
1. The doctrinal section in Colossians has come to an end and beginning in chapter three, the practical exhortations begin.
a. Before entering into his practical section on the Christian walk, Paul reminds us all that we DIED with Christ (2:20a) and that we were RAISED UP with Christ (3:1).
b. The exhortations are BASED upon this positional truth about our UNION with Christ in His death and resurrection… and the MYSTERY of us IN Christ and Christ IN us!
c. If this is true (and it is!), then it relates to virtually every aspect of living the Christian life.
d. This positional truth is designed by God to affect the daily condition of our lives.
e. Thus, in the following chapters, Paul relates this important truth (our glorious position in Christ – united with Him in death, resurrection, and ascension) to every facet of our lives on earth: our struggles in the flesh, the home life: parent child; husband wife; master servant; our prayer lives, our responsibility to evangelize, our responsibility to one another and to our ministries in the local church.
2. Hence, our UNION with Christ affects everything in the Christian life.
a. It is not a minor issue as some would have us believe.
b. It was to the apostle Paul that the revelation of the mystery was given… this new relationship that believers of this dispensation have to Christ… as our Risen Head.
c. Hence, it is a major emphasis in his epistles: Rom. 6-8; Eph. 2-4; and Col. 2-3.
d. In each of his major epistles, Paul follows the same pattern:
• First he explains in detail our glorious position in Christ.
• He expounds on our identification with Him in His death, resurrection, and ascension.
• Then, he exhorts them to godly living… and the exhortations are BASED upon their position in Christ.
e. This is not a truth to be trifled with. It is the theological basis of our walk with God in this age!
f. It is vital information for the believer to KNOW if he is ever going to experience the power and the proper motivation for a heavenly mind, heart, and walk.
POSITION: Identified with Christ in His Resurrection
1. The IF clauses:
a. First class condition – a fulfilled condition: this does NOT express doubt.
• This is not a subjective interpretation.
• This is an objective rule of Greek grammar.
• Ei, the particle of a fulfilled condition, followed by the indicative mode = first class condition.
• Wuest: “In view of the fact, therefore, that you were raised with Christ.”
• It is the same class condition he used in 2:20 – if you are dead with Christ (and you are!) why are you subject to earthly ordinances as if you are LIVING in the world?
• I John 4:11 – Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.” (John was not doubting whether God loved them or not! He KNEW that God did love them… he assumed this condition to be TRUE!)
• Rom. 8:31 – If God be for us, (and He most definitely is!) who can be against us? He assumes the condition to be true… SINCE God is for us… who can be against us?
• NO doubt is implied in this class condition.
• And determining which CLASS condition it is is not subjective interpretation. It is determined by the objective construction: which term for “if” is used and which mood.
b. Second class condition: an unfulfilled condition:
• John 11:21 – Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. (Mary speaking about Lazarus.)
• This IF clause assumes the condition was NOT fulfilled. Jesus was NOT there and so her brother DID die. Hence, the second class form was used.
• Heb. 8:4 -?For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest.
• The author KNOWS that Christ is not on earth… the author assumes this condition is unfulfilled… but it is used as a form of making an argument.
c. Third class condition: assumed as POSSIBLE (ify)
• Matt. 10:13 – And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.
• ean and subjunctive.
• This form DOES express doubt.
d. First class condition: a fulfilled condition
• John 13:17 – IF ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
• Ei and the indicative – expresses no doubt.
• Of course they know these things. He just taught them! He assumes that they know these things… no doubt implied here.
• They know these things at least on a superficial basis. In time these truths would sink in deeper—but Jesus does not express doubt here.
• The Greek FORM tells us this… not the interpreter.
• John 13:17 – this is followed by a THIRD class condition: If ye do them – [ean] and present active subjunctive, assumed as possible… it could go either way. There IS doubt expressed in this form.
• The Greek scholars are in agreement on this usage of these different Greek forms which reflect a different KIND of a condition.
2. Why spend so much time making this one point?
a. Because this clause is the BASIS for the rest of the exhortations in the book of Colossians!
b. Because Paul’s argument is based upon CERTAINTY, and if we inject any DOUBT here, his argument isn’t going to make sense.
c. The BASIS for the exhortation and the MOTIVATION for the exhortation are both based upon the CERTAINTY of this truth. It is based upon us KNOWING this fact…
d. Not questioning, debating, or wondering, but knowing!
e. There are certain things we have to KNOW in order to GROW. This is one of them.
f. Faith can only rest upon FACTS… not upon doubts or uncertainty.
g. Injecting an ounce of doubt here nullifies his argument.
h. So while the grammar lesson might SEEM like a waste of time, it is essential to get this point nailed down without any doubt… or there is no point in going on with his argument.
i. All doubt must be erased before we can proceed with the case Paul is making.
j. Paul makes the case for walking by FAITH… and victory over sin by FAITH.
k. And a walk of FAITH is inconsistent with DOUBT.
l. If we are ever going to have victory in our Christian lives, we must KNOW that our old man was crucified. We must KNOW that we have been raised up as new creatures in Christ.
m. Without KNOWING these things… we cannot take a step of faith.
3. If ye then be RISEN WITH CHRIST.
a. We HAVE been risen with Christ. Not only does the grammar of 3:1 tell us so, but the CONTEXT tells us the same thing!
b. 3:1 is to be connected back to 2:11-13.
c. 2:11-12 – we were circumcised (cut off) and buried WITH Christ… and then raised up!
d. 2:12-13 – we were dead in sins, and then quickened (made alive—dead but raised to new life!)
• Obviously this resurrection is not the resurrection of our bodies. That is yet future.
• Eph. 2:4-6 – This is a spiritual resurrection… we were dead in sins but made alive in Christ!
• By faith, we are united with Christ—baptized into His Body—and thus HIS death becomes our death; HIS resurrection becomes our resurrection; HIS ascension brings US into heavenly places in Christ.
e. In 2:11-13 – Paul states the facts.
• We DID die with Christ and were buried with Him. And we WERE raised up with Christ. These are accomplished FACTS.
• This is true of EVERY believer, not just an elite few.
• The cross severed us (cut us off – circumcised) from our PAST life in the world.
• The resurrection brings us into a NEWNESS of life in Christ.
• These are the facts. God wants us to KNOW these facts and to BELIEVE them.
• Our death and resurrection with Christ changed us COMPLETELY… whether it feels like it or not. It is so because God said so.
• When these truths sink in, they are life transforming!
f. Then (after stating the facts) he proceeds to make his exhortations BASED upon those facts.
• IF ye be risen with Christ (and you have been—I just told you so!)… SINCE this is true that you were raised up with Him… THEREFORE… seek things above.
• Chapter 2 emphasizes the effects of our DEATH with Christ (we died to the rudiments of the world; to the worldly forms of religion—traditions, philosophies of men, legalism, mysticism, and asceticism.
• Chapter 3 emphasizes the effects of our resurrection LIFE with Christ—on our entire Christian life—marriage, family, local church, etc.
• Once we become aware of this truth of our position in Christ—know it and believe it—no uncertainty—then it will affect everything we do and are!
• We will SEEK things above because we genuinely BELIEVE that we have been raised above!
CONDITION: Exhortation to Seek Things Above
1. Seek Defined:
a. Defined: try to find; desire; demand; inquire into; investigate; to feel the want of… looking; striving;
b. Present active imperative: we are commanded to keep on seeking… desiring… looking forward to… feeling the want of…
2. Those things which are above…
a. Above = heaven, where Christ is…
b. Continually guide your energy and activities in a new direction: above!
c. Things above = heavenly things; eternal/spiritual things.
d. This includes “all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ” (Eph. 1:3)
• God said that He has given us ALL riches in Christ and ALL spiritual blessings.
• He has described them in His Word… and He gave it to us!
• Like a great king who has given a pauper untold wealth and has put them in a velvet bag and handed it to him… to look into… to enjoy… to investigate… to seek out. Don’t sit around in poverty ignoring the velvet bag!
• If a great king gave you a bag FULL of untold riches, don’t you think you would want to seek out those riches? Discover them? Look inside the bag?
• We have been given great riches in Christ. Paul tells us to seek those things… look inside the bag… (Word!)—discover them and enjoy them!
e. The things which are above stand in contrast to the things which are here below… the things of the world…
• Rudiments of the world…
• Traditions and philosophies of men here below…
• Earthly ordinances: touch not; taste not; handle not.
• John defines as the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.
• Earthly treasures that rust and are stolen…
• Pilgrim’s Progress – muckraker… this pictures the believer who is seeking after the riches of this world… what a pity!
3. Paul emphasizes the fact that WE are to seek things above because positionally, we ARE above.
a. The cross severed us from this world system below
b. The resurrection raised us up into a new heavenly sphere above.
c. Our position has changed. We are no longer a part of the old creation but are part of the new creation in Christ.
d. SINCE this is so (since ye then be risen), THEN SEEK things above!
e. God raised us up into the great riches of Christ. Therefore SEEK after them! Open the bag! Discover untold riches! And don’t ever worry, murmur, covet, or be discontent again!
f. Once it really SINKS IN (who we are and what we have in Christ), we will NEVER look at life the same way again.
g. We won’t look at people the same way… circumstances… trials… success… time… money… service… everything changes!
h. This is our new position in Christ: seated with Him in heavenly places (Eph. 2:6)
• Heaven is our citizenship NOW… not when we experience physical death and resurrection! But now.
• Heaven is our position now… our home now…
• This changes our whole outlook of our present life.
• If your rich uncle died and left you a couple of billion dollars that you would inherit in six months, don’t you think that would change your outlook towards your house that needs repair… and the bills… etc.
• Believing what we are and what we have in Christ—the things above—will enable us to not just to be strengthened unto all patience and longsuffering… but to do so with JOYFULNESS!
i. This truth not only sets us apart from the world, but also from MOST of earthly, religious, Christendom—churchianity as opposed to Christianity.
• For the most part, Christendom has adopted an earthly religion… the rudiments of the world…
• The cross and resurrection changed us completely.
• But today, most of professing Christendom lives like Israel, in PRE-cross conditions.
• There is an attraction for physical symbols, an earthly priesthood, a physical sacrifice, a special building where God dwells, a return to Jewish laws and legalism, the insistence on holy days and Sabbaths, ornate, symbolic worship…
j. The Bible speaks of Israel’s form of worship as EARTHLY.
• Heb. 8:1 – our High Priest is in heaven.
• Heb. 8:2 – our High Priest is ministering in a heavenly tabernacle.
• Heb. 8:4 – He is NOT on earth offering physical sacrifices.
• Heb. 9:1 – He is not in the worldly (earthly) sanctuary.
• Heb. 9:10 – meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. (note the similarity: ordinances; emphasis on meat and drinks; temporary things…)
• Judaism was designed to be a temporary religion of the earth.
• Christianity is not a religion but a LIFE… it is not from the earth but from above… and is not temporary but eternal.
• Most of Christendom today confuses these important issues… with devastating results.
• They confuse:
» Law and grace
» Israel and the church
» The Kingdom and the Body of Christ
» Man made organization rather than spiritual organism
» An over-emphasis on the physical, social, and political sides of life… giving mere lip service to true spirituality.
» Human traditions, philosophies, and ordinances rather than on Divine Scripture.
• Religion of the world does its best to avoid contact with evil in the world (touch not; taste not; handle not)
• But Christianity does much more than avoid contact with evil in the world, it crucifies the world unto us, and brings us into an entirely NEW realm…
4. The church is POST-cross and POST-resurrection.
a. Therefore we are to seek things ABOVE.
b. Our mission as a church is not to fix all the evils in the world down here below. Our mission is to present the gospel that men might be raised up into heavenly places in Christ!
c. Our mission is not to win the war on poverty. Jesus said the poor you will ALWAYS have with you! Our mission is to win rich and poor alike to Christ! In Christ there is no difference!
d. Our goal is not to bring about world peace. Peace on earth, good will toward men will never happen until Christ, the Prince of Peace returns. The church is not the Peace Corps or the United Nations.
e. I Cor. 6:9-11 – Our goal is not to get the drunk to stop drinking… or the thief to stop stealing.
• Our goal is to introduce the thief to Christ that he might have NEW life and so that he is not a thief any more but a saint of God!
• Transforming a drunk into a non drinker is a worldly, earthly goal. It is the best the world can offer.
• Transforming a thief into a non-stealer is the best the world can do.
• These are earthly goals.
• Transforming a sinner into a saint is a heavenly goal… it is infinitely and eternally superior!
• We are to seek things above… above the goals and ambitions of the world.
f. Think of the world as the ocean.
• God did not call us to clean up the pollution in the ocean. He called us to fish men OUT OF the ocean!
• And NOTHING has a greater influence on the world than a transformed life!
• Of course a Spirit filled Christian whose path crosses a hungry man may be led to provide food for the hungry man—but he doesn’t stop there.
• He will introduce the hungry man to the Bread of life… to things above.
• Of course a Spirit filled Christian whose path crosses a poor man will want to help him in some way.
• The world thinks it has done its job by giving the poor man some money. Our goal is to introduce the poor man to unsearchable riches of Christ… things above!
• The world operates as if this world was all there is.
• We seek things above… the heavenly realm is our home.
g. The existence of believers is like SALT to the earth—the church’s presence in the world preserves the world from judgment!
• The tribulation will not fall upon the world until the church is removed.
• Thus, our mission in the world is to function as salt and light…
• Not until the coming Kingdom will Christ return to earth and make all the crooked things straight.
• Trying to FIX a cursed earth without God has been the dream of religious men since the tower of Babel.
• Only the coming of the Lord will reverse that curse.
• The best thing we can do for the world is to BE godly… is to BE like Christ… is to BE salt and light… and to SEEK things above!
What Seeking Things Above Involves
1. Matt. 7:7-8 – Seeking involves PRAYER
a. Seek… and ye shall find.
b. We seek things above in part through our prayer life… spending time in communion with God and His Son.
c. Seek here is the same term as in Col. 3:1.
d. They are also both present, active, imperatives.
• In both passages, we are COMMANDED to keep on seeking.
e. This passage indicates that as we keep on seeking, we will also keep on finding!
• Vs. 8 – As we make it our life’s pursuit to continually seek things above… we will be continually FINDING things above… new riches unfolded to us as the need arises. (Findeth: present indicative; continuous action)
• The one who keeps on seeking will keep on finding!
f. It does not guarantee a YES answer to each and every prayer.
• But it does guarantee that a life that is characterized by continual seeking will also be characterized by continual finding!
• God delights in the persistence of a man, woman, or child who keeps on seeking… keeps on wrestling and doesn’t let go… until he experiences the blessing.
• The one who seeks God with that zeal and that depth of hunger will be satisfied! He will continually find the answers, the strength, the guidance, and the comfort he needs.
• Don’t wait until you die and go to heaven to start seeking things above. We are commanded to seek them NOW… and continually!
2. Seeking things above involves persistence.
a. Seeking things above is a LIFELONG pursuit for the believer.
b. The tense implies continuous action.
c. Seeking things above No one can say, “I sought and I have found things above. My seeking is over.”
d. If that which we are seeking is fellowship and communion with Christ where He is, then there is always MORE to be sought… more to be obtained.
e. We are to continually be seeking things above where Christ is.
f. We are to seek HIM… to know Him…
g. We are to seek to be more LIKE Him in our daily lives.
h. There is no end to that pursuit. (We are not there yet!)
i. Even when we are filled with the Spirit and filled with the fullness of God (godly qualities)—let’s not be so puffed up as to think there is no more to be had!
j. Think of the ocean as the fullness of God. We are a tiny cup… which can be filled with that fullness… but there is so much more available… so much more to seek and discover!
k. Seeking things above will take the rest of our earthly existence… it is a lifelong pursuit.
3. Seeking involves LOOKING…
a. II Cor. 4:18 – While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
• Are we seeking those things that are above… heavenly, spiritual, eternal?
• Do we look longingly to the unseen things above?
• Or are we really looking more longingly to the things of the earth—the big house on the hill… the Lexus… the chalet… the pool… a sizeable nest egg… the big promotion… the corner office… all designed for life in this world…
• God knows our hearts. He knows what we long after… what we are really seeking after in life.
• We LOOK to the things we are seeking after.
b. Heb. 12:2 – Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
• We look above where Christ is… we look at eternal things…
• This is God’s method for running the race—LOOKING unto Jesus… seeking His face… gazing upon His character in the Word…
• As we do, we are transformed into His image.
• Psalm 27:4 – One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.
• Seeking involves LOOKING longingly…
• Seeking involves looking without distraction: ONE THING have I desired… to BEHOLD the beauty of the Lord!
• The psalmist chose ONE THING to behold… as Mary chose the ONE THING that was needful… to sit at Jesus’ feet and behold the glory of the Lord.
• Martha was seeking to have her earthly house in order (which was good). But Mary sought fellowship with Christ… the ONE THING that was needful…
• When we have an eye for Christ and things above… we will not have an eye for others… just like a bride who has an eye for her groom. She has no eyes for others.
• Seeking involves LOOKING… with a single eye. When that is the case, the whole body shall be full of light.
• It speaks of the major FOCUS of our life.
4. Seeking involves DESIRE.
a. Psalm 63:1 – O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
• The psalmist speaks of his DESIRE for God like the desire of a thirsty man.
• This kind of desire is all consuming. The man in stranded in the desert with no water can hardly think of anything else other than water!
• The desire is so strong that he begins imagining he sees water… mirage…
• The one with this kind of strong desire seeks EARLY.
• This kind of strong desire MOVES a man to seek water…
• As believers, we should seek things above with the same passion… same desire… same zeal…
• The first thing as we wake in the morning, our minds and hearts should turn to God and think of the Lord.
• Do we?
• If we have been raised up with Christ we should. But it should come without struggle. It is so very natural for the new creature in Christ to DESIRE things above!
b. Matthew 6:32 – (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
• Everybody seeks for something.
• The unsaved seek for earthly things… survival and comfort on the earth. (food; shelter; clothing; toys)
• The gentiles make the pursuit of earthly goods their main object in life.
• This pursuit has the preeminence over all else.
• Some believers live this way too. The pursuit of earthly things… earthly treasures trumps God, the Bible, the local church… everything!
• It appears to be their all in all. It’s all they know; all they have;
c. Matthew 6:33 – But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
• What a great application to us today as Christians!
• In every dispensation, God instructs His people to seek after HIM and that which God has promised…. And to TRUST God for everything until that day.
• To the Jews God promised the earthly, Messianic kingdom and they were to SEEK that Kingdom… and LONG for a character of life consistent with the principles of that kingdom.
• In Matt. 6:33, Jesus told His Jewish disciples to seek after the Kingdom He was offering and to seek after God’s righteousness… and not to try to establish their own righteousness.
• Unfortunately, Israel as a nation did NOT seek after the kingdom, and when it was offered, both the king and His kingdom were rejected.
• Jesus stated that IF they sought after the kingdom, all their earthly needs would be provided. No need to worry about earthly needs.
• Believers are not to worry but to trust.
• The unsaved Gentiles WORRY about food, clothing, etc.
• Believers—whether Old Testament or New Testament saints… are NOT to worry about such things, but are to TRUST God to provide.
• What a testimony when believers living right next door to an unsaved neighbor… going through the same trials and tragedies of life… and yet their testimony is not one of worry, fear, and anxiety—but one of trust and rest in the Lord. That is a powerful testimony!
d. A heart that SEEKS God and LONGS for things above:
• A heart in whom God is delighted.
• A satisfied heart… and a fulfilled heart…
• And is also a testimony before the world!
• God honors a hunger and thirst for righteousness.
5. Seeking things above involves TASTE.
a. When you go shopping for shoes, you SEEK that for which you have developed a taste. (color; style; etc.) Your eyes glaze right over all the other ugly shoes until they light upon that which pleases your taste.
b. Seeking involves taste.
c. Once we get a taste for things above—we lose our taste for things below!
d. Psalm 37:4 – Delight thyself in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
• We will SEEK after that which our heart delights in.
• If we delight in God and things above we will seek them.
• If we delight in things of the world, that’s what we will seek after.
• But when we seek after things above… and delight in the Lord we HAVE the desires of our heart granted!
• We already POSSESS every spiritual blessing in heavenly places. We HAVE the desires of our heart.
• We are already INDWELT with Christ. If He is our delight, then we HAVE the desire of our heart!
• For the hungry believer, seeking to satisfy his taste for things above, fulfillment does not come through OBTAINING something from the Lord.
• Fulfillment comes through FAITH: by BELIEVING that we already possess all we need… Christ is our all in all… all spiritual blessings are ours…
• Believing these wonderful truths will cause our hearts to REST in God’s Word… rest rather than worry! Contentment rather than covetousness!
e. As we continually seek things above, we will be continually filled with things above… as we live down here below!
• God gives us that foretaste of glory divine!
• Once we taste and see that the Lord is good, we want more and more.
• We begin to develop a TASTE for such things. O taste and see that the Lord is good!
• As we keep on seeking, we keep on finding things above. These eternal things of Christ satisfy our souls… satisfy our hunger and thirst…
• We discover that NOTHING satisfies like Christ and the things above.
• Things of earth grow strangely dim… not by law but by the sweet presence of Christ overshadowing all other desires…
• “He satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness?” (Ps. 107:9)
• Hence, no need for earthly ordinances: touch not, taste not, handle not!
• Things that are HIGHER… things that are nobler—these have allured my mind!
• Just like there is no need for the law for the believer who is filled with the Spirit. (Against such there is no law!)
• Only the Spirit filled believer will ever fulfill the righteousness in the law anyway!
6. Even so, the Spirit filled believer will find many things down here that he chooses not to touch or handle too. There is a lot of evil to avoid in the world.
a. But he does so not because of a set of rules some man handed him… but because he has developed a taste for something higher… something nobler…
• The things of earth grow strangely dim to the one seeking and finding things above!
• Old things pass away!
• As a new creation who has been conformed to the image of Christ, and as one in whom Christ lives, we ought to feel more at home in the heavenly sphere than down here on earth.
• The more we seek things above, the more we develop a taste for it. The more we develop a taste, the more we will WANT to seek it.
• The more we seek things above the more at home we feel there.
• This is the process of spiritual growth.
• The plant grows as it seeks water and nutrients. The believer grows as he seeks Christ and things above.
b. Have you watched the leaves fall off the old oak tree? Most fall off in the autumn (right after you rake the lawn).
• But some stubborn ones stay on all winter! They last through the storms… through the blizzards…
• You could strain your back and try to shake the old oak tree to get those dead leaves to fall off… and maybe a few will fall… but not all.
• The new life flowing through the branch just naturally causes the old, dead leaves to drop off… the new leaves just caused them to drop off naturally!
• Those old dead leaves—like the baggage of our old man are often stubborn.
• Religion emphasizes shaking the tree to rid it of those old dead leaves.
• Christianity emphasizes NEW LIFE in Christ… which causes the old to fall away naturally… without the struggle and the strain.
• The focus is not on those old, dead leaves. The focus is on Christ… and our life in Him! Seeking heavenly things above… like the branch abiding in Him…
• The things of this world begin to lose their appeal WHEN our life is spent seeking things above!
• As we fill our lives with Christ, with His Word, with fellowship, communion, worship, and prayer… His new life pushes away those stubborn remnants of our past life.
• Religion of the world majors on emptying the tree of the old leaves.
• Christianity majors on filling the tree with new leaves!
• Religion of the world says: Touch not, taste not, handle not.
• The young, zealous, but immature believer in his zeal and hatred for sin is likely to be attracted to a form of Christianity that says, Touch not, taste not…
• The religious flesh attempts to empty the cup of all evil the best they can—but even if they were successful, the cup is still empty!
• Christianity fills the cup with Christ and things above:
• The older, wiser, more mature believer is more interested in FILLING the cup: For to me to live is Christ!
• When we are filled with the Spirit and our lives are filled with Christ… there is no room in that life for the things of the world… the things down below.
• We develop new tastes… for things above.
• The indwelling LIFE of Christ is our new source of satisfaction…
• We have often mentioned Christ’s preeminence in this book. Here is a practical way that we LIVE His preeminence by SEEKING things above where Christ is!
• By seeking Him first and foremost in our lives, we are demonstrating a life where Christ is preeminent.
• This is God’s answer to ALL of our besetting sins. Like stubborn oak leaves, they will fall off when our focus is on nurturing our new life… not by trying our best to shake the old oak tree!