Seek the things that are above.
Colossians 3:1-4
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. 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.
What are "things that are above"?
From these verses, they are:
- things that are "where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God" (v.1).
- "not things that are on earth" (v.2).
To set your affections on things on earth, would be to set them on temporal things: financial security, money, prestige, possessions, winning the game, having good health, etc.
The counterpart to this would be, setting your affections on spiritual and eternal things (things that do not burn up at the end of the world; things that you do not lose at death):
- The Kingdom of God (rather than a focus on meeting your own earthly needs):
Matthew 6:31-33
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
- The righteousness of God (Matt.6:33 again).
- Treasures in Heaven (rather than seeking treasures on earth):
Matthew 19:21
Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
- Things that will have their reward in Heaven (rather than things that bring temporal pleasure here);
Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
- God's will and priorities (rather than my own security or goals):
Matthew 16:21-23
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
- The eternal state of your soul (rather than gaining this world):
Matthew 16:24-26
Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?"
- To gain your soul, you must gain Christ himself, at whatever cost (Matt.19:21):
Matthew 13:45-46
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Philippians 3:8-9
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him…
- The resurrection, the final rest (a striving to make sure to get safely to Heaven):
Philippians 3:8b-11
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him… that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Hebrews 4:11
Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
Luke 13:24
Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.
1 Timothy 6:12
Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
- The things of the Spirit (as opposed to the things of the flesh):
Romans 8:5-9a
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit…
(same words, "set the mind" as in Col.3:2 and Phil.3:19). Rom.8 here tells us that those who set their affections on the flesh (the old man) are hostile to God and cannot please him. But believers now live "according to the Spirit" and therefore set their affections on "the things of the Spirit." We submit to God's law; we please him by faith in Christ and obedience to him.
Galatians 5 tells us that the desires of the flesh are opposed to the desires of the Spirit:
Galatians 5:17
For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
The works of the flesh are all kinds of sin, resulting from self-love rather than love for God and love for others:
Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
This would tell us that setting your mind on the Spirit (as opposed to on things of the flesh) involves a striving to live in love for God, and in Christ-like love for others, rather than in self-love.
Therefore: set your mind (affections, energies, interests) on ways to love God and to imitate the love of Christ toward others.
Those who live with the mind "set on the Spirit" will have the fruit of the Spirit being produced in their lives:
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
In order to fight the flesh (the old man), we must recognize it to be crucified with Christ; and we must then put to death everything related to the flesh's way of thinking:
Galatians 5:24-25
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
Colossians 3:5, 8-10
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. … now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
And because we live by the Spirit now, and not by the flesh, we are to walk in the ways of the Spirit, putting on the qualities that are like Christ:
Colossians 3:11b-14
…Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
You could summarize all these by saying, "To set your mind on things above means, to have your energies and affections and desires set toward bringing God glory in the world, by obeying him, trusting him to provide for you, and following Christ at all cost."
1 Corinthians 10:31
So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
Colossians 3:17
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
