Christ Has Set His Mind on You, Set Your Mind on Him
Text: Colossians 3:1-11 Speaker: Pastor Matthew Ude Passages: Colossians 3:1-11
Audio Sermon
Full Service Video
Colossians 3:1-11
Put On the New Self (Listen)
3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your1 life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:2 sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.3 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self4 with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,5 free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Footnotes
[1] 3:4
[2] 3:5
[3] 3:6
[4] 3:9
[5] 3:11
(ESV)
Carl Sagan was once asked by a student, “If there is no God, then where does that leave us?”
Carl Sagan answered, “On our own. Which to my mind is much more responsible than hoping that someone will save us from ourselves so that we don’t have to make our best effort to do it ourselves.”
Carl Sagan implied something about Christians that is both wrong and partially correct. He implies that our attitude is: We don’t really have to worry or try because God has it covered.
Carl was wrong, because that attitude is clearly contrary to Scripture.
Remember the disciples who saw Jesus’ ascension? They stood there, staring into heaven. The angels came down and said, in effect, “Why are you standing here staring into heaven? You’ve got work to do!”
Similarly, Jesus addresses this issue in the parable of the talents. One of the servants did nothing except hide his talent. Jesus calls him a “wicked and lazy servant.”
Jesus said in John 9:4: “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”
Carl was partially right, because we Christians—in our sinfulness—do often think and act that way. Especially when it comes to sin, we are tempted not to care much about it. At least not about our own sin. We often care a lot about others’ sins.
Paul reminds us in our text this morning that this should not be. It is because we have been forgiven, and because Christ has all power in heaven and on earth, that we should strive to “set our minds on things above.”
What Christ Has Done and What We Are to Do
In the first few verses of our text, we find four key verbs where you are the subject. There are other verbs, but only four focused on you. Two are past tense (aorist in the Greek, which is a bit more nuanced, but “past” works for now), and two are present tense in both Greek and English.
The past tense verbs are “raised” and “died.” With these, Paul describes what has already happened to us—who we are because of Christ. We have died with Christ and have been raised with Christ.
This is the foundation. This is what has happened. Christ died for our sins according to Scripture. Through baptism, we join Him in His death and resurrection. We have died and been raised. Because of this, our sins are forgiven. Because of this, we are children of God.
Galatians 3:26 – “For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”
This is why we know that we will go to heaven. This is why we know that God hears our prayers. This is why, when bad things happen, we don’t have to be afraid that God is punishing us. Jesus died for our sins. We have died with Him and been raised with Him. We are counted righteous by grace through faith.
That is a past event that gives us certainty of salvation.
The present tense verbs are “seek” and “set.”
“Seek those things which are above.”
“Set your mind on things above.”
With these, Paul teaches us how we should live now, because we have been made children of God through Christ’s death and life.
Proverbs 23:7 – “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.”
You’ve probably heard the saying, “You are what you eat.” Even more so, you are what you think. What we read, what we watch, what we dwell on—what we fill our minds with—has a huge effect on who we become.
We have been raised from the dead with Christ. We are sons and daughters of God. Therefore, we should be thinking about the things of God.
We are forgiven because of Jesus’ death. And because that is who we are, we should act like it.
This Is a Continual Process
These present tense verbs imply not just something we should do, but something we should continually be doing. It’s not a one-time thing.
Back in the spring, I tore the cover for that little boat I have. So, I told Vanessa, “I’ve got to put the boat in the garage for now.” But while the boat was in the garage, the cars couldn’t be. Then there was this open space in the garage—and guess what? Slowly, it filled up. There’s a ladder in there, a coffee roaster, all our camping gear. None of that belongs there. The cars belong in the garage.
It needs to be cleaned out so the cars can go back in. And not just once. It needs continual cleaning.
What belongs in our minds is not the things of earth, but the things of heaven. We need to constantly remove anger, wrath, blasphemy—and replace them with love, kindness, understanding, and forgiveness.
Jesus Has the Power to Help
This is not just a daunting task, it’s nearly impossible on our own. That’s why Paul reminds us: “Christ is at the right hand of God.” This is a reminder of Christ’s power, which is active in our lives.
Paul is echoing what Jesus Himself said: “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go…”
This is spiritual power assist technology—but a thousand times better than any e-bike.
On an e-bike, you pedal a little, and your effort is magnified 1.5 to 3.5 times. In the parable of the Sower, Jesus says:
“But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” – Matthew 13:8
That is the effect of Jesus’ power. Not 1.5x. Not 3x. But 30, 60, or 100 times.
Studies even suggest e-bikes are healthier than traditional bikes. Why? Because people actually use them. They aren’t afraid of trying to bike uphill.
We don’t have to be afraid of trying to clean out our earthly thoughts. We’re going to fail—but we are forgiven.
With an e-bike, you can be adventurous because you have extra power. With Christ, you can “be strong and courageous, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
This is not a reason to do nothing. It is a reason to do everything.
Living with Purpose
This isn’t a call to passivity. It’s an invitation to engage fully—to remove what hinders us and embrace the grace and love Christ gives.
The grace, power, and forgiveness we have in Jesus are not excuses to coast—but motivation to pursue everything God has called us to.
Let us continually clean out the clutter—anger, envy, earthly worries—and fill that space with the love, forgiveness, and grace of Christ.
Because in Him, we have the power to live purposefully, courageously, and fully—for the glory of God.