Spiritually Buried and Raised with Christ

Colossians 3:2-3 “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.”

An article that I was reading stated that the apostle Paul, looking forward to the time when we shall “ever be with the Lord”, wrote in Philippians 1:23-24: “I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account”.

The fact is, however, that we can be “with Christ” even while still abiding in the flesh, as Paul himself emphasized. This is the great principle called positional truth. “Positionally,” we are already “with Christ,” for that is where God sees us and how He relates to us. He has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus”.

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Before we could be raised up with Christ, however, we first had to die with Him. God even saw us as buried with Christ when He was buried, and this is the great truth symbolized in our baptism. Romans 6:4says, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” Romans 6:8-12 goes on to say: “We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.”

The article explained that Christ died for us, so our deserved death became His substitutionary death, and His victorious resurrection becomes our own unmerited deliverance from death in eternal resurrection life. This is the “Good News” and this is our position now, and our assured everlasting possession then, for we are with Christ, who “dies no more.” This truth is not only a wonderful doctrinal teaching, but a focus for our thoughts, and real incentive for godly living.

Blessings