When is the Resurrection

Colossians
Commentary

For two thousand years Christians have speculated about the return of Jesus Christ and the resurrection of the dead. There are plenty of passages in the Bible that speak of these future events, yet we can focus so much on the future that we miss the here and now. The Bible speaks of the resurrection in both future and present terms. In Colossians 3:1-11 Paul wrote of the contemporary resurrection in the life of a Christian. We experience that immediate resurrection as we focus on the things over which Jesus Christ rules. We ought not allow the things of this world to crowd out that reality. Our old lives are dead. The real action is taking place among those who are in Christ now. When Jesus returns, our present resurrection will be revealed in glory. Live resurrection lives now.

Dangerous Illustrations

Overcoming Legalism

It is sometimes said that more legalism creeps into the church through sermon illustrations than anything else. That may be true and certainly Colossians 3:1-11 could be an example of that. If we focus on what we practice more than the One who makes it possible, then we are in danger of becoming just another judgmental legalistic group, with a list of rules whereby we look down our noses at others. That is the danger of illustrations. We miss the cause and look at the effect. And so some Christians carefully avoid swearing or using abusive language, but still don’t live the resurrected life. Yet, Christians are resurrected to new life and ought to live like it. Our sights ought to be on heavenly realities rather than this dead world. Our real life is hidden with Christ in God.

Checking the List & Missing the Point

The Resurrected Life

In Colossians 3:1-11 Paul wrote of Christians living the resurrected life here and now. Then he gave a limited list of examples to illustrate what he meant in practical terms. If we have a legalistic mentality, that list becomes a new set of rules to obey, rather than some applications of his point. That kind of thinking misses the point. It sees Paul’s illustrations as the whole story instead of just a very brief sketch of what the resurrected life looks like. Some folks would never be caught swearing but gladly engage in slander or ethnic bigotry because they have chosen part of the list and think that was the whole idea. It was not. The principle was: Christians ought to live the resurrected new life in Christ now and put to death the sinful ways of this world.