Our first valid faith we exercised toward God was by means of reckoning {to acknowledge that something is true on the basis of established facts}. We looked upon Christ Jesus as our personal Savior and therefore saved {delivered}. Nowhere is this principle more explicit than in Colossians chapter three. Let’s see if we can tie Romans chapters 6,7,8 together with Colossians chapter three in its fullness.
Colossians 3:1 KJV – If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
“If since then you were raised together with Christ.” Paul shares this same truth in Ephesians 2:6.
Reckoning ourselves alive in God in Christ amounts to our taking our position in Him. Since the heavenly sphere is now our true position, it follows that we are to seek there the things of Christ–spiritual realities. Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
1 Peter 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. Our Father yearns for intimacy and fellowship with His Church.
Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Our mind is set upon the One in whom we live, not upon self and this world unto which we have died.
The Holy Spirit ministers life exclusively from the true heavenly Source, Christ. It is the Spirit of the Father given by Christ. We must reckon upon our having died unto sin at Calvary, the old earthy source {our Adamic nature} within will continue to produce its life of carnality. We must take our minds off the things of this world. When we set our minds upon Christ and abide in Him as our risen life, we become increasingly conformed to His image. Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
“For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul compresses the entire finished work of Romans Six, the whole truth of our identification with Christ.
Paul is dealing mainly with our relationship to the world and things earthly. Our having died on Calvary not only separated us from the reign of sin and self, but also from the deadly influence of this present world. “By means of the Cross” Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
“FOR YOU DIED” The only way we can escape the influence of the earthly sphere, the very element in which the self-life thrives, is to count upon our having died unto it. The death that we passed through now stands between us and the world.
Colossians 3:3 For you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Our life is anchored in, and maintained by, our risen Lord Jesus. The reason so many Christians are not living for their heavenly position in the Savior is that they are not established in the truth of their freedom from the influence of the world.
When we learn to fix our mind upon Christ and rest in Him in the heavens, we will not be oppressed by self, circumstances, and situations here on earth! Our spiritual position is not down here, praying and pleading for help from Him at the throne of God, just the opposite! We do not go to Him for help, but we rest in Him as the all-sufficient One. We do not bring Him down to our level for our use; We abide in Him at His level for His use.
Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Christ is our Christian life, therefore, as we grow spiritually, we become more like Him.
Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: :21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Colossians 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; When was this accomplished? At Calvary! It is there we were separated from the old man by our death in Christ. 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: The new man was put on when we were re-created in the Lord Jesus. This new nature is the very life of the One who is the express image of God. Therefore, our growth in the knowledge of Him results in the manifestation of His life.
The old man, we seek to suppress self or crucify the old nature. The new man, we plead with God to change us for the better, and we try to be more Christ-like. But in all, we never seem to emerge from Romans Seven–total defeat.
Finally, we learn to meet the problem indirectly, by reckoning. We see in the Word that the old man has been effectively “put off” at the Cross; and we also see that the new man has been “put on” through our resurrection in Christ. Instead of being taken up with the problem, we now set our mind and heart on God’s answer: The crucifying Cross and the Risen Christ.
Your brother in Christ,
Ron
Our Finished Faith: Colossians Three – Ron Volk
June 26, 2025 by Shirley Gohner • Uncategorized • 0 Comments
Our first valid faith we exercised toward God was by means of reckoning {to acknowledge that something is true on the basis of established facts}. We looked upon Christ Jesus as our personal Savior and therefore saved {delivered}. Nowhere is this principle more explicit than in Colossians chapter three. Let’s see if we can tie Romans chapters 6,7,8 together with Colossians chapter three in its fullness.
Colossians 3:1 KJV – If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in glory. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
“If since then you were raised together with Christ.” Paul shares this same truth in Ephesians 2:6.
Reckoning ourselves alive in God in Christ amounts to our taking our position in Him. Since the heavenly sphere is now our true position, it follows that we are to seek there the things of Christ–spiritual realities. Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. 10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:
1 Peter 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. Our Father yearns for intimacy and fellowship with His Church.
Luke 12:34 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Our mind is set upon the One in whom we live, not upon self and this world unto which we have died.
The Holy Spirit ministers life exclusively from the true heavenly Source, Christ. It is the Spirit of the Father given by Christ. We must reckon upon our having died unto sin at Calvary, the old earthy source {our Adamic nature} within will continue to produce its life of carnality. We must take our minds off the things of this world. When we set our minds upon Christ and abide in Him as our risen life, we become increasingly conformed to His image. Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
“For you died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Paul compresses the entire finished work of Romans Six, the whole truth of our identification with Christ.
Paul is dealing mainly with our relationship to the world and things earthly. Our having died on Calvary not only separated us from the reign of sin and self, but also from the deadly influence of this present world. “By means of the Cross” Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
“FOR YOU DIED” The only way we can escape the influence of the earthly sphere, the very element in which the self-life thrives, is to count upon our having died unto it. The death that we passed through now stands between us and the world.
Colossians 3:3 For you are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. Our life is anchored in, and maintained by, our risen Lord Jesus. The reason so many Christians are not living for their heavenly position in the Savior is that they are not established in the truth of their freedom from the influence of the world.
When we learn to fix our mind upon Christ and rest in Him in the heavens, we will not be oppressed by self, circumstances, and situations here on earth! Our spiritual position is not down here, praying and pleading for help from Him at the throne of God, just the opposite! We do not go to Him for help, but we rest in Him as the all-sufficient One. We do not bring Him down to our level for our use; We abide in Him at His level for His use.
Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Christ is our Christian life, therefore, as we grow spiritually, we become more like Him.
Philippians 3:20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: :21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Colossians 3:9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; When was this accomplished? At Calvary! It is there we were separated from the old man by our death in Christ. 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: The new man was put on when we were re-created in the Lord Jesus. This new nature is the very life of the One who is the express image of God. Therefore, our growth in the knowledge of Him results in the manifestation of His life.
The old man, we seek to suppress self or crucify the old nature. The new man, we plead with God to change us for the better, and we try to be more Christ-like. But in all, we never seem to emerge from Romans Seven–total defeat.
Finally, we learn to meet the problem indirectly, by reckoning. We see in the Word that the old man has been effectively “put off” at the Cross; and we also see that the new man has been “put on” through our resurrection in Christ. Instead of being taken up with the problem, we now set our mind and heart on God’s answer: The crucifying Cross and the Risen Christ.
Your brother in Christ,
Ron