Raised With Christ

Therefore, if you were raised with Christ, look for the things that are above where Christ is sitting at God’s right side.  Think about the things above and not things on earth.  You died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.

-Colossians 3:1-3

Have you died and been raised with Christ?  To live the Christian life you must first die and then be raised to life in Christ.  Your whole Christian life is one of death and resurrection.  You can not be a Christian unless you have been to the cross.

When you go to the cross, you see Jesus there and receive forgiveness and give your life to him.  Your sin life died with Jesus on his cross.  Jesus raises you from the dead to new life, his life in you.  That is the Christian life.  You can only live out the Christian life as Christ Jesus lives through you.

I wanted to look at the verse, "The word of Christ must live in you richly" (Col. 3:16 ), but then I asked, "how do we get to that place where the word of Christ lives in us richly?"  So, I had to back up and read the context.  You will notice that chapter three started with "Therefore".  "Therefore", means, "in light of what I just said..."

In chapter two, Paul was just writing about how legalism and religious rituals do not produce godliness nor do they stop sinfulness.  The only way (therefore) is the cross.

The paramount event of history is the cross of Christ.  Jesus on the cross is my only hope.  The only way of life for me is Jesus' death on the cross. 

How to live the Christian life, is only through Jesus.  Do you want him?  Do you want to live the life?  You have to go through the cross.  Life in Christ is first-person, intimate.  Have you been there?  It could be a daily thing.
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Art credit: Raised With Christ from The Sketchbook of Nate