Colossians 3:1-3

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

What does Paul mean here, set your mind on things above , not on the earth?

hobbs27 said:

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

What does Paul mean here, set your mind on things above , not on the earth?

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He means to set your interests on the items availed due to being born again, or things now known spiritually that were once unseen or which one was unable to experience prior to spiritual regeneration such as the personal-direct experience of God, the kingdom as a sure spiritual footing and understanding of the resurrection of the dead as Christ was raised up bodily from his descent into physical death. It involves the mode of being towards the world and the saints imprinted due to regeneration due grace for grace-- that is God acts out of love and out of love gives promises towards salvation to a fallen man and these promises accomplished, man cannot but judge the value of His way of love and His friendship in love is the core of His and man's spiritual relationship since the "waters" were spoken to and became forms, shapes, and eventually life and man who possessed both spiritual life and physical life.

Or simply it means to put one's mind into New Jerusalem or Paradise and The Heavenly as fully informed and to be trusted realities with positive influences and present to all time...in the hearts and minds of the saints for ever and ever. It is what is seen when the cataracts due to the curse of sin is removed from man's eyes due to the salvific ministry of our Lord and the loving gift of the Holy Spirit plain from the Father-- therefore the things above are the blessings of God received and yet to come but accepted as given...for ever and ever. It is the witness of God by His perfect fragrance--that we still witness to imperfectly, but witness none-the-less as comparable to no thing, no fragrance nor memory of fragrance within the the frames of the world.

This church in colossae..wasnt it infiltrated by some false teachers at the time this letter went to them?

hobbs27 said:

This church in colossae..wasnt it infiltrated by some false teachers at the time this letter went to them?

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Yea... some were running around with fictions and worldly understandings. They had a base deficit of grace maybe....

Why? Have you found something new? Like things on the earth meaning worldly things in the mind and heart and not really things or physical items on the earth?

gordon 2 said:

Yea... some were running around with fictions and worldly understandings. They had a base deficit of grace maybe....

Why? Have you found something new? Like things on the earth meaning worldly things in the mind and heart and not really things or physical items on the earth?

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Possibly, Im looking for wisdom from others.

Is it fair to assume these infiltrators would have been judaizers?

hobbs27 said:

Possibly, Im looking for wisdom from others.

Is it fair to assume these infiltrators would have been judaizers?

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Ah possibly, but also folk who were saying that Jesus had come back ( 2ed coming) .... and stuff like that...

Lots of people knew Jesus as a prophet only, one like Moses, ...

Well concerning wisdom... when they passed out wisdom when I was come into the world I came in feet first and it fell on the top of my hands and I did not grasp it....

Live in and from where you are alive.

gordon 2 said:

Ah possibly, but also folk who were saying that Jesus had come back ( 2ed coming) .... and stuff like that...

Lots of people knew Jesus as a prophet only, one like Moses, ...

Well concerning wisdom... when they passed out wisdom when I was come into the world I came in feet first and it fell on the top of my hands and I did not grasp it....

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Theres two things that have grabbed my attention. One, there were no gnostics this early on that I know of or can find record of. Two, that word translated as Earth, it can and many times does mean land.

So maybe, Paul knowing that these Gentiles are being influenced by Judaizers is telling them to keep their minds on the spiritual or heavenly kingdom, and not on the physical kingdom...Israel?

I'd think we'd need to connect it with what was said in chapter 2 and the verses after as well;

Basically it looks like Paul is saying that we are dead to the old man and must not be acting like one.

5Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

8But now you must put aside all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.

Still though if we must, we must wait;

Colossians 3:4
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Until then a part of our new life is hidden;

3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Artfuldodger said:

Still though if we must, we must wait;

Colossians 3:4
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Until then a part of our new life is hidden;

3For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

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In eager anticipation with something good to do to occupy till He come.
Ask...seek...knock.

hobbs27 said:

Theres two things that have grabbed my attention. One, there were no gnostics this early on that I know of or can find record of. Two, that word translated as Earth, it can and many times does mean land.

So maybe, Paul knowing that these Gentiles are being influenced by Judaizers is telling them to keep their minds on the spiritual or heavenly kingdom, and not on the physical kingdom...Israel?

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Maybe. Most likely. But Israel as a kingdom at this point was not an existential reality or a spiritual reality to these people so I doubt is was about vacillating from a kingdom that no longer existed as a political reality or spiritual reality to the one given to the meek re: Christianity. Palestine was a province of Rome. The people were governed spiritually and socially by a theocracy...dealing with the pull and push of their existence under Rome.

Now concerning the focus on land: I doubt that Paul a man who expertly says that the problem is powers and principalities in heavenly places that land ( geography) is the item to cast out of one's heart and mind to perfect our new nature as Christians?


Mathew is the guy that waxes on the kingdom not Paul. Reading kingdom this and kingdom that in Paul's mind as he writes is not in keeping with the Paul the guy who wanted people to get with the experience of Jesus as he had experienced and would later understand? Reading about kingdoms here seem too much... for me.

Having a minute to check Colossians I decided to check my Amplified bible simply because it has a intro to the letter.

This is what I read only in the 3ed paragraph on the into:

Quote{The occasion of this letter was that news brought to Paul by Epaphras. Apparently Gnosticism, a fusion of religion and philosophy which taught that matter is evil and spirit is good was modifying the Gospel message to the point of danger.} end Quote.


It seems that reason and logic schemes was gumming up the message. It goes on to say that there were Judaizers.

Paul points to Christ as "complete adequacy as contrasted"to philosophy.

gordon 2 said:

Having a minute to check Colossians I decided to check my Amplified bible simply because it has a intro to the letter.

This is what I read only in the 3ed paragraph on the into:

Quote{The occasion of this letter was that news brought to Paul by Epaphras. Apparently Gnosticism, a fusion of religion and philosophy which taught that matter is evil and spirit is good was modifying the Gospel message to the point of danger.} end Quote.


It seems that reason and logic schemes was gumming up the message. It goes on to say that there were Judaizers.

Paul points to Christ as "complete adequacy as contrasted"to philosophy.

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Wow..thanks. I was certain Judaizers were involved because of the message. I need to research more on the claim of gnostics because Ive seen it before, but I cant find evidence of gosticism this early.

"Valentinus Invents "Christian" Gnosticism
The founder of "Christian" Gnosticism was Valentinus, who was born in Carthage about 100 A.D. He became connected with the Christian church. After almost being elected Bishop of Rome (i.e.: pope) he drifted into open heresy. Apparently he was a poet; some have credited him with authorship of the earliest version of the poetical Gnostic homily Gospel of Truth. "

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.

For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

What Im seeing in Col. 2 is obviously from Judaizers. When a Gentile would become a Jewish proselyte there were three commands on them.
Circumcision
Immersion
Sacrificial observances.

All these things Paul addresses, these are the "traditions of men".

The importance or the precious gem Im seeing here is the Land. The Land was losing its importance. If Gods people no longer need observe sacrifice, the land and temple are of no value.

Dispensationalist therefore are not only mistaken, they are just as the Judaizers of this time and their " traditions of men" are an attack on Gods church.

"2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."

Therefore look away from the temple and Land and look forward to the Spiritual Kingdom!

hobbs27 said:

What Im seeing in Col. 2 is obviously from Judaizers. When a Gentile would become a Jewish proselyte there were three commands on them.
Circumcision
Immersion
Sacrificial observances.

All these things Paul addresses, these are the "traditions of men".

The importance or the precious gem Im seeing here is the Land. The Land was losing its importance. If Gods people no longer need observe sacrifice, the land and temple are of no value.

Dispensationalist therefore are not only mistaken, they are just as the Judaizers of this time and their " traditions of men" are an attack on Gods church.

"2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth."

Therefore look away from the temple and Land and look forward to the Spiritual Kingdom!

Click to expand...

What I've seen so far is that the so called Spiritual Kingdom occupies a space in human consciousness that has little to do with actual land, but instead occupies a space similarly to those of the old covenant who were said to "walk" with God.

What is new is that in the new covenant the "spark" due faith is available to all, as opposed to the few of the past. The people of the new are all prophets for it, as opposed to the meager few of the old covenant.

The existential Promised Land and the spiritual kingdom of our Lord presently are the harmonics of a future Paradise--if I dare philosophi...

Our hearts ( well most of mankind) still cleave to the notion that both the physical and the spiritual will, will have combined to the extent of releasing all pain, and set to some form of sustained extacy which will at least not distract from our origins as wholesome living souls in keeping with what we can understand to be a paradisal past and future.

gordon 2 said:

What I've seen so far it that the so called Spiritual Kingdom occupies a space in human consciousness that has little to do with actual land, but instead occupies a space similarly to those of the old covenant who were said to "walk" with God.

What is new is that in the new covenant is that the "spark" due faith is available to all, as opposed to the few of the past. The people of the new are all prophets for it, as opposed to the meager few of the old covenant.

The existential Promised Land and the spiritual kingdom of our Lord presently are the harmonics of a future Paradise--if I dare philosophi...

Our hearts ( well most of mankind) still cleave to the notion that both the physical and the spiritual will, will have combined to the extent of releasing all pain, and set to some form of sustained extacy which will at least not distract from our origins as wholesome living souls in keeping with what we can understand to be a paradisal past and future.

Click to expand...

Colossians 3:4
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

What do we do until Christ appears? How does this passage tie into "until Christ appears"? Why is that a part of the passage?

Artfuldodger said:

Colossians 3:4
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

What do we do until Christ appears? How does this passage tie into "until Christ appears"? Why is that a part of the passage?

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To me it refers to the second coming. We live with our born again spirit with as much harmony with the Holy Spirit as we can muster. Perhaps? We, being regenerated, share in the glory of our Lord's grace for the most part. But this grace and our understanding of our Lord's glory in it, is due that the world is cursed in sin. What will God's glory be when no curses for sin, nor sin exit and we are to His fully born again world?