“Now we have received, not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” 1 Corinthians 2:12
In Paul’s letter to the Colossian believers, he writes: “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” (3:1) What are these “things which are above?” Later on he writes that we are to, “…set our affection on things above, and not on things on the earth.” Of what is he speaking?
There is a principle which must always be followed in the interpretation of Scripture if we would even begin to know the eternal truth. It is that of “setting the Lord before us.” This is not just a matter of looking wholly to the Lord, but looking at Him, at Christ. Christ is not only our example of what we are called to be, but the very living essence of it. Again, as Paul writes, “Christ IS our life.” What then are these “things” that are IN Christ at the right hand of the Father? We begin to grasp what they are when we worship the Lord Jesus. We are brought face to face with the reality of the fact that He “…is the image of the invisible God, the first born of every creature.” (Col. 1:15) This verse does not mean that Jesus is just an image, or form of God, but IS God. He is that “visible” image of that which is invisible of God. This does not make Him less than the One who has existed before all things, and by Him all things consist. Nor does it reduce in importance and magnitude of the fact that He IS the head of the body, the church, “…the first born of the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.” (1:18) What it does mean is that there is in Christ the complete and perfect revelation of God in human flesh, now glorified, and seated in authority and power at the right hand of the Father. It also means that “…in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,” and that the believer, every believer, is “complete in Him,” nothing lacking of all that is in Him which pertains to life and godliness. Christ is the complete and perfect answer to every need, to all that God calls us to be and to know of God. There is therefore, no difficulty inward or outward, which He is not willing to meet in us today. It is also for this reason, that David would write in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I SHALL NOT WANT.” In another psalm, we read: “…no good thing will He withhold from him that walketh uprightly.” Christ, as God, and yet, the Son of man, is perfect, in nothing lacking of the full, holy character of God, for He is God in the flesh. He, being the expression of God in the flesh is that One to whom we look, and upon whom, our eyes are fixed. Again, we must ask the question, “What are these things are above”, that we are to seek, and to set our affection upon?” They are certainly all that is true of Christ revealed to us, that we might receive that which is in heaven upon this earth, so that His glory be revealed, seen of men, resulting in the salvation of many. How is this realized?
Before Jesus was crucified, He spoke to His disciples concerning the Holy Spirit. He told them that He would pray the Father to give them the Holy Spirit, not only to be present with them, but to dwell in them. The Spirit would then reveal to them the “things” freely given to them in Christ. The ministry of the Spirit would go even farther than the revelation, to the matter of empowering them to believe. The disciples would then be called upon to abide in Christ, deriving all from Him, by daily faith.
Dear Father, Fill us with Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.