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Outline Colossians 3:1-11 Colossians 3:1-11 I’m going to read some scripture from Colossians chapter 3. The first four verses, words are on the screen, and you can follow along. This is what the Apostle Paul wrote to the church at Colossae. And then we’ll look into this passage. Since then, you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you will also appear with Him in glory. We are looking through the book of Colossians, and we’re really about halfway through. So, we finished Colossians chapter 2 last Sunday, and now we’re in the second half of the book. There’s four chapters in Colossians. By the way, the chapter divisions were given in the 13th century. So that’s really helpful. Can you imagine trying to find someplace in Psalms, which has 150 chapters without those chapter divisions? So, we’re halfway through. The first two chapters of Colossians are more doctrinal, correcting some doctrinal teaching about who Jesus is and the way of salvation. When we get to chapters 3 and 4, it’s more practical, some application. In other words, how should we as believers in Christ live? And so, we’re going to look at Colossians chapter 3, the first 10 verses. And rather than giving my normal outline, sometimes I just like to ask some questions from the text and try to answer them. And so that’s what we’re going to do this morning as we think about Colossians chapter 3. And here’s the four questions we’re going to ask. What does the scripture mean when it says we’ve been raised with Christ? That’s how this text starts out. Since then, you have been raised with Christ. And so, we want to understand what’s Paul talking about there? Secondly, we want to ask the question, what difference should that make in our life? What impact should that truth have for you and me? Thirdly, we want to ask and answer the question, where is the physical body of Jesus right now? And what is he doing? And then lastly, we want to think about how does spiritual change and transformation happen in our life? How do we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus? And that’s the last part of the text. 1. What does scripture mean when it says we have been raised with Christ? So, let’s look at the first question from Colossians 3:1. What does it mean when it says we have been raised with Christ? Let me read the text again. Since then, you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. So, four weeks from today is Resurrection Sunday. The great Sunday where we get to celebrate the historical event of the bodily resurrection of Jesus, the cornerstone of the Christian faith. Without that doctrine, Paul writes to the Corinthians, if Christ hasn’t been risen from the dead, we’re liars, we’re false witnesses, we’re still in our sins, and we have no hope. But then he says, but Christ is risen from the dead. And so, Paul’s writing to these believers at the church at Colossae, and he tells them that we have been raised with Christ. Now we know that the resurrection of Jesus guarantees our future resurrection. 1st Thessalonians 4, there’s a day coming when Christ is going to descend from heaven, and Paul explains it to the Thessalonian believers. There’s going to be a trumpet sound, there’s going to be a shout, and the dead in Christ are going to rise first. Christ is going to resurrect our physical bodies someday. But when Paul writes to the Colossians, and he says you have been risen with Christ, he’s speaking past tense. So, what does he mean when it says you have been risen with Christ? Well, if you know your New Testament, the Bible talks about two Adams. There’s the first Adam, he was the representative of all the human beings in the G

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