- Our Response: Colossians 2:6-8, 12, 16-18
- Our Focus: Colossians 3:1-4
Life in Christ – Colossians series 2026 City Harbor Church
Life in Christ: The call and response of Paul’s letter to the Colossians (more Biblical concept in background info)
“Life in Christ” – our new spiritual life is IN Jesus, a close personal relationship, in alignment, in position
Let’s take a closer look at who Jesus is and what Jesus has done. We can all grow spiritually stronger by studying Paul’s letter to the Colossians, learning what it says about how we see Jesus and hearing what it says about how we should respond. We will discuss what it means to live “in Christ” by putting on that which is new.
“So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to walk in him, being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ.” – Colossians 2:6–8 CSB see background info
What does this mean?
A. We receive Jesus Christ as Savior, Lord, King.
B. We follow Jesus, by faith in grace, and obeying his teaching.
C. We daily build our values, beliefs, decisions, and lifestyle based on Jesus.
D. We refute and reject any human teaching that would diminish the sufficiency and supremacy of Jesus, add requirements to this New Testament teaching, or attempt to lead us away from following Jesus, in the local church.
We believe in the salvation of sinners by grace, through repentance and faith in the perfect and sufficient work of the cross of Calvary by which we obtain remission of sins. (Ephesians 2:8,9; Hebrews 9:12,22; Romans 5:11)
“when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” – Colossians 2:12 CSB
We believe in the necessity of water baptism by immersion in the Name of the Eternal Godhead in order to fulfill the command of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:34-36; 19:1-6)
“Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food and drink or in the matter of a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ. Let no one condemn you by delighting in ascetic practices and the worship of angels, claiming access to a visionary realm. Such people are inflated by empty notions of their unspiritual mind.” – Colossians 2:16–18 CSB
We are to reject teaching that would draw us away from following Jesus Christ, in the local church. We are to reject teaching that would add requirements of us for our salvation, to the New Testament. See background info.
II. Our Focus:
“So, if you have been raised with Christ, seek the 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 hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.” – Colossians 3:1–4 CSB
“Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2 CSB
Aim-Assist Questions:
A. Do we start our mornings thinking about Jesus first?
B. Do we give priority energy to seeking Jesus and his Kingdom?
C. Does this include learning activity?
D. Do we give mental focus to that which will last forever, more than anything temporary?
E. Do we end the evening in conversation with God?
Explain how to do it.
What do we learn?
1. Jesus Christ is first, above all, our Savior King, the fullness and the image of God.
2. Jesus Christ has redeemed us, making us right with God, bringing us from spiritual darkness to the light of God’s Kingdom.
3. Jesus leads us in a spiritual journey with our local church family.
4. We are actively learning more about the truth of Jesus and rejecting deceptive narratives and their sources.
What should we do?
1. Read Colossians chapter 3 this week.
2. Write down one thought we have learned.
3. Apply the truth to how we pray and how we see ourselves.
4. By Wednesday, read Colossians 3:1-14 and memorize one phrase from it.
5. We are called to focus on Jesus and set our minds on God’s Kingdom.
6. We are actively learning more about the truth of Jesus and rejecting deceptive narratives and their sources.