COOPERATING WITH THE HEAVENLY MINISTRY OF THE ASCENDED CHRIST
Message One
Seeking the Things Which Are Above
Scripture Reading: Col. 3:1-2; Eph. 2:5-6; Heb. 4:12; 1 Cor. 2:14-15
I. "If therefore you were raised together with Christ, seek the things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God"—Col. 3:1:
A. In ascension Christ is the One who is sitting at the right hand of God—Heb. 1:3; 12:2; Rom. 8:34:
1. The right hand of God signifies preeminence, the first place of honor.
2. The right hand of God is the first and highest place in the universe, and God has put the ascended Christ there, giving the preeminence and the highest honor in the entire universe to Christ—Heb. 1:13; 8:1; 10:12.
B. God not only saved us from the position of death, but He also seated us with Christ in the highest place in the universe—Eph. 2:5-6:
1. It was in Christ that God seated us all together, once for all, in the heavenlies.
2. This was accomplished when Christ ascended to the heavens, and it has been applied to us by the Spirit of Christ ever since we believed in Him.
3. Today we realize and experience this reality in our spirit through faith in the accomplished fact—v. 8; 1 Pet. 1:8; Heb. 11:1.
C. The things which are above are the things which are in the heavens, in contrast to the things which are on the earth—Col. 3:1-2:
1. The things which are above include the ascended Christ and all things related to Him.
2. The things on the earth include culture, religion, philosophy, and the improvement in behavior—2:8, 16, 18-23.
D. In order to seek the things which are above, we must be where these things are; because we have one position with Christ in His ascension (Eph. 2:6), we can seek the things which are above.
E. According to the New Testament, the things which are above include Christ's ascension, His enthronement, and His being made the Head, the Lord, and the Christ:
1. Acts 2:36 says that God has made Jesus in His ascension both Lord and Christ; He was made the Lord of all to possess all; and He was made Christ, God's anointed One (Heb. 1:9), to carry out God's commission.
2. In ascension Christ has been made the Head over all things to the church—Eph. 1:22:
a. To the church implies a kind of transmission.
b. Whatever Christ, the Head, has attained and obtained is transmitted to the church, His Body.
c. In this transmission the church shares with Christ in all His attainments: the resurrection from the dead, His being seated in His transcendency,the subjection of all things under His feet, and the headship over all things—vv. 19-23.
3. The Lord Jesus has been crowned with glory and honor (Heb. 2:9); He is the Pioneer, who has cut the way into glory within the veil, and the Forerunner (6:19-20); He is our High Priest and the Minister of the true tabernacle (8:2); and, as the enthroned One, He is the center of God's administration according to God's eternal economy (Rev. 5:6).
4. Such things are the things which are above, and we should set our mind on them—Col. 3:2.
5. To seek the things which are above is to respond to and reflect Christ's activities in His heavenly ministry—Heb. 2:17; 4:14; 7:26; 8:1-2; Rev. 5:6; Col. 3:1-2.
II. In order to seek the things which are above and to set our mind on them, we need to turn to our spirit and experience the dividing of the soul from the spirit—Heb. 4:12:
A. Only when we are in our spirit are we in heaven and mind the things which are above; when we are outside our spirit, we are earthly and mind the things which are on the earth—Col. 3:2:
1. The way to seek the things which are above is to turn to our spirit and call on the name of the Lord—Rom. 8:16; 10:12.
2. There is a transmission taking place from Christ in heaven to us on earth by means of the all-inclusive Spirit in our spirit—Eph. 1:19, 22-23; 2:22:
a. Our spirit is the receiving end of the divine transmission, whereas the throne of God in heaven is the transmitting end—Rev. 5:6.
b. By turning to our spirit, we are lifted into heaven—4:1-2.
c. Because of the transmission from the throne of God in heaven into our spirit, when we experience and enjoy Christ here on earth, we are simultaneously in heaven.
d. In spirit we are one in position with Christ, seeking the things which are above—Col. 3:1.
B. We need to experience the dividing of the soul from the spirit—Heb. 4:12:
1. First Thessalonians 5:23 shows that the soul and the spirit are not the same but are two separate items; there is a great difference between the soul and the spirit.
2. The soul and the spirit can be divided because they are two entities and are of two kinds of substances; regardless of how hidden our spirit is within our soul, they are still two distinct organs; thus, we need to experience the dividing of our soul from our spirit—Heb. 4:12.
3. The spirit is so hidden in the soul that it needs to be divided from the soul by the living and operative word of God, which is "sharper than any two-edged sword"—v. 12.
4. First Corinthians 2:14 and 15 speak of two kinds of persons: the soulish man and the spiritual man:
a. The soulish man, and the soul itself, cannot understand or receive the spiritual things—v. 14.
b. The spiritual man discerns the spiritual things and likes to receive the spiritual things and to know and experience the things which are above—v. 15.
c. It is by the spirit that we understand and discern the spiritual things, and it is in the spirit that we desire to have the spiritual things.
C. By experiencing the dividing of our soul from our spirit and by exercising our spirit, we can seek the things which are above and set our mind on them; then the riches of Christ's heavenly ministry will be transmitted into us, and we will be transformed and constituted with Christ—Col. 3:1-2; Heb. 7:25-26; 8:1-2; Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 3:18; Col. 3:10-11.