I have been offering a short series at our church based on a single chapter from the book Reversed Thunder, by Eugene Peterson. The main idea that I have been trying to convey is God as our head, God as our leader, God over us in all things, God is our king. I do not mean king as in a kingdom or governmental system as we might think. God has, as Mr. Peterson says, the last word on politics, the last word on everything. So, in essence, the world system, in it's various forms, has nothing over God, it has nothing that is of God, it's interests are solely rooted in and of itself.
I have come to believe the best way to describe this system is found in Romans 5:12-21. Adam, and we can here insert humanity, attempted (attempts) to over-throw God. The result was, and is, death. God offers life. We offer death. The world systems that we all live under ultimately offer death. The apostle John wrote, "But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.", John 20:31. In the NRSV the word life appears 39 time in John, look them up and find that the only life worth anything, the only true opposite of death, is Jesus. In chapter 12 verse 25 tells us that life of this world is hopeless, and to find hope you must hate your life in this world. Humanity's system will never be able to give you the life that was intended for you to live, never. The world's systems do not deserve our support. There is not one world system that has ever been Godly, not one ever in the past, not one now, and certainly there will never be such a world system.
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Col 3:1-3 NRSV
According to Ephesians, I, as a follower of Christ, have been raised and seated with him in the far above. Paul tells us in Romans that we have been baptized into Christ's cross-work, in its entirety. So we are hid in Christ, in God, away from this world and all that it stands for, and this means that everything about you should scream 'I am of God'! It should ooze from our pours so that it is unmistakable to those around us. This is what Paul is telling us. He continues to say that everything about us that is earthly (fleshly, worldly) should be put to death. That examples he gives are not definitive, they are rather a starting point, you can fill in the rest. Everything of the world, without exception. Jesus said we can only serve one master. One, and let the one be he who is seated far above all rulers, principalities, and authorities.
I have come to believe the best way to describe this system is found in Romans 5:12-21. Adam, and we can here insert humanity, attempted (attempts) to over-throw God. The result was, and is, death. God offers life. We offer death. The world systems that we all live under ultimately offer death. The apostle John wrote, "But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name.", John 20:31. In the NRSV the word life appears 39 time in John, look them up and find that the only life worth anything, the only true opposite of death, is Jesus. In chapter 12 verse 25 tells us that life of this world is hopeless, and to find hope you must hate your life in this world. Humanity's system will never be able to give you the life that was intended for you to live, never. The world's systems do not deserve our support. There is not one world system that has ever been Godly, not one ever in the past, not one now, and certainly there will never be such a world system.
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Col 3:1-3 NRSV
According to Ephesians, I, as a follower of Christ, have been raised and seated with him in the far above. Paul tells us in Romans that we have been baptized into Christ's cross-work, in its entirety. So we are hid in Christ, in God, away from this world and all that it stands for, and this means that everything about you should scream 'I am of God'! It should ooze from our pours so that it is unmistakable to those around us. This is what Paul is telling us. He continues to say that everything about us that is earthly (fleshly, worldly) should be put to death. That examples he gives are not definitive, they are rather a starting point, you can fill in the rest. Everything of the world, without exception. Jesus said we can only serve one master. One, and let the one be he who is seated far above all rulers, principalities, and authorities.
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