The Wrath of God (Do I have your attention now?)

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God's wrath . . . it's not a topic that believers talk about much, or even want to  think about.  Depending on which theology you have on the Rapture, you might think that it is not something that you will have to deal with.  Yet our passage of Scripture today forces the idea of God's wrath in front of our eyes, and should cause us to give it some thought today.

"On account of these things the wrath of God is coming."       Colossians 3:6

On account of what things?  In order to correctly dissect this verse, we have to look back at the previous verse, which says, 

"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:  sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry."

Our fleshly and earthly sins are the "these things" spoken of in today's verse. It is because of these sin that the wrath of God is coming.  His wrath will be displayed particularly in the last three and a half years of tribulation, and ultimately after the Millennial Reign of Christ on earth. At this point, the earth as we know it will be destroyed forever, and God will usher in a new heaven and earth for those who have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ and have experienced the necessary heart conversion.

This heart conversion takes place when the believer in Christ surrenders his whole being to the Lordship of Christ.  When we surrender in this way, Christ is then able to live out His life through us by the power of the Spirit within us.  It is only by the Holy Spirit that we will be able to put to death all that is earthly in us.  It is not something that we can simply "will ourselves" to do.  It is God's work to do within us, completing what He has begun in us.  The work is simply this, to put to death every form of idolatry in us.  Every single place in our heart that elevates something other than God to the throne of our life is an idol. If you depend on it without thinking, rather than on God, it is an idol.  It you have to have it or do it (because that's just the way you are made), its an idol.  If it is repetitive and habitual sin, it is an idol.  If it is an attitude (like self-reliance and dependence, prejudice, worry, etc.), it is a sin.  It 

The Spirit's job is to topple every form of idolatry that we practice.  It matters not if it is a physical idol (like a food addiction), a financial idol (like greed), an emotional idol (like anger), or a mental idol (like worrying and fretting).  It matters not whether the people around you can see it or not; it is an idol.  

Now, back to today's verse.  It is on account of the endless idols that are worshiped on earth, by unbelievers and believers alike, that God's wrath is coming.  How very important it is then for all believers to be about the business of truly surrendering our idols to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Why should we continue in our idolatry when we are to be dead to sin and alive in Christ.  How can we continue in our idolatry knowing that our idolatrous sins are the very same sins of unbelievers.  Will we continue to sin with the same sins that will eventually bring to the earth God's full wrath?  God is clearly calling His church to clean house!

Appearing With Christ -- Colossians 3:4

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In order to fully understand the meaning of today's verse from Colossians 3, we have to look back at the first three verses.  Here are the first three, followed by today's text.

"If then 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.  

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."   (Colossians 3: 1-4)

To take that last verse out of context, only looking at what it says without the previous verses, would surely keep us from discovering the reality behind its truth.  Let's see what we must do to actually appear with Him in His second coming.

When Jesus returns to earth in His 2nd Advent, the church will be returning with Him.  The church is biblically defined as the Body of Christ, or in other words, those who have been redeemed in the Church Age, from the Day of Pentecost to the Rapture.  The raptured Church, then,  is the body of Christ that will be raised up from the earth and into heaven at the end of the Church Age.  Those who are true believers who die before the Rapture will already be raised up. Understanding this part of the timeline found in the word of God will help us to better understand what Paul is writing about in Colossians 3.

Paul is telling the Church (whom have not yet died or  been raised in the Rapture) that if we are truly a part of the body of Christ, we have a responsibility to be seeking the heavenly things while we are on earth.  Remember, your focus must be on what is important to God, not on the things of this earth.  

In order for you to set your mind and your eyes on the truly important things, you will, by necessity, have to begin to die to yourself.  Your life must become less and less important, and the life of Christ, who dwells within you in the form of the Holy Spirit, must be come the only life that matters.  This is the criteria for being raised.  Those who live life in a state of crucified flesh will, by definition, be allowing the Spirit to live in us and be released out of us.

When you are dead to yourself,  your "life"  becomes all wrapped up in Christ.  This is the desired outcome:  that we are truly hidden in Him and only His desires are what come forth from us.  The believer who lives in such a way will not only be in heaven when they die or are raptured, but they will also be the ones who return with Christ in His glory!  (See Rev. 19:14)

Those who learn to live life hidden in Christ, those who have willingly surrendered their lives so that Christ is the One alive in them, these are the ones who will ride white horses with Christ in His 2nd Coming IN GLORY!  

Does your lifestyle line up with this picture of one who is "living dead?"  Are you seeking the things that are above and setting your minds on them?  Have you died to yourself so that you can be hidden in Christ?  Is He truly all of your life?  The ones who do these things are the ones who will appear with Him when He appears.

Today, contemplate the state of your life, and consider your standing before God.  I know I am.