Hidden With Christ in God! Colossians 3:3-4
“3) For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4) When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:3-4
Paul again observes that believers who are “in Christ” died with Him, but were also raised up with Him into new life. Our life is actually “hidden with Christ in God.” Let me try to unpack the biblical meaning involved in these two verses. It is marvelous to ponder.
Being “born-again” moves the believer beyond mere physical or biological life. As Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:5-8, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” It is impossible to explain the things of the Spirit of God to a non-Christian, they have no capacity to understand it. It sounds like foolishness to them. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
But the moment someone turns to Jesus Christ through the gospel, they are filled with the Holy Spirit. He ushers them into the realities of the Kingdom of God. Their dead spirit comes alive and the are filled with what the Bible calls “Zoe” life. That is the Greek word for life used in verse 3. Old things pass away and all things become new. Their life is suddenly “hidden with Christ in God.”
They also have what the Bible calls “the blessed hope.” Their inner being resonates with Colossians 3:4. They know that “When Christ, who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.”
At the moment that Christ is revealed, believers will partake in the mystery of 1 Corinthians 15:50-58. We will put on our new and glorified bodies. We will no longer be restricted by our current physical bodies or the limitations of the physical realm and naturalism. We will be like Jesus in His glorified resurrection body. (See 1 John 3:2)
Non-Christians cannot understand, comprehend or appreciate this seed the Holy Spirit plants in the spirit of every true believer. The good news is that this “Zoe” life or “Spirit life” starts now. Just like physical life starts at conception and becomes fully functional at birth, so “Spirit life” starts at salvation and becomes fully manifest at glorification.
The phrase Paul gives in Colossians 3:3 that “your Zoe life is hidden with Christ in God”, could be weakly understood by the above analogy of physical conception and birth. In a sense, the believer is developing in the womb of God until the mystery of 1 Corinthians 15:50-58 unfolds.
Ironically, Matthew 24:8 compares the end of this age and the coming of Christ to labor pangs. Something beyond description is about to happen. A new epoch is about to be birthed. (See Acts 1:7 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1-2)
When Jesus comes back, Colossians 3:4 will be fulfilled. The full glorification of every born-again Christian will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye. We will be changed. ( See 1 Corinthians 15:51-52) A new epoch or reality will be birthed into existence.
This is one reason why I am not in a frenzy over these strange times that seem to be coming upon the whole world. I believe labor pangs have stated. The next big event on Gods calendar is about to happen.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
