Colossians 3: Your New Life Is Hidden with Christ in God

Introduction

"You are no longer who you were." At the 2 p.m. Connect service at Kensington Temple in London, Scott Templeton continues the series "Living Well: Kingdom Principles for a Flourishing Life." His message takes its title from Colossians 3:3: your new life is hidden with Christ in God.

Identity is at the heart of many debates today. The preacher reminds us that in Christ, you have already received a new identity, whatever you think, whatever you feel, and whatever others say about you. Paul does not write to the Colossians to teach them how to behave better. He announces that a spiritual event has changed them at the deepest level. They died with Christ, they were raised with him, and their life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Drawing on Colossians 3:1-4, Scott Templeton brings out four Kingdom truths, then three promises to take hold of. A time of questions and answers follows the message.

Message Outline

1. The Gospel Is Not a Touch-Up of Your Old Life

The Gospel is not about keeping our old way of living, "frankly obsolete," and making one or two small corrections to it. It is not about imposing religious routines or rules on ourselves in the hope that they will be enough to change us. "I can assure you it will not be enough. Willpower alone is terribly inadequate."
The Gospel offers a clear and complete alternative, "solid and radical in equal measure": in Christ, the old you has died and a new life has come.
There will be moments when you tell yourself, "I don't feel any different." You still struggle with wounds or habits from the past. These honest questions open the door to a deeper revelation of the Father's love, if you give him full access to your heart and your thoughts. "God cannot transform what he does not have access to."
Many Christians hide, knowingly or not, certain parts of their lives, as if God would not notice. But he knows and he sees. "Pretending and performing have no place in the Christian life."
The church in Colossae was under pressure from a teaching that said: Christ is not enough. Christ plus religious rhythms, Christ plus a price to pay to earn your salvation, Christ plus works to earn his love. Paul answers that Christ is supreme and sufficient (Colossians 1:15-20), that in him all the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, and that you have everything fully in him (Colossians 2:9-10). "Listen to me carefully: you are complete in Christ."
Paul avoids the expected speech: "do more, try harder, be better." That well-known road leads to exhaustion, isolation, and deep disappointment. Our behavior and our convictions flow from our identity.

2. Your New Life Begins with Resurrection with Christ

"If then you were raised together with Christ" (Colossians 3:1): Paul is speaking of something that has already happened. The Christian life begins with a resurrection.
Jesus died on the cross of Golgotha, was buried, and rose again on the third day. From the moment you place your faith in him, you are spiritually united with his death and resurrection. Your former life was crucified with him, perfectly and permanently, and you were raised with him to a new life.
Paul does not say: behave better so that you can be raised with Christ. He does not say you can buy or earn this resurrection. He says: live as someone who has been raised with Christ.
"We do not obey God to obtain our salvation. We obey him because our salvation has already been given to us in Jesus Christ." In God's economy, grace always comes before transformation.
In Christ, you are no longer defined by your past wounds, your faults and failures, your sin and shame, or by the words that were turned against you like weapons.
Hence the question: who or what defines you? Your job, your status, your family, your achievements, your fears, your spouse, your greatest struggle? None of that defines you. Your one true identity is that you have been raised with Christ.

3. Your New Life Has a New Direction

"Seek the things that are above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God" (Colossians 3:1). The destination of every believer is Christ. Not your parents, your small group leader, your best friend, or your pastor: "They have already let you down, and if they haven't yet, I guarantee it will happen."
"Set your mind on the things that are above" (Colossians 3:2). What is fixed becomes immovable, locked in place. Paul invites us to put our affections back in order: to whom do you give your time, your resources, and your talents?
If you give him permission, God changes what you desire at the deepest level: "Also delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Psalm 37:4).
This does not mean neglecting your family, your friends, or your service in the church because you have become "super spiritual." Paul is saying instead: let heaven define how you live here below. Let God set your priorities, your values, your ambitions, and your decisions.
"Whoever or whatever has your heart controls you." If you let Christ take your heart, he will shape your life.
Your thoughts matter, because they end up shaping your actions (Romans 12:2). What you constantly think about influences what you desire, and what you desire determines how you live. Who are you listening to? What are you letting your mind absorb?
Renewing your mind is a daily discipline, not just a remedy after a season of bad decisions: "You can do it before the bad decisions, not only after."
"Our greatest treasure is not our ticket to heaven. It is the Lord Jesus himself," seated at the right hand of the Father, interceding for you right now.

4. Your New Life Is Safe, Hidden in Christ

"For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3). This is the heart of the message. Your life is not hidden in your strength, your wisdom, your intelligence, your decisions, or your circumstances, but with Christ in God, nowhere else.
The reality of your life is not yet fully visible. God is working in areas that cannot be assessed from the outside. Where the world sees failure, fragility, or weariness, God is forming your character: holiness, sanctification, righteousness, and purity.
We are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, by the Lord, the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17-18). "What you see as a battle, God sees as sanctification. What you call painful pruning, God sees as shaping."
Never let your circumstances contradict what God says about you. Take every thought captive to the Word of God.
"Our circumstances change, but God's love never changes. Our feelings fluctuate, but God's goodness and grace never fluctuate."
The preacher invites the congregation to close their eyes and say quietly: "My life is hidden with Christ in God."
Even when you live faithfully, you will go through disappointments and discouragement. Do not start with "Where is God?" or "Why me?" Remember that your life is hidden with Christ in God: that is your assurance. Learning to live beyond your feelings is essential for growth.

5. Your New Life Will Be Fully Revealed

"When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory" (Colossians 3:4). "Christ, our life": he is not one part of your life, nor a portion reserved for Sunday morning. He is your life.
Scott Templeton quotes a song by Israel Houghton: "Nothing else matters, nothing in this world will be enough, because Jesus, you are the center, everything revolves around you."
Paul invites us to look beyond the present, toward the return of Jesus Christ. On that day, everything hidden will be revealed, and the new life that is hidden today will be made visible to all.
We live in the "already and not yet": you are in Christ, raised with him, but you do not yet see the fullness of what God has promised.
"Your current problem is not your final identity. Your current weakness is not your final state. Your current struggle or sin does not have the last word. Christ is coming back."

6. Three Promises to Take Hold Of

Your past has been completely changed. Your old life does not have the last word. Stop living as if you were still broken and barren: you are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Your present is being transformed. By fixing your heart and your thoughts on the things above, you receive a new direction. Your ways of thinking change, your desires are purified by the Word, and your character is shaped by his grace, not by your rights or what you think you deserve.
Your future is safe with God. It is not in your hands. This is God's faithfulness toward you: he is the one who holds you, keeps you, and guides you in every season.

7. Questions and Answers: Living This Identity Day to Day

Holding on when family trials hit us: do not let the outside affect the inside. David, a man after God's own heart (Acts 13:22), went through immense trials; surrounded by discouraged men, he found strength by trusting in Yahweh (1 Samuel 30:6). Submit your thoughts and emotions to the lordship of Christ, and respond to others through the eyes of Christ: where you would want to criticize, show grace.
Renewing your mind in practice: "What you carry, you communicate. What you face, you overcome." Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Proverbs 18:21): declare God's promises over your identity. Your first point of reference is neither your gender, your origin, your political opinions, nor your family situation: you are a son or daughter of the Most High. Your brain is like a USB drive that fills up all day with what you see and read; every evening, it needs to be "reformatted" in the light of Scripture.
Discipline: some people listen to the Word on public transport, while the preacher himself learns by reading. Find what suits you. It takes about three weeks to form a habit: "If you practice not reading the Word every day, after three weeks you will be excellent at not reading it. The life you desire is determined by the disciplines you choose to keep."
Discerning God's will: "There is no plan B with God." Our passions, even good ones, often come from us and are seasonal; God's will comes from him and does not change. Surround yourself with trusted men and women who will tell you who you are. Abram left without knowing where he was going (Genesis 12:1-5): God's will costs comfort, but outside of it there is no joy. The test: do you have God's peace, even in the valley of the shadow of death?
Knowing your gift: look for your primary grace among the five ministries of Ephesians 4:11 (apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, teacher). Online questionnaires can give direction, though they are not infallible. Examine the last twelve months: what did you spend your free time on? And fan into flame the gift God has given you (2 Timothy 1:6).
How transformation happens: through surrender to God. "In the place of surrender, you say: I don't have all the answers, but I trust you enough." Transformation begins with the heart, for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). It goes through complete obedience: Moses did not enter the promised land because of one moment of disobedience (Numbers 20:12), and it was Joshua who led the people in. "Partial obedience is disobedience in God's eyes."
Meeting the living God: if he could have had dinner with Michael Jackson, the preacher would talk about it for twenty years. "And yet we Christians say we meet the living God every day, the one who flung the stars into space, and our lives would remain unchanged? That is impossible."
When you do not understand what is happening to you: read Psalm 13. David begins with complaint, moves to prayer, and ends with praise. His situation did not change, but the posture of his heart did. Often, God wants to change our perspective first, and then he changes our situations.

Key Takeaways

The Gospel is not an upgrade of your old life: in Christ, the old you has died and a new life has begun.
You do not obey in order to be saved, you obey because you are saved. Grace always comes before transformation.
Christ is the destination: whoever or whatever has your heart directs your life, and your thoughts shape your actions.
Your life is hidden with Christ in God: it is safe, even when your feelings and your circumstances say otherwise.
Your current struggle is not your final identity. At Christ's return, what is hidden will be revealed in glory.

Personal Application

What defines you the most right now: your work, your family, your achievements, your greatest struggle?
Is there a part of your life to which you are not giving God access?
What does your mind absorb every day, and what could you "reformat" tonight in the light of the Word?
What spiritual discipline could you practice every morning for the next three weeks?
In the trial you are going through, can you say, even before the situation changes: "My life is hidden with Christ in God"?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "your life is hidden with Christ in God" mean?

For Scott Templeton, your new life is not hidden because God has forgotten you, but because he wants to keep it safe. It rests neither on your strength, nor on your wisdom, nor on your circumstances. Not everything is visible yet: God is working in areas the world cannot see, and what is hidden will be revealed at Christ's return (Colossians 3:3-4).

How do you renew your mind in practice?

The preacher advises declaring God's promises over your identity, running each day through the filter of Scripture, like resetting a USB drive every evening, and setting up a daily discipline suited to the way you learn: reading, listening, or watching. Whatever you practice, you become good at, for better or for worse.

What should you do when you do not understand what is happening to you?

Scott Templeton points to Psalm 13. David moves from complaint to prayer, then to praise, even though his situation has not changed. What changes is the posture of his heart. Often, God first transforms our outlook, and then he changes our situations.