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The Victorious Christian Living
by Samson Hutagalung

How desperate might be the key for the victorious Christian living into the day of tension, compromise and spiritual darkness! God with His great plan put us Christians in this generation in this part of the world in order that we might be light in the dark place to demonstrate what God can do to those who trust Him. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ are the lights of the world. For this reason there is a demand to every true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ to be able to testify some of the main keys of the victorious Christian living.

Acknowledging Ourselves as Being Risen with Christ

In Colossians 3:1-4 we are told the main key of the Christian living namely to acknowledge ourselves as being risen with Christ. Paul said, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” This word is from the Holy Spirit through the apostle Paul to each one of us who read this passage. It was not just for the believers in the church of Colossae who originally received this letter but for those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in every generation.

In the writing of this letter, Paul wrote in verse 1 to presupposing the recipients as being risen with Christ. He says, “if ye then be risen with Christ.” Based on this verse, we need to understand that the resurrection of the Son of God three days after the day of crucifixion demonstrates the tremendous truth that He is what He said He was namely God’s own Son. In fact Jesus Christ said to the people of Israel the absolute truth concerning Himself that He is the saviour of the world. In other words, Jesus was saying to Israel as the final proof, “did you really want to know that I am what I claim to be God’s own Son, the saviour of the world?” Thus Jesus gave the proof by saying, “just destroy this temple (which means this body of mine) and in three days I will rise it again” (John 2:19-20). It was exactly three days after Israel crucified Him and after we all crucified Him because of our sins, He rose from the death. Jesus demonstrated it once for all forever that He was indeed God’s own Son. As Romans 1:4 says, “And declare to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from death.”

However we need to understand that what Christ has shown to us namely His resurrection from the dead proves to us that one day God’s people who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ will also rise from the death because He lives then we shall also live. If Christ is the first fruit that is slept, then after that greater are them that are coming and we will pattern in our resurrection body after Jesus' resurrection body. We will be glorified, just like Him.

Anther aspect of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ that proves to us Christians is that right now every Christian in this world has been identified in the side of God with the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We do not need to wait until our resurrection day but rather we are already resurrected. This amazing truth is given by the apostle Paul to us when he said this amazing statement, “if ye then be risen with Christ.” This is to say that when God the Father looks at us Christians, He sees us as having crucified with Christ. He identified us with His work upon the cross. In addition to this, God also identified us as being buried with Christ, as being ascended with Him and sat with Him in heavenly place in the right hand of God.

However, in relation to this truth we may say, “I do not feel that way or I do not look that way, and neither my Christian friends.” It is true that we do not feel that way but in the eyes of God everything which is related to our Christian living is already complete. God sees us as being risen, buried, and ascended with Christ because God knows what He has accomplished spiritually, supernaturally in the life of each believer namely a complete identification with His son. This is to say that if we are really born again Christians, we have been raised with Christ, and justified, then we have the keys to victorious Christian living presented to us. In other word, they are so simple that we hardly believe that they are possible. Listen to this, “keep seeking the things above where Christ is,” where is He? He sitteth on the right hand of God. Verse 2 says in a different way, “set your mind on the things above, not on the thing on the earth.” Let us see each one of the points in these verses.

Seeking the things of God

In Colossians 3:1 we are told, “seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” Verse 2 says in a different way, “set your affection on the things above, not on the thing on the earth.” In these two verses we find the keys for victorious Christian living. We may say, “I can hardly believe this.” “Why is it so simple? And why do we not have a long list of things we must do?” The truth is that the Lord does not want to make His people to follow Him with a great burden in obeying what He commanded to do. It is so simple and yet many people fail to obey. God does not need to give "do's and don't's" in order to have victorious Christian living. However if we compare with those so-called religions, they have listed very long list of those things their followers must do. It is sad to notice there are many religions and cults which force the people to obey what they have given to their people. It is truly the works of Satan if we have to do the whole list of things in order to be saved and sanctified, and have victorious living.

For example, at the end of chapter 2 of Colossians, Paul gives us a list of things that people thinks that are supposed to do or not to do in order to be truly saved and pleasing to God. But every one of those things is a Satanic deception which characterises every man made religions and cults the world ever known. They have one thing in common, man made demonic religions.

Colossians 2:20 is speaking to those Colossian Christians 1900 years ago in a little town what is today the land of Turkey. In this land, the Spirit of God actually put His finger on the heart of the problem, that vast numbers of people today think that Christians are stupid. Thus Paul says in Colossians 2:20-21, “Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, Touch not; taste not; handle not.” What is wrong with these things? Is it not the good way to gain favour with God and power over sins, the world and Satan?  The answer is absolutely not. There is nothing that we need to do in order to gain favour with God. Paul says in Colossians 2:22-23, “Which all are to perish with the using; after the commandments and doctrines of men? “Which things have indeed a show of wisdom in will-worship, and humility, and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.” This is to say that all the commandments that are given seem to be impressive but absolutely worthless. As we have seen in this world that they follow the devotion of false gods. In pagan temple we see often the worshipping of idols such as in China, India, Africa, the Cathedral and monastery of the Europe and the land of America. Many in these countries practise the devotion of self sacrifice, self abasement, self torture, people giving anything and everything in order to somehow work their way up in the favour of God and to gain merit with Him and victory over their sins. But God the Spirit 1900 years ago said absolutely that those things are hopeless and worthless.

After seeing all these Satanic demanding from the unregenerate people, we may ask a question, what are the main key for Christians to make the distinction between the genuine and the attractiveness of man, man made religion and religious system? God said the whole key is to believe what God said about the Lord Jesus Christ and our relationship to Him. It is not what we do and what we do not do. However we must bear in mind that if our mind is in Christ, automatically there will be the things we do not do and things we do. When we have the right relationship with God we begin to look at ourselves, and the things that we are doing and not doing, and try to walk our way according to what God says. In other words, God was saying that we must look at His beloved Son in the journey that we are in. We need to acknowledge the reality of who Christ is and what He has done for us. Because of our relationship with Christ we must keep our eyes fix on Him, listen and take the things that He has given.

There are some questions here related to the meaning of looking at Jesus Christ, as we are journey in this life. How can it be just looking at Jesus with the eye of faith, and listening to Him as the Bible speaks to us through the Spirit of God we have the victorious Christian living? How can that really the keys to victorious Christian living? Is it not just like mystical and strange? Are we not supposed to do something? The answers to these questions Paul has given in Colossians 2 the foundation for the tremendous statement by telling us three reason why setting our mind on Christ will give us the key to victorious Christian living. Look at this!

Jesus Christ is the only source of Wisdom and knowledge

In Colossians 2:3 we find one of the reasons why need to set our affection on the Lord Jesus Christ. It says, “In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” In other words, the reason why we must set our mind on Jesus Christ, and focus our attention on Him, listen and honour Him is because of all the answers to all the questions we ever need to ask in time of eternity are all found in Him. In Him are hidden all the treasure of wisdom and knowledge. We see that animals do not need of wisdom or knowledge, they are locked to complex insetting pattern whereby genetically they are programmed to do all the things they do. They do not have to worry, plan and think but they just do what they are programmed to do. On the other hand, the human beings were created by God in His unique aspect of image likeness called rationality. This is to say that God created man with the ability to think about where he comes from and where he is going and what he is doing. Thus every question that man has in this earth can be only found the answers in the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the One who is able to give the right answer to those questions that ever exist in this world.

Now let us consider and apply this truth in our daily lives when we ask where we come from. We are sure that every one of us knows where we come from, who we are and where we are going. It makes an infinite different for example, what do we think when we are told we came from the animal kingdom by chance to evolutionary pasts by million of years? We can see the way the university students who have been taught and have believed and even taught others of what they have learnt. There is a great danger. We know the danger of how nazi Germany when they really believe on the evolution. We know exactly how the communists function when they believe on evolution. Everything they do is contrary to what the Lord Jesus says. As we know that Jesus Christ is the ultimate author of the Bible who wrote the book called the book of Genesis in which it tells us exactly how He created the world, how long He decided to do it and what order the creation event occurred. No man outside of the revelation of Jesus Christ has an idea how those things happened. One who wrote the book of Genesis as the human author was Moses and he did not have to study how the world began because he was not there when it happened. He was not influenced by contemporary myth, legend and ideas in those days. But somebody talked to him from the burning bush, the Bible said that He was, “the angel of the Lord” which means the pre-incarnate Christ.

If we consider the text in Exodus 3 in which Christ talked to Moses, we are sure it is the truth. Christ was talking to Moses in the burning bush concerning the coming exodus from Egypt which Moses practically rejected the offer. It was in that time the pre-incarnate Christ told Moses of the previous Genesis of the world. That is why Jesus says if you do not believe what Moses has written how can you believe what I say because Moses wrote of me (ref. John 5:45-47). This is to say that Moses and Christ have a true business together because the pre-incarnate Christ told Moses. It was not because Moses was so brilliant so that he knew how the world began but God asked him to write the account of creation in the book of Genesis 1-11 as the pre-Abrahamic ultimate origin of the universe and life.

Therefore when we read the Bible we are not reading the merely opinion of a mere man versus pre-scientific nonsense but we are reading the infallible and inerrant Word of the second person of the Triune God. Jesus said that not one jot or tittle shall pass from the Torah or the law including the Genesis shall be all fulfilled, for the Scriptures can not be broken (ref. Matthew 5:17-18). In relation to this truth, Christ pointed out the errors of the Saducees and Pharisees for they did not know that the scripture is the power of God. Thus if we really want to know who we are, we must know where we ultimately came from and Christ is the only One who can tell us. Every question that the world has concerning His truth and Word cannot be answered by anybody except the Lord Jesus Christ because in Him is hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Christ is the Omniscience

As we have seen one aspect of why we need to set our mind on the Lord Jesus Christ in order to have the victorious Christian living, now we need to consider Christ is the Omniscience. He knows everything in this world and what will happen to everyone who lives in this world. It is for this reason that Jesus Christ gave His revelation to His apostle John to write the very precious Word concerning the past, present and future. In the mind of God everything has been completed and perfect according to what He has planned.

However we need to understand also that God designed us with his aspect of likeness and we ought to know where we are going. We have to know what will be coming next, down from the far of history. Then we ask this question, what is the significant of what’s going on in this world? The answer is that God alone can tell us.

When we read the final book of the Bible, Jesus was the One who wrote that book. It is not the revelation of the St John the divine. In Revelation 1:1 we read, “the revelation of Jesus Christ” which He gave to John through the angel telling things that shortly come to pass. This is to say that Christ the Lord tells us step by step and stage by stage the amazing book of Revelation. This final book of the Bible stands as the foundation of the book Daniel, how the world will end and what will happen to the church, Israel and all nations, and Satan and all the demons.

In addition to the list above, Jesus Christ also knows and reveals to us of what will happen to the world when Christ comes back to establish His kingdom and what will happen in the great tribulation and in the battle of Armageddon. There are many other events that are going to happen in this world at end times but the Lord Jesus Christ has told us through His precious revelation Word of God through which we can know about ourselves, the world and God. In the same book, Christ has told us also what will happen to the universe which will inflame with fire and what will happen to God’s people and what will happen to those who are not God’s people.

Thus we must take seriously what the Lord Jesus Christ has revealed to us in the book of Revelation concerning the future which is going to vast affect our attitude, prospective, perseverance, patience, endurance and joy. We have to know what is coming and Jesus Christ has the key. No one in the world knows precisely what is going to happen five minutes from now but God.

In the book of Revelation Jesus Christ is introduced in this way, “I am the alpha and omega” (Revelation 1:8, 18). Alpha is the first and Omega is last letter in the Greek alphabet. In other words, Jesus was saying, “I am A to Z, I am the whole alphabet of knowledge, I am the key, apart from which you cannot get the answer you get to have.” This is to say that we must know who God is as Jesus says, “no one cometh unto the father but by me” (ref. John 14:6). “He that hath seen me hath seen the father” (John 14:9). “He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him” (John 5:23). These few verses tell us that we have to know who God is, and how we get together with God and what we are supposed to do about it in our relationship with other Christians in local churches, evangelistic outreach, world mission, and what God wants us to do. It is not just getting around and with a group of religious or philosophical minded and enthusiastic people and counting up theories, opinion, ideas, and men made religion. All these are hopeless and worthless. But as we search our mind there is only one way in order to know all the things that the Lord wants us to do namely to know the Lord Jesus Christ. We must set our mind on the Lord Jesus Christ because in Him are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Christ is the head of all rule, authority and power

Another reason why we should set our mind on the Lord Jesus Christ because Christ is the head of all rule, authority and power. The apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 2:9-10,  “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all rule and authority and power.” In these verses, Paul tells us that the second person of Godhead who by incarnation to virgin conception became the prominent to the human race. The Son of God who is God-man, 100% man and 100% God came to this world in human form. However though He has His human body, therefore is in bodily form, yet His deity is undiminished, in Him all the fullness of deity dwelled in bodily form. Some people might think that probably Jesus is a little bit limited, because He has human nature and body, so they just bypass Him and they go directly to God the Father and the Holy Spirit. But this thinking is absolutely wrong. Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and man. Though He has His bodily form in existence 100 % as human being, yet in no way modifies, compromises and limits His absolute deity. The absolute proof to this truth is as what Paul said in Colossian 2 that in Him we have been made complete, and He is the head of all rule and authority and in him all the fullness of deity dwells.

Thus all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ as far as God the father is concerned are perfect and complete. We are all be glorified because He can see the future just as the present, and He can due the present in the light of what is going to happen according to His plan. However we in our own perspective and experience are not yet complete. There are still historically unactualised in experiences but we are sitting with Him in heavenly places in the mind of God. In this Satan’s world, where hundreds and millions satanic agents that are called demons surrounding by billions of people who have sin nature, we are not complete. We are not yet glorified historically, therefore desperately we need all the fullness that is in Jesus Christ.

Having known that the Lord Jesus Christ has all the authority and power as mentioned in Matthew 28:18 definitely being the believers in Christ we absolutely need Him all the days. This is to say that in order to have the victorious Christian living in this world with those negative conditions such as Satan, demon, world system, sin nature, the sin nature of other believers, we desperately need the power from God. As Jesus said in John 15:5, “without me you can do nothing.” On the other hand we may say, we can do all kinds of things, but we need to understand that what we do, nothing that are last, significant, and nothing that has divine approval. Without Jesus we can do nothing at all as far as God is concerned.

Now we may ask this question, where do we get the power in order to do something to make the mark for God with the line which cannot be erased and to influence the other people’s lives? The answer is only by setting our mind to what the Lord Jesus said, “all power is given unto me in heaven and in earth” (Matthew 28:18). That is why the apostle Paul who knew Christ and had the mind of Christ, even though he was the chief of sinners, and the least of the apostles, but because he set his thought on Christ, therefore he could say, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). On the other hand if anyone says, “I can do all things” then you can immediately mark that person down as suspect. He was a theological disaster about to happen. But when we add the additional words we get the message, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” This truth can be illustrated by the event in the lake of Galilee where Jesus walked on the water. Peter on the other hand after having known that Jesus was the One who walked on the water, he wanted to approach Jesus by walking on the water. But when Peter realised that he could walk on the water, his attention and eye was not upon Jesus, then he almost sank and cried to Jesus, “Lord, save me” (Matthews 14:22-33). The moment Peter put his eyes and his mind on Christ, his problem is over and Christ lifted him up (Matthew 14:22-33).

If we search our own heart, we realise so many times we plan many things in our lives but we forget to ask God to prove our plan. Often times without realising our attitude toward God is wrong. We would like Jesus just to bless the plan, but we do not keep on our eyes on Him neither we consult Him in our plan. We did not seek His will, honour and glory but we are just doing our things. We must understand that a lot of the sufferings and patience of Jesus Christ towards His people. He often times has to let us sink to the point of desperation till He finds our attention when we are willing to cry out, “Lord, Save me.”

Thus in this Satan’s world we need the power of God that we may be able to have the purity of life, and the awareness of decease and destructiveness of sin. Truly it is not an option when God said, “Be holy, for I am holy”(1 Peter 1:16). He is a thrust God and He will never for the whole eternity tolerate anyone in His present who he is absolutely and perfectly holy. We may say that we cannot make it as what the Lord said to be absolutely holy. It is true that we cannot make in ourselves but in Christ we will. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God without spot and blemish and He is perfectly holy. He is not only sinless from eternity but He is sinless during the one third of the first century of non-glorified incarnate state. He was incapable of sins because of His divine nature. Therefore the temptation of the king of Jesus Christ was almost infinite power, force, and pressure because it affected and tempted a person who has infinite sensitivity to sin, and He cannot sin. We Christians have not tasted what the temptation is, in comparison to what Jesus sensed and experienced. He was tempted in all point of life like we are and yet without sins. We cannot understand how could Jesus really be tempted if He was incapable of sins? The theologians who are carefully struggle with this passage of the scriptures have usually come to this conclusion the fact that He could not sin, make the temptation infinitely stronger.

Knowing Ourselves before God

As the book of Job describes that we just drink iniquity like water. We are sinning so much but we do not even care and we are falling all the time. We are totally deprived and immersed in sin all of our thoughts are poisoned by selfishness, self-centredness and there is no a real moment in our life that we are totally holy and sinless. As John, the last of the apostles wrote one of the last letters in the New Testament in 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” Although God said we must not sin yet He immediately said, “if any man sins we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).

Because of the depravity of man before the Lord, man cannot stand before Him. The minute we get the glimpse of the infinite Holy God we are totally demonstrated just like Isaiah who saw the Lord just one glimpse of the Living God, he collapsed in the present of his Lord. That is why Isaiah said, “Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isaiah 6:5). In fact the Bible says no man can really see God and not even one second and live because He will destroy us. All these happen due to our sins. Thus we desperately need holiness in our lives and that is why God with the permanent Holy Spirit dwells within us and makes our body His temple. But He was grief, quenches and hindered when we sin against the revealed truth with our consciences. Therefore we need to search our mind on Christ who sits on the right hand of God. The Bible also tells us that the more we look at Him the more we become like Him. We become like what we worship. Without realising we are being sanctified that means we are set apart from sins and perspective, step by step as we look to Him. This is to say that we need consistently watching on the Lord Jesus Christ. If we watch ourselves, then we will do the wrong things. And if we continue to look at ourselves we will be very discourage because of the many failures that we have. We will be happy one time and depressed in other time and we are excited about doing the will of God once and discouraged in other time. We do not have consistency and dependable. However if we search our mind in the Lord Jesus Christ, all problems will be solved because He is the same yesterday, today and forever (ref. Hebrews 13:8). He was absolutely dependable day and nigh, and every minute. Thus we need His help, guide, strength, purity and power and we go to Him in prayer, “Lord Jesus, Help me!”

What will happen when there is a sudden one time we heard a mechanical voice coming back to us from the third heaven like this?” “Jesus is too busy for you” in fact the more He looks at us the more discourage He has become. Do we know how many of us will last if Jesus looks carefully and decides to keep us in His hand on the basis how good, holy, spiritual and dedicated we are? We all will be dumped into the lake of fire. But we need to notice that there is somebody who watches all the time and see how bad we are, and his name is Satan. He is accusing all the believers on the right hand of God night and day when he sees our thoughts, motives, and attitudes. He never stops accusing us before the Lord Jesus Christ on the right hand of God night and day (Revelation 12). However when Satan accuses us before Jesus Christ, Jesus will say to Satan, “You are right, in fact I saw everything that Christians are doing and knew it before it happens. But I know something that you apparently never recognise that dear children of mine are saved in my merits through my precious blood shed upon the cross and not on the basis of their merits.”

The Lord never gives up and changes His mind at all. If the Lord ever changes His mind, we will finish. Thus we need the great love of God all the time in our lives namely His divine love. Without the divine love of God is given to us we will be weak in our spiritual life and so discouraged. Apparently it is the love that motivates the person to take action that he is willing to do for another person what the best for that person in the light of eternity no matter what the cost may be to himself. For example, no one can survive and last for the long period in the mission field if his motive is not based on the divine love to some extents. How can we become the good church member and good Christians, if we are so selfish and not following the will of God? Thus we live as anybody because the Lord Jesus Christ loves us first with the agape love. We need constantly search our mind in the Lord Jesus Christ, “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him” (Colossians 2:9-10).

Jesus Christ is the Head of the Church

In the study of the epistle of Paul to the church of Colossae, we are entering to the last aspect of the reasons why we need to search our mind in Christ Jesus. Colossians 2:19 says, “And not holding the Head (Christ) from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” In this junction we need to understand that some Christians did not grow in the Christian lives because they are not holding the Head and focusing on Him. In the Christian family there are many people who have been born to the Christian community with God and yet they do not have any growth and development year after year.

The same situation occurred in the Jewish Christian community as we read in Hebrews 5:12-14 saying, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles have need of milk, and not of strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” The writer of this epistle to the Hebrews was saying to the recipients that they were still babies. They have known Christ for many years and they have not been able to eat the solid meat of the Word and the solid doctrine of the Word. How sad it is to know such situation in many churches today in which every week they continue the program of the church regularly but the people in those churches do not grow at all. If anyone desires to grow in the Lord, the Bible is the key. The Bible is the key for maturity that we may be able to be missionary to our own neighbour and lead our Bible study group after so many years we have studied the word of God. Thus the key to the whole matter is that “hold to the Head (Christ).” Keep your mind in Christ and focus on Him. On the other hand there are thousands of thousands of believers who are independent believers, who are doing their things. However we need to keep in mind the Word of Jesus Christ when He said, “without me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Many people may do their things without the help of Jesus Christ, but the Lord Jesus will never be please through what they have been doing.

Thus in Colossians 2 we find at least three reasons why we need to set our mind on Christ. Based on these three reasons we will see clearer the message when we reach Colossians 3:1-2 which says, “If ye then risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on the things on the earth.” On the other hand there is a problem to many Christians today. They do understand the Word of God and its message but they do not want do them. But God has His own way to deal with those people. God never respect person, to every born again Christian to His family He has the same commandments regardless how busy we are. We need to understand our status living in this world as Paul said clearly in Colossians 3:3, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” This is the paradox and mystery of New Testament Christianity. We have died to all the factors that hindered us doing the things that God has laid before us. We have died to self, sin, Satan and the world when we died with Christ on the cross. God had broken the power structure of the world in the Lord Jesus Christ His son. We need to follow the example of Lot who preached to the demonic and wicked people in those days, though He was righteous and yet he preached to the wall as preached to the people. There is a great need in this generation in spreading the Good News to the whole world. Thus we need to look at on the Lord Jesus Christ then we will be in glory with Christ Jesus as he said in Colossians 3: 4, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”