What does "Christ who is our life" mean (Colossians 3:4)?

But we have LIFE; for we are in Christ, who is our life; we are alive unto God in our Lord Jesus Christ. A risen Christ, who is the other side of death, is our life; we have therefore resurrection-life, a life that lives beyond the region of death. It is not a prolonged natural life, but spiritual life; not life for a time, but for ever — eternal life; for, as we are told here, Christ is our life. It is a life therefore inseparable from a risen Christ, a glorified Saviour, who has triumphed over the grave and Satan and death for us, after having answered in justice and righteousness for all our sin and guilt. This is life indeed, as imperishable as Christ Himself; for He is our life. This could not have been an actual fact till after the death of Jesus; for He tells us so. He said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." (John 12:24.) Thus it is perfectly clear that the death of Christ was actually necessary to be accomplished before others could be associated with Him. Prior to His death He was solitary and alone, loving others intensely, ministering to them unceasingly; but until He died He was alone. Life in Him, union with Him, as precious realities, could not be, then, till after His death, and therefore in resurrection and ascension. Precious truth indeed for our hearts! for we are told now as a positive fact for present joy and strength, not only that we have died, but that we have life: "Your life is hid with Christ in God."

"Our life is hid with Christ in God; and when Christ who is our life shall appear," etc. Here Christ is spoken of as being our life. So we are said to "dwell in him, and he in us" - the strongest expressions, these, that can be. But this is just what makes the difference with Christ, and shews the life is not essential in us. He is our life. He dwells in us. If the author merely meant that it was essentially holy in its nature and the like, it would be all well. But it is not essential life in us; that is the prerogative of a divine Person. I can say "Christ is our life," but I could not say, the Father was Christ's life: it would take away at once from what He was in His nature and being.

But then that is not Scripture. The Scripture use and purport of the text which Mr. Goodwyn quotes is far otherwise. "Ye are dead," says the apostle, "and your life is hid with Christ in God; when Christ our life shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." The passage belongs to the first class of texts pointed out, in which our life is identified with its origin. Christ is this life. He is hid in God, and the world sees Him not until the day of His appearing. Our life then is in character a hidden one, we shall not appear till we appear with Him. A life which draws its character from Him who is the soul of it cannot be known by a world which has rejected the Son of God and found no glory in the Lord of glory. With Him then we are dead. Our life is a hidden one, for Christ is hidden. But it is hidden in God, and so but waits for the time in which it will shine fully out. Christ is to appear; and then we shall. This has nothing to do with the question of security, or with eternity of living. It is Christ who is hidden, and who is our life. Our life, therefore, is hid with Him. But that is no denial of its being in us here, but implies the very contrary. It is our possession of it that gives us this character, and Christ being the soul of it, "the world knoweth us not, because it knew Him not" (1 John 3:1).

There are things which find their centre in Christ seated in heavenly glory. They are "things above," that is, things which are heavenly in character. On these things our minds and affections are to be set, and not on earthly things. At the present moment Christ is not in manifestation here, He is hid in God. Now He is our life, and all the hidden springs of our life are consequently hidden with Him in God. The day approaches when He will be manifested, and then we shall be manifested with Him in glory. It will be quite clear in that day where our real life is found.

We have died judicially before God, and our true life is hid with Christ in God (v.3). What perfect security! It is untouchable by men or the devil. The true character of that life is only seen fully in Christ who is Himself the very image of God. That life cannot be fully manifest in us toward the world as long as we also still have the fleshly nature, even though the believer has eternal life abiding in Him. So, at the present, eternal life's absolute perfection and beauty is hid with Christ in God.

But its future manifestation is certain. When Christ is manifested, we also shall be manifested with Him, and in glory, no longer in circumstances of weakness and trial. Before that manifestation, we will have been taken up to be with Him at the Rapture, before we can come with Him in the day of His manifestation. Our life then will be no more hidden, for Christ is our life.

As risen with Christ, the saints of God are to set their minds on things above, not on things on the earth, for we are dead in relation to the things in which the man of this world has his life. Our life, as Christians, is a hidden life, of which the man who lives in this world knows nothing. It is a divine life, and heavenly, and is enjoyed in communion with Christ above. Indeed, Christ is our life, for we have nothing that God has given to us outside of Him, and all its features are to be found in Him.

The Colossians had lost sight of this truth in great measure and were in danger of getting on a track that would have deprived them of all enjoyment of peace and confidence in God. The theory was to add what they could to Christ in order to increase the saints' blessing and security, and make a present display to His glory. The Apostle shows them that their life is hid with Christ in God. Consequently, though they possess the most perfect security, it is in accord with Christ's place, hidden and not displayed yet. "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness," etc. v. 5. Because ye are dead, because ye have this new life, even Christ, and so are dead and risen with Him, mortify your members which are upon the earth. What were they? Fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Such is what they — what we — really are. It is a wonderfully strong and pointed way of presenting the truth. God is not mocked. Grace does not hinder His judgment either morally in His Word or by-and-by when it shall be executed. "On account of which the wrath of God cometh on the sons of disobedience: in which things ye also once walked, when ye lived in them." vv. 6, 7.

Risen with Christ, they were to set their affections on things above, where Christ sits at the right hand of God, and not on things on the earth. The two could not go together. To look, to have one's motives, above and below at the same time, is impossible. Be tempted by things, have to resist them, we may; but this is not to have them as our object. The reason for this is however found in our position: we are dead, and our life is hid with Christ in God. It does not say, "we must die." Man cannot do this by will: we cannot deny will by will. Nor would the will of the flesh ever do it. If it acts, it does not abdicate. We are dead: this is the precious comforting truth with regard to the Christian by virtue of Christ having died for him. He has received the life of Christ, and all that Christ did for him in that life belongs to him. Thus he is dead, because Christ died for him. The life with which the power of temptation, guilt, the attacks of sin, are connected, exists no longer to faith. By death all that was connected with it has come to an end. Now that which was connected with the life of the old man was sin, condemnation, weakness, fear, powerlessness against the assaults of the enemy — all that is past We have a life, but it is in Christ; it is hidden with Him in God We are not yet manifested in its glory, as we shall be manifested before the eyes of all in heaven and earth. Our life is hidden, but safe in its eternal source. It has the portion of Christ, in whom we possess it. He is hid in God, so also is our life: when Christ shall appear, we shall also appear with Him.

It will be remarked, that the apostle does not speak here of our union with Christ, but of our life, of the fact that we are dead, and that our life is hid with Him in God. He does not speak of the assembly with regard to our position; he speaks, no doubt, of Christ as being its Head, as to His personal glory, but not of it as to us. He speaks of us individually. Each one has his own life in Christ truly, but as his own; it is not union with other Christians. We have this life in Christ, but it is not here our union as one body with Him. It is the individual character of the Christian, to whom Christ, the Head, is everything.

The second principle which it is necessary to call attention to is this: that it is not the whole truth that we have received a new life in receiving Christ. The Christ whom we have received has been crucified, has died, and risen again; thus I reckon myself to be dead, and the old man as crucified, as not in existence, although it continues to exist. The doctrine is according to the authority and the truth of God in Colossians 3:3. "Ye are dead." The reckoning of faith is in Romans 6:11, "Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin"; the realisation is in 2 Corinthians 4:10. (compare Gal. 2:20; Rom. 6:6-7:6; Gal. 2:19, where we read, "dead to the law," Gal. 6:14.) Thus we are dead to sin, to the law, to the world, crucified with Christ, reckoned to be dead according to the word of God, and reckoning ourselves dead. Our duty is to make good this truth, so that nothing except the life of Christ should be manifested in our bodies, in our mortal flesh, that our whole life may be the manifestation of the life of Christ in us, and of nothing else. The connection between this truth and holiness in our relationship with God, and practical holiness, is easily understood. This is the third question already before us.

But there is a third thing - we have not only the blood which expiates, and the water which purifies, through which we are dead to sin, but He has obtained for us the Spirit, the presence of the Holy Ghost, as the power of the word. It may, perhaps, be objected, I do not find myself thus dead to sin and purified. But you have a hatred to sin, which is a proof of your having died to it. And "In that Christ died, he died unto sin once, so likewise RECKON ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin"; for God ever treats us according to what He has really given us, treating us as though we had realised it all. So in John, the Lord says, "and whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." Now they did know HIM who was truly the way to the Father, yet Thomas objected and said, "We know not the way," because they had never realised it. The instant I believe in Jesus, I am called on to reckon myself dead. I am never told to die, but I am told to mortify my members that are upon the earth. But I am never told to die. A man under the law will be trying to die with all his might, but he will never succeed. A Christian is dead, and his life is hid with Christ in God, and therefore he mortifies his members which are upon the earth, as living in the power of the life he has in the Son of God.