What Does It Mean That "Your Life Is Hidden with Christ"?
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Where is Jesus today? That seems a good place to answer this question. If a Christian’s life is hidden with Jesus Christ, we want to know where that hiding place is. We know that after Jesus died, He rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven. There He was seated at the right hand of the Father in heaven (Mark 16:19; Acts 2:33; Romans 8:34; 1 Peter 3:22).
Jesus is in heaven with the Father. Yet we are told in Colossians 3:3 that our life is “hidden with Christ in God.” How can our life be hidden with Jesus in heaven, whilst we carry on living here on the earth? Moreover, believers are hidden in Jesus Himself. We are in Him and He is in us (1 John 4:13). We are united with Him by the Spirit He has given to us. What does all of this mean?
A New Life
Followers of Jesus are given a new life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). We become united to Jesus in His death and resurrection. Those desires that we used to have for earthly things are weakened as we set our minds on heavenly things (Colossians 3:2). The following verse (Colossians 3:3) says that “you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” Our old, sinful nature was crucified with Jesus on the cross.
Romans 6:6 says “We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” If we belong to Jesus, we have “crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24). We begin to walk in step with the Holy Spirit at work in us (Galatians 5:16-18).
As our new life begins by the power of the Spirit working inside of us, we will look at the world around us differently. In turn, others may look at us differently too. Those who do not yet know Jesus may wonder why our life is different. They may see the love and grace of God at work in us and want to know more.
Then there are others who will look at us strangely. After all, we are strangers, pilgrims, and temporary residents here (1 Peter 2:11). It is when our lives conform to the world that we do not appear any different to those around us. As Jesus sends us His Holy Spirit to be in us and with us, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). We can live for Jesus in this generation, empowered and strengthened by God, who lives in us.
A Living Hope
When we are born, we enter a broken and fallen world, and we ourselves carry sin in our body that we have inherited from Adam. We are dead in sin. Yet, Jesus is the “last Adam,” and He gives new life where we are born again into a living hope. Through one man, sin entered the world, and all died (Romans 5:12), yet through the one man Jesus, the gift of God’s grace abounds (Romans 5:15). Christians become part of God’s family, adopted as sons and daughters, and have an “inheritance” reserved in heaven.
Knowing that believers have died to sin should shift our gaze upwards to where Christ is enthroned. As it says in 1 Peter 1:8: “Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy…” He is the object of our faith, and our hope is based on the wonderful truth that Jesus has risen from the dead. Peter says that Jesus “has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, reserved in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:3-5).
Christians are hidden with Christ where a future inheritance that cannot be taken away is waiting for them. It is “reserved in heaven” where Jesus is. This is something we can look forward to on earth now as we wait expectantly for what is to come. But we can have access to God directly today because Jesus has reconciled us to Himself. We can pray to our Father in heaven knowing that Jesus “is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Hebrews 7:25).
Being hidden in Christ means we have an eternal relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which is a solid hope for today and forever.
An Assurance
Christians have not yet been raised to eternal life with Christ. But God has awakened us to the truth. He has “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions” (Ephesians 2:5). It was His mercy, love and grace that saved us on the cross. When we were given this new life, “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). When the Father looks upon us now, He sees Jesus the Son and His perfect righteousness.
We are no longer separated from God because of our sin. Our status has changed before God from guilty sinner to a free saint. We are raised with Jesus, hidden with Him in heaven now “in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace” (Ephesians 2:7). One day, we will glorify God for eternity because of His loving-kindness towards us. Yet, we do not need to wait until that glorious day when Jesus calls us heavenward. We can glorify Him today where we are.
Being hidden with Him means there is a security about our life after death. We have an eternal inheritance that will not spoil or fade. There has been a deposit made into our account from the account of Christ. He has emptied Himself completely on the cross, so that we may be filled with the Spirit to live as strangers on the earth, raised on the last day with Him in glory, and have everlasting security in the presence of our wonderful Savior. With this guarantee, we can rejoice with great anticipation of Christ’s return and know that we are “hidden” and safe with Him.
A Refuge
We are precious to God. He protects us from evil, hides us under the shadow of His wings, and He is described as a shield and a refuge (Psalm 91:4). There is no safer place than being in and with Jesus. Even if our bodies came under attack, our soul is safe with Jesus. We do not need to fear the one who can destroy the body, but not the soul (Matthew 10:28). Jesus is the protector of our life for all eternity.
When we repent and place our faith in Christ’s saving work on the cross, we experience a new birth, a new life, and we are a new creation. It is Christ's work by the power of the Holy Spirit that is at work in us. Knowing how loved we are by God, that He sent His only Son so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16) frees us to not love the world, but to look to and adore Christ. We can have close communion with Jesus, today and for all eternity. Being hidden with Christ in His everlasting arms can give us confidence to live for Him in a fallen and perverse generation. He is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
A Heavenly Perspective
As our lives are hidden with Christ in God, we can keep our eyes fixed on Him in the heavenly place. In the same letter to the Colossians, Paul says we are to “set [our] minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). It is because we are “hidden with Christ” that we are able to set our minds to where He is.
This perspective on looking to Christ because we are united to Christ is one which believers around the world need to be reminded of often. Just like we hear the gospel and believe, it does not mean we need to stop hearing and believing the gospel. We need the good news of Jesus every day of our life! In the same way, just because we are secure and hidden in Jesus once for all, it does not mean we stop fixing our eyes on Him.
Being rescued from this present evil age by Jesus (Galatians 1:4), a heavenly perspective is still needed. When Jesus prayed to His Father for His followers before His death, He said, “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (John 17:15). As we live for Jesus in the world, we can know that He is with us, has prayed for us and He will protect us. We can live boldly knowing our life is hidden with Him.
As we reflect often on all Jesus has done, we are empowered by the Spirit to live for Him on earth, as we wait with great expectation and joy-filled, thankful hearts for Him to come again from heaven. As it says in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Being hidden with Jesus means we have a new life, a living hope, a blessed assurance, a secure refuge, and a heavenly perspective. Nothing can separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39). One day, what is hidden will be revealed as Jesus returns once again for His bride, His body, His people – the church. May we all rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer until that glorious day (Romans 12:12).
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Klaus Vedfelt
