Living for Christ and Making Him Known

A person made alive in Christ cannot keep the same life pursuit as before. Scripture does not present salvation as a small adjustment to an old life. It presents it as death and life. Darkness and light. Slavery and freedom.

Colossians 3:1-4 says that those raised with Christ must seek the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. It also says to set the mind on things above, not on earthly things, because the believer’s life is hidden with Christ in God.

That changes everything.

The Christian life is not built around self-rule, self-glory, or the desires that once governed the old self. It is built around Christ. He is the life of His people. He is the message they proclaim. He is the Lord they serve. He is the hope held out to the world.

The new life begins with the Word that points us to Christ.

The new life is hidden with Christ in God

Colossians 3 roots Christian obedience in Christian identity. Paul does not say, “Try harder so that you can become alive.” He says, in effect, “You have been raised with Christ, so seek what belongs to Christ.”

That order matters.

The gospel announces that sinners who were dead in trespasses have been made alive with Christ. Ephesians 2:4-5 says God did this because of His great mercy and love. Salvation begins with God’s grace, not human effort. The believer does not move from death to life by moral improvement. God gives life through Christ.

This new life is “hidden with Christ in God” according to Colossians 3:3. That means the believer’s deepest identity is secure in Christ. It is not defined by past sin, present weakness, public approval, personal achievement, or earthly status. It is kept in Christ.

Yet hidden does not mean inactive. A life hidden with Christ becomes visible through obedience, worship, holiness, love, endurance, and gospel witness.

Paul connects identity to pursuit:

• Because Christ is above, the believer seeks the things above.

• Because Christ is life, the believer lives for Him.

• Because Christ will appear, the believer waits with hope.

• Because the old self died, the believer puts sin to death.

  
  

The Christian does not belong to sin anymore. Romans 6 teaches that those united to Christ in His death and resurrection must no longer let sin reign in their mortal bodies. Sin may still tempt. Sin may still attack. But sin is no longer the rightful master.

That is not a small claim. Romans 6:6 says the old self was crucified with Christ so that the body of sin might be brought to nothing. The result is clear: those in Christ are no longer enslaved to sin.

This is why holiness is not optional. It is part of the new life. The aim is not bare rule-keeping. The aim is to live before God as those who have been bought by Christ and raised for His glory.

Christ purchased us for His purpose

The blood of Christ does not merely forgive guilt. It claims ownership.

First Peter 1:18-19 says believers were ransomed not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. That means the Christian life is not self-owned. It belongs to the Lord.

This cuts against the old life. Before Christ, the pursuit of life was shaped by sinful desires, fear, pride, self-preservation, approval, and the pattern of the world. First Peter 4:2 says believers should no longer live for human passions but for the will of God.

That is a clean division.

The old life says, “My will be done.”

The new life says, “Your will be done.”

The old life asks, “What can I gain?”

The new life asks, “How can Christ be honored?”

The old life obeys the lusts of the flesh.

The new life offers the body to God as an instrument of righteousness.

Romans 6 uses the language of slavery to make this point. Every person serves a master. Before Christ, sin ruled. In Christ, believers have been set free from sin and become slaves of righteousness. That does not mean Christians are sinless in practice. It means sin no longer has final authority over them.

This truth gives both comfort and command.

It comforts because no believer fights sin alone. The risen Christ gives power by His Spirit. It commands because no believer can make peace with the sin Christ died to break.

Grace does not train people to remain in the old life. Grace trains people to renounce it.

Titus 2:11-14 says the grace of God teaches believers to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while waiting for Christ. The same passage says Christ gave Himself to redeem a people for His own possession who are zealous for good works.

That is the shape of the purchased life. Redeemed. Possessed by Christ. Eager to do what pleases Him.

A redeemed life is set apart for honorable use.

The life pursuit of the believer is the glory of God

If Christ has brought us from death to life, then life now has a new center. The Christian’s pursuit is not comfort first. It is not legacy first. It is not success first. It is the glory of God through the service of Christ.

That does not make ordinary life meaningless. Work, family, study, rest, friendship, and daily responsibilities still matter. Scripture calls believers to faithfulness in normal places. Colossians 3:17 says whatever believers do, in word or deed, they should do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

The point is not that every Christian must have the same role. The point is that every Christian has the same Lord.

A parent can live for Christ while discipling children at the dinner table.

A worker can live for Christ through honest labor and clear witness.

A church member can live for Christ by serving quietly and building up the body.

A suffering saint can live for Christ by enduring with faith and hope.

The life pursuit stays the same across all of it: live for the Lord and make Him known.

Paul shows this clearly in 2 Timothy 2:10. He says he endures everything for the sake of the elect, so that they also may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. Paul’s endurance was not aimless. He suffered with gospel purpose.

That is not only for apostles. The whole church is called to make Christ known.

Second Corinthians 5:18-20 says God has given believers the ministry of reconciliation and that they serve as ambassadors for Christ, with God making His appeal through them. The message is not self-help. It is reconciliation with God through Christ.

An ambassador does not invent the message. An ambassador carries the message of the king.

That matters for gospel witness. The church must not replace Christ with moral advice, political identity, personal stories, or vague spirituality. Those things cannot save. Christ crucified and risen is the message. Christ is the only mediator between God and humanity. Christ is the Lamb who takes away sin. Christ is the risen Lord who commands all people to repent and believe.

Acts 4:12 says salvation is found in no one else. That gives gospel proclamation both urgency and clarity.

We proclaim Christ with warning and wisdom

Paul summarized his ministry in Colossians 1:28-29: he proclaimed Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that he might present everyone mature in Christ. He also said he toiled with Christ’s energy powerfully working within him.

That gives a pattern for faithful ministry.

First, we proclaim Christ. The center is not personality, preference, or platform. The center is the Son of God. He is fully sufficient. He reveals the Father. He bears sin. He defeats death. He gives the Spirit. He builds His church.

Second, we warn. Biblical love tells the truth about sin, judgment, repentance, and the narrow way. Warning is not cruelty when danger is real. A doctor who refuses to name a deadly disease is not compassionate. A watchman who stays silent when danger approaches is not loving. Jesus Himself warned about judgment and called people to repent.

Third, we teach with wisdom. Gospel ministry does not end when someone professes faith. Jesus commanded His disciples to teach the nations to observe all that He commanded. The goal is maturity, not shallow association.

Fourth, we toil in Christ’s strength. Paul worked hard, but he did not credit himself as the source of power. Christ worked in him. That protects believers from pride and despair. Pride says, “I built this.” Despair says, “I cannot do this.” Faith says, “Christ supplies what He commands.”

This applies in preaching, discipleship, parenting, evangelism, hospitality, counseling, and ordinary conversations. Faithfulness may look hidden. It may feel slow. It may cost more than expected. Still, the labor is not empty when it is done in the Lord.

First Corinthians 15:58 calls believers to be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, because labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The Christian life follows the way of Christ with endurance.

The church builds up the body by making Christ known

The Christian life is personal, but it is never private. Christ saves individuals into His body. That body is the church.

Ephesians 4:11-16 teaches that Christ gives leaders to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ. The goal is unity in the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, maturity, and growth into Christlikeness.

That means ministry does not belong only to pastors or teachers. Leaders equip the saints, and the saints do the work of ministry. Every member has a role in the body. Some teach. Some encourage. Some give. Some serve. Some pray in hidden ways. Some carry burdens with unusual patience. Some evangelize with boldness. Some disciple quietly over years.

The shared aim is clear: the body grows as each part works properly.

A church shaped by Colossians 1 and Ephesians 4 will care about both evangelism and discipleship. It will call unbelievers to repent and believe. It will also labor to present believers mature in Christ.

Those two aims belong together.

If the church only seeks decisions, it neglects maturity.

If the church only teaches insiders, it neglects mission.

If the church proclaims Christ faithfully, it calls the lost to life and trains the saved to grow.

This is why doctrine matters. A weak view of Christ leads to weak worship. A shallow view of sin leads to shallow repentance. A small view of grace leads to small obedience. A thin view of the church leads to thin discipleship.

The gospel creates a people who stand firm together. Colossians 1:23 calls believers to continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel. That command is needed because drift is real.

People drift when comfort becomes lord.

People drift when entertainment shapes desire.

People drift when suffering produces bitterness.

People drift when false teaching sounds close enough to truth.

People drift when the hope of Christ gets crowded by earthly hopes.

The answer is not fear-driven effort. The answer is steady faith in the gospel. Keep looking to Christ. Keep hearing His Word. Keep killing sin. Keep serving His body. Keep proclaiming His name.

A life that belongs to Christ is offered back to Him.

We continue steadfast in the hope of the gospel

Living for Christ and making Him known is not a temporary season. It is the direction of the whole new life.

Christ has brought His people from death to life. Their old self was crucified with Him. Their new life is hidden with Him. Their bodies are to be offered to God. Their minds are to be set on things above. Their mouths are to proclaim His gospel. Their hands are to serve His people. Their endurance is to help others obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.

This calling is too great for human strength. That is why it must be lived by faith. The Lord who commands also supplies. The Christ who saves also sustains. The Spirit who gives life also bears fruit.

So continue in the faith. Stay stable and steadfast. Do not shift from the hope of the gospel. Put sin to death. Pursue what is above. Serve as a vessel for honorable use. Proclaim Christ with warning and wisdom. Build up the body. Endure for the sake of others.

The aim is simple and weighty: that Christ would be glorified, that His people would grow to maturity, and that others would have life in His name.