The last two chapters of Colossians cover various aspects of the Christian walk. The first aspect is that we seek the things above and set our mind on them. Paul’s charge to seek the things above is based on the revelation presented in chapters one and two. This means that our seeking of the things above must be based on the revelation of the Person and work of Christ. In Colossians 1 and 2 Christ is revealed in a marvelous way. Furthermore, the work Christ has accomplished for us is also presented in a full way. In these chapters Christ is revealed as the all-inclusive One. Based on this revelation of Christ’s Person and work, we may seek the things which are above. As we have pointed out, these things refer to Christ’s heavenly ministry, to His ministry as the High Priest, Minister, and Administrator of God’s economy.
Christ is not idle. He is interceding, ministering, and executing God’s administration. We on earth should respond to Christ’s activities in heaven. Although Christ in His earthly ministry fully accomplished redemption for our salvation, He has not yet completed the building up of His Body. For the building up of the Body, His ministry in heaven is necessary. It is not the desire of Christ simply to have a large group of saved people; He wants the saved ones to be built up together as His Body. Christ desires a Body, a building, a bride. In order to have the Body built up, Christ must carry on the work of His heavenly ministry.
Between Christ in heaven and us on earth there is a divine transmission, a heavenly current. If we are receiving this transmission, we shall respond to Christ’s work in heaven. However, if in our experience we are not continuously connected to Him or if we allow insulation to build up between us and Him, the transmission will cease. It is most pitiful that among many genuine Christians today the connection with the heavenly Christ in their experience has been severed. They are genuine Christians, but they do not experience the divine current, and there is no fellowship between them and the Lord. We hope that the situation among us will be absolutely different from this. Instead of being cut off from the heavenly Christ, in our experience we need to continually receive the divine transmission. Day and night, we should be infused with a supply from heaven, and experience the transaction between the heavenly Christ and us. We should continually respond to Christ’s interceding, ministering, and executing of God’s administration.
To seek the things above means that we correspond to Christ’s heavenly ministry. According to Colossians 3, corresponding to Christ’s heavenly ministry by seeking the things above is the first aspect of our Christian walk.
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