Hidden with God in Christ

Header image “Sunday’s Palms, Wednesday’s Ashes” by MTSOfan.

Hidden with God in Christ

In the fall, I spoke in chapel at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, preaching on Colossians 3:1-4 — a passage which seems particularly significant in this season of Lent, as we seek to remember that we were created from dust, and to dust we shall return, and yet our true hope which is now hidden will one day be made manifest when the resurrected Christ, who is our true life, will appear!

“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. ”                                                                                                                                                -Col. 3:1-4, NIV

Of course I bring in the Psalms as well…here is a section from the sermon, combining the cry of the Psalmist with Paul’s declaration that “your life is now hidden with Christ in God:”

The calamities often seemed senseless to the Psalmist, and they often seem senseless to us. But as we wait in hope of God’s promise, we also wait for God to finish the story. A quick death on the mission field was not the end of the story for my friend.  Our own calamities, our own failures, even our own sin — is not the end of the story for us either. The end of the story is that God writes the end of the story, and until then we are hidden — both in the sense that our victories are often not visible victories, but also in the sense that we are hidden in the hand of God — hidden in Christ; we are safe and secure, even when calamity hits, even as we cry out in lament, even as we wait — we wait for the covenant Lord, more than those who watch for the morning. In this hidden place, we enjoy with Jesus Christ, and fellowship with one another — we are fed with slivers of bread, and wine, to sustain us on the journey, until we reach the great banquet where we will be fed without scarcity, when our waiting in the night turns to the morning, when God will make things right. Until then we cry, “Come, Lord Jesus.” “Come, Lord Jesus.”

Here is the video presentation of the chapel presentation, with thanks to Carl Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School:

To listen to an audio clip of this talk, click here: audio