In Colossians 3, Paul begins by saying, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” What is that we are being taught in the following verses? Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:21-24, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other.”
Now, let’s take what Jesus was teaching, and apply it to the understanding that Paul had. Continuing on, after Paul tells us to seek those things which are above, he says, “Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Below is the KJV Bible with the Strong’s Concordance. Pay attention to the translation, and the root meaning of affection. Read what is highlighted in purple, than in light blue, and consider what is being said.
So, what is it that we just read? What is Paul trying to tell us? The Bible is telling us to interest ourselves through obedience, by reining in and curbing the midriff, as well as having the same mind as Christ. Paul reaffirms these previous two statements with a third, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth…” So he says, seek the things that are above, set your affection on things above, and mortify your members. They are all one of the same. They all mean the same thing. It is the portion that we are allotted as Christians, as we are walking with the Lord, by the continual crucifixion of our flesh. Let’s now look closely at, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.”
We are told to deaden and subdue our passions, our lusts, our longing for, and coveting after sex, rightfully or otherwise. No? Just look at the definition and root for concupiscence.
“Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”
“And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” “He that forsaketh not all that he hath, cannot be my disciple.”
Jonathan Heller – Lift Up A Banner
The Bible Unveiled 