Arthur Kuschke, OPC minister and longstanding librarian at Westminster Theological Seminary (1945–1979), now in the presence of the Lord, once said to me, “When will we learn to see ourselves as God sees us?”  Taking God’s viewpoint, namely a heavenly one, makes a world of a difference. It puts everything, including ourselves, into perspective, which is what Paul encourages us to do in Colossians 3:1–4:

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Your Mindset

To “set your mind” (one word in the Greek) refers to the disposition and the trajectory of our thinking. Our thoughts are not a mere collection of random ideas. They tend to run in a certain direction, being driven by the desires and the will of our heart. We point our mind toward the things we love and chose. As Richard Sibbes put it, “What the heart liketh best, the mind studieth most.”[1] Our thinking is laden with an agenda, ambitiously motivated and committed to a certain course of thought. Other passages in the New Testament, which use the same word, confirm this understanding.

Paul writes in Romans 8:5–6:

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

The two opposing courses of life diverge according to the two contrasting mindsets. Philippians 2:5 states, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” The church should share the same mindset, which framed Christ’s obedience and suffering unto death. When Christ spoke to his disciples of his imminent suffering and death in Jerusalem, Peter would not have it: “Never!” To which Christ responded, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matt. 16:23). Christ was not addressing a random thought. He was rebuking the entire orientation of Peter’s thinking, which rose up in hostility to the things of God. Christ named it for what it was. The agenda behind such words, even if unwittingly, fell in league with the devil and represented the same temptation and hindrance that Christ had faced in the desert. It was the same fundamental mindset.

These examples indicate that our mindset is more than having thoughts. It is about the course of our thinking and ultimately the direction of our lives. Paul says that the direction of our mindset should track with the “things that are above.”

Your Heavenly Mindset

Notice how Paul refers to “the things that are above” instead of simply stating “the things that are in heaven,” even though heaven is what he clearly has in view. Neither does he say to set your mind on the future that awaits us, or on “eternal life,” or “the glory that is to be revealed to us”—phrases that Paul uses elsewhere (Rom. 2:7; 6:22; 8:18). What is Paul doing? It would appear that he intends something more than what you and I tend to think of when it comes to heaven. We probably think of heaven primarily, if not exclusively, as a future reality. But here Paul speaks of heaven as a present reality. Heaven is more than the life to come. It is the life we have now. For all who are raised with Christ and seated with him, the core reality of life is above. But what does this mean, practically?

British theologian Harry Blamires poses an interesting question. Is it possible, he asks, that the only difference between a Christian and a secularist is that the Christian believes there is a life to follow and the secularist does not? But when it comes to daily life, the Christian thinks of it and talks about it in exactly the same way as the secularist does—as only material and natural.[2] If you and I regard heaven as only a life in the future, and not one in the present, then our thinking has become untouched by the supernatural. If that is so, then Geerhardus Vos is correct: like Esau, we have sold our “heavenly birthright” for “a mess of earthly pottage.”[3]

To be sure, Scripture does encourage us to think of our future life in heaven and how that future glory should impact the way we live here and now (Rom. 8:17–18; Col. 1:4–5; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; 1 Tim. 6:17–19; James 1:12; 1 Pet. 1:6–7). John Calvin in book three of his Institutes of the Christian Religion, Richard Baxter in The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, and John Owen in Spiritual-Mindedness discuss meditating on the future life as an important aspect of being heavenly-minded. But that does not take in all of Paul’s emphasis here in Colossians (nor all of what Calvin, Baxter, and Owen think). The heavenly mindset that Colossians 3 urges us to maintain is one that sees heaven as the life we have right now. Heaven is not just our life in the world to come. It is our life today in the world above.

This is true because of where Christ is, not just where he will be. Christ is seated at the right hand of God, and from his position of supremacy he rules and directs all things for the sake of his church, which he is building (Eph. 1:22). And yet, his kingdom “is not of this world” (John 18:36). In other words, the church’s head, its center, its charter, its security are all derived from the right hand of majesty in the world above. Everything in your life should be seen from this vantage point. Your source of power, the measure of your priorities, the meaning of your life, the joy in your heart, the disposition of all that you think, desire, and will—all of these derive from where Christ is. Your life is more oriented by heaven than anything on earth. Heaven is more real than earth.[4] It is not just your future rest; it is your present help.

Paul is not alone in regarding this mindset as the way to frame your life. John the Baptist understood that everything he had, including his ministry, was given “from heaven.” Christ is the one “from above,” and his ministry must rise in superiority (John 3:31). In a similar vein, Christ asked the religious authorities, “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” (Matt 21:25). Its power can be traced to its source.[5] When the prodigal son repented of his sin, he saw his life from God’s perspective: “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you” (Luke 15:18). His heavenly-mindedness put first things first. When the seventy disciples returned and told Christ that even demons submitted to them, Christ said he “saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18). Demons were cast out, just as Satan was previously cast out of heaven. They bowed before the power of heaven, which was exerting itself upon the kingdom of darkness. Moreover, Christ told them rather to “rejoice” that their names, which “are written in heaven,” cannot be removed, as Satan was (verse 20).

Hebrews 11 describes faith as that which apprehends the unseen realities of the world above: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).[6] With regard to our forefathers and foremothers listed in Hebrews 11, faith indicates their heavenly mindset.[7] This same mindset provided the flame that ignited the ministries of the Old Testament prophets, fueled by their visions of heaven. Isaiah was shown “the Lord sitting upon a throne” surrounded by the worshiping seraphim (Isa. 6:1–3). Ezekiel beheld the living creatures and wheels within wheels when “the heavens were opened,” and he “saw visions of God” (Ezek. 1:1–21). Daniel revealed God’s interpretation of the kings’ dreams and the handwriting on the wall (Dan. 2:36–45; 4:19–27; 5:17–28). Each of these prophets had a foot in the world unseen and a foot in the world seen.[8] Their calling was to take what they saw and heard in the world above and proclaim it in the world below. They were to help God’s people see themselves as God saw them.

Your Daily Mindset

A heavenly mindset impacts the way we walk as Christians in our daily lives. We are opposed all around. Besides our own sin and the world, we have a living enemy, whose power and subtlety is unequaled among all creatures. His subordinates are considerable, whether of the unseen rulers and authorities or of the multitude of lying spirits in the mouths of false teachers. The Christian, armed with a heavenly mindset, understands that he or she is presently engaged in a great spiritual conflict. While Scripture comforts us with the final victory that Christ will win when he comes in glory, it also warns us of the spiritual dangers that confront us before he returns.

The Bible’s most explicit passage regarding the nature of spiritual warfare, Ephesians 6:10–20, affirms this. We are exhorted to put on the armor of God in order to take our stand against the enemy. Why?

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. (v. 12)

Do you see how Paul puts it? He wrote, “this present darkness.” The spiritual rulers and cosmic powers that oppose us are a present danger. We do not prepare for a battle in the distant future. We fight against the kingdom of darkness in this life. The entire universe is split right down the middle between two spiritual forces that are in conflict.[9] This battle is always raging. These kingdoms are always striving. The casualties are always rising. Every day we contend for Christ—for his kingdom, his people, his name, and his glory against a present enemy. Every day we put on our armor of truth, righteousness, readiness, faith, and salvation and the sword of the Spirit; all of which we put on with prayer.

Prayer is both the proof and the vitality of a heavenly mindset. Prayer proves that we truly see our life through the eyes of faith. It is the spiritual habit of an alert believer, who sees as they should—and seeks the things above as they should. Prayer shows that you are awake. It is no accident that prayer is often placed side by side with the exhortation to “be alert,” “stay awake,” or “watch out” (Matt. 26:41; Luke 21:36; Eph. 6:18; see also 1 Pet. 4:7). Neglecting prayer suggests earthly-mindedness. Practicing prayer manifests heavenly-mindedness.

But prayer is also a means of grace by which God helps us to adopt a heavenly mindset and to see as God sees. Prayer is the lifeblood of faith, as it longs for the refreshment that comes from communing with God in his grace and truth. Our life is “hidden” in Christ (Col. 3:3), and in prayer we seize upon the things that are hidden above with him. Things hidden are unseen. Things hidden are secure. It is so in our union with Christ. That bond is sometimes veiled by sin, doubts, the voices of the world, suffering, or prayerlessness. But it is not hidden from the eyes of faith. Prayer lays hold—even if feebly—of the benefits of being united to an exalted Savior, who has all things at his disposal.

Having Died to Sin’s Power, Including Its Mindset

It is in prayer that we act upon our faith and confront the temptation to retreat into a secular mindset with its unbelief. As we make known to God our anxious concerns, his peace guards our hearts and nurtures a mind that is set upon Christ. The Spirit testifies to our spirit that we have died to sin’s reigning power over us, including its mindset. Our lives no longer find meaning nor direction from the earthly things we once loved and did. We have died to such things with Christ, and we have been raised with Christ to walk in forgiveness, acceptance, holiness, faith, and power. Prayer looks to that power for a life set on a trajectory toward our heavenly home. Prayer is not just a sweet respite from the busyness of the world. It also renews us and encourages us to see as God sees. The most quietly whispered prayer takes its stand on the rock of Christ. All the spiritual forces of the present darkness oppose Christ, but they cannot withstand our exalted King, nor can they separate us from the love that binds us to him. Prayer brings these spiritual realities into focus.

Every Lord’s Day, our worship of God through prayer, along with the rest of the means of grace, offers a preview of our heavenly home. The reading and preaching of God’s Word lifts up our hearts to things above. The Lord’s Supper offers a foretaste of the wedding supper of the Lamb. But the singing of God’s people in public worship (which John Calvin regarded as sung prayers) uniquely anticipates the corporate worship of angels and glorified men and women in the immediate presence of God. Those corporate prayers of song are received in heaven now, as a sweet fragrance before God’s throne in honor of the one in whose name they are offered. The Lord’s Day is not just a foretaste of heaven; it is a taste of the heavenly powers that prevail upon our hearts right now. We gather in God’s presence by faith, and God gathers in our presence by his Spirit. He who is our eternal life is our existing life. We do not see him now. But we love him, believe in him, and rejoice in him. It is our mindset. We are learning to see ourselves as God sees us.

Endnotes

[1] Richard Sibbes, The Works of Richard Sibbes (Banner of Truth Trust, 1973), 1.87.

[2] Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind (Servant Ministries, 1978), 69–70.

[3] Geerhardus Vos, Grace and Glory (Banner of Truth Trust, 1994), 119.

[4] Paul S. Minear, To Heal and to Reveal (Crossroad, 1976), 48.

[5] Minear, 37.

[6] Vos, 104.

[7] Vos, 108.

[8] My friend Zach Keele suggested this train of thought to me.

[9] Blamires, 86.

The author, an OP minister, is professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary California. New Horizons, June 2023.