Colossians 3:1-4

1. Fellowship with the Exalted Christ the Motive for the New Life.

This section is closely joined in thought with what precedes; hence some regard it as the conclusion of the polemical portion of the Epistle. But it is better to take it as the beginning of the hortatory part. Fellowship with the death of Christ presents an enforcement of the previous warnings; but fellowship with the Exalted Christ is the great motive to vital sanctification. The ‘flesh' can be overcome, not by human prohibitions, but by this vital connection with Christ. The folly of angel worship is implied, but the main purpose is, by showing that Christian living depends on fellowship with Christ, to present a motive for the subsequent exhortations.