If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
To fully set one's affection (mind RV) on things above can only be possible if one is truly born again of the Holy Spirit, for how could it be otherwise? James says there is such a thing as a double minded man who is unstable in all this ways (Jam. 1.8) such an one could never fully set his mind on seeking the kingdom of God, he would be like Lot's wife, looking back at the things which are seen (2 Cor. 4.18) for of these, the apostle goes on to say for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things that are not seen are eternal. It can only take the eye of faith to believe this, for the earth is tangible and has a sense of permanence about it; the vast majority of 'educated' people think it to be billions of years old! Hebrews 11.1 says Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. But, what are the things not seen? well, for one thing, we cannot see them, this is why we need faith which is the gift of God, Eph. 2.8, for all men have not faith, 2 Thess. 3.2. The true believer is dead with Christ, Col. 2.20, he knows that Christ died for him, his affections are on things above, the apostle described these things in an ethereal way that we can only apprehend through faith; Eye hath not see, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. 1 Cor. 2.9. Paul was caught up to the third heaven...caught up into paradise (2.Cor. 12.2-4) where he heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter, yet how often do we hear of professing Christians who 'have' been to heaven and back and written of what they have seen and heard? Rom. 8.4 informs us that we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? Those who make such claims then have nothing to hope for, do they? for they claim to have already seen Him! what then of that blessed hope Titus 2.13? its future tense loses all meaning!
The fashion of this world passeth away 1 Cor 7.31, 1 John 2.17, and of the earth it is written that the works that are therein shall be burned up. 2 Pet. 3.10. The believer should not put his hope in this present world, he should lay up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Matt. 6.20. The world will set us off course if we cling to it, for whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Jam. 4.4.
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