Hidden with Christ

When we are first confronted with the cross, we tend to recoil. But the cross of Jesus is the door to a secret place that no animal can find, no bird can see, and all the rest of creation does not know (see Job 28:7–8). It is in the spiritual realm. Paul said:

“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.” (Colossians 3:1–4, NIV)

The key phrase, “your life is now hidden with Christ in God,” is not talking about the next world, but the here and now. Being hidden with Christ in God means being in the secret place. The secret is that when Jesus died, He did not die for Himself; He died for us as our representative, taking our guilt and condemnation on Himself.

Based on our understanding by faith in Scripture, we know that when Jesus died and was raised, we died and were raised. We passed through death into a realm the senses cannot discern and creatures do not perceive. We are in Christ, and we are in God; nothing can reach us unless it comes through God and through Christ. We are here in the flesh, but our lives are not in this visible world. We may go through many difficulties and pressures in these clay vessels, but we have a life that is eternal, incorruptible, and indestructible. This is total security. No matter what comes, in Christ we are in the secret place of the Most High, protected from all harm and all danger (see Psalm 91:1–2). And the door to the secret place is the cross.