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You Are Dead and Your Life is Hid with Christ in God

A few years back a new TV show came on the screen and captivated millions of people. I don’t know if you ever heard of it and watched it. It was called The Walking Dead. The following articles tell us what this was all about.

THE WALKING DEAD (TV SERIES)

The Walking Dead is an American post-apocalyptic horror drama television series based on the comic book series of the same name by Robert Kirkman, Tony Moore, and Charlie Adlard—together forming the core of The Walking Dead franchise…

Series overview

Main article: List of The Walking Dead episodes

[The Walking Dead] takes place after the onset of a worldwide zombie apocalypse. The [zombies referred to as “walkers,”] shamble toward living humans and other creatures to eat them; they are attracted to noise, such as gunshots, [and different scents, e.g.,] humans. Although it initially seems that only humans that are bitten or scratched by walkers can turn into other walkers, [it’s] revealed early in the series that all living humans carry the pathogen responsible for the mutation. The mutation is activated after the death of the pathogen's host, and the only way to permanently kill a walker is to damage its brain or destroy the body entirely, such as by cremating it.

The series centers on sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes, who wakes up from a coma. While in a coma, the world has been taken over by walkers. He becomes the leader of a group of survivors from the Atlanta, Georgia, region as they attempt to sustain and protect themselves not only against attacks by walkers but by other groups of survivors willing to use any means necessary to stay alive.166

Zombie [Apocalypse]

Origins

The myth of the zombie originated in Haiti in the 17th and 18th centuries when African slaves were brought in to work on sugar plantations under the rule of France. The slaves believed that if they ended their own lives by [suicide, they’d] be condemned to spend eternity trapped in their own bodies as the undead. This myth evolved in the Voodoo religion into the Haitian belief that corpses were reanimated by shamans.167 The zombie concept eventually infiltrated western culture with the publication of the first example of zombie fiction in 1927, which was a book titled The Magic Island written by William Seabrook.168

Based on what we just read, another word we could use to characterize these people is called the undead. This word refers to someone [who’s] no longer alive but animated by a supernatural force, as a vampire or zombie.169 Did you know that in Christ you are also dead? However, you are also alive. This doesn’t seem to make sense, but it does. Let’s find out what this is all about. Please go to the book of Colossians.

Colossians 3:3-4

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

The Apostle Paul conveyed to the Colossians believers that they are dead. It’s obvious that this doesn’t mean physical death as they were yet alive when he spoke to them. The word dead in Koine Greek means so far as your spiritual being is concerned, you died which means you were separated from the former life and everything of an evil nature that pertained to it.170 And their new life (true life; risen life) is hid (concealed; has not yet been revealed) with Christ in God. However, when Christ does return to the earth, you shall be with Him.

In your position with Christ, your old life no longer exists. You’re, in fact, a new creation. You’re no longer the person you used to be. Yes, you will be reminded of this or that by your memories, your friends, family, etc. However, your new spiritual life is no longer in the sphere of the earthly and sensual but is with the life of the risen Christ.171

So, set your mind to learn and apply all the things of Christ, e.g., His person and work, the foundational teachings of the Christian faith, and the divine truths about how we should think differently about ourselves, others, and the circumstances of life so that the reality of your past life having ended will become more evident.

This concludes our study of becoming aware of all the blessings that have taken place in the spirit of your life when you responded to the gospel of Christ. Whatever these blessings declare, God sees you as such. They’re irrevocable. There’s nothing you, someone, or something else could do to remove any of them from you. So, be thankful and remind yourself of them from time to time.

What I’d like to do now is leave you with some closing words.

Endnotes

166“The Walking Dead (TV series)” Wikipedia 06 February 2023

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167Mariani, Mike (October 28, 2015). “The Tragic, Forgotten History of Zombies,” The Atlantic. Retrieved November 2, 2022.

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168“Zombie apocalypse,” Wikipedia 06 February 2023

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169Dictionary.com.

170Weust’s Word Studies.

171Vincent's Word Studies.