The Life of the New Man
1 So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. i 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. j 3 For you died, k and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, l then you also will appear with him in glory. m
5 Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, n lust, o evil desire, and greed, p which is idolatry. q 6 Because of these, God’s wrath r is coming upon the disobedient, 7 and you once walked in these things when you were living s in them. 8 But now, put away t all the following: anger, u wrath, v malice, w slander, x and filthy language from your mouth. y 9 Do not lie z to one another, since you have put off a the old self b with its practices 10 and have put on c the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. d 11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free; but Christ is all and in all. e
The Christian Life
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and dearly loved, f put on compassion, kindness, g humility, h gentleness, i and patience, j 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a grievance against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you are also to forgive. k 14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called l in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name m of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Christ in Your Home
18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. n 19 Husbands, o love your wives p and don’t be bitter q toward them. 20 Children, r obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, s do not exasperate t your children, so that they won’t become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey your human u masters in everything. Don’t work only while being watched, as people-pleasers, but work wholeheartedly, fearing the Lord. v 23 Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, w 24 knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer x will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favoritism.
D. Set your heart and mind on things above (3:1–4:6). 3:1–4. Paul described the death and resurrection of Christ in 2:12, and in 2:20–23 he detailed the ramifications of Christ’s death for believers. Now in 3:1–4 he expands on the implications of Christ’s resurrection. Both 2:20 and 3:1 begin with the same Greek phrase translated “if” or “since,” suggesting that the instructions are two sides of the same coin. Just as the death of Christ demolished once and for all the world’s wisdom and values, so too the resurrection of Christ confirms the future glory awaiting the saints (3:4). The gospel message must embrace both aspects of the cross—its past victory over sin and the future glory when Christ returns.
3:5–7. Paul exhorts the Colossians to “put to death” all that is connected to this world (3:5a). Does this statement contradict what he insisted on in 3:3? No, for in 3:5 Paul elaborates how this death in Christ can be actualized in their daily lives. As Christians, the Colossians no longer need take the bait of sin. Freed from that compulsion, believers can reject all those behaviors that alienate them from each other and from God.
3:8–9. A second list of sins pivots on anger (3:8). Once again Paul moves from the most public demonstration of anger—rage—to the more subtle forms of anger, such as slander. In all cases, what comes from the mouth sullies the person. Paul is quite concerned about lying (3:9). Truth telling should be characteristic of those who live in Christ, who is God’s truth to us. Since we image Christ, the fully human being, we must be truthful (3:10). By following his charge against lying with the emphatic claim that social, racial, and ethnic differences should not divide the people of God (3:11), Paul reveals that lying is not simply a private matter but could infect the entire community.
3:10–17. Paul promises that the believer’s new self is being renewed “in knowledge according to the image of your Creator” (3:10). A similar sentiment is expressed in Rm 12:2, where the believers are to renounce this world and be transformed by renewing their minds (see also 2 Co 4:16). Christ is the image of the invisible God (Col 1:15), and Paul’s claim in 3:10 indicates that, in Christ, humanity has been restored to fullness and completeness. Paul was clearly thinking of the entire church, rather than the individual, because he goes on to describe the body of Christ as one, not disparate ethnic and social groups (3:11). Unlike the philosophy, which stressed private visions and competitive asceticism, Paul stresses the unity of the Christian community (3:12–17).
3:18. After encouraging the Colossians to pursue peace in their community, Paul applies the truth of the gospel to the household (3:18–4:1). What one does in the privacy of one’s most intimate relationships will reveal whether the “new self” is living up to its full potential. (For more background, see the article “The Greco-Roman Family and the Household of God”; see also the article “Household Codes” in Ephesians.) Paul is concerned here not about social and legal codes but about relationships lived in the covenant of love in Christ. [The Greco‐Roman Family and the Household of God]
3:19. Paul turns to husbands with the command to love their wives. His choice of verb, agapaō (related to agapē), alerts his readers that he is speaking of the type of love characterized by Christ’s self-giving on the cross (e.g., Rm 8:37). Paul’s recipe for harmony in the marriage is that the love that unites the church should bind husband and wife. Paul also speaks to husbands to resist bitterness. Husbands might feel cheated by having to love their wives sacrificially, since the society taught that husbands were owed respect and devotion. Paul insists that they resist becoming bitter against their wives if such cultural expectations are not met.
3:20–21. Paul’s charge to children (3:20) echoes the fifth commandment (Ex 20:12), which promises that those who honor parents will have a long life. In the ancient world (and in many cultures today) the child’s obedience and honor due his or her parents continued until the parents’ death. Given that, Paul is careful to warn fathers against abusing their authority (3:21; cf. his warnings against abusive speech in 3:8).
3:22–4:1. The most extensive discussion is that of slave and master. Even as children are to obey their parents in all things, so too slaves are to obey their masters (3:22). Paul would not expect either children or slaves to obey an order that contradicted God’s teachings. Nor is Paul condoning the institution of slavery. Rather, he is explaining to slaves how they can be faithful in the midst of their servitude. Paul declares that they are slaves of Christ (3:24), a label he uses for himself. He enjoins them to work as though the Lord himself is their master, and such efforts will be rewarded with an inheritance (3:23–24), something no slave could expect from a human master. Moreover, justice will be meted out; the Lord will fairly judge situations and render appropriate rewards and punishment (3:25). This is comforting news to those whose situation might render them voiceless (1 Pt 2:19–20; Gn 39:11–20).