Colossians 3
The chapter in full, then what it says, what the Greek or Hebrew decides, and where readers have disagreed.
Colossians 3 WEB
- 1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.
- 2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
- 4 When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.
- 5 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
- 6 For these things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience.
- 7 You also once walked in those, when you lived in them,
- 8 but now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth.
- 9 Don't lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,
- 10 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator,
- 11 where there can't be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all, and in all.
- 12 Put on therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;
- 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
- 14 Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
- 15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful.
- 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.
- 17 Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
- 18 Wives, be in subjection to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
- 19 Husbands, love your wives, and don't be bitter against them.
- 20 Children, obey your parents in all things, for this pleases the Lord.
- 21 Fathers, don't provoke your children, so that they won't be discouraged.
- 22 Servants, obey in all things those who are your masters according to the flesh, not just when they are looking, as men pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God.
- 23 And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
- 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
- 25 But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done, and there is no partiality.
What is happening
Colossians was written by Paul, most likely from prison, to a congregation in a small city in Asia Minor he had probably never visited. Chapter 2 has just spent itself refuting a rival teaching that mixed ascetic rules, angel-veneration, and philosophical "elemental" religion — a threat Paul answers not by arguing point for point but by insisting that believers have already died and been raised with Christ (2:20, echoed at the start of ch. 3), so no further ritual system can add to what they already possess. Chapter 3 is where that theology turns into ethics. It divides cleanly: verses 1–4 state the theological ground (union with the risen Christ), 5–11 name what must be put off, 12–17 name what must be put on, and 18–25 apply all of it to the concrete relationships of a first-century household — wives and husbands, children and fathers, slaves and masters.
The passage, walked through
The chapter opens on a conditional that isn't really in doubt: "If then you were raised together with Christ" (3:1) — the Greek verb συνηγέρθητε is an aorist passive, a completed event done to the reader, not an aspiration. Because that has already happened, the imperative follows: "seek the things that are above... set your mind on the things that are above" (3:1–2). The verb in verse 2, φρονεῖτε, is not mere thinking but settled orientation — the whole cast of the mind, not an occasional glance upward. The reason is given starkly: "you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (3:3). This is not otherworldly escapism; the rest of the chapter proves that "seeking what is above" cashes out in how one speaks to a spouse or treats a slave. Verse 4 adds the horizon: when Christ "is revealed" (φανερωθῇ), so will the believer be, "in glory."
Verses 5–9 name the old life to be killed, not managed: "Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth" — νεκρώσατε, a violent verb, matching Paul's own image of the old self already crucified. The list — "sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry" (3:5) — culminates in that last identification: greed is not merely a vice but idol-worship, because it makes provision the object of ultimate trust. Verse 8 turns from sins of the body to sins of the tongue: "anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking." The imagery is of clothing — "put them all away" (ἀπόθεσθε) in 3:8, "put off the old man" (ἀπεκδυσάμενοι) in 3:9, "put on the new man" (ἐνδυσάμενοι) in 3:10 — stripping and dressing, a baptismal picture (candidates in the early church literally removed old clothes and put on new at baptism). The new self "is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator" (3:10), and this renewal erases the era's deepest divisions: "there can't be Greek and Jew... but Christ is all, and in all" (3:11). That claim does not abolish the social categories named in verses 18–25; it relativizes their ultimate significance under Christ's lordship.
Verses 12–17 are the positive wardrobe: "a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance" (3:12), forgiveness modeled on Christ's own ("even as Christ forgave you," 3:13), and love as "the bond of perfection" (σύνδεσμος τῆς τελειότητος, 3:14) — the cord that holds every other virtue together. "Let the peace of Christ rule" (3:15) uses a verb, βραβευέτω, drawn from the umpire at an athletic contest — peace is to arbitrate every dispute in the community. Verse 16, "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly," ties teaching, admonition, and singing together as one activity, not three. Verse 17 summarizes: "whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus."
Verses 18–25 apply this to the household — wives, husbands, children, fathers, slaves. Each instruction is paired with a check on its abuse: husbands are told not merely to be loved but to love and "don't be bitter" (3:19); fathers are warned "don't provoke your children" (3:21); masters are implicitly reminded slaves too "serve the Lord Christ" (3:24) and God shows "no partiality" (3:25) — a warning aimed as much at those with power as those without it.
Where readers have disagreed
The household code (3:18–4:1, cut off here at 3:25) is the chapter's genuine crux. Readers disagree on how far the instruction to wives is meant as a timeless pattern versus a first-century form of address shaped by household structures Paul is Christianizing rather than inventing — the text itself gives the qualifier "as is fitting in the Lord" (3:18), which some read as limiting the command's scope and others as simply describing its motive. The slave/master material raises the same question in sharper form: Paul regulates the relation without abolishing it, and interpreters differ over whether that regulation is meant to subvert the institution from within (given 3:11's "Christ is all, and in all") or simply to Christianize conduct within an assumed structure.
What it asks of a reader
The chapter presses a single unglamorous claim: a settled identity ("you died... your life is hidden with Christ," 3:3) is not proven in private conviction but in the concrete, often tedious traffic of speech, anger, forgiveness, and household duty. Nothing here is abstract. Owen's summary of the same logic, though written of a different text, states the stakes plainly: "Be killing sin, or it will be killing you." The chapter gives the same choice no other way to make: put to death, or be put to death by, what belongs to "the earth" — and put on, deliberately, what belongs to the life already hidden with Christ.
The verses this turns on
If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Εἰ οὖν συνηγέρθητε τῷ Χριστῷ, τὰ ἄνω ζητεῖτε, οὗ ὁ Χριστός ἐστιν ἐν δεξιᾷ τοῦ Θεοῦ καθήμενος·
- Εἰ εἰ conditional G1487
- οὖν οὖν conjunction G3767
- συνηγέρθητε συνεγείρω verb · aorist passive indicative, 2nd person plural G4891
- τῷ ὁ article · dative singular masculine G3588
- Χριστῷ, Χριστός noun · dative singular masculine G5547
- τὰ ὁ article · accusative plural neuter G3588
- ἄνω ἄνω adverb G507
- ζητεῖτε, ζητέω verb · present active imperative, 2nd person plural G2212
- οὗ οὗ adverb G3757
- ὁ ὁ article · nominative singular masculine G3588
- Χριστός Χριστός noun · nominative singular masculine G5547
- ἐστιν εἰμί verb · present active indicative, 3rd person singular G1510
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Romans 8:6 For the mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace;
- Matthew 6:33 But seek first God's Kingdom and his righteousness; and all these things will be given to you as well.
- 2 Corinthians 4:18 while we don't look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
- Colossians 3:2-3 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
- Matthew 6:20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consume, and where thieves don't break through and steal;
Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Νεκρώσατε οὖν τὰ μέλη τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, πορνείαν, ἀκαθαρσίαν, πάθος, ἐπιθυμίαν κακήν, καὶ τὴν πλεονεξίαν ἥτις ἐστὶν εἰδωλολατρεία,
- Νεκρώσατε νεκρόω verb · aorist active imperative, 2nd person plural G3499
- οὖν οὖν conjunction G3767
- τὰ ὁ article · accusative plural neuter G3588
- μέλη μέλος noun · accusative plural neuter G3196
- τὰ ὁ article · accusative plural neuter G3588
- ἐπὶ ἐπί preposition G1909
- τῆς ὁ article · genitive singular feminine G3588
- γῆς, γῆ noun · genitive singular feminine G1093
- πορνείαν, πορνεία noun · accusative singular feminine G4202
- ἀκαθαρσίαν, ἀκαθαρσία noun · accusative singular feminine G167
- πάθος, πάθος noun · accusative singular neuter G3806
- ἐπιθυμίαν ἐπιθυμία noun · accusative singular feminine G1939
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Romans 8:13 For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
- Galatians 5:19 Now the deeds of the flesh are obvious, which are: adultery, sexual immorality, uncleanness, lustfulness,
- Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
- 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
- Romans 6:12-14 Therefore don't let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin will not have dominion over you. For you are not under law, but under grace.
but now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
νυνὶ δὲ ἀπόθεσθε καὶ ὑμεῖς τὰ πάντα, ὀργήν, θυμόν, κακίαν, βλασφημίαν, αἰσχρολογίαν ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν·
- νυνὶ νυνί adverb G3570
- δὲ δέ conjunction G1161
- ἀπόθεσθε ἀποτίθημι verb · aorist middle imperative, 2nd person plural G659
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- ὑμεῖς σύ personal pronoun G4771
- τὰ ὁ article · accusative plural neuter G3588
- πάντα, πᾶς adjective · accusative plural neuter G3956
- ὀργήν, ὀργή noun · accusative singular feminine G3709
- θυμόν, θυμός noun · accusative singular masculine G2372
- κακίαν, κακία noun · accusative singular feminine G2549
- βλασφημίαν, βλασφημία noun · accusative singular feminine G988
- αἰσχρολογίαν αἰσχρολογία noun · accusative singular feminine G148
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
- Ephesians 4:22 that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit,
- James 1:19-20 So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man doesn't produce the righteousness of God.
- Ephesians 5:4 nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not appropriate, but rather giving of thanks.
- Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
Don't lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
μὴ ψεύδεσθε εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἀπεκδυσάμενοι τὸν παλαιὸν ἄνθρωπον σὺν ταῖς πράξεσιν αὐτοῦ,
- μὴ μή particle · nominative G3361
- ψεύδεσθε ψεύδομαι verb · present middle or passive deponent imperative, 2nd person plural G5574
- εἰς εἰς preposition G1519
- ἀλλήλους, ἀλλήλων reciprocal pronoun · accusative plural masculine G240
- ἀπεκδυσάμενοι ἀπεκδύομαι verb · aorist middle deponent participle, nominative plural masculine G554
- τὸν ὁ article · accusative singular masculine G3588
- παλαιὸν παλαιός adjective · accusative singular masculine G3820
- ἄνθρωπον ἄνθρωπος noun · accusative singular masculine G444
- σὺν σύν preposition G4862
- ταῖς ὁ article · dative plural feminine G3588
- πράξεσιν πρᾶξις noun · dative plural feminine G4234
- αὐτοῦ, αὐτός personal pronoun · genitive singular masculine G846
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Ephesians 4:22 that you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit,
- Ephesians 4:25 Therefore, putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.
- Leviticus 19:11 "'You shall not steal. "'You shall not lie. "'You shall not deceive one another.
- Romans 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be in bondage to sin.
- John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and doesn't stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.
and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator,discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
καὶ ἐνδυσάμενοι τὸν νέον τὸν ἀνακαινούμενον εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν κατ’ εἰκόνα τοῦ κτίσαντος αὐτόν,
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- ἐνδυσάμενοι ἐνδύω verb · aorist middle participle, nominative plural masculine G1746
- τὸν ὁ article · accusative singular masculine G3588
- νέον νέος adjective · accusative singular masculine G3501
- τὸν ὁ article · accusative singular masculine G3588
- ἀνακαινούμενον ἀνακαινόω verb · present middle or passive participle, accusative singular masculine G341
- εἰς εἰς preposition G1519
- ἐπίγνωσιν ἐπίγνωσις noun · accusative singular feminine G1922
- κατ’ κατά preposition G2596
- εἰκόνα εἰκών noun · accusative singular feminine G1504
- τοῦ ὁ article · genitive singular masculine G3588
- κτίσαντος κτίζω verb · aorist active participle, genitive singular masculine G2936
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Ephesians 4:23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
- Romans 12:2 Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
- Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;
- Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
where there can't be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all, and in all.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
ὅπου οὐκ ἔνι Ἕλλην καὶ Ἰουδαῖος, περιτομὴ καὶ ἀκροβυστία, βάρβαρος, Σκύθης, δοῦλος, ἐλεύθερος, ἀλλὰ πάντα καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν Χριστός.
- ὅπου ὅπου adverb G3699
- οὐκ οὐ particle · nominative G3756
- ἔνι ἔνι verb · present active indicative, 3rd person singular G1762
- Ἕλλην Ἕλλην noun · nominative singular masculine G1672
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- Ἰουδαῖος, Ἰουδαῖος adjective · nominative singular masculine G2453
- περιτομὴ περιτομή noun · nominative singular feminine G4061
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- ἀκροβυστία, ἀκροβυστία noun · nominative singular feminine G203
- βάρβαρος, βάρβαρος adjective · nominative singular masculine G915
- Σκύθης, Σκύθης noun · nominative singular masculine G4658
- δοῦλος, δοῦλος (II) noun · nominative singular masculine G1401
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Galatians 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
- 1 Corinthians 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free; and were all given to drink into one Spirit.
- Romans 10:12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him.
- Ephesians 3:6 that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in Christ Jesus through the Good News,
- Ephesians 1:23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
Put on therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
Ἐνδύσασθε οὖν, ὡς ἐκλεκτοὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἅγιοι καὶ ἠγαπημένοι, σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ, χρηστότητα, ταπεινοφροσύνην, πραΰτητα, μακροθυμίαν,
- Ἐνδύσασθε ἐνδύω verb · aorist middle imperative, 2nd person plural G1746
- οὖν, οὖν conjunction G3767
- ὡς ὡς adverb G5613
- ἐκλεκτοὶ ἐκλεκτός adjective · nominative plural masculine G1588
- τοῦ ὁ article · genitive singular masculine G3588
- Θεοῦ θεός noun · genitive singular masculine G2316
- ἅγιοι ἅγιος adjective · nominative plural masculine G40
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- ἠγαπημένοι, ἀγαπάω verb · perfect passive participle, nominative plural masculine G25
- σπλάγχνα σπλάγχνον noun · accusative plural neuter G4698
- οἰκτιρμοῦ, οἰκτιρμός noun · genitive singular masculine G3628
- χρηστότητα, χρηστότης noun · accusative singular feminine G5544
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
- Ephesians 4:2 with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
- 1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.
- 2 Peter 1:5 Yes, and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge;
- Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.discussed above
Greek Nestle 1904
ἀνεχόμενοι ἀλλήλων καὶ χαριζόμενοι ἑαυτοῖς, ἐάν τις πρός τινα ἔχῃ μομφήν· καθὼς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐχαρίσατο ὑμῖν οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς·
- ἀνεχόμενοι ἀνέχω verb · present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative plural masculine G430
- ἀλλήλων ἀλλήλων reciprocal pronoun · genitive plural masculine G240
- καὶ καί conjunction G2532
- χαριζόμενοι χαρίζομαι verb · present middle or passive deponent participle, nominative plural masculine G5483
- ἑαυτοῖς, ἑαυτοῦ reflexive pronoun G1438
- ἐάν ἐάν conditional G1437
- τις τὶς indefinite pronoun · nominative singular masculine G5100
- πρός πρός preposition G4314
- τινα τὶς indefinite pronoun · accusative singular masculine G5100
- ἔχῃ ἔχω verb · present active subjunctive, 3rd person singular G2192
- μομφήν· μομφή noun · accusative singular feminine G3437
- καθὼς καθώς adverb G2531
Punctuation is editorial — the manuscripts carry none.
See also 5
- Ephesians 4:31-32 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, outcry, and slander be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving each other, just as God also in Christ forgave you.
- Mark 11:25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father, who is in heaven, may also forgive you your transgressions.
- James 2:13 For judgment is without mercy to him who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
- Ephesians 4:2 with all lowliness and humility, with patience, bearing with one another in love,
- Matthew 6:14 "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
From the interpretive tradition
The glory of God is a living man; and the life of man consists in beholding God.
Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.