📖 Passage
Colossians 3:1–11 🔗 Read in NKJV
🌅 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 🎯 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. ⚰️ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ✨ When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. 🔥 Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. ⚡ Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, 💭 in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them. ❌ But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 🙊 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 👕 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
> 🤝 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
🧠 Context & Background
- Transition: Paul moves from theology (Ch. 1–2) to ethics (Ch. 3–4). Doctrine births devotion.
- Identity Before Morality: Christian living flows from who we are in Christ, not what we achieve.
- Cultural Challenge: Colossae’s culture celebrated sensuality, anger, and social division — Paul calls believers to reflect their heavenly citizenship.
- Christ Our Life: This is not metaphorical — believers’ true identity is hidden and secure in Him.
🌿 Key Themes
- Resurrection Living 🌅: Since we are raised with Christ, our desires must ascend too.
- Renewed Focus 🎯: The mind must be reoriented toward eternal priorities.
- Old Self Crucified ⚰️: Sin’s reign is broken, though its presence remains.
- New Self Renewed ✨: Sanctification is continual transformation into Christ’s likeness.
- Unity in Christ 🤝: Earthly distinctions vanish in the kingdom — Christ is all and in all.
📜 Verse-by-Verse Commentary
3:1–4 — Raised with Christ
“Seek those things which are above…”
- Heavenly Mindset 🌅: Our perspective must match our position — raised with Christ.
- Hidden Life ⚰️: The world cannot see our true life, but it will be revealed at Christ’s appearing.
- Christ Our Life ✨: The believer’s security and destiny are entirely bound up in Him.
3:5–7 — Death to the Old Nature
“Put to death your members…”
- Radical Mortification 🔥: Sin is not managed — it must be killed.
- Covetousness = Idolatry: Greed dethrones God for gain.
- Former Walk 💭: Paul reminds them that grace saved them from wrath’s path.
3:8–10 — Putting Off and Putting On
“But now you yourselves are to put off…”
- Sanctification in Action 👕: Like changing garments, the believer discards the old life.
- Lying 🙊: Falsehood undermines unity and truth’s witness.
- Renewal ✨: Growth is not instant but progressive — we are being conformed to the image of the Creator.
3:11 — Unity in the New Humanity
“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew…”
- Cultural Barriers Broken 🤝: In the new humanity, all are equal at the cross.
- Christ is All: The gospel doesn’t erase identity but reorients it around Christ’s supremacy.
🔍 Trusted Insight
“The believer’s gaze determines the believer’s growth. Look downward, and you’ll despair. Look inward, and you’ll grow proud. Look upward to Christ, and you’ll be transformed.” — A.W. Tozer
Summary: Sanctification begins in the mind, flows through the heart, and manifests in daily obedience.
🌍 Worldview & Common Objections
💭 Objection 1: “It’s impossible to live a holy life in this world.”
Paul reminds us that holiness is not human achievement but resurrection power working within.
➡️ Worldview correction: Holiness is not separation from the world’s presence but transformation in its midst.
⚙️ Objection 2: “I was born this way—I can’t change.”
The gospel declares that the old man died with Christ. Identity is no longer defined by nature or nurture but by new birth.
➡️ Worldview correction: In Christ, transformation replaces resignation — regeneration rewrites identity.
🕊️ Objection 3: “Religion divides people.”
Paul affirms the opposite — in Christ, all divisions dissolve. True unity is not found in sameness but in shared salvation.
➡️ Worldview correction: The gospel doesn’t erase diversity; it harmonizes it under the lordship of Christ.
🌅 Summary Thought
Sanctification is the art of remembering who you already are in Christ. We live heavenward lives not to earn acceptance but because we already have it.
🧩 Review Questions
- What does it mean to set your mind on things above?
- How does Paul describe the process of putting off and putting on?
- Why does covetousness qualify as idolatry?
- How does Christ’s supremacy unify believers across differences?
📘 Definitions
- Mortification: The Spirit-empowered process of putting sin to death.
- Renewal: Ongoing transformation by the knowledge of Christ.
- Hidden Life: The believer’s secure and unseen union with Christ.
- Sanctification: Growth in holiness through grace-driven effort.
❤️🔥 Application
- Renew your focus 🎯 — begin each day fixing your heart on eternal realities.
- Kill sin 🔥 — don’t negotiate with what Christ died to destroy.
- Clothe yourself 👕 — wear the virtues of the new life.
- Pursue unity 🤝 — see every believer as Christ’s reflection.
🔤 Greek Keywords
- ζητέω (zēteō) — to seek diligently or crave after.
- νεκρόω (nekroō) — to put to death.
- ἀνακαινόω (anakainoō) — to renew or make new again.
- εἰκών (eikōn) — image, referring to God’s restoration of His likeness in man.
🔗 Cross References
- Romans 6:11 — Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God.
- Philippians 3:20-21 — Our citizenship is in heaven.
- 2 Corinthians 3:18 — We are transformed from glory to glory.
- Ephesians 4:22-24 — Put off the old man; put on the new.
- John 17:17 — Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth.