Living as Those Made Alive in Christ
3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your [Some manuscripts our] life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.[Some early manuscripts coming on those who are disobedient] 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Instructions for Christian Households
18 Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.
21 Fathers,[Or Parents] do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.
22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. 25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for their wrongs, and there is no favoritism.
NOTES:
3:1–4 By retaining the message of the gospel that the risen,
living Christ is the source of their salvation, the Colossians will be free
from false religious evaluations of the things of the world (Col 3:1–2). They
have died to these; but one day when Christ…appears, they will live with Christ
in the presence of God (Col 3:3–4).
3:5–17 In lieu of false asceticism and superstitious
festivals, the apostle reminds the Colossians of the moral life that is to
characterize their response to God through Christ. He urges their participation
in the liturgical hymns and prayers that center upon God’s plan of salvation in
Christ (Col 3:16).
3:5, 8 The two lists of five vices each are similar to
enumerations at Rom 1:29–31 and Gal 5:19–21.
3:6 The wrath of God: see note on Rom 1:18. Many manuscripts
add, as at Eph 5:6, “upon the disobedient.”
3:8–10 Put…away; have taken off; have put on: the terms may
reflect baptismal practice, taking off garments and putting on new ones after
being united with Christ, here translated into ethical terms.
3:10 Image: see note on Col 1:15.
3:11 Scythian: a barbarous people from north of the Black
Sea.
3:18–4:6 After general recommendations that connect family
life and the social condition of slavery with the service of Christ (Col
3:18–4:1), Paul requests prayers for himself, especially in view of his
imprisonment (Col 3:2–3), and recommends friendly relations and meaningful
discussions of Christian teaching with outsiders, i.e., non-Christians (Col
3:5–6). See note on Eph 5:21–6:9.
3:22–25 Slaves: within this table of duties in family and
societal relations, involving wives and husbands, children and parents (Col
3:18–21), such as also appears in Eph 5:22–6:9, slaves here receive special
attention because of the case of Onesimus the slave returning to his master
(Col 4:9; Phlm 10–12).
BACK TO:
Copyright © 2020 by Ekklesia Katholes (Acts 9:31)
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
No part of this publication may be produced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission from the publisher.
No comments:
Post a Comment