Colossianschapter 3
25 verses · Paul, by tradition · AD 60 to 62 · Paul's letters
Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Introduction
Paul, by tradition, Paul's letters, Colossians Overview.
Paul wrote this chapter for a small church made of households, where husbands and wives, parents and children, slaves and masters worshipped side by side. The chapter before it answered a teaching of rules and visions, and this one shows what a life joined to Christ does at home and at work. It moves from heaven to the dinner table in a few lines. Listen for the language of changing clothes, and for how often the Lord is named once the household is addressed. Listen for thanks as well. Read it with Onesimus in mind, the slave who travelled home with this letter.
Context
- Who
- A household-based church in a small Asian town, with slaves and owners in the same congregation.
- What
- The chapter of Colossians that turns the believer's death and rising with Christ into commands for speech, worship, marriage, family and work.
- Where
- Written by Paul in prison, traditionally in Rome, to the church at Colossae in the Lycus valley of Phrygia.
- When
- About AD 60 to 62, during the same imprisonment that produced Ephesians and Philemon.
- Why
- To show the believers at Colossae how a life hidden with Christ is lived in the church and in the household.
Historical context
Against a teaching built on rules about handling and tasting, Paul's ethical section is built on identity: you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. What follows is put off and put on, the language of taking off a garment and putting on another, familiar from baptismal practice and from ordinary dressing.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The list of divisions abolished in the new self is worth reading slowly: Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free. "Barbarian" meant anyone whose speech sounded like babble, and Scythians were the byword for the most savage people known, the far northern nomads that Greek writers used as the limit case of uncivilized humanity. Naming them means the boundary has no outer edge.
The household code that follows is shorter than the one in Ephesians but has the same striking features: wives, children, and slaves addressed as moral agents in their own right, and the person with power told what he owes. Fathers are warned not to provoke their children lest they become discouraged; masters are told to give their slaves what is just and fair.
The section to slaves is the longest, which fits, this letter travels alongside a note about a runaway slave named Onesimus going home to his owner.
Significance
For the Colossians, the instruction to set their minds on things above was not escapism. It ran straight into anger, slander, filthy talk, and lying to one another, the ordinary friction of people living close together.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
And the positive list came with a reason attached: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with one another and forgiving as the Lord forgave you. Over all of it, love, and above all, thankfulness, mentioned three times in the chapter.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Set Your Mind Above: Your Life Is Hidden With Christ
Colossians 3:1-2
since you have been raised with Christ: The chapter opens since you have been raised with Christ, building its ethic on the rising of 2:12 as done. Both verbs, strive and set, name a settled direction of the mind toward the place where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:1
“If ye then be risen with Christ,.... The apostle having observed in the former chapter, that the believing Colossians were dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, were buried with him in baptism, and were risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, argues from hence how much it became them to regard a new and spiritual life, and to seek after superior and heavenly things, and treat with neglect and contempt carnal and earthly ones.”
2 more voices on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Colossians 3:1
“If ye then be risen with Christ - The apostle in this place evidently founds the argument on what he had said in Col 2:12; see the notes at that passage. The argument is, that there was such an union between Christ and his people, that in virtue of his death they become dead to sin; that in virtue of his resurrection they rise to spiritual life, and that, therefore, as Christ now lives in heaven, they should live for heaven, and fix their affections there.”
Colossians 3:1
“If ye are risen with Christ. Ascension follows resurrection: hence, if we are the members of Christ we must ascend into heaven, because he, on being raised up from the dead, was received up into heaven, (Mark 16:19,) that he might draw us up with him.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
Set your minds on things above: The verb means to think or to be minded, and Barnes takes it as the steady set of the thoughts on where Christ is seated. Clarke gives a working rule: be as earnest for things above as you once were for earthly things. The mind follows its Lord.
Colossians 3:2
“This is to be spiritually minded ( Rom. viii. 6 ), and to seek and desire a better country, that is, a heavenly, Heb. xi. Things on earth are here set in opposition to things above.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 3:2
Set your affection on things above - Τα ανω φρονειτε· Love heavenly things; study them; let your hearts be entirely engrossed by them. Now, that ye are converted to God, act in reference to heavenly things as ye did formerly in reference to those of earth; and vice versa. This is a very good general rule: “Be as much in earnest for heavenly and eternal things, as ye formerly were for those that are earthly and perishing.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Colossians 3:3-4
For you died: Your life is now hidden with Christ in God, a treasure stored beyond a thief's reach. The hidden life is promised a public unveiling: then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Colossians 3:3
“For ye are dead - To the things on earth. And your real, spiritual life is hid from the world, and laid up in God, with Christ - Who hath merited, promised, prepared it for us, and gives us the earnest and foretaste of it in our hearts.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:3
“No one can rise again with Christ, if he has not first died with him. Hence he draws an argument from rising again to dying, as from a consequent to an antecedent, meaning that we must be dead to the world that we may live to Christ.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
Colossians 3:3
“For ye are dead - Dead to the world; dead to sin; dead to earthly pleasures. On the meaning of the word “dead,” see the Rom 6:2 note; Eph 2:1 note. The idea of the apostle is, that as Christ became literally dead in the tomb, so we, in virtue of our connection with him, have become dead to sin, to worldly influences, pleasures, and ambition.”
Colossians 3:3
“The life of a Christian is hid with Christ. Because I live you shall live also, John xiv. Christ is at present a hidden Christ, or one whom we have not seen; but this is our comfort, that our life is hid with him, and laid up safely with him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
When Christ, who is your life, appears: Some copies read the first person here, and Gill notes that the Vulgate reads your life with the Berean text. Christ is that life, and He is now hidden with God. Augustine sets the times side by side: now for longing, and for joy when Christ appears in glory.
Colossians 3:4
“When Christ, who is our life - When Christ comes to judge the world, ye shall appear with him in his glory, and in an eternal state of blessedness.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:4
“When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,.... The Vulgate Latin version, and some copies, read, "your life". Christ is the author of spiritual life, the fountain from whence it springs, the object on which the saints live, yea, their very life itself; it is not so much they that live, as Christ that lives in them: and he is their eternal life; it is in him, and given forth by him; to know him now is the beginning of it; and its perfection hereafter will lie in the vision of him, communion with him, and conformity to him.”
Colossians 3:4
“To me to live is Christ, Phil. i. (2.) Christ will appear again. He is now hid; and the heavens must contain him; but he will appear in all the pomp of the upper world, with his holy angels, and in his own glory and his Father's glory, Mark viii.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Put to Death What Belongs to Earth
Colossians 3:5-6
Put to death, therefore: The command Put to death is one decisive act, aimed at the components of your earthly nature. The list runs from deed to root, from sexual immorality to greed, which is idolatry, an appetite that makes a god of what it wants.
Colossians 3:5
“Mortify therefore your members - Since you are dead to sin and the world, and are to appear with Christ in the glories of his kingdom, subdue every carnal and evil propensity of your nature. The word mortify means to put to death (Rom 8:13, note; Gal 5:24, note), and the meaning here is that they were entirely to subdue their evil propensities, so that they would have no remains of life; that is, they were not at all to indulge them.”
3 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:5
But the saints, and they who truly practise virtue, "mortify their members which are upon the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passions, evil concupiscence;" and, as the result of this, are pure and without spot, confiding in the promise of our Saviour, who said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." These, having become dead to the world, and renounced the merchandise of the world, gain an honourable death; for, "precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."
Athanasius of Alexandria · written before 373 · Letter 7 (For 335)patristic
Colossians 3:5
“Evil desire - The desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride of life. Covetousness - According to the derivation of the word, means the desire of having more, or of any thing independent on God. Which is idolatry - Properly and directly; for it is giving the heart to a creature.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Colossians 3:5
“It implies a self-idolizing, grasping spirit; far worse than another Greek term translated "the love of money" (1Ti 6:10). which is--that is, inasmuch as it is "idolatry." Compare Note, see on Eph 4:19, on its connection with sins of impurity.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the wrath of God is coming: Chrysostom says the name sons of disobedience leaves no excuse. He also marks that the wrath of God is coming on them, and the readers are left out of it. Henry reads the greed and evil desires of verse 5 as the Colossians' former life.
Colossians 3:6
“The wrath of God comes upon all the children of disobedience. Those who do not obey the precepts of the law incur the penalties of it. The sins he mentions were their sins in their heathen and idolatrous state, and they were then especially the children of disobedience; and yet these sins brought judgments upon them, and exposed them to the wrath of God.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 3:6
“For which things' sake,.... Those sins above mentioned, Col 3:5, the wrath of God; the effects of it in temporal judgments, and eternal ruin and destruction, the wrath to come, which all are deserving of, and there is only deliverance from by Christ: cometh upon the children of disobedience: who are disobedient both to the law of God, and Gospel of Christ: who are unbelievers in him, are rebellious and gainsaying, reject his calls, the persuasions of his ministers, set at nought his counsel, and will have none of his reproof.”
Colossians 3:7-8
When you lived among them: The next list, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips, turns from bodily sins to the tongue and temper. To put aside is the garment language the chapter uses for putting on the new self.
Colossians 3:7
“In the which - In all which evil passions. Ye also walked sometime - You formerly lived. These were the common vices of the pagan; Eph 5:8, note; 1Co 6:10-11, notes; compare Rom 1:24-32, notes.”
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 3:7
“This word is not without praise, because now they no longer live in lusts; but there was a time when they did live so, for they were pagans.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Colossianspatristic
anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language: Henry grades the list: anger and rage are bad, and malice is worse, anger settled into a purpose. The word rendered slander is blasphemia, and Barnes takes it of injurious words against God or men. Chrysostom notes that filthy language from the lips pollutes the mouth.
Colossians 3:8
“But now ye also put on all these - See on Eph 4:22 (note). Being now converted, sin had no more dominion over them. Anger, wrath, etc - They had not only lived in the evils mentioned Col 3:5, but also in those enumerated here; and they had not only laid aside the former, but they had laid aside the latter also. They retained no bosom, no easily besetting, sin. They were risen with Christ, and they sought the things which were above. Blasphemy - The word seems here to mean injurious and calumnious speaking.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:8
“Wrath - Is lasting anger. Filthy discourse - And was there need to warn even these saints of God against so gross and palpable a sin as this? O what is man, till perfect love casts out both fear and sin.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Colossians 3:8
“The gospel religion introduces a change of the higher as well as the lower powers of the soul, and supports the dominion of right reason and conscience over appetite and passion. Anger and wrath are bad, but malice is worse, because it is more rooted and deliberate; it is anger heightened and settled.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Colossians 3:9-10
Do not lie to one another: The command Do not lie to one another rests on a finished exchange, since you have taken off the old self with its practices. The new self is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator, echoing Genesis 1:26. The word is epignosis, prayed for at 1:9.
Colossians 3:9
“Lie not one to another - Notes, Eph 4:25. Seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds - Your former corrupt and evil nature; Notes, Eph 4:22. The reason for putting away lying, stated in Eph 4:25, is, that we “are members one of another” - or are brethren. The reason assigned here is, that we have put off the old man with his deeds. The sense is, that lying is one of the fruits of sin.”
renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator: The verb renewed is present and continuous. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown read the new self as a nature lately put on that keeps being renewed toward full knowledge. Barnes sets the verse beside Ephesians 4:24 and holds that the image of the Creator included the knowledge of God.
Colossians 3:10
“And have put on the new man - See on Rom 12:1-2 (note). Is renewed in knowledge - Ignorance was the grand characteristic of the heathen state; Knowledge, of the Christian. The utmost to which heathenism could pretend was a certain knowledge of nature. How far this went, and how much it fell short of the truth, may be seen in the writings of Aristotle and Pliny. Christianity reveals God himself, the author of nature; or, rather, God has revealed himself, in the Christian system with which he has blessed mankind.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Here there is no Greek or Jew: The pairs cover the divisions the ancient world drew hardest, by religion, covenant sign, culture and law (Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 2:14 to 15). The verse closes on the one center that replaces every division, Christ is all and is in all.
Colossians 3:11
“Where - In which case, it matters not what a man is externally, whether Jew or gentile, circumcised, or uncircumcised, barbarian, void of all the advantages of education, yea, Scythian, of all barbarians most barbarous. But Christ is in all that are thus renewed, and is all things in them and to them.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
3 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:11
“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew - See this fully explained in the notes at Gal 3:28. The meaning here is, that all are on a level; that there is no distinction of nation in the church; that all are to be regarded and treated as brethren, and that therefore no one should be false to another, or lie to another. Circumcision nor uncircumcision - No one is admitted into that blessed society because he is circumcised; no one is excluded because he is uncircumcised. That distinction is unknown, and all are on a level.”
Colossians 3:11
IN our two texts there are three "alls" rising, one out of the other—the first leading to the second and the second conducting to the third. You will notice at once that the first two are in the present tense. "Christ is all" and, "Christ is in all." The third one refers to the future—it is yet to be fulfilled. When the great consummation shall come, then shall God be, "all in all."
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2501: “All and All in All” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
Colossians 3:11
“Christ is all--Christ absorbs in Himself all distinctions, being to all alike, everything that they need for justification, sanctification, and glorification (1Co 1:30; Ga 2:20). in all--who believe and are renewed, without distinction of person; the sole distinction now is, how much each draws from Christ.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Clothe Yourselves, and Let His Word Live in You Richly
Colossians 3:12-13
Therefore, as the elect of God: The call to clothe yourselves reverses the taking off of verse 9. The list runs from the inward hearts of compassion to kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, virtues that bear with hard people. The measure of forgiving is exact, Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Colossians 3:12
“All who are thus renewed are elected of God, holy, and therefore the more beloved of him. Holiness is the consequence of their election, and God's superior love, of their holiness.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 3:12
“Put on - as the elect of God - As the principal design of the apostle was to show that God had chosen the Gentiles, and called them to the same privileges as the Jews, and intended to make them as truly his people as the Jews ever were, he calls them the elect or chosen of God; and as the Jews, who were formerly the elect, were still beloved, and called to be holy, so he calls the Colossians beloved, and shows them that they are called with the same holy calling.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Forgive as the Lord forgave you: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown separate the two commands: bear with one another over present offences, and forgive past ones. The word for complaint is momphe, found only here in the New Testament. The oldest copies read the Lord, with the Berean text.
Colossians 3:13
“Forbearing one another - Notes, Eph 4:2. And forgiving one another - Notes, Mat 6:12, Mat 6:14. If any man have a quarrel against any - Margin, “or complaint.” The word used here - μομφή momphē - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It means, “fault found, blame, censure;” and here denotes occasion of complaint.”
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:13
“And the reason is: Even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. The consideration that we are forgiven by Christ so many offences is a good reason why we should forgive others. It is an argument of the divinity of Christ that he had power on earth to forgive sins; and it is a branch of his example which we are obliged to follow, if we ourselves would be forgiven.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Colossians 3:13
“Forbearing--as to present offenses. forgiving--as to past offenses. quarrel--rather as Greek, "cause of blame," "cause of complaint." Christ--who had so infinitely greater cause of complaint against us. The oldest manuscripts and Vulgate read "the Lord." English Version is supported by one very old manuscript and old versions.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Connectionstopics/forgiveness
Colossians 3:14-15
And over all these virtues put on love: The words Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts use brabeuo, the umpire's word. Peace settles every dispute among those called as members of one body.
Colossians 3:14
“Add to faith virtue, and to brotherly-kindness charity, 2 Pet. i. He lays the foundation in faith, and the top-stone in charity, which is the bond of perfectness, the cement and centre of all happy society. Christian unity consists of unanimity and mutual love.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
3 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:14
“When love does not lead, there is no completion of what is lacking; but, where love is present we abstain from doing evil to one another. Indeed we put our minds in the service of doing good, when we love one another. .”
Severian of Gabala · written before 425 · Commentary (church-history corpus)patristic
Colossians 3:14
“And above all these things - Επι πασι δε τουτοις· Upon all, over all; as the outer garment envelopes all the clothing, so let charity or love invest and encompass all the rest. Even bowels of mercy are to be set in motion by love; from love they derive all their feeling, and all their power and promptitude to action. Let this, therefore, be as the upper garment; the surtout that invests the whole man.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Colossians 3:14
“Seeming graces, where love is wanting, are mere hypocrisy. Justification by faith is assumed as already having taken place in those whom Paul addresses, Col 3:12, "elect of God, holy . . . beloved," and Col 2:12; so that there is no plea here for Rome's view of justification by works.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts: The King James prints God where the Berean prints Christ, and Clarke lists the old copies and versions that read Christ. Gill weighs two senses, peace with God and peace among the members called into one body. Gill leans to the second.
Colossians 3:15
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts,.... By "the peace of God" is meant, either the peace believers have with God, which is his gift, and passes all understanding, and flows from a comfortable apprehension of interest in the blood, righteousness, and atonement of Christ; or rather that peace which does, or should subsist among the saints themselves, which God is the author of, calls for, and requires, and encourages in them. The Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and, Ethiopic versions, read, "the peace of Christ"; and so the Alexandrian copy, and some others.”
3 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:15
“And let the peace of God - The peace which God gives; Notes, Php 4:7. Rule in your hearts - Preside in your hearts; sit as umpire there (Doddridge); govern and control you. The word rendered here “rule” - βραβεύετω brabeuetō - is commonly used in reference to the Olympic and other games. It means, to be a director, or arbiter of the public games; to preside over them and preserve order, and to distribute the prizes to the victors.”
Colossians 3:15
“This is called the peace of God, because it is of his working in all who are his. The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace, Rom. xiv. "Let this peace rule in your heart --prevail and govern there, or as an umpire decide all matters of difference among you."-- To which you are called in one body.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Colossians 3:15
“And then the peace of God shall rule in your hearts - Shall sway every temper, affection, thought, as the reward (so the Greek word implies) of your preceding love and obedience.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Colossians 3:16-17
Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you: The words Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you ask for a lasting and generous indwelling. It overflows as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, as at Ephesians 5:19.
Colossians 3:16
THAT is a very beautiful name for Holy Scripture. I hardly remember to have met with it anywhere else—"Let the word of Christ dwell in you." Remember, dear Friends, that Christ Himself is the Word of God, and also remember that the Scriptures are the word of the Word. They are "the word of Christ."
Charles Spurgeon · written before 1892 · The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2679: “Christ's Indwelling Word” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition)Particular Baptist
3 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:16
“Let the word of Christ - So the apostle calls the whole scripture, and thereby asserts the divinity of his Master. Dwell - Not make a short stay, or an occasional visit, but take up its stated residence.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Colossians 3:16
“Religious poesy seems countenanced by these expressions and is capable of great edification. But, when we sing psalms, we make no melody unless we sing with grace in our hearts, unless we are suitably affected with what we sing and go along in it with true devotion and understanding.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Colossians 3:16
“Paul contrasts (as in Eph 5:18, 19) the songs of Christians at their social meetings, with the bacchanalian and licentious songs of heathen feasts. Singing usually formed part of the entertainment at Greek banquets (compare Jas 5:13). with grace--Greek, "IN grace," the element in which your singing is to be: "the grace" of the indwelling Holy Spirit.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus: Barnes reads the name as authority and aim: the command of Christ is the warrant for every word or deed, and His honour its purpose. Chrysostom compares it to a consul's name at the head of a document. Thanks go to the Father through the Son.
Colossians 3:17
“God and the Father--The oldest manuscripts omit "and," which seems to have crept in from Eph 5:20. by him--Greek, "through Him" as the channel of His grace to us, and of our thanksgiving to Him (Joh 14:6, end).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:17
“The epistles which are most taken up in displaying the glory of divine grace, and magnifying the Lord Jesus, are the most particular and distinct in pressing the duties of the several relations. We must never separate the privileges and duties of the gospel religion.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Colossians 3:17
“It means that I do it in behalf of him. I do it in place of him.”
Dallas Willard · Acknowledging God in All We Do (Westmont College chapel talk) (1998)Southern Baptist heritage
Home and Work Done as Unto the Lord
Colossians 3:18-19
Wives, submit to your husbands: The household code opens with wives and husbands as at Ephesians 5:22 to 25. The phrase as is fitting in the Lord places the instruction inside Christ's own rule. The command Husbands, love your wives adds do not be harsh with them, a harshness that turns headship into harm.
Colossians 3:18
“I have taught fathers to teach their children instruction in the fear of the Lord, children to obey their parents in wholesome admonition; I have taught wives to love their own husbands, and to fear them as masters, and husbands to observe fidelity to their wives; I have taught masters to treat their slaves with clemency, and slaves to serve their own masters faithfully; I have taught the churches of the believers to reverence one almighty, invisible, and incomprehensible God.”
Apostolic Constitutions · written before 380 · Acts of Peter and Paulpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 3:18
“And this is fit in the Lord, it is becoming the relation, and what they are bound in duty to do, as an instance of obedience to the authority and law of Christ.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
do not be harsh with them: Chrysostom observes that husbands may love their wives and still be harsh with them. He calls strife between those who love the most bitter of all. Many who are courteous to others are harsh at home, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown name that fault.
Colossians 3:19
“Husbands, love your wives,.... See Gill on Eph 5:25. and be not bitter against them; turning love into hatred of their persons; ruling with rigour, and in a tyrannical manner; behaving towards them in a morose, churlish, and ill natured way; giving them either bitter words, or blows, and denying them their affection, care, provision, protection, and assistance, but using them as servants, or worse. All which is barbarous, brutish, and unchristian, and utterly unbecoming the Gospel.”
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:19
“Be not bitter against them - Wherever bitterness is, there love is wanting. And where love is wanting in the married life, there is hell upon earth.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Colossians 3:19
“They must love them with tender and faithful affection, as Christ loved the church, and as their own bodies, and even as themselves ( Eph. v. 25, 28, 33 ), with a love peculiar to the nearest relation and the greatest comfort and blessing of life.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Colossians 3:20-21
Children, obey your parents in everything: The command Children, obey your parents in everything is grounded as the wives' instruction is, for this is pleasing to the Lord. The words Fathers, do not provoke your children balance it at once, so they will not become discouraged, a Greek word for losing heart entirely.
Colossians 3:20
But while honoring our heavenly Father, let us also honor the "fathers of our flesh," since the Lord in the Law and the Prophets has clearly laid this down, saying: "Honor your mother and your father, that it may be well with you, and that you may have a long life in the land." Let those present who have mothers and fathers pay attention to this command. "Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is pleasing to the Lord."
Cyril of Jerusalem · written before 386 · Commentary (church-history corpus)patristic
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:20
“Children, obey your parents,.... Both father and mother; See Gill on Eph 6:1. in all things; not in things sinful, which are contrary to the law of God, and Gospel of Christ; in things repugnant to the duties of religion, the ordinances of the Gospel, and the doctrines of Christ, parents are to be neglected and disobeyed.”
Colossians 3:20
“And this is well-pleasing to God, or acceptable to him; for it is the first commandment with promise ( Eph. vi. 2 ), with an explicit promise annexed to it, namely, That it shall be well with them, and they shall live long on the earth.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Fathers, do not provoke your children: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note a different verb from Ephesians 6:4, one that means to irritate. They name constant fault-finding as the way fathers provoke children, and such children lose heart.
Colossians 3:21
“Fathers, provoke not your children to anger,.... See Gill on Eph 6:4. lest they be discouraged; or disheartened and dispirited; their spirits be broke through grief and trouble, and they become indolent, sluggish, and unfit for business; or, despairing of having any share in the affections of their parents, disregard their commands, instructions, and corrections, and grow obdurate, stubborn, and rebellious.”
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:21
“Fathers, provoke not ... - Notes, Eph 6:4. Lest they be discouraged - Lest, by your continually finding fault with them, they should lose all courage, and despair of ever pleasing you. There is much sound sense and practical wisdom in this observation of the apostle. Children should not be flattered, but they should be encouraged. They should not be so praised as to make them vain and proud, but they should be commended when they do well.”
Colossians 3:21
“And it is by the tenderness of parents, and dutifulness of children, that God ordinarily furnishes his church with a seed to serve him, and propagates religion from age to age.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Colossians 3:22-25
Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything: Service with sincerity of heart and fear of the Lord makes the lowest labor work for the Lord. He promises an inheritance from the Lord as your reward, something Roman law never granted a slave.
Colossians 3:22
“In singleness of heart, fearing God --without selfish designs, or hypocrisy and disguise, as those who fear God and stand in awe of him. Observe, The fear of God ruling in the heart will make people good in every relation. Servants who fear God will be just and faithful when they are from under their master's eye, because they know they are under the eye of God.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 3:22
“Differently to be admonished are servants and masters. Servants, to wit, that they ever keep in view the humility of their condition; but masters, that they lose not recollection of their nature, in which they are constituted on an equality with servants.”
Gregory the Dialogist · written before 604 · Pastoral Rule, Part 3, Admonition 6patristic
work at it with your whole being: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown mark two verbs, whatever you do and work at it, the second meaning to labour. Chrysostom reads the whole being as goodwill, which makes the slave free in serving. Wesley adds that those who work for men soon lose heart.
Colossians 3:23
“And--omitted in the oldest manuscripts (compare Eph 6:7, 8). Compare the same principle in the case of all men, Hezekiah (2Ch 31:21; Ro 12:11). do, do it--two distinct Greek verbs, "Whatsoever ye do, work at it" (or "labor at" it). heartily--not from servile constraint, but with hearty good will.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 3:23
“Heartily - Cheerfully, diligently. Menpleasers are soon dejected and made angry: the single-hearted are never displeased or disappointed; because they have another aim, which the good or evil treatment of those they serve cannot disappoint.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
an inheritance from the Lord: Matthew Henry notes that these slaves will receive the inheritance of sons. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe that the word inheritance rules out any thought of earning it by works. The reward is given by grace.
Colossians 3:24
“The reward of the inheritance - Here, ye have neither lands nor property; ye are servants or slaves; be not discouraged, ye have an inheritance in store; be faithful unto God and to your employers, and Christ will give you a heavenly inheritance.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Colossians 3:24
“The Gospel does not merely supply us with directions for holy living but furnishes us with reasons for obedience and tells us where to find the power to obey. Hence in the commencement of this chapter, before the Apostle comes to any practical exhortation, he reminds us of our position and privileges. He bids us remember who and what we are as Believers in Christ, that we may act accordingly. We are risen with Christ and, therefore, our affection should not be set on earthly things.”
there is no favoritism: The warning is read in both directions. Clarke applies it to the slave who wrongs his master unseen. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown apply it to the master who wrongs his slave, whose wrong the Lord will see repaid.
Colossians 3:25
“But he that doeth wrong - It is possible for an unfaithful servant to wrong and defraud his master in a great variety of ways without being detected; but let all such remember what is here said: He that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he has done; God sees him, and will punish him for his breach of honesty and trust. Wasting, or not taking proper care of the goods of your master, is such a wrong as God will resent.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Colossians 3:25
“There is a righteous God, who, if servants wrong their masters, will reckon with them for it, though they may conceal it from their master's notice. And he will be sure to punish the unjust as well as reward the faithful servant: and so if masters wrong their servants.-- And there is no respect of persons with him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Colossians 3:25
“He addresses the slaves: Serve ye the Lord Christ, and leave your wrongs in His hands to put to rights: (translate), "For he that doeth wrong shall receive back the wrong which he hath done (by just retribution in kind), and there is no respect of persons" with the Great Judge in the day of the Lord.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
How this psalm is built
The form: The practical part of the letter, pressing the duties that follow from the privileges described in the chapters before, as Henry classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| Three lists of five | Verse 5 names five things of the earthly nature, verse 8 five sins of temper and speech, and verse 12 five virtues to put on. The first list ends on greed, which the verse calls idolatry. John Wesley explains the charge: covetousness gives the heart to a creature.John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on Colossians 3:5. | Colossians 3:5, Colossians 3:8, Colossians 3:12 |
| The change of clothes | The verbs of verses 9 to 14 are the verbs of dressing: the old self taken off, the new self put on, the believers told to clothe themselves with compassion, and love put on over all these virtues. Adam Clarke reads love in verse 14 as the outer garment that covers all the rest.Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on Colossians 3:14. | Colossians 3:9, Colossians 3:10, Colossians 3:12, Colossians 3:14 |
| Thanks, three times | Verses 15, 16 and 17 each close on thanks: be thankful, with gratitude in your hearts, and giving thanks to God the Father. John Chrysostom reads the command to be thankful as dealing with others as God deals with oneself, and he holds that one who thanks God for what he suffers will take no revenge.John Chrysostom, Homily on Colossians 8, on Colossians 3:15. | Colossians 3:15, Colossians 3:16, Colossians 3:17 |
| The pairs of the household | From verse 18 each instruction comes in a pair, wives and then husbands, children and then fathers, and slaves, whose masters are answered at 4:1. The word Lord comes six times in verses 18 to 25. John Chrysostom notes that Paul exhorts to reciprocity, laying a duty on each side.John Chrysostom, Homily on Colossians 10, on Colossians 3:19. | Colossians 3:18, Colossians 3:19, Colossians 3:20, Colossians 3:21, Colossians 3:22 |
How this chapter is built
6 more paragraphs on the patterns
Verses 1 to 4 state the ground: the believers have been raised with Christ, their life is hidden with Him, and they will appear with Him. Verses 5 to 17 give the commands, with two lists of five things to put away at verses 5 and 8 and one list of five to put on at verse 12. The clothing words run through the section, taken off at verse 9, put on at verse 10, clothe yourselves at verse 12 and put on love at verse 14, which Adam Clarke reads as the outer garment over all the rest. Verses 15 to 17 call for thanks three times. From verse 18 the household code addresses wives and husbands, children and fathers, and slaves, and the word Lord comes six times in its eight verses.
Where it stands in the letter
Matthew Henry reads the chapter as the turn of the letter from the privileges of the believer and the release from the ceremonial law to the duties that follow from them. Chapter 2 closed on rules of handling and tasting that have no value against the flesh, and this chapter sets a mind fixed on things above in their place. John Gill marks the move at verse 18 from duties within the church to duties in the house and family. The household code runs from 3:18 to 4:1, where masters receive their instruction, so the unit crosses into chapter 4.
Where to go deeper
The clothing picture of verses 8 to 14 has its own page at /featured/put-off-put-on, and the forgiveness of verse 13 is at /featured/forgiveness. The household code of 3:18 to 4:1 is taught at /featured/marriage-and-family, and the instruction to slaves at /featured/the-bible-and-slavery. The seat at the right hand of God in verse 1 is at /featured/the-right-hand.
Sources: Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Colossians 3. John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748), on Colossians 3:18. Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible, on Colossians 3:14 and 3:24, the slave without property. Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, on Colossians 3:24. John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament, on Colossians 3:5 and 3:11, the Scythians. John Chrysostom, Homily on Colossians 8 and Homily on Colossians 10, on Colossians 3:15 and 3:19. Onesimus is named at Colossians 4:9, and his return to his master is the subject of the letter to Philemon.
Keep studying
Studies21
Words12
Subjects2
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1205, "All For Jesus!" (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition), on Colossians 3:24; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748), on Colossians 3:18 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible, on Colossians 3.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Augustine of Hippo, Sermon 350A; J. B. Lightfoot, Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary on Colossians; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.