Colossians 3

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Colossians 3 turns the letter's theology of Christ into a way of life. Because believers have been raised with Christ, they are to set their minds on things above, put to death the practices of the old self, and put on the new: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and over everything love. The peace of Christ is to rule, the word of Christ to dwell richly, and whatever one does is to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. The chapter ends with instructions for wives, husbands, children, fathers, slaves, and masters, all reframed around serving the Lord.

Apri commento del capitolo

Colossians 3 begins with a "therefore" that rests on everything before it. Paul has spent two chapters insisting that Christ is enough, that no added rule or vision or power can improve on him. Now he says what follows for people who have been raised with Christ: aim your mind where he is. That is not escapism. The chapter is intensely practical from verse 5 onward. It works with the image of clothing. Take off the old self, its sexual sin, its greed which is a form of idolatry, its anger and slander and lying. Put on the new self, and here Paul lists what it wears: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness on the pattern of Christ's own, and over all of it love, the belt that holds the outfit together. Then three "lets": let the peace of Christ rule like an umpire in your hearts, let the word of Christ dwell richly among you as you teach and sing, and whatever you do, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus with thanks. The household instructions that close the chapter can sound dated, and they belong to Paul's world, but notice what he does with them. Every role is placed "in the Lord," and the slave, the lowest person in the house, is told that his real Master is Christ and his real reward an inheritance. The chapter's deepest claim is verse 11: in this new humanity, Christ is all, and is in all.

Passi chiave

Colossians 3:1-4 Colossians 3:5-11 Colossians 3:12-17 Colossians 3:23-24 Ephesians 5:18-21

Historical and literary context

Paul wrote Colossians from prison to a church in the Lycus valley of Asia Minor that he had not founded or visited, apparently troubled by teaching that added rules, visions, and spiritual powers to Christ. Chapters 1 and 2 answer that Christ is sufficient; chapter 3 shows what a life shaped by that sufficiency looks like. The closing household instructions address the standard relationships of a Roman household and, unusually for the time, speak to wives, children, and slaves as moral agents in their own right.

How the chapter unfolds

Verses 1 to 4 state the foundation: raised with Christ, hidden with Christ, to appear with Christ in glory. Verses 5 to 11 are the "put to death" and "put aside" lists, sexual sin, greed named as idolatry, anger, slander, lying, ending with the new self renewed in the Creator's image where "Christ is all and is in all." Verses 12 to 17 are the "clothe yourselves" list of virtues, forgiveness as the Lord forgave, love as the bond, peace ruling, the word of Christ dwelling richly, singing with gratitude, and everything done in Jesus's name. Verses 18 to 25 address the household, with the repeated note that all of it is "in the Lord," and the promise that workers serve "the Lord Christ."

Why this chapter matters

This chapter gives Christian ethics its characteristic shape: not rules imposed from outside but a new identity lived out, taking off old clothes and putting on new ones. It is the source of the phrase "greed, which is idolatry," of the instruction to let the word of Christ dwell richly through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and of the principle that any work can be done for the Lord rather than for people. Verse 11, erasing Greek and Jew, slave and free, is one of the New Testament's strongest statements that the church is a new humanity. Verse 13, "Forgive as the Lord forgave you," sets the measure for every Christian relationship.

Interpretive tension to watch

The household code tells wives to submit, children to obey, and slaves to obey their masters, in the language of Paul's world. Readers have long asked how these instructions relate to verse 11, where slave and free are one in Christ, and to the transformation the chapter describes. The chapter does not abolish the household of its day; it fills every role with the phrase "in the Lord" and gives the lowest member a Master in heaven. How that seed grew, and should grow, is a question the church is still answering.

Domande per questo capitolo

Paul calls greed idolatry. What does that name reveal about the kinds of desire that quietly take God's place?
The virtues in verse 12 are to be put on like clothes. Which one is missing from your usual wardrobe, and what would putting it on look like this week?
Verse 23 says to do your work for the Lord and not for men. How would your ordinary work change if you believed that?

Study with context

Use this as a chapter guide, then press deeper into the text itself. The goal is to slow down observation, notice structure, and ask better questions before jumping to conclusions.

Aggiungi alle note

1 こういうわけで、もしあなたがたが、キリストとともによみがえらされたのなら、上にあるものを求めなさい。そこにはキリストが、神の右に座を占めておられます。 2 あなたがたは、地上のものを思わず、天にあるものを思いなさい。 3 あなたがたはすでに死んでおり、あなたがたのいのちは、キリストとともに、神のうちに隠されてあるからです。 4 私たちのいのちであるキリストが現われると、そのときあなたがたも、キリストとともに、栄光のうちに現われます。 5 ですから、地上のからだの諸部分、すなわち、不品行、汚れ、情欲、悪い欲、そしてむさぼりを殺してしまいなさい。このむさぼりが、そのまま偶像礼拝なのです。 6 このようなことのために、神の怒りが下るのです。 7 あなたがたも、以前、そのようなものの中に生きていたときは、そのような歩み方をしていました。 8 しかし今は、あなたがたも、すべてこれらのこと、すなわち、怒り、憤り、悪意、そしり、あなたがたの口から出る恥ずべきことばを、捨ててしまいなさい。 9 互いに偽りを言ってはいけません。あなたがたは、古い人をその行ないといっしょに脱ぎ捨てて、 10 新しい人を着たのです。新しい人は、造り主のかたちに似せられてますます新しくされ、真の知識に至るのです。 11 そこには、ギリシヤ人とユダヤ人、割礼の有無、未開人、スクテヤ人、奴隷と自由人というような区別はありません。キリストがすべてであり、すべてのうちにおられるのです。 12 それゆえ、神に選ばれた者、きよい、愛されている者として、あなたがたは深い同情心、慈愛、謙遜、柔和、寛容を身に着けなさい。 13 互いに忍び合い、だれかがほかの人に不満を抱くことがあっても、互いに赦し合いなさい。主があなたがたを赦してくださったように、あなたがたもそうしなさい。 14 そして、これらすべての上に、愛を着けなさい。愛は結びの帯として完全なものです。 15 キリストの平和が、あなたがたの心を支配するようにしなさい。そのためにこそあなたがたも召されて一体となったのです。また、感謝の心を持つ人になりなさい。 16 キリストのことばを、あなたがたのうちに豊かに住まわせ、知恵を尽くして互いに教え、互いに戒め、詩と賛美と霊の歌とにより、感謝にあふれて心から神に向かって歌いなさい。 17 あなたがたのすることは、ことばによると行ないによるとを問わず、すべて主イエスの名によってなし、主によって父なる神に感謝しなさい。 18 妻たちよ。主にある者にふさわしく、夫に従いなさい。 19 夫たちよ。妻を愛しなさい。つらく当たってはいけません。 20 子どもたちよ。すべてのことについて、両親に従いなさい。それは主に喜ばれることだからです。 21 父たちよ。子どもをおこらせてはいけません。彼らを気落ちさせないためです。 22 奴隷たちよ。すべてのことについて、地上の主人に従いなさい。人のごきげんとりのような、うわべだけの仕え方ではなく、主を恐れかしこみつつ、真心から従いなさい。 23 何をするにも、人に対してではなく、主に対してするように、心からしなさい。 24 あなたがたは、主から報いとして、御国を相続させていただくことを知っています。あなたがたは主キリストに仕えているのです。 25 不正を行なう者は、自分が行なった不正の報いを受けます。それには不公平な扱いはありません。

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