Colossians 3
New Catholic Bible
Exhortation To Live as Christians
Chapter 3
Seek the Things That Are Above.[a] 1 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, sitting at God’s right hand. 2 Fix your thoughts on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
A New Self.[b] 5 And so you should put to death everything in your nature that is earthly: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desires, and greed (which is idolatry).[c] 6 Because of these practices, the wrath of God will fall on those who are disobedient. 7 In the life you formerly lived, you used to do these things. 8 But now you must cast them all aside—anger, rage, malice, slander, and foul language out of your lips.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have stripped off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self that is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Now there is no longer Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian,[d] slave and free man. Rather, Christ is all and in all.
12 Characteristics of Life in Common.[e] As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, put on compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another, and forgive one another if anyone has reason to be offended with another. You must forgive just as the Lord has forgiven you.
14 Over all these put on love, which is the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of Christ reign in your hearts, because it was for this that you were called together in one body. Always be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ[f] with all its richness dwell in you. Teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18 The Christian Family.[g]Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and do not treat them harshly. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children lest they lose heart.
22 Slaves and Masters. Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything, not only when you are being observed or in order to please them, but wholeheartedly, out of reverence for the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly, as if you were doing it for the Lord and not for others, 24 since you know that you will receive from the Lord an inheritance as your reward for you are serving the Lord Christ. 25 But anyone who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done. There will not be any favoritism shown.
Footnotes
- Colossians 3:1 It is not a question here of having contempt for earthly realities but of a new movement by which Christians must let themselves be grasped. Seemingly, Baptism has changed nothing for them, but in reality they live henceforth united to Christ in an even more mysterious manner. They have entered the world of the Resurrection. It is a certitude that transforms the idea that they have of their existence. At the same time, it is an impatient longing for the return of the Lord, when this change in their lives will be made complete.
- Colossians 3:5 This is a Christian endeavor, something that expresses the reality of life and the transformation of Baptism, and something that enables believers to become each day a bit more what they, in fact, are, i.e., living members of the risen Christ. Morality is then no longer a list of recommended reactions but a thrust that opposes sin and degradation, a growth in an ever more profound affinity with the Lord. United with Christ, Christians are new persons who no longer identify themselves by cultural references or by ethical and religious differences. Union with Christ basically destroys all divisions (see Gal 3:28).
- Colossians 3:5 See Rom 1:29-31 and Gal 5:19-21 for other lists of vices.
- Colossians 3:11 Scythian: the Scythians lived on the steppes of Asia and were regarded as barbarians par excellence.
- Colossians 3:12 The Church is a community of persons bound together by love to give testimony to love. Without ceasing, models must be invented to express this truth. As a community united with the Lord, the Church lives in peace and joy. She lives in faith and mutual pardon, and she puts forth her deepest sentiments in prayer and thanksgiving.
- Colossians 3:16 Word of Christ: principally Christ’s teaching, which was transmitted orally at that time but which also includes the Old Testament and the New. Hymns: these set forth some of the most important doctrines and have been preserved for us only in Paul’s Letters (e.g., Col 1:15-20; Eph 5:14; Phil 2:6-11; 1 Tim 3:16).
- Colossians 3:18 Husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and slaves were accustomed in ancient society to live in accord with links of superiority and submission. Paul does not reverse this social structure. However, neither is he content simply to enumerate the rights of husbands, parents, and masters so as to oppose them with the duties of wives, children, and slaves. He stresses a reciprocity of duties and preaches a Christian attachment—“in the Lord”—an appeal to conscience. He does not call upon slaves to revolt but gives them another way to look upon themselves—the fact that they belong to the Lord takes precedence over their dependence on their human masters. And in a near contradiction of terms, slaves are regarded as heirs of the Lord.
This short list of precepts of family morality was developed at length in the Letter to the Ephesians (5:21—6:9).
