Colossians 3 is the third chapter of the

Epistle to the Colossians The Epistle to the Colossians is the twelfth book of the New Testament. It was written, according to the text, by Paul the Apostle and Timothy, and addressed to the church in Colossae, a small Phrygian city near Laodicea and approximately fr ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

of the

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

. Traditionally, it is believed to have been written for the churches in

Colossae Colossae (; grc-gre, Κολοσσαί) was an ancient city of Phrygia in Asia Minor, and one of the most celebrated cities of southern Anatolia (modern Turkey). The Epistle to the Colossians, an early Christian text which identifies its author ...

and Laodicea (see ) by

Apostle Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

, with Timothy as his co-author, while he was in prison in

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

(years 53–54), although there are debatable claims that it is the work of a secondary imitator, or that it was written in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(in the early 60s). In the previous chapter, Paul has reminded the people that they no longer "belong to the world", but they are to live in intimate

union with Christ In its widest sense, the phrase union with Christ refers to the relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ. In this sense, John Murray says, union with Christ is "the central truth of the whole doctrine of salvation." The expression "in Ch ...

, and this chapter contains his advice how he wants the Colossians to live.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 25 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: *

Papyrus 46 Papyrus 46 (''P. Chester Beatty II''), designated by siglum (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), is an early Greek New Testament manuscript written on papyrus, and is one of the manuscripts comprising the Chester Beatty Papyri. Manuscripts among ...

(c. AD 200) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325–350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus (Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts) ...

(330–360) *

Codex Alexandrinus The Codex Alexandrinus (London, British Library, Royal MS 1. D. V-VIII), designated by the siglum A or 02 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 4 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a manu ...

(400–440) *

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus The Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (Paris, National Library of France, Greek 9) designated by the siglum C or 04 {in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 3 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscripts), is a ma ...

(c. 450; complete) *

Codex Freerianus Codex Freerianus, designated by I or 016 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1041 ( von Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Pauline Epistles'', is a 5th-century manuscript in an uncial hand on vellum in Greek. It is named afte ...

(c. 450; extant verses 5–8, 15–17, 25) *

Codex Claromontanus Codex Claromontanus, symbolized by Dp, D2 or 06 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1026 ( von Soden), is a Greek-Latin diglot uncial manuscript of the New Testament, written in an uncial hand on vellum. The Greek and Latin texts are on facing p ...

(c. 550; in Greek and Latin) *

Codex Coislinianus Codex Coislinianus designated by Hp or 015 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), α 1022 ( Soden), was named also as ''Codex Euthalianus''. It is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Pauline epistles, dated palaeographically to the 6th century. The t ...

(c. 550; extant verses 1–11)

How the Colossians ought to live (3:1—21)

Verses 1–4 "spell out the consequences of rising with Christ" and lead to an account of how believers "ought to live".

Verse 3

:''For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.''

Henry Alford Henry Alford (7 October 181012 January 1871) was an English churchman, theologian, textual critic, scholar, poet, hymnodist, and writer. Life Alford was born in London, of a Somerset family, which had given five consecutive generations of cl ...

prefers the wording "you died" in place of "you (ye) are dead". The latter "though allowable, is not so good, as merely asserting a state, whereas ou diedrecalls the fact of that state having been entered on".

Verse 10

:''and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him'' *"The image": In discussing the renewal of the "new humanity", Paul sees

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...

– the image of God the creator – as the "paradigm for believers' transformation" (; ; ).

Verse 11

: ''where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.'' *"Greek nor Jew": translated from , '' '', lit. "Greek and Jew", preceded by "not any" (, '' ''), signifies the "whole human race". *This verse parallels Galatians 3:28. *The actual

Scythians The Scythians or Scyths, and sometimes also referred to as the Classical Scythians and the Pontic Scythians, were an Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern * : "In modern scholarship the name 'Sakas' is reserved f ...

are not in view; their name stands for people regarded as especially foreign or savage and augments "barbarian".

Verse 16

: ''Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.'' "The word of Christ" may mean "the word spoken by Christ" ("Christ's message" in the

Good News Bible Good News Bible (GNB), also called the Good News Translation (GNT) in the United States, is an English translation of the Bible by the American Bible Society. It was first published as the New Testament under the name ''Good News for Modern Man'' ...

), or "the message about Christ" (the

Contemporary English Version The Contemporary English Version or CEV (also known as Bible for Today's Family) is a translation of the Bible into English, published by the American Bible Society. An anglicized version was produced by the British and Foreign Bible Society, w ...

), or "about the Messiah" (

Holman Christian Standard Bible The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) is a modern English Bible translation from Holman Bible Publishers. The New Testament was published in 1999, followed by the full Bible in March 2004. Beginnings The roots of the HCSB can be traced to ...

). Some Greek manuscripts read "God" (), for example,

, Ephraemi Rescriptus and

Minuscule 33 Minuscule 33 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 48 ( Soden), before the French Revolution was called ''Codex Colbertinus 2844''. It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. ...

, or "Lord" (), as in

and

; all others have "Christ" ().

Verse 17

: ''And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.'' * "Whatever you do in word or deed": This includes anything, in preaching the Christ's word, hearing the Gospel, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, and in conversation with each other; or in any actions, relating to God or man, or one another, in the world or church. * "Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus": both in the strength of Christ, and according to the will of Christ as declared in the Gospel, calling his name for help in doing every duty, only for his honor and glory. * "Giving thanks to God, and the Father by him": (cf. ) directed to God, the Father of Lord Jesus Christ, and him alone.''John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible'' - Colossians 3:17
/ref>

Exhortation to slaves (3:22–25)

As in the

Epistle to the Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians is the tenth book of the New Testament. Its authorship has traditionally been attributed to Paul the Apostle but starting in 1792, this has been challenged as Deutero-Pauline, that is, pseudepigrapha written in Pau ...

, the instructions to slaves are longer than to masters, because they concern not only Christian household slaves, but also slaves working outside households (in agriculture or industry, etc.) and slaves of non-Christian masters. A model on the "mutual responsibilities of slaves and masters within the Christian fellowship" can be viewed in the

Epistle to Philemon The Epistle to Philemon is one of the books of the Christian New Testament. It is a prison letter, co-authored by Paul the Apostle with Timothy, to Philemon, a leader in the Colossian church. It deals with the themes of forgiveness and re ...

, where the slaves and masters are brothers in Christ. Slaves (or employees in modern days) to non-Christian masters should work more faithfully, because they are above all the servants of Christ, committed to please him, not the masters, or not fear the earthly masters but in reverence for Christ as the heavenly master (verse 23), and therefore linking the quality of their service to the reputation of Christ or Christianity.

Verse 23

: ''And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men.'' NKJV

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Epistle to the Colossians 03