Colossians 3:3–4

Context

Colossians is traditionally regarded as a letter that Paul sent from prison to the church at Colossae. Some scholars, however, regard it as a letter written in Paul's name by one of his disciples.

In chapter 2 the author warns against "philosophy and vain deceit" (Colossians 2:8) and urges readers not to be bound by regulations concerning food, drink, and holy days. As the basis for this, he points out that believers were buried with Christ in baptism and raised with him (Colossians 2:12) and that they died with Christ (Colossians 2:20). Colossians 3:1–4 draws this argument together in the exhortation to "seek those things which are above." Verse 5 then turns to concrete ethical exhortation: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth."

Verse 3 describes the believer's present condition with the words "ye are dead" and "your life is hid." Verse 4 speaks of what will take place in the future, "when Christ... shall appear."

Interpretation

• Union with Christ: The Reformed tradition reads this passage as teaching about union with Christ: believers are joined to Christ and participate in his death and life. Some take the statement that the believer's life is "hid with Christ in God" to mean that this life is securely preserved by God, and they connect it with the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints (the teaching that true believers will never fall away from salvation).
• Sanctification: Wesleyan theology and the Holiness tradition emphasize that the declaration "ye are dead" refers to a real change involving freedom from the dominion of sin. They hold that this change must issue in the holy life required in verses 5 and following.
• Eschatological reading: Many commentators see in the contrast between "hid" and "shall appear" the "already but not yet" structure of salvation. On this reading, the believer's new life is invisible for now but will be revealed in glory together with Christ at the Second Coming.
• Baptismal reading: Because the passage is linked to Colossians 2:12, some interpreters associate the "death" mentioned here with baptism. Churches that practice infant baptism, such as Presbyterians, Methodists, and Anglicans, place weight on the reality of union with Christ to which baptism points. Baptists emphasize that baptism by immersion, in which the believer goes down into the water and comes up again, symbolizes dying and rising with Christ.

Questions of Application

• "Ye are dead" and "mortify": Verse 3 says that believers have already died, yet verse 5 commands them to put to death their "members which are upon the earth." There is broad agreement across denominations that this means living in a manner consistent with the status believers have already received. Reformed and Wesleyan theology differ, however, in their accounts of how far this transformation can be realized in earthly life.
• Misreading as escapism: Some read "things which are above" and the "hidden life" as permission to be indifferent to worldly affairs. Yet this passage is immediately followed by concrete exhortations concerning speech, the household, and the workplace (Colossians 3:5–4:6). For this reason, critics note that such a reading ignores the context.
• Manuscript variants: In verse 4, "our life" appears in some manuscripts as "your life." The Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version render it "our life," while modern critical editions (texts that reconstruct the original wording by comparing many manuscripts) are reported generally to favor "your life." The prevailing view is that the two readings do not differ significantly in meaning.

Related Passages

• Romans 6:3–6: dying and rising with Christ through baptism
• Colossians 2:12: buried with Christ in baptism and raised with him
• Galatians 2:20: crucified with Christ, and Christ living in the believer
• 1 John 3:2: when he shall appear, we shall be like him
• Philippians 1:21–23: to live is Christ