Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Bible Commentaries
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers Ellicott's Commentary
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliographical Information
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Colossians 3". "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/ebc/colossians-3.html. 1905.
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Colossians 3". "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". https://studylight.org/
Whole Bible (53)New Testament (19)Individual Books (13)
Verse 1
(1) If ye then be risen (rather, ye rose) with Christ.âIn these words is marked the beginning of the spiritual life, referred evidently to baptism. (See Colossians 2:12.) It is a âresurrection with Christâ and in Christ; as such it is dwelt upon in detail in Romans 6:1-14. We may note that this phrase, implying a sudden passing from death unto life, accords more exactly with the idea of adult baptism, accepted in conscious faith, and leading at once to a new life; while the later phrase, âregenerationâ (Titus 3:5), which speaks of the soul as passing, indeed, at once into a new condition, but as having only the undeveloped germ of the new life, corresponds more closely with the idea of the infant baptism, which gradually superseded the other. Here this spiritual resurrection is taken for granted, and the Apostle goes on at once to the next stage of the spiritual life.
Christ.âThe name, four times repeated, has in all cases the article prefixed to it. Evidently it used emphatically to refer to our Lord, as our Mediatorâour Prophet, Priest, and King.
Seek those things which are above . . . set your affection on things above.âHere we have the spiritual life in its continuance. It is described, (1) first, as âseeking the things aboveââthat is, looking, and so growing, to perfection. This characteristic is dwelt upon with great fulness and beauty in Philippians 3:12-16. (2) Next, in a still higher strain, as âsetting our affection on the things above,â or, more properly, catching the spirit of the things above, being âheavenly-mindedâ alreadyâanticipating heaven, not only in hope, but in tone and temper, seeing things as God sees them, and seeing all in relation to Him. On this we may again compare the great passage in Philippians 3:20-21, on our âcitizenship of heaven.â Of such heavenly-mindedness we have, perhaps, the most perfect specimen in the calm and loving certainty of St. Johnâs Epistles. (3) These two graces must be united In the one is the secret of growth, in the other the present earnest of perfection. Moreover, the higher grace must follow from the former; âfor, where our treasure is, there will our heart be also.â
Where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.âThe allusion is emphatic. Heaven is to us, in itself, a vague expression of unknown bliss. It is made definite to the Christian by the thought of Christ. in His glorified humanity, there enthroned in majesty, âpreparing a place for us,â and drawing us to be with Him. (Note a similar emphatic reference in Philippians 3:21; and comp. Ephesians 2:6, âHe raised us up, and made us to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.â)
This glorious idea of Christ in heaven, and heaven in Christ, runs through the whole book of the Revelation of St. John, from the opening Epistles to the last vision of glory.
Verses 1-4
III.
(1-4) As the partaking of the death of Christ taught the negative lesson of death to the Law, so the partaking of His resurrection teaches the positive lesson of the spiritual life. We observe that this celebrated passage occupies a place at the close of the doctrinal portion of the Epistle, exactly corresponding to the even greater passage on the unity of the Church in God in the Epistle to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4:1-16). It is unlike that passage, because, summing up the main teaching of this Epistle, it dwells simply on the close personal relation of all souls to God in Jesus Christ, who is at once âthe image of God,â and the one Mediator between God and man. It is like it (and like other passages of the Epistles of the Captivity) because it passes on from Christ risen to Christ in heaven: it takes for granted our being risen with Christ, and bids us in heart to ascend to heaven now, and look forward to the bliss of heaven in the hereafter.
Verse 3
(3) Ye are dead.âProperly, ye died. See Colossians 2:20, and Note there. The phrase here is to be taken in its whole sense, both of âdeath to sinâ and âdeath to the visible world.â
Your life is hid with Christ in God . . . Christ who is our life.âIn these two phrases, again, we pass from a lower to a higher expression of the same truth. (1) First, âour life is hid with Christ in God.â The spiritual life in man is a âhidden life,â having its source in God; the full conviction of it, as distinct from the mere instinctive consciousness of it in the mind itself, comes only from the belief that it is the image of God in us, and is sustained by constant communion with Him. If God be our God at all, we must live; for âHe is not the God of the dead, but of the livingâ (Matthew 22:32). It is also âhid with Christ.â Our Lordâs ascent to His glory in heaven is at once the pledge and the means of this our spiritual communion with God. It is âwith Himâ that we can âin heart and mind ascend;â it is âwith Himâ that we can âcontinually dwell.â (2) But this is not all. âChrist is our lifeâ now as well as hereafter. This is simply a summary of the two truths;â Christ liveth in me (see Galatians 2:20), as the source of life; and âTo me to live (the actual condition of life) is Christâ (Philippians 1:21). It is but a brief expression of faith in the truth which our Lord Himself declared (John 11:25), âI am the Life; whoso liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.â (Comp. John 14:6.) Hence our spiritual life is not only a being âwith Christ;â it is also unity with Christ in the bosom of the Father.
Verse 4
(4) When Christ . . . shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.âThis describes the last stage of the spiritual lifeâthe glorification with Christ in heaven, manifesting what now is hidden, and perfecting what exists only in germ. (Comp. 1 John 3:1-2, âNow are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.â) This same conclusion ends the corresponding passage in Philippians 3:21.
In all these Epistles we note how constant a reference there is to the âglory of God,â and to the share in it reserved for us. So we also note the especial reference to the âappearance of Christâ in the Pastoral Epistles (see 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Timothy 4:8; Titus 2:13), and the constant revelation of it in the Apocalypse.
The whole passage forms a complete and magnificent picture of the spiritual life in Christâthe means of its beginning, the signs of its presence, and the hope of its close. It may be compared with the fuller yet hardly completer picture of Romans 8:0.
Verse 5
(5) Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth.âThe expression is doubly unique. It is the only passage where âmortificationââthe killing of anything in usâis enjoined; and it is also notable, as not explicitly distinguishing between the members themselves, and the evil of which they are made the instruments. The sense is, of course, clear enough. It corresponds to the âcrucifying the fleshâ of Galatians 5:24; and the idea of evil, mostly expressed plainly in the word âflesh,â is here hinted in the phrase âwhich are on the earth,â that is, which are busied with earth and bind us down to the earthly life. The particular word âmembersâ is perhaps suggested by our Lordâs command to âcut off the right handâ and âpluck out the right eyeâ if they cause us to offend (Matthew 5:29-30). But, as a rule, Scripture more clearly marks the distinction between the members and âthe law of sin in the membersâ (Romans 7:5; Romans 7:23); and we are usually bidden not to âkill our members,â but to turn them from âinstruments of unrighteousnessâ to be âinstruments of righteousness unto Godâ (Romans 6:13). The fact is that this passage contains only half the truth, corresponding to the death with Christ, and not the whole truth, including also the resurrection to the new life. Accordingly, as the next verse shows, the members to be mortified are actually identified with the vices of the old man residing in them.
Fornication, uncleanness . . . covetousness, which is idolatry.âSee Ephesians 5:3, and Note there.
Inordinate affection, evil concupiscence.âThese words are not found in the parallel passage. The word rendered âinordinate affectionâ is the general word for âpassionâ (pathos). It is found united to âconcupiscenceâ in 1 Thessalonians 4:5, âthe lust of concupiscence.â Both words here are general words, denoting the condition of soul, of which âfornicationâ and âcovetousnessâ are both exemplifications. This is the condition of unrestrained passion and desire, the former word implying a passive receptiveness of impression from without, the other the positive energy of desire to seek gratification. Comp. Galatians 5:24, âthe affectionsâ (passions) and âlusts.â Of such a temper Article IX. of the Church of England declares with singular accuracy, not that it is sin, but that it has in itself rationem peccati, that is, the initial principle of sin.
Verses 5-9
Colossians 3:5-9 contain the negative section of St. Paulâs practical appeal, drawing out the consequences of the âdeath with Christ,â in the mortification of all tendencies to impurity, malice, and falsehood. For these are the opposites to purity, love, and truthâthe three great attributes of God, and therefore the three chief graces of man.
Verses 5-17
[5.
Practical Exhortation, General.
(1) NEGATIVE.âTo MORTIFY THE OLD MAN, by fleeing fromâ
(a)
Uncleanness and lust (Colossians 3:5-7);
(b)
Wrath and malice (Colossians 3:8);
(c)
Falsehood (Colossians 3:9).
(2) POSITIVE.âTo PUT ON THE NEW MAN, making Christ our âall in all.â
(a)
In love and peace, as shown in mercy, humility, patience, and forgiveness (Colossians 3:10-15);
(b)
In thanksgiving (Colossians 3:16);
(c)
In living to the glory of God (Colossians 3:17);
(The whole of this section stands in close parallelism, frequently in verbal coincidence, with Ephesians 4:20 to Ephesians 6:9. There are, however, constantly emerging indications of independence of handling. Generally speaking, the Ephesian Epistle is fuller and deeper in treatment; and, moreover, it constantly brings out, in relation both to moral duty and to the observation of the relations of life, the great characteristic doctrine of the universal unity in Christ. This Epistle, on the other hand, is briefer and more incisive, and has only slight, though clear, indications of the idea so powerfully worked out in the other Epistle.)]
Verse 7
(7) In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived (were living) in them.âThe former condition of heathenism was that in which âthey were living,â with contagion of evil on every side. But St. Paul is not content without noting their own active participationââye walked in them.â (Comp. Ephesians 4:17-20.)
Verse 8
(8) Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy (slanderâsee Ephesians 4:31 and Notes there), filthy communication.âThe word is âfoul,â and the context here seems to show that it refers to grossness of insult and abuse, rather than (as in the cognate word of Ephesians 4:4) to âfilthiness.â
Verse 9
(9) Lie not one to another.âComp. Ephesians 4:25, and note the characteristic insertion there of a clause to which there is nothing here to correspond, âfor we are members one of another.â
Seeing that ye (have) put off the old man.âComp. the fuller description of Ephesians 4:22-24.
Verse 10
(10) The new man, which is (being) renewed.âThere are here the same two different words which are found in the parallel passage. (See Notes on Ephesians 4:22-24). âThe new manâ is here properly the youthful man âwhich is renewed,â that is, to which is given a nature really fresh and new.
Verses 10-17
(10-17) In these verses we have the corresponding positive exhortation, connected with the idea of resurrection with Christ, through which we put on the new man, holding Christ to be our all in all. Of the new nature there are two marksâtowards man love in all its various forms, towards God thanksgiving and living to His glory.
Verse 11
(11) Where there is neither . . .âThis passage naturally suggests comparison with Galatians 3:28. âThere is neither Jew nor Greek; there is neither bond nor free; there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Jesus Christ.â In comparing the passages (passing by the insertion here of âcircumcision nor uncircumcision,â which is simply explanatory of âJew nor Greekâ) we notice in thisâ(1) The insertion of âbarbarian, Scythian.â This insertion is clearly intended to rebuke that pride of intellect, contemptuous of the unlearned, which lay at the root of Gnosticism. The âbarbarianâ was simply the foreigner (comp. 1 Corinthians 14:11); the âScythianâ was the savage, towards whom the contempt implied for the âbarbarianâ assumed explicitness, and reached its climax. (2) The omission of âmale nor female.â In the Oriental society, as in Galatia, the dignity of women needed to be asserted against supposed inferiority. In Greek or Græcised society, as at Corinth, Ephesus, and Colossæ, the new âfreedomâ of the gospel was apt to be abused to license; hence it was rather the âsubjectionâ of women which needed to be suggested. (Comp. 1 Corinthians 11:3-16; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35; Ephesians 5:22-24; and 1 Timothy 2:11-15.) (3) Whereas in the Galatian Epistle the stress is laid on the unity of all with one another in Christ, here (as usual) the great truth is that âChrist is all things and in all.â In 1 Corinthians 15:28 we have this phrase applied to God, in contradistinction to the office of the Son in His mediatorial kingdom. Here it is in reference to that kingdom that it is used. In it Christ (see Ephesians 1:23) âfills all in all;â and by His universal mediation all âlife is hid with Him in God.â He is all that can be needed, and that both âin all thingsâ and âin all persons.â But under both aspects the catholicity of the gospel is equally brought out; here by the direct union of all alike with Christ, there by the resulting unity of all with one another.
Verse 12
(12) Elect of God.âFor the description of the election here signified see Ephesians 1:4-6. The name is obviously applied to the whole Church, as âelect to privilege â; it is not opposed to âcalledâ (as in Matthew 20:16), but coincident with it, representing, indeed, the secret act of Godâs gracious will, which is openly manifested in calling. (Comp. the other instances of the word in the Epistles, Romans 8:33; Romans 16:13; 1 Timothy 5:21; 2 Timothy 2:10; Titus 1:1; 1 Peter 1:1; Revelation 17:14.)
Holy and beloved.âOf such election there are here two signs. The elect are âholy,â consecrated to God in thought and life; and âbeloved,â accepted and sustained in their consecration by His love. Both epithets belong to them as conformed to the image of Christ (Rev. 8:29); for He is âthe Holy One of Godâ (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34), who âsanctifies Himself for us, that we also may be sanctified in truthâ (John 17:19); and He is also the âBeloved,â the âSon of Godâs loveâ (Colossians 1:13; Matthew 3:17; Ephesians 1:16), and we are accepted in Him. The two epithets here seem intended to prepare for the two-fold exhortation following. They are âbeloved,â therefore they should love one another (Colossians 3:12-15); they are holy, therefore they should thank God and live to His glory (Colossians 3:16-17).
Verses 12-13
(12, 13) Comp. Ephesians 4:2; Ephesians 4:31; Ephesians 5:1-2. The word âtenderheartedâ in those passages corresponds to the âbowels (or, heart) of merciesâ here;â kindnessâ and âforgiveness,â âhumility,â âgentleness,â âforbearance,â appear in both. But the enumeration here is more exact in order of idea. St. Paul starts with the natural and universal instinct of compassion or sympathy; he next dwells on âkindliness and lowliness of mind,â which are closely akin, since readiness to oblige others grows naturally out of a self-neglectful humility; from these he passes to âgentleness and long-suffering âin case of injury, readyâ to forbear and to forgive; lastly, from these particulars he rises to the general spirit of âlove,â ruling under âthe peace of God.â
Verse 13
(13) Even as Christ forgave you.âThe MS. authority is in favour of the word âLordâ instead of Christ; but since the name âLordâ is specially applied to Christ in these Epistles (see, for example, Ephesians 4:5) there is no real difference. In Ephesians 4:31 we have âGod in Christ forgave you,â because there the example of Christ, as Son of Man, is afterwards to be set forth emphatically as an example of self-sacrifice (Colossians 3:2), and hence the free mercy of forgiveness is naturally attributed to âGod in Christ.â Here, in accordance with the emphatic exaltation of Christ, as all in all, the simpler phrase âChrist (or, the Lord) forgave youâ is employed.
Verse 14
(14) Above all.âProperly, over allâas a bond or cincture to keep all together. Love is the general principle, harmonising all the special graces named above.
The bond of perfectness.âThe bond of that harmony of character which is perfection. The phrase is remarkable, apparently suggested by the claim to perfection, set up by the Gnostic teachers. They sought such perfection in knowledge peculiar to the few; St. Paul in the love which is possible to all. For as he elsewhere urges (1 Corinthians 8:1),â Knowledge puffs up, charity builds up;â knowledge gains a fancied perfection, charity a real perfection.
Verse 15
(15) The peace of God.âThe true reading is the peace of Christâthat which He gives (John 14:27), that which He is (see Ephesians 2:14). The ordinary reading is, no doubt, borrowed from Philippians 4:7. This verse forms a link between the preceding exhortation to love of man, and the following exhortation to a loving and thankful service of God. The âpeace of Christâ is the sense of unity in Him, with our fellow-men and with God. We are âcalled to it in one Body,â of which He is the Head. (Comp. the fuller treatment of this subject in Ephesians 2:14-22; where, in accordance with the whole character of that Epistle, the unity âin one Body,â here only alluded to, is worked out in vividness and detail.)
Verse 16
(16) The word of Christ.âHere again the definite phrase, âthe word of Christ,â takes the place of the commoner phrase, âthe word of the Lord,â âthe word of God.â It is to âdwell in their hearts.â Hence it is the engrafted wordâ (James 1:21)âthe truth of Christ conceived in the heart, striking root into it, and making it its dwelling-place. It will be observed how all such phrases prepare for the full conception of Him as Himself âthe Word of God.â
In all wisdom.âThe symmetry of the original, âin all wisdom teaching . . . in grace singing,â suggests the connection of the words with those following, not, as in our version, with those going before. The indwelling Word of God is described as manifesting itself, first, in the wisdom of mutual teaching, next, in the grace of hearty thanksgiving.
Teaching and admonishing . . .âHere again we have at once general identity and special distinction between this and the parallel passage in Ephesians 5:19-20. There, as here, we have the âspeaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,â âthe singing in the hearts to the Lord,â and the spirit of âthankfulness.â But there the whole is described as a consequence of âbeing filled with the Spirit,â and, as an outburst of that spiritual enthusiasm, of which the spurious excitement of drunkenness is the morbid caricature. Here the thought starts from âthe word of Christ in the soul,â realised through the gift of the Spirit by all our faculties; and it divides itself accordingly into the function of teaching, which bears on the mind; âthe singing in graceâ of thankfulness, which comes from and goes to the heart; and the âdoing all in the name of Christ,â which belongs to the outer sphere of action.
Psalms and hymns.âThe ascription to those of an office of âteaching and admonitionâ describes what is their real, though indirect, effect. In the Church, as in the world, he who âmakes a peopleâs songsâ really guides their minds as well as their hearts. For good and for evil the hymns of the Christian Church have largely influenced her theology.
Verse 17
(17) All in the name of the Lord Jesus.âComp. here the more general exhortation of 1 Corinthians 10:31, âWhether ye eat or drink, or whatever ye do, do all to the glory of God.â This is the first principle of all godly life. The main object of all life, speculative or practical, is declared to be, not our own happiness or perfection, not the good of our fellow-men, but the âglory of Godââthe carrying out of His will, and so manifesting His moral attributes. We are taught that if we âseek this first, all the other things shall be added unto us.â But here we have the principle, not only of godly life, but of Christian life. It does all âin the name of Christ,â that is, as conformed to His image, and so being His representative; it looks up thankfully to God our Father, but it is through Him, âhaving our sonship by adoptionâ through His all-sufficient mediation. Its desire is, not only that God may be glorified, but that âHe may be glorified through Jesus Christâ (1 Peter 4:11). Once more we trace here the special and emphatic purpose of the Epistle.
Colossians 3:18 to Colossians 4:1 deals with the three great relations of lifeâbetween wives and husbands, children and parents, servants and masters. In this section we have the closest parallelism with the Epistle to the Ephesians (Ephesians 5:22 to Ephesians 6:9). But the treatment of the first relation is far briefer, having nothing to correspond to the grand and characteristic comparison of marriage to the union between Christ and the Church. Even in the second there is somewhat greater brevity and simplicity. The third is dwelt upon with marked coincidence of language, and at least equal emphasis. We can hardly doubt that the presence of Onesimus, the runaway slave, suggested this peculiar emphasis on the right relation between the slave and his master.
[It will only be necessary to note the few points in which this section differs notably from the parallel passage.]
Verse 18
(18) As it is fit in the Lord.âFor the explanation of this special fitness âin the Lord,â i.e., in virtue of Christian unity, see the grand description of Ephesians 5:23-24; Ephesians 5:32-33.
Verses 18-25
[6.
Special Exhortation as to the relations of life.
(1)
THE DUTY OF WIVES AND HUSBANDS (Colossians 3:18-19).
(2)
THE DUTY OF CHILDREN AND PARENTS (Colossians 3:20-21).
(3)
THE DUTY OF SLAVES AND MASTERS (Colossians 3:22 to Colossians 4:1).]
Verse 19
(19) Be not bitter.âProperly, grow not bitter, suffer not yourselves to be exasperated. The word is used metaphorically only in this passage, literally in Revelation 8:11; Revelation 10:9-10.
Verse 21
(21) Provoke not . . . to anger.âThis, in the text followed by our version, is borrowed from Ephesians 6:4. The true reading is provoke to emulation, as in 2 Corinthians 9:2. What is forbidden is a constant and restless stimulation, âspurring the willing horse;â which will end in failure and despondency.
Verses 22-25
(22-25) Compare throughout Ephesians 6:5-9. The only peculiarity of this passage is the strong emphasis laid on âthe reward of the inheritance.â âThe rewardâ is in the original, a perfect recompense or requital. The âinheritanceâ is exactly that which no slave could receive; only a son could be an heir (Galatians 4:7). Hence the slave on earth is recognised as a son in heaven. He âserves the Lord,â but his service is the perfect freedom of sonship.
Verse 25
(25) He that doeth wrong is clearly here the master (see Ephesians 6:9), though, of course, the phrase cannot be limited to him.