Read or listen the Epistle to the Colossians chapter 3 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

In almost all of Paul's letters, the beginning of the letter is doctrinal, and the end of the letter has an exhortative part. You cannot always draw a clear line between the two, because the presentation a doctrine always includes the idea "Do it this way!" The third and fourth chapters of Colossians are Paul's practical teaching on the Christian life.

New life in Christ – Col. 3:1-4

"If then..." (verse 1) shows that Paul always thought that faith is not only head knowledge, but it also changes a person and his behavior. Doctrine and life belong together (cf. also Rom. 12:1, Eph. 4:1, and Phil. 4:1).

If we are on the side of Christ, we should seek the things that are above. In various situations, think like this: "What would I do if Jesus was standing next to me right now?" For he does stand! (Matt. 28:20)

If we are on Christ’s side, on the winning side, there is no longer any reason, nor does it make any sense, to team up with the loser, the enemy of our soul.

"Set your minds on..." (verse 2). Faith is not only head knowledge, but it is also that. Where faith becomes only some mystical, inner knowledge, etc., which others can no longer test, we have stepped outside the Christian faith. The events of salvation history are public to everyone, they are not anyone's private property!

Paul understood the difference between a Christian and a non-Christian to be very distinct: the Christian is on the side of life, and the non-Christian is on the side of death (verses 3-4). Both seem to live in exactly the same way now, but the return of Christ – or our coming before him after our death – will reveal which side we are on. Here, as we live in time, the dividing line between life and death cannot be drawn – only God knows it (cf. the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matt. 13:24-30).

Put away your old way of life – Col. 3:5-11

As he begins to give more detailed advice on walking as a Christian, Paul begins with negative things: what should not be done. Knowing what must not be done is just as important as knowing what must be done. The devil is good at blinding us, so much so that we lose the ability to understand God's will.

Putting away and putting on (verse 12) relate to baptism. Baptism is not only participation in the death of Christ (=putting away), but also participation in his resurrection (=putting on).

It is worth remembering that seeking Christ and putting to death the forces of evil in one's life always go together. You cannot have one without the other. Without Christ we cannot overcome evil. And Christ is never inactive in our lives but is always fighting against sin. The real battle in the human being only begins when Christ, instead of our old self, becomes the opponent of the devil. Our old self and the devil can easily come to an understanding, but Christ and the devil never.

In verse 5, the first four vices in the list of vices are related to human sexuality, and the fifth one is related to money, property. Jesus declared in the Sermon on the Mount that you cannot serve two masters, both God and mammon (Matt. 6:24). Therefore, the Bible sees both sexuality and property as a danger, as downright idolatry, to our relationship with God.

This does not mean that those two are evil or sinful as such. No, they are both good gifts from God when used in the right way. But it is extremely easy to use both in the wrong way; they easily become things that control the whole life of a person, in which case they can well be called idols. We do not have to look far for examples of this!

This is also a reminder to us that Paul's teachings are still topical. Much has changed in the world during the last nineteen hundred years, but the essence of the human being remains the same.

It has been said that males under the age of 25 are especially attracted to sexual sins, males aged 25-45 to money, and males over 45 to fame and glory. Maybe the same applies to women.

Christians must also adhere to truth in their speaking, whether the verse 9 refers to other people or to things. Once again, Paul and James think alike (cf. James 3:1-12).

Even here on earth, the Christians are one in Christ (verse 11). This does not mean similarity or sameness, but that there is a common ground; we are all created and redeemed by God. Here in time, there are of course still many kinds of dividing lines between Christians, but it should not be like that.

The early church was a "glaring" exception in the society of the time because in the church, the various dividing lines had ceased to exist. There was no difference between Jews and Greeks. Uncivilized barbarians (this expression meant a person who did not know the common language of that time, i.e. Greek) were equally accepted as civilized Greeks to be members of the body of Christ. Even the Scythians, known for their cruelty, were accepted to the congregation (the Jewish historian Josephus considered them almost animals). The Scythians lived north of the Black Sea, outside the borders of the Roman Empire, so not even the worldly borders restrained the gospel. It did not care about any borders, and no border would be able to stop it from spreading.

"Christ is all" (verse 11) may be Paul's response to the false teachers’ teaching of a "deeper" holiness. You do not need anything else but Christ. Christ is all that matters.

Put on Christ – Col. 3:12-17

Paul speaks of Christians, the church, in the same way as the Old Testament speaks of the people of Israel (verse 12, cf. Deut. 7:6-8): “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you”, and “the LORD loves you”.

In Romans 12:1, Paul speaks of the Christian's "spiritual worship” – submitting your life to God’s guidance. We could just as well speak of "everyday worship" (verse 17). It is worth remembering that sanctification is not something non-human or superhuman – something that comes from outside this life. Sanctification is very everyday – it is living full-time in fellowship with Christ.

Forgiveness is a basic requirement of all communal life (verse 13). Where there is no forgiveness, there ought to be perfect people, or otherwise there is no true communal life whatsoever. Love for my neighbour comes from the fact that God has first forgiven me (verse 13).

Paul talks about putting on love (verse 14) and Peter talks about how love covers over a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). God's love is like a garment that covers our sinful nature. It is not only a cover, but God wants to be the centre of our lives, the centre and the starting point of everything.

God's Word is God speaking to us. In the Bible, we encounter the eternal God, and that is why we should take time with it and enjoy it every day (verse 16). Revivals have usually also given rise to new spiritual songs (verse 16).

As a Christian at home and at work – Col. 3:18-4:1

When discussing the third chapter, we will also look at the first verse of the fourth chapter.

Paul starts from the fact that the most important thing is our relationship with God, and only after that come the relationships between people. If our relationship with God is not in order, our human relationships are also often problematic. Following such instructions of the Bible can never be accomplished except through the work of the Holy Spirit (verse 18,”in the Lord"). If we try to implement these instructions by force, it will inevitably result in deep conflicts.

Paul deals with three different relationships here (in Eph. 5:21-6:9, Paul deals with them more extensively).

1. Wives – husbands (verses 18-19)

2. Children – parents (verses 20-21)

3. Servants/slaves – masters (verses 3:22-4:1)

Similar instructions are known from antiquity outside of Christianity, e.g. from the philosopher Aristotle. However, Paul's writings are not just sensible advice from one person to another, but they are specifically spiritual teaching.

Paul's order is unusual: in all three pairs, he mentions the lower-ranking party first, while it was customary to start by listing the rights of the stronger one. In every group, Paul assigns responsibilities to both parties – the stronger one cannot rule as lord, because he also has a Lord, Christ (verse 4:1).

Modern people do not like the idea of submission. In our minds, it is like grovelling, or something similar. However, Paul did not think of grovelling or anything like that when he spoke of submission, but his basis for it was submission to God's will. As regards to people who do not want to submit to God's will, they will inevitably, before long, come into conflict with their neighbours. You can of course fight against God's will, but the outcome is clear in advance.

The church membership structure of that time can be seen in Paul's instructions: there were many slaves among the Christians, and that is why there are four verses of instructions for them. On the other hand, there were few masters in the congregations, so there is only one verse with instructions for them.

Whatever a Christian does, it is ultimately work for God and under God's eyes. In our relationship with God, we can never do eye-service (verse 22), because God sees everything, even the most hidden thoughts of our inward being.