1 IF ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.
8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.
9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;
10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:
11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
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.
17 And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.
18 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.
19 Husbands, love your wives, and be not bitter against them.
20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
21 Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.
22 Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:
23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

1If yee then bee risen with Christ, seeke those things which are aboue, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God:

2Set your affection on things aboue, not on things on the earth.

3For yee are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

4When Christ, who is our life, shall appeare, then shall yee also appeare with him in glorie.

5Mortifie therefore your members which are vpon the earth: fornication, vncleannesse, inordinate affection, euill concupiscence, and couetousnesse, which is idolatrie:

6For which things sake, the wrath of God commeth on the children of disobedience,

7In the which yee also walked sometime, when ye liued in them.

8But now you also put off all these, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemie, filthy communication out of your mouth.

9Lie not one to another, seeing that yee haue put off the old man with his deedes:

10And haue put on the new man, which is renued in knowledge, after the image of him that created him,

11Where there is neither Greeke, nor Iew, circumcision, nor vncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond, nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

12Put on therefore (as the elect of God, holy and beloued) bowels of mercies, kindnesse, humblenesse of minde, meekenesse, long suffering,

13Forbearing one another, and forgiuing one another, if any man haue a quarrell against any: euen as Christ forgaue you, so also doe yee.

14And aboue all these things put on charitie, which is the bond of perfectnesse.

15And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also yee are called in one body: and be yee thankefull.

16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdome, teaching and admonishing one another in Psalmes, and Hymnes, and Spirituall songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

17And whatsoeuer yee doe in word or deed, doe all in the Name of the Lord Iesus, giuing thankes to God and the Father, by him.

18Wiues, submit your selues vnto your owne husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.

19Husbands, loue your wiues, and be not bitter against them.

20Children, obey your parents in all things, for this is well pleasing vnto the Lord.

21Fathers, prouoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

22Seruants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh: not with eye seruice as men pleasers, but in singlenesse of heart, fearing God:

23And whatsoeuer yee doe, doe it heartily, as to the Lord, and not vnto men:

24Knowing, that of the Lord yee shall receiue the reward of the inheritance: for ye serue the Lord Christ.

25But he that doeth wrong, shall receiue for the wrong which hee hath done: and there is no respect of persons.

 

1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, then, the parts of you that are earthly: immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and the greed that is idolatry. 6 Because of these the wrath of God is coming (upon the disobedient). 7 By these you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths. 9 Stop lying to one another, since you have taken off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed, for knowledge, in the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all. 12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if one has a grievance against another; as the Lord has forgiven you, so must you also do. 14 And over all these put on love, that is, the bond of perfection. 15 And let the peace of Christ control your hearts, the peace into which you were also called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, as in all wisdom you teach and admonish one another, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 18 Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and avoid any bitterness toward them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they may not become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey your human masters in everything, not only when being watched, as currying favor, but in simplicity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do from the heart, as for the Lord and not for others, 24 knowing that you will receive from the Lord the due payment of the inheritance; be slaves of the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will receive recompense for the wrong he committed, and there is no partiality.

Chapters 1 and 2 emphasize doctrinal issues. In 3 and 4, Paul gives practical ways of living the Christian life.
v 1. If is better translated Since. This is the foundational truth, the believer is risen with Christ as stated in 2:13. Therefore he should habitually seek the things related to heaven. The fact of Christ’s glorified position at the right hand of God not only shows His victory over sin and death, but is all the more reason to emphasize heavenly rather than worldly things in our lives.
v 2. Heretics too would seek things above, but they did it through angel worship.
v 3. Through Christ’s death we are recognized as dead to sin, but because He lives, our new spiritual life is hidden in Him. See Rom. 6.
v 4. This apparently refers to the Rapture when we receive our gloified bodies, although we will not appear to the unsaved world at this time, not until He comes in glory.
v 5. From this word we get our word “Mortuary”. We are to put to death these things which hinder our relationship with Christ. The nitty gritty starts here. This list involves sexual impurity of both the body and mind, and even the first prohibition against covetousness in Deut. 5:21 forbids desiring a neighbor’s wife. It is Idolatry because it disregards God. (v 5-9 list 11 things to avoid or put off)
v 6,7. Those practicing those things are called children of disobedience, and Paul reminds the Colossians that this had been commonplace in their lives before. See Eph. 2:1-3.
v 8,9. Sexual sins are repulsive, but sin is sin in God’s sight, and we must rid them completely from our lives. Anger is  a smouldering hatred  while wrath is a violent outburst of rage. Filthy communication includes all forms of shameful utterances. Lying is so detestable and potentially harmful it is given space by itself.
v 10,11. As a new man, a new spiritual self, we are constantly being molded and conformed into the likeness of the one who created us. As brothers in the Lord, all the listed distinctions should vanish.
v 12-14. The Christian life should be as much positive as negative. If we put on the new nature like a coat, others will see Christ instead of us. The first part of this list with which we are to clothe ourselves involves social contacts. As important as they all are in the body of believers, love is the key item that binds the others together in harmony, and without it, the others may be little more than a politeness. v 13, Keep forgiving. Lack of unity may be lack of love.  (v 12-14 list 8 things to put on) To forbear can mean to put up with.
v 15-17. The second part of positive items is in regard to personal attributes. The peace of God should rule in our hearts as an umpire, settling with finality all questions that arise. We should be thankful (more emphasis on thankfulness) for this guidance. As we become saturated with the Word  of God we have additional peace, Ps. 119:165, and are prompted to help others spiritually. A part of this is through public worship, using psalms and spiritual words  accompanied by music. v17 The ultimate test of all these things is that we do them all to the glory of God.
v 18-21. This series of verses deals with family relationships. Proper response to God will be reflected in proper response to one’s mate.
v 18,19. The command for a wife’s submission and a husband’s devotion must be considered jointly, with similar instruction in Eph. 5:22,23 and 1 Pet. 3: 1-7. This is important because it portrays the relationship between Christ and His Church. 
v 20. God considers disobedience to parents as a serious act of rebellion, Ex. 20:12; Lev. 19:3; Deut. 21:18-21, but obedience a blessing. See also comments on Eph. 6:1.
v 21. Fathers have an equal responsibility that their conduct does not promote rebellion or a feeling of “Oh, what’s the use?” on the part of the child. One man, in disciplining his son, had him push a coin the length of the cow barn gutter with his nose. Another man impulsively struck his son with what ever happened to be in his hand. One day, when the son was older, he wrestled the hammer from his father’s hand and struck him back, then left home. These boys were provoked.
v 22-24. This section has to do with employer - employee relationships, although here it regards slaves. The issue of Onesimus is fresh on Paul’s mind. At this time there were over 60,000,000 slaves in the Roman empire, some of them Christians. These were not to try to escape or make pretense of working, but do it heartily as though it was a service to the Lord, not their master. In the long run, it is the Lord they must please, and the Lord gives the real reward. God will allow any punishment for wrong doing without respect to their belief or position. 
v 25. Pertains primarily to slaves while Eph. 6:9 and Col. 4:1 focuses on masters. Paul may have thought about Onesimus, but there were many millions of slaves at this time.