Colossians 3:1-11

New Testament for Everyone

3 So if you were raised to life with the Messiah, search for the things that are above, where the Messiah is seated at God’s right hand! ² Think about the things that are above, not the things that belong on the earth. ³ Don’t you see: you died, and your life has been hidden with the Messiah, in God! ⁴ When the Messiah is revealed (and he is your life, remember), then you too will be revealed with him in glory.

Old clothes, new clothes

⁵ So, then, you must kill off the parts of you that belong on the earth: illicit sexual behavior, uncleanness, passion, evil desire and greed (which is a form of idolatry). ⁶ It’s because of these things that God’s wrath comes on the children of disobedience. ⁷ You too used to behave like that, once, when your life consisted of that sort of thing.

⁸ But now you must put away the lot of them: anger, rage, wickedness, blasphemy, dirty talk coming out of your mouth. ⁹ Don’t tell lies to each other! You have stripped off the old human nature, complete with its patterns of behavior, ¹⁰ and you have put on the new one—which is being renewed in the image of the creator, bringing you into possession of new knowledge. ¹¹ In this new humanity there is no question of “Greek and Jew,” or “circumcised and uncircumcised,” of “barbarian, Scythian,” or “slave and free.” The Messiah is everything and in everything!