3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ. Note the parallel statements of fact in this section: believers have died with Christ (v. 3; 2:11, 12, 20); they have been raised with Him (v. 1; 2:12, 13); they are with Christ in heaven (v. 3; Eph. 2:6); they will be with Him at His return (v. 4); they have “put off the old self” (v. 9), and “put on the new self” (v. 10). Paul’s instructions for behavior come only after his description of the redemption God has richly bestowed on His people (2:6, 7 note). Obedience is a response to God’s favor, and not a means of gaining it.

seated at the right hand of God. A pivotal, exultant theme in the New Testament (Acts 2:33–35; 5:31; 7:55, 56; Rom. 8:34; Eph. 1:20; Heb. 1:3, 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; 1 Pet. 3:22; Rev. 3:21).