Daily Bible Reading 18th July 2025 // Colossians 3:10-4:6
10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Slaves, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters, not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality.
4 Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven.
2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.
5 Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
It is the positive exhortation, the balancing imperative, 'Put on...' (v 12) that Paul develops now, as he urges the child of God to demonstrate the family likeness. From v 10, Paul gives a positive and practical exposition of what it means to be Christ's, to live as a Christian, in the various spheres of everyday life. In vv 11-17 he concentrates on living out the new life of Christ in the local church (among believers). In vv 10-21 it is the home and the family as the sphere of Christian living. In vv 22-4:1 it is the work place and in vv 4:2-6, Paul concentrates on the Christian and the outsider/unbeliever. For Paul there is no notion that the new life of Christ is to be lived out in the rarefied and enraptured atmosphere of the cloister. There is nothing 'other-worldly' here. Paul, as always, is utterly realistic. The believer must live out the life of Christ, the life of the age to come, in the cauldron of the here and now. Thus the apostle's emphasis in this part of his letter on the necessity for Christ's virtue and peace to rule in our hearts and make us gracious in all personal, domestic and business relationships. This is the practicality of the Gospel! This is the measure of our sanctification or lack of it!