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Colossians 3 General Notes
Structure and formatting
The second part of this chapter parallels Ephesians 5 and 6.
Special concepts in this chapter
Old and new self
The old and new self mean the same as the old and new man. The term "old man" probably refers to the sinful nature with which a person is born. The "new man" is the new nature or new life that God gives a person after they come to believe in Christ. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/sin and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/faith)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
Character
Many of the things Paul encourages his readers to pursue or avoid are not actions but character qualities. Because of this, they may be difficult to translate. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-abstractnouns)
"The things above"
Where God dwells is often pictured as being located "above." Paul says to "seek the things above" and to "think about the things above." He is implying Christians should seek and think about heavenly and godly things.