1 So if you have been raised to life in fellowship with Christ, keep on seeking the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Practice occupying your minds with the things above, not with the things on earth; 3 for you have died, and your life is now hidden in God through your fellowship with Christ. 4 When Christ, who is our life, appears, you too will appear to be glorified in fellowship with Him.
5 So once for all put to death your lower, earthly nature with respect to sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which is real idolatry. 6 It is on account of these very sins that God's anger is coming. 7 You too used to practice these sins, when you used to live that sort of life. 8 But now you too must once for all put them all aside -- anger, rage, malice, and abusive, filthy talk from your lips. 9 Stop lying to one another, for you have stripped off the old self with its practices, 10 and have put on the new self which is in the process of being made new in the likeness of its Creator, so that you may attain a perfect knowledge of Him. 11 In this new relation there is no Greek and Jew, no circumcised and uncircumcised, no barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is everything and in us all.
12 So as God's own chosen people, consecrated and dearly loved, you must once for all clothe yourselves with tenderheartedness, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience; you must keep on 13 forbearing one another and freely forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; just as the Lord has freely forgiven you, so must you also do. 14 And over all these qualities put on love, which is the tie of perfection that binds us together. 15 Let the peace that Christ can give keep on acting as umpire in your hearts, for you were called to this state as members of one body. And practice being thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ continue to live in you in all its wealth of wisdom; keep on teaching it to one another and training one another in it with thankfulness, in your hearts singing praise to God with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. 17 And whatever you say or do, let it all be done with reference to the Lord Jesus, and through Him continue to give thanks to God the Father.
18 You married women must continue to live in subordination to your husbands, for this is your Christian duty. 19 You husbands must continue to love your wives and stop being harsh with them. 20 Children, practice obedience to your parents in everything, for this is acceptable in Christians. 21 Fathers, stop exasperating your children, so as to keep them from losing heart. 22 Slaves, practice obedience to your earthly masters in everything, not as though they were watching you and as though you were merely pleasing men, but with sincerity of heart, because you fear the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, do it with all your heart, as work for the Lord and not for men, 24 for you know that it is from the Lord that you are going to get your pay in the form of an inheritance; so keep on serving Christ the Lord. 25 For the man who wrongs another will be paid back the wrong he has done; and there are no exceptions.