Colossians 3:10 tells believers that they have taken on a new self, one that is continually being renewed as they grow in knowledge of God, and that this renewal is patterned after the One who created them. Paul wrote this to the church in Colossae, a congregation of Gentile and Jewish believers in what is now western Turkey, encouraging them to live differently because they already belonged to Christ.
And have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator…
Colossians 3:10 (WEB)
What Colossians 3:10 Means
The verse begins with the idea of “putting on” a new self. Paul uses the image of clothing: just as you put on a coat or a uniform that shows who you are, believers have put on a new identity through their union with Christ. The language echoes his earlier point that the old way of life has been taken off, like dirty clothes set aside.
The “new man” is not a self-improvement project. It describes a person who has been made new by God’s work. The verse then says this new self “is being renewed,” a phrase in the present tense. The change is real and finished in one sense, yet it keeps unfolding day by day. Renewal happens through “knowledge,” which in Paul’s writing means a deep, relational knowing of God and his ways, not simply information in the head.
Finally, the renewal is “after the image of his Creator.” Paul is pointing back to Genesis, where humans were made in God’s image. Sin distorted that image, and Christ restores it. The verse does not promise instant perfection or freedom from struggle. It describes a steady, Spirit-led process of becoming more like the God who made you.
The Context of Colossians 3:10
Paul wrote Colossians, traditionally attributed to him, to a church he had not personally founded. The letter warns against teachings that elevated human traditions, special spiritual experiences, or rules about food and festivals above Christ himself. Paul’s answer is that believers have died and risen with Christ, so their lives now need to reflect that new reality.
The verses just before Colossians 3:10 list sins to be put away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and dishonest speech. The verses after it call for compassion, kindness, humility, and forgiveness, and then state that in the new life “there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision,” because Christ is all and in all. Read in that setting, the renewal in verse 10 is not a private inner change only. It reshapes how believers treat one another across every social and ethnic line that once divided them.
Key Phrases in Colossians 3:10
Ephesians 4:23-24
23 And that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
(WEB)
Paul uses nearly the same language here, speaking of being renewed in the spirit of your mind and putting on the new self created to be like God. Reading it beside Colossians 3:10 shows that the renewal of the inner person is a consistent theme in his teaching.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
(WEB)
This verse declares that anyone in Christ is a new creation, with the old things passed away. It gives the foundation for the renewal described in Colossians, showing that the new life begins with union with Christ and then grows over time.
A Short Prayer From Colossians 3:10
Father, thank you that you have clothed me in a new self through Jesus Christ. I confess that I often go back to old habits and reactions, as though I had never been made new. Renew my mind through your Word and your Spirit, so that my thoughts, words, and choices reflect the character of the One who created me. Help me to grow in knowledge of you each day, and let my life show your image to the people around me. Amen.
