Colossians 3:10 teaches that when someone trusts Christ, they are no longer defined by their old way of living. They are being renewed inward, growing in real knowledge of God so that their character increasingly reflects the One who made them. Paul wrote this to the believers in the church at Colossae, a city in what is now western Turkey, reminding them that their new identity in Christ should shape how they actually live day to day.
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 “put on the new man,” a picture borrowed from taking off old clothes and putting on fresh ones. Paul has just told the Colossians to put away anger, slander and dishonest speech, the habits that belonged to their former life. Now he says the new self is something they have clothed themselves in, a change of identity that shows up in visible behavior.
The phrase “who is being renewed” is important because it describes an ongoing process, not a single moment. The renewal is happening now and continues over time, the way a person grows into maturity. Paul says this renewal takes place “in knowledge,” meaning a growing understanding of who God is and what He is like, which slowly reshapes a person’s thinking, desires and choices.
Finally, the renewal is “after the image of his Creator.” The idea goes back to Genesis, where humans were made in God’s image. Paul is saying that as believers come to know God more fully, they are gradually restored to the reflection of God’s character that was always meant for them. The verse does not promise instant perfection, but it does promise that real change is underway.
The Context of Colossians 3:10
Colossians was written by Paul, traditionally identified as the author, to a congregation he had not personally founded but cared for deeply. Paul was concerned that the believers not drift into false teaching that made salvation depend on rules or secret knowledge. His letter stresses that Christ is supreme and that believers are complete in Him.
The verses just before this one, Colossians 3:7 to 9, list specific sins to abandon, including anger, malice and lying. Verses 11 to 13 that follow show that this new identity erases the old divisions of race, religion, class and social status, and calls for compassion, kindness and forgiveness. Read in that setting, Colossians 3:10 is the hinge: it explains why the old behavior must go and why the new kind of community is possible.
Key Phrases in Colossians 3:10
Romans 12:2
Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
(WEB)
Paul’s call in Romans to be transformed by the renewing of your mind echoes the idea of ongoing renewal in Colossians 3:10. Both verses show that inner change, shaped by truth, is what makes a new way of life possible.
2 Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.
(WEB)
This passage describes believers being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. It parallels the image language in Colossians 3:10 and shows that the change happens gradually as we look at the Lord.
A Short Prayer From Colossians 3:10
Father, you have made me new in Christ, and I confess that I still carry habits from my old life. Show me where anger, pride or dishonesty still shape my words and choices. Give me a growing knowledge of you, so that my mind and heart are gradually renewed. Help me reflect your character to the people around me today, and let my life point them to your goodness. Amen.
