Colossians 3 teaches believers to set their hearts on what is above, put off the old patterns of sin, and put on compassion, forgiveness, love and gratitude in the ordinary settings of home, work and church. These questions are written for a small group, a Sunday class, or a personal study. Each set can be used on its own, and the leader’s notes explain where the discussion can go.
Colossians 3 at a Glance
Paul opens with a call to seek the things above, because the believer has died with Christ and whose life is now hidden in God. From there the chapter moves to a list of practices to put to death, then a list of virtues to put on, with love as the bond that holds them together. The final section applies this new life to households: wives and husbands, children and fathers, and slaves and masters, each addressed directly under the lordship of Christ.
Read the chapter in this order and the questions below will follow naturally. The first set looks at what the text says, the second at what it means, and the third at how it shapes daily choices.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first, before anyone offers an interpretation. Ask the group to find the answers in the text itself and to point to the verse number each time. Keep the pace slow so that quieter members have room to speak.
Colossians 3:1-2
1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth.
(WEB)
Read this at the start of the session to set the frame. Paul’s opening call to seek the things above shapes every instruction that follows, so the group should hear it before anything else.
Colossians 3:12-13
12 Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; 13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do.
(WEB)
Read this when discussing relationships and forgiveness. The list of virtues and the call to bear with one another give the group concrete language for the rest of the session.
Colossians 3:14
Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
(WEB)
Read this after the virtues list to show how love holds them together. A single verse like this can anchor a group’s reflection on what love looks like in practice.
Colossians 3:16-17
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord. 17 Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father, through him.
(WEB)
Read this when talking about worship and daily speech. Paul links teaching, singing and thanksgiving to the word of Christ, and the group can notice how these verses connect corporate and personal life.
Colossians 3:23-24
23 And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.
(WEB)
Read this near the end of the session to frame the application on work. It gives members a clear reason to bring their daily tasks before the Lord and expect a reward from him.
Memory Verse for Colossians 3
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we thank you that we have been raised with Christ and that our lives are hidden with him in you. Teach us to set our minds on what is above, and to loosen our grip on the things of this earth that pull at our hearts. Show us the sins we need to put away, and give us the grace to put on compassion, kindness, humility and patience. Clothe us in love, which binds all these together, and let your peace rule in each of our hearts. Help us to work and speak and live as those who serve the Lord Christ, and keep us faithful until the day he is revealed. Amen.
