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¹You have been raised to life with Christ, so set your hearts on the things that are in heaven, where Christ sits on his throne at the right-hand side of God. ²Keep your minds fixed on things there, not on things here on earth. ³For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴Your real life is Christ and when he appears, then you too will appear with him and share his glory!

⁵You must put to death, then, the earthly desires at work in you, such as sexual immorality, indecency, lust, evil passions, and greed (for greed is a form of idolatry). ⁶Because of such things God's anger will come upon those who do not obey him. ⁷At one time you yourselves used to live according to such desires, when your life was dominated by them.

⁸But now you must get rid of all these things: anger, passion, and hateful feelings. No insults or obscene talk must ever come from your lips. ⁹Do not lie to one another, for you have taken off the old self with its habits ¹⁰and have put on the new self. This is the new being which God, its Creator, is constantly renewing in his own image, in order to bring you to a full knowledge of himself. ¹¹As a result, there is no longer any distinction between Gentiles and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, savages, slaves, and free, but Christ is all, Christ is in all.

¹²You are the people of God; he loved you and chose you for his own. So then, you must clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. ¹⁴And to all these qualities add love, which binds all things together in perfect unity. ¹⁵The peace that Christ gives is to guide you in the decisions you make; for it is to this peace that God has called you together in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Christ's message in all its richness must live in your hearts. Teach and instruct each other with all wisdom. Sing psalms, hymns, and sacred songs; sing to God with thanksgiving in your hearts. ¹⁷Everything you do or say, then, should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks through him to God the Father.

¹⁸Wives, submit to your husbands, for that is what you should do as Christians.

¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

²⁰Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents always, for that is what pleases God.

²¹Parents, do not irritate your children, or they will become discouraged.

²²Slaves, obey your human masters in all things, not only when they are watching you because you want to gain their approval; but do it with a sincere heart because of your reverence for the Lord. ²³Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for human beings. ²⁴Remember that the Lord will give you as a reward what he has kept for his people. For Christ is the real Master you serve. ²⁵And wrongdoers will be repaid for the wrong things they do, because God judges everyone by the same standard.