Colossians 3:20 (GNV)

Passage

Children, obey your parents in all thing for that is well pleasing vnto the Lord.

Nearby Context

Colossians 3:18 Wiues, submit your selues vnto your husbands, as it is comely in the Lord.

Colossians 3:19 Husbands, loue your wiues, and be not bitter vnto them.

Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all thing for that is well pleasing vnto the Lord.

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, prouoke not your children to anger, least they be discouraged.

Colossians 3:22 Seruants, be obedient vnto them that are your masters according to the flesh, in all things, not with eye seruice as men pleasers, but in singlenes of heart, fearing God.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "children", "obey", "parents", "well", "pleasing", "vnto", and "lord". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "children" and "obey", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 19's "Husbands loue your wiues and be not..." into verse 21's "Fathers prouoke not your children to anger...", so "children" and "obey" belong inside that flow. In Colossians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "children" and "obey" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.