Colossians 3:3 (GNV)

Passage

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Nearby Context

Colossians 3:1 If yee then bee risen with Christ, seeke those thinges which are aboue, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God.

Colossians 3:2 Set your affections on things which are aboue, and not on things which are on the earth.

Colossians 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

Colossians 3:4 When Christ which is our life, shall appeare, then shall ye also appeare with him in glory.

Colossians 3:5 Mortifie therefore your members which are on the earth, fornication, vncleannes, the inordinate affection, euill concupiscence, and couetousnes which is idolatrie.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "dead", "life", and "christ". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "dead" and "life", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Set your affections on things which are..." into verse 4's "When Christ which is our life shall...", so "dead" and "life" 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 "dead" and "life" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.