Colossians 3:2

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Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:2 (NKJV)

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

Colossians 3:2 (NIV)

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:2 (KJV)

Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.

Colossians 3:2 (NLT)

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Colossians 3:2 (ESV)

Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

Colossians 3:2 (NASB)

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value].

Colossians 3:2 (AMP)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMP), Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

And set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher things), not on the things that are on the earth.

Colossians 3:2 (AMPC)

Scripture quotations taken from the Amplified® Bible (AMPC), Copyright © 1954, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Don't shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ — that's where the action is. See things from his perspective.

Colossians 3:2 (MSG)

Scripture quotations from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.

New Covenant Meaning

Phronete: More Than Thinking, Oriented Living

The Greek word phronete, translated "set your mind," is broader than intellectual thinking. It encompasses the whole inner orientation of a person: what they value, what they are preoccupied with, what shapes their perception and decisions. In Philippians 4:8, Paul uses the same root when he says "whatever is true, whatever is noble... think on these things" (phronete). In Romans 8:5-6, he contrasts those whose phronema is set on the flesh with those whose phronema is set on the Spirit. Colossians 3:2 is calling for a fundamental reorientation of the whole inner life, not just a change in mental content.

"Things Above": The Risen Position Is the Reference Point

The "things above" are defined by the context: Christ is seated at the right hand of God (3:1). The things above are the realities of the kingdom of God as they are established in Christ's exalted position. This is not otherworldly mysticism that ignores daily life. Paul immediately follows the call to set minds on things above with very concrete instructions about earthly conduct: put to death immorality (v. 5), put away anger and slander (v. 8), put on compassion and kindness (v. 12). The heavenly orientation produces the earthly obedience. You behave differently on earth when you are thinking from heaven.

Colossians 3:1-2 is grounded in the positional language of verse 1: "you have been raised with Christ." The "therefore" connects the command to an already-accomplished fact. You are not being told to set your mind on things above as an aspirational discipline that might, if practiced long enough, eventually produce spiritual vitality. You are being told to orient yourself toward the reality that is already true: you have been raised with Christ, your life is hidden with Christ in God (v. 3), Christ is your life (v. 4). Setting your mind on things above is the practice of living in alignment with what has already happened to you.

Application for Your Life

Where Your Mind Is Determines How You Live

The practical implication of Colossians 3:2 is that the quality and direction of your life follows the orientation of your mind. A person whose thinking, values, preoccupations, and perceptions are shaped by the earthly perspective, by what can be seen, measured, and immediately experienced, will live differently from a person whose inner life is shaped by the heavenly perspective, by what is true in Christ, by the realities of the kingdom that is coming. The command to set your mind above is the command to choose, deliberately and continuously, which perspective will govern your inner world.

Setting the Mind Is an Active, Ongoing Practice

The present imperative (phronete) indicates continuous, habitual action: keep setting your mind on things above. It is not a one-time decision but an ongoing orientation that must be renewed and maintained. Left to itself, the mind tends toward the immediately visible and the urgently pressing. The discipline of keeping the mind set on things above is the discipline of consistently returning your attention to what is true from the perspective of Christ's exalted position. Scripture, prayer, worship, and the community of believers are the means by which this orientation is cultivated and sustained.

Prayer Based on This Verse

Father, I set my mind on things above. I choose to orient my inner life by the perspective of Christ's exalted position rather than by the immediately visible and earthly. My life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ is my life. I will not shuffle along with my eyes only on the ground in front of me. I lift my eyes to where Christ is, seated at Your right hand, and I think from that place. Shape my values, my perceptions, my preoccupations by that heavenly perspective. Let the way I see my circumstances, my relationships, and my purpose be formed by where I am seated in Christ. In His name. Amen.