Alright, so I’m gonna briefly talk about several verses in Colossians 3 of Bible
Firstly, Colossians 3 is A guy called Paul’s answer to what he wrote in Chapter 2. Chapter 2 said, “Stop following false teachings.” and then Chapter 3 says “here’s what to do instead.” he talked about some big pictures but did not give specific suggestions until he composed Chapter 4, which includes compassion and humility, etc., and then verse 17, the last verse wraps up everything, which whatever you do, do it in Jesus’ name.
This excerpt is obviously literal and prescriptive. Paul is not telling a parable or describing what Christians happened to do. He’s giving direct commands, like “let the peace of Christ rule,” “do everything in the name of the Lord.” There’s some figurative language, like “set your minds on things above” , this part is a bit descriptive, but the whole thing, the instructions themselves, are clearly prescriptive.
I also think there is a conflict that Paul sets extremely high standards without firstly considering how hard the transformation actually is. For someone already struggling, being told to just “put on love” can feel overwhelming rather than helpful.
I don’t fully believe what Paul is saying. But there are some points I think are really good, like giving up wrong ideas and accepting better moral guidance. However, I think the author lacks rigorous argument — he never explains why these actions are right. He assumes the audience are already Christians. Especially when he says “as God’s chosen people” I don’t understand what being “chosen” actually requires, so I naturally don’t understand why Paul is asking these people to do these things.
Thank you.