Bible Strands
Colossians 3:2
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the Colossian church, sandwiched between the statement that they have been raised with Christ (3:1) and the claim that their life is hidden with Christ in God (3:3).
The words — φρονεῖτε (phroneite) is a present imperative: not a single act of thinking but a sustained, deliberate orientation of the mind. ἄνω (anō) is purely spatial, "above," anchoring the command to Christ's seated position in v. 1.
The thread — The same "set your mind" pattern appears in 1 Chronicles 22:19 (set your heart and soul to seek the LORD) and is echoed in 1 John 2:15's prohibition against loving the world.
Why it lands — It is a command, not an invitation: the reader is to redirect attention from what is visible to what is hidden with Christ in God, and to do so continuously.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Cross-references
- 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- 1 Chronicles 22:19 Now set your heart and soul to seek the LORD your God. Begin building the sanctuary of the LORD God, so that you may bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD and the holy articles of God into the temple that will be built for the Name of the LORD.”
- Colossians 3:1 Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.
- Matthew 16:23 But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”
- Romans 8:4 so that the righteous standard of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
- Matthew 6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
- Psalms 119:36 Turn my heart to Your testimonies and not to covetous gain.
- Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
- Philippians 3:19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and their glory is in their shame. Their minds are set on earthly things.
- Luke 12:15 And He said to them, “Watch out! Guard yourselves against every form of greed, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”