Colossians 3:10 tells believers that they have taken on a new self, one that is being continually renewed as they grow in knowledge of God and become more like the One who made them. The verse describes an ongoing transformation rather than a single moment, and it points to God as the source and standard of that change. Paul wrote it to the Christians living in Colossae, a city in what is now western Turkey, as part of a letter urging them to live out the new life they had received in Christ.
And have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator…
Colossians 3:10 (WEB)
What Colossians 3:10 Means
The phrase “put on the new man” uses the image of clothing. Paul has just told his readers to take off old habits like anger, slander and dishonest speech, and now he says they have put on something different, as a person changes their clothes. The “new man” is not a second personality added to the first but a whole new way of being human that belongs to those who belong to Christ.
The verse then says this new self “is being renewed.” The verb is in a form that describes something happening over time, so Paul is describing a process that continues through daily life rather than a finished achievement. Renewal happens “in knowledge,” which in Paul’s usage means a growing, personal understanding of God’s character and purposes, not just facts about him.
Finally, the renewal is shaped “after the image of his Creator.” This points back to the creation account, where humans were made in God’s image. Paul is saying that the goal of the change is restoration to what humanity was always meant to reflect. The verse does not promise instant perfection or freedom from struggle. It describes a direction and a source of power for steady growth.
The Context of Colossians 3:10
Colossians was written by Paul, traditionally identified as its author, and it was addressed to a congregation he had not personally founded but whose faith he cared about deeply. Some of the church’s members appear to have been drawn toward teachings that elevated angels, visions, and strict rules above Christ himself. Paul responds by stressing that Christ is supreme, and that believers already share in his death and resurrection.
The verses just before this one list behaviors to be abandoned, and the verses just after describe virtues to be put on, such as compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, along with forgiveness modeled on Christ. Verse 10 sits at the hinge between these two lists. Read in that setting, the renewal in knowledge is not a private spiritual feeling but a practical change that shows up in how people treat one another, including across the deep divisions of Paul’s world that verse 11 names.
Key Phrases in Colossians 3:10
Romans 12:2
Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
(WEB)
This verse also speaks of transformation through a renewed mind, and it describes the change as a process of discerning God’s will. Reading it alongside Colossians 3:10 shows that inner renewal of thinking is central to becoming the kind of person God intends.
2 Corinthians 3:18
But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.
(WEB)
Here Paul describes believers being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another, with the work attributed to the Lord who is the Spirit. It deepens the picture of ongoing change into God’s likeness that Colossians 3:10 begins.
A Short Prayer From Colossians 3:10
Lord, thank you that you have not left me in the old patterns I once lived in. You have given me a new self that belongs to you, and I ask you to keep renewing me day by day. Open my mind to know you more truly, so that my thoughts, words and actions begin to look more like the One who made me. Where I still cling to anger, pride or impatience, show me what to put away and help me choose what reflects your character. Shape me into your image, one step at a time, for your glory. Amen.
