Colossians 2 13

Colossians 2:13 kjv

And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;

Colossians 2:13 nkjv

And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

Colossians 2:13 niv

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,

Colossians 2:13 esv

And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,

Colossians 2:13 nlt

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.

Colossians 2 verses

Colossians 2 13 Meaning

Colossians 2:13 declares that believers, once spiritually dead due to their sins and unredeemed human nature, have been divinely quickened into life simultaneously with Christ. This profound transformation is the result of God's grace in completely forgiving all their transgressions through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.

Colossians 2 13 Context

Colossians 2:13 is a powerful summary of the radical spiritual transformation available through faith in Christ, directly preceding a significant declaration of Christ's triumph over spiritual forces. The chapter as a whole is dedicated to exposing and refuting false teachings that were threatening the Colossian church. These heresies included elements of legalism (insisting on ceremonial laws like circumcision and dietary restrictions), mysticism (angel worship, asceticism, visions), and an elitist "false humility" or "worldly wisdom" that sought a deeper, hidden knowledge outside of Christ. Paul counters these with a robust affirmation of the sufficiency and supremacy of Christ. Verse 13 underlines that in Christ alone, believers have received complete salvation—spiritual life and total forgiveness—making any additional rituals, ascetic practices, or "special knowledge" not only unnecessary but detrimental, as they detract from the finished work of Christ. It addresses a specific polemic against the insistence on physical circumcision (mentioned in Col 2:11-12) by clarifying that true circumcision is spiritual, and that for Gentiles, their past state of "uncircumcision" no longer means spiritual death once they are "made alive with Him."

Colossians 2 13 Word analysis

• And you: Addresses the Colossian believers directly, emphasizing their specific experience. Implies a change for them.
• being dead (Greek: nekrous - acc. plural, meaning 'dead ones'): Signifies a state of spiritual lifelessness, alienation, and separation from God, not merely a weak spiritual condition. It implies a lack of vital spiritual connection.
• in your trespasses (Greek: en tois paraptomasin): "Trespasses" (from paraptoma) means a false step, a deviation from the right path, a transgression, or a moral fall. The preposition "in" highlights that their state of death was characterized by and directly connected to these deliberate sins.
• and the uncircumcision (Greek: kai tē akrobystia): This refers to their Gentile status, literally "uncircumcised state." It denotes the physical, ceremonial sign of not being part of the Abrahamic covenant. Spiritually, it signifies their alienation from the covenant people of God and their fallen human nature (the "flesh"), separate from divine life and grace. It implies an inherent inability to please God outside of His grace.
• of your flesh (Greek: tēs sarkos hymōn): "Flesh" (sarx) here refers to the unregenerate human nature, characterized by sinfulness, weakness, and opposition to God. It highlights the deeper spiritual problem symbolized by physical uncircumcision, addressing a worldview where salvation was linked to ritual circumcision.
• He has made alive together with Him (Greek: synezōopoiēsen autō):
  • He: Refers to God the Father, who is the ultimate source of life.
  • has made alive together (synezōopoiēsen): A single, strong verb indicating a completed action (aorist tense). The "syn-" prefix means "together with," emphasizing a joint spiritual resurrection with Christ. It's an active, powerful, divine work, imparting spiritual vitality.
  • with Him (autō): Refers to Christ, stressing the believer's profound union and identification with Christ's resurrection life. Their life is literally in Him.
• having forgiven (Greek: charisamenos - aorist participle): This verb means "to give freely," "to grant graciously," "to pardon." As an aorist participle, it indicates an action completed prior to or simultaneous with "made alive." Forgiveness is presented as a past, finished, and gracious act.
• you all trespasses: "All" (panta) signifies the completeness and totality of God's pardon. Every single past, present, and future sin (understood from the context of salvation's finality and God's sovereign grace) is included in this forgiveness, leaving no remaining debt or condemnation for those in Christ. This powerfully counters any notion that ritual observance or human effort could supplement Christ's work in achieving forgiveness.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh": This phrase meticulously details humanity's dire predicament before salvation. "Dead" describes the state, while "trespasses" identifies the active cause (individual sins), and "uncircumcision of your flesh" identifies the inherent nature and alienated status (representing Gentile status and humanity's fallen disposition), highlighting both personal responsibility and inherited spiritual fallenness.
• "He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses": This passage outlines God's complete and multifaceted solution to humanity's predicament. "Made alive together with Him" speaks to the impartation of new life and radical spiritual transformation, stressing union with Christ's resurrection. "Having forgiven you all trespasses" specifies the removal of sin's barrier and the complete acquittal from guilt, achieved solely through divine grace. This two-pronged divine action—giving life and forgiving sin—is exhaustive, addressing both the state of spiritual death and the specific acts that caused it.

Colossians 2 13 Bonus section

• The passive voice ("made alive") emphasizes God as the sole initiator and performer of this spiritual transformation. Humanity is entirely recipient of this grace.
• This verse underpins the "indicative before the imperative" principle in Pauline theology: believers' transformed state in Christ (indicative) precedes and empowers their Christian walk (imperative). Because you are made alive and forgiven, you can and should live differently.
• The concepts presented here—spiritual death, life, forgiveness—are not mere theological abstract ideas but reflect a radical, transformative change in a believer's status and nature. This change is as real as Christ's physical resurrection.
• This declaration provides assurance of salvation, freedom from guilt, and a solid foundation for Christian living that does not rely on shifting human performance but on God's unchanging, gracious work in Christ.

Colossians 2 13 Commentary

Colossians 2:13 is a succinct declaration of the profound reality of salvation, a cornerstone against the legalistic and Gnostic tendencies threatening the Colossian church. It directly asserts that believers, formerly alienated from God both by their active sins (trespasses) and their inherent, unregenerate nature (uncircumcision of the flesh, particularly significant for a predominantly Gentile congregation being tempted to embrace physical circumcision), have undergone a supernatural transformation. This new spiritual life is not achieved by human effort or adherence to rituals, but is entirely the work of God ("He has made alive"). The critical element is the believer's union with Christ ("together with Him"), signifying a participation in His death, burial, and resurrection that imparts divine life. Furthermore, this spiritual vivification is inextricably linked to the total forgiveness of sins ("having forgiven you all trespasses"). The comprehensiveness of this forgiveness—"all" trespasses—leaves no room for remaining debt or condemnation, nullifying any perceived need for further ceremonies, ascetic practices, or reliance on "hidden knowledge" for acceptance or completeness before God. The verse underscores Christ's full sufficiency, establishing Him as the exclusive source of new life and perfect forgiveness, thus serving as a potent theological barrier against the deceptive philosophies that elevate human works or secret wisdom above Christ's completed work. It implies that true completeness (pleroma) is found only in Him, not in outward observances or ascetic disciplines.