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Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.
Colossians 3:11 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman; but Christ is all, and in all.
  • KJV Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
  • NKJV where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
  • NASB a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, and free, but Christ is all, and in all.
  • NLT In this new life, it doesn’t matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave, or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

In this new humanity ethnic and social distinctions lose their dividing power, for Christ is all and in all. Christ unites a diverse people into one.

Overview

In the renewed community 'there can't be Greek and Jew... barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman.' The old barriers of race, religion, culture, and class no longer determine one's standing before God. 'Christ is all, and in all'—He is the common center and life of every believer, the basis of true unity.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 40

  • Gal 3:28–29There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
  • 1 Cor 12:13For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free, and we were all given one Spirit to drink.
  • Rom 10:12For there is no difference between Jew and Greek: The same Lord is Lord of all, and gives richly to all who call on Him,
  • Eph 3:6This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are fellow heirs, fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus.
  • Eph 1:23which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
  • Rom 9:24–26including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?
  • Rom 3:29Is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
  • Gal 5:6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. All that matters is faith, expressed through love.
  • Matt 12:18–21“Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.
  • John 17:23I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
  • Isa 52:10The LORD has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations; all the ends of the earth will see the salvation of our God.
  • Acts 15:17so that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by My name, says the Lord who does these things
  • Gal 2:20I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
  • 1 Cor 7:19Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commandments is what counts.
  • Mic 4:2And many nations will come and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways, so that we may walk in His paths.” For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
  • Amos 9:12that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations that bear My name,” declares the LORD, who will do this.
  • Isa 49:6He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the protected ones of Israel. I will also make You a light for the nations, to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”
  • Zech 8:20–23This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Peoples will yet come—the residents of many cities—
  • Zech 2:11“On that day many nations will join themselves to the LORD, and they will become My people. I will dwell among you, and you will know that the LORD of Hosts has sent Me to you.
  • Rom 15:9–13so that the Gentiles may glorify God for His mercy. As it is written: “Therefore I will praise You among the Gentiles; I will sing hymns to Your name.”
  • Acts 13:46–48Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “It was necessary to speak the word of God to you first. But since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.
  • Mal 1:11For My name will be great among the nations, from where the sun rises to where it sets. In every place, incense and pure offerings will be presented in My name, because My name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD of Hosts.
  • Isa 66:18–22“And I, knowing their deeds and thoughts, am coming to gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see My glory.
  • Isa 19:23–25In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt, and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together.
  • Rom 9:30–31What then will we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith;
  • Acts 26:17–18I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
  • 1 Cor 3:21–23Therefore, stop boasting in men. All things are yours,
  • Col 2:10And you have been made complete in Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.
  • Rom 1:14I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish.
  • John 15:5I am the vine and you are the branches. The one who remains in Me, and I in him, will bear much fruit. For apart from Me you can do nothing.
  • Acts 28:4When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
  • Rom 4:10–11In what context was it credited? Was it after his circumcision, or before? It was not after, but before.
  • John 6:56–57Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
  • Rom 8:10–11But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
  • Ps 117:2For great is His loving devotion toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Hallelujah!
  • Acts 28:2The islanders showed us extraordinary kindness. They kindled a fire and welcomed all of us because it was raining and cold.
  • Hos 2:23And I will sow her as My own in the land, and I will have compassion on ‘No Compassion.’ I will say to those called ‘Not My People,’ ‘You are My people,’ and they will say, ‘You are my God.’”
  • 1 Jn 5:11–12And this is that testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.
  • John 14:23Jesus replied, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
  • Acts 10:34–35Then Peter began to speak: “I now truly understand that God does not show favoritism,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (7)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Colossians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Colossians 3:11YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on ColossiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.

How Colossians 3:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.