Limitless Word
When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
Colossians 3:4 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory.
  • BSB When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
  • NKJV When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
  • NASB When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
  • NLT And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

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

When Christ, who is our life, appears, believers will appear with Him in glory. Our future glory is tied to Christ's return.

Overview

Paul calls Christ 'our life,' the very source of the believer's existence. At His second coming He 'is revealed,' and then believers 'will also be revealed with him in glory.' The life now hidden (v.3) will be openly displayed when Christ returns, the certain hope that motivates present holiness.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 33

  • John 11:25Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
  • 1 Jn 3:2Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.
  • Gal 2:20I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
  • 1 Pet 1:13Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
  • Phil 3:21Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
  • John 17:24Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.
  • 1 Pet 5:4And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.
  • Rev 22:14Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.
  • 2 Th 1:10–12When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
  • 1 Jn 2:28And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
  • Heb 9:28So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
  • Jude 1:24Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
  • 1 Cor 15:43It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
  • 1 Jn 1:1–2That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
  • Ps 17:15As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
  • Matt 13:43Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
  • 1 Jn 5:12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
  • Titus 2:13Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
  • Rev 22:1And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
  • John 14:6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
  • 2 Tim 4:8Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
  • 2 Cor 4:17For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
  • John 14:3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
  • 1 Cor 1:7So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:
  • 1 Th 4:17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
  • Ps 73:24Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
  • John 20:31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
  • John 6:39–40And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
  • 2 Tim 1:1Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus,
  • Isa 25:8–9He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
  • Acts 3:15And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
  • Rev 2:7He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
  • 1 Tim 6:14That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ:

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (2)

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 3:4YouTube · 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 3:4 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.