Although believers must live in the world, Paul urges the Christians in Colossae not to live "worldly" lives. By this he means not to live as the non-Christians do.
#### Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter ####
##### Flesh #####
This is a complex issue and it is possible "flesh" is a metaphor for a person's sinful nature. It is not the physical part of man that is sinful. Paul is teaching that, while man remains alive ("in the flesh"), he will remain sinful regardless of his effort, but his new nature will be fighting against his old nature. Flesh is also used in this chapter to refer to the material part of man in general.
##### Implicit Information #####
There are several issues mentioned in this chapter that share implicit information about the context of the church in Colossae. It is best to allow uncertainty to remain in the text over the specifics of the situations referenced. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit]])
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