1 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God.

you have been raised with Christ. Many see themselves as crucified instead of raised. You are raised.

set your hearts on things above. You must have a revelation of your exaltation with Christ. When you do, earthly things will have little value to you.

Christ is seated. Christ is finished His Work of redemption, thus, He is seated. The Old Testament priests could never sit after offering sacrifice because their work never really was completed.

2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

not on earthly things. Earthly speaks of carnal, sinful things. Not simply your job, paying bills, parenting and doing your civic and human duties.

3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Hidden. It is a mystery that our lives are now in Christ. The world does not recognize this fact. It is hidden from them.

4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

who is your life. Our lives are so intertwine with Christ that His power, wisdom and standing before God is identical with ours.

Appears. Unlike our "hidden" life with Christ, the world will see His return. There will be no secret coming of Christ. 

you also will appear. Some will come down with Him because they have already left this world, but others will meet Him. At any rate, all will "appear" with Him.

5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.

Put to death. Simple command. There are no steps to take, just do it. Since we are born again, we have the ability to put to death anything belonging to our carnal nature. Sinners can't stop sinning because they do not have Christ life as their own.

6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.  

the wrath of God is coming. There is still a great future wrath to come. It will involve the eternal damnation of all who have rejected Christ.

7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived.

8 But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.

you must rid yourselves. A simple command. see verse 5

anger, rage, malice. The first sins on the list deal with hatred. Most conservative churches focus only on sexual sins, but sins of hatred are even worse.

9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices

10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

new self. We are not simply old sinners trying to live better, but we are "new creatures" in Christ Jesus.

which is being renewed in knowledge. Our new self is able to express itself better as we renew our minds in the knowledge of God.

knowledge in the image of its Creator. Ultimately our new selves is in the image of God.

11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.

Christ is all, and is in all. Christ is in all believers regardless of their state in life. Christ is not in the unbelievers. "Therefore as God's chosen people" (v 12). Clearly Paul was saying that Christ is in all His chosen people, not in all unsaved people.  

12 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.

holy and dearly loved. We must always keep both thoughts--holy and loved--in our minds as we pursue our walk with God. Many focus only on holiness and as a result because legalistic; other focus only on being loved by God and as a result become licentious. We need to know we are loved while we pursue holiness.

Compassion. To feel moved by people's suffering with the ability to do something about it.

Kindness. Treating people in the way you would want to be treated, because you know they are your "kind"; thus the meaning of the word, "kindness". We sometimes forget that we are just like other people.

humility. Ability to see your own weakness in the light of other people's weakness. 

gentleness. To recognize how weak people are and so treating them softly and gently.

patience. Do not be surprise that you may have to put up with people's failures and weaknesses.

13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. The real basis of forgiving others is that God has already forgiven you. So it would be hypocritical to not forgive others.

14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

over all these virtues put on love. Love is of course the greatest of all virtues.

Unity. The main reason to manifest these virtues is to maintain the unity of the Church.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. Peace is the fruit of the Spirit that lets us know we are doing right and being led by God.

And be thankful. Strange way to end this exhortation, but when you think about it, gratitude fuels the virtues.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.

Let the word of Christ dwell. The virtues only grow when we hear the Word and put it in our hearts. This is why you must continue going to church, reading the Bible and growing in the Word everyday. It's true that we often do better when we hear the Word.

teach and admonish. Teaching is to explain why we believe what we believe and admonishing is an encouragement to live out what we believe. 

psalms, hymns. A psalm is a song sung with instruments while hymns are songs sung a capella.

17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

word or deed. Pretty much summarizes the word "whatever."

do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Ask yourself, Can you be bitter in the name of Jesus? Can you cheat on your spouse in the name of Jesus? Ask yourself, Can I do this in the name of Jesus? before you do it. 

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Wives, submit to your husbands. Husbands' greatest need is to feel respected, and so Paul encourages the wives to give what their husbands need to feel valuable.

19 Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them

Husbands, love your wives. Wives' greatest need is to feel loved, so Paul encourages husbands to show their wives that they do not need to feel worried that they love someone else. Wives should feel special.

do not be harsh with them. An acknowledgement that husbands can often be harsh.

20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

Children, obey your parents. Parents' greatest need is to feel in control, so Paul encourages children to give what their parents need.

21 Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

Fathers, do not embitter your children. Children's greatest need is to feel that their parents are proud of them.

22 Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to win their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord.

Slaves, obey your earthly masters. Employers' greatest need is to have their employees listen to them.

23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,

24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

It is the Lord Christ you are serving. Regardless of your standing in the world, you are serving the Lord in serving others.

25 Anyone who does wrong will be repaid for his wrong, and there is no favoritism.

there is no favoritism. Despite that society has its castes and social systems that favor one over another, God does not have any such systems. All will be judged fairly.