VV.1-2 - “Focus on the Blessings of Christ and Not the Matters of this World”
As Paul leads into unity and standing together, he once again recalibrates us to focus on Christ. We often need to recalibrate because we can easily be distracted and forget what we are here for, whether it is our church, our marriage, or our jobs.
The great blessings of a church is that, when healthy, the members are all calibrated to Christ. He is our great unifier that allows us to be a part of one body (Colossians 1:8). At the end of the day, all members of the church can be assured that while we may not always see eye to eye, we are ultimately united in what really matters. We do not always have such blessings in our daily lives with our jobs or even our families.
In verse one, Paul uses the word synegeirō for the phrase “ye be risen”. It means to be roused from death, to be brought up. Never forget the new life that you have been given. As a believer, you see the world differently than those who have not been risen with Christ. Furthermore Paul instructs us to “seek those things which are above” and “set your affection on things above”. “Seek” carries a meaning of worship, as in to worship what is above. This is referring to God. “Set your affection” is referring to a determination of the mind. It is very much a call to intellectually rationalize what you should be focused towards.

VV.3-4 - “Dead to Self and Alive to Christ”
Paul then explains that we are dead to our old selves. We know longer live as one who only seeks to satisfy our own desires. That is not to say the saved person is perfect. As a descendent of Adam, we are given a choice to sin or not to sin. Since we are not perfect, naturally we will struggle with sin. However, as a saved person, there are a lot of things we would like to do but don’t. Furthermore, there are a lot of things we wouldn’t like to do but do them because we want to please God more. Sleeping in is nice, but we choose to get up and go to church.
Society has adopted a “live for now” mentality. They want to experience all they can for fear of missing out. However, as Christians we are to abstain from selfish indulgence and look forward to a greater life that is to come in Christ. In John 10:10, Jesus, while talking to the Pharisees, makes a statement that we can indirectly apply to ourselves. We will not know how great life is until we experience the fullness of it with Christ at his appearance.

VV.5-7 - “Be Dead to Sin”
Paul then instructs us to make our bodies dead to the sinful deeds that are prevalent within humanity. These include, but are not limited to sexual immorality, impurity, unrighteous affection/passion, evil, lust, and covetousness. On the contrary, today’s society tells people they are perfect just as they are and it is wrong to suppress your desires or wants. People should embrace their “true selves”. Lies such as “God made me this way” will be often used.
However, in verse 6, Paul assures that these very actions are what result in God’s wrath upon the earth. Today’s western culture is truly asking for it in terms of God’s wrath. However, Paul reminds us in verse 7 that many of us have lived in these sinful ways. This should bring about several conclusions. First of all, gratitude for God delivering us out of these. Second, we should have compassion upon those who are engaged in them and seek to share the hope of Christ with them.
So far in his chapter on unity, Paul has been focusing on the individual. This is the very foundation for a strong church body. One should first make sure they are taking care of business before they worry about others. If you are an athlete, the first step to making the team better is bettering yourself. The sinful actions Paul has addressed so far are actions that can tear a church apart. Many churches have fallen apart because of such immorality.

VV.8-10 - “Off with the Old, On with the New”
Paul then describes the new man, who has put away unrighteous anger, fierceness, maliciousness, blasphemy, and filthy language. Once again, these are all actions that can lead to division and strife amongst church members. In verse 9, Paul commands them to not lie to each other. The word “lie” is just that, lies, speaking falsehood. We should engage truthfully with one another. This does not mean we have to give every single detail concerning our lives. This means we should deal honestly with each other.
In verse 10, to paraphrase Paul, “Don’t do these things because you know better.” We have matured past the petty matters and selfish ambition. Far too often churches are divided over petty disagreements that don’t matter. Matters that seem significant in the moment turn out to be very insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Disagreements will naturally occur. However, we need to keep everything in perspective. As long as church members are willing to work together, compromises can be made.

VV.11-17 - “The Key to Unity”
We are all in Christ, there is nothing that should come between us. The only obstacle for unity is ourselves. With that being said, what we believe about Christ can certainly result in disunity (and that is probably for the best). There are plenty of other churches if we fundamentally disagree on a doctrine concerning Christ.
“As the elect of God” likely has a double meaning. First, it refers to the elect Jewish believers in the congregation. However, in fellowship, all believers should aspire to obtain such attributes. “Bowels of mercy” refers to the inward affection. It is not something only surface deep. We are to show kindness, humility (this is perhaps the biggest obstacle for many church members, we may not always know what is best), gentleness (in regards to fellow church members, not referring to all people at all times), and longsuffering (patience with one another, which is not easy and probably why Paul addresses it again in verse 13. It is as Paul was saying, “Yes, I said be patient and endure one another.” It would not be a bad interpretation of the Greek to say “put up with one another.” They may not be your perfect idea of a fellow church member, but you're probably not theirs either.
In verse 14, Paul gets to the heart of the matter. We must have charity, agape, towards one another. Selfless love is needed for a healthy church congregation. Verse 15, the peace of God should take precedence over any minor divisions among us. It is always important to look at the bigger picture. It is much easier to avoid anger and strife when we are thankful for what we do have.
Lastly, we are to continually let the word of God dwell within us. We are to do so in songs and spiritual songs (non carnal, unearthly). When we do so, it is with grace in our hearts to God. Not that God needs our grace, but the grace of God is expressed within us. Paul sums it up in all that we do, it is to be in the name of our Lord and thankfulness.

This is how the church stands together.