The Christian lifestyle described in Colossians 3:1-Colossians 4:6 makes use of three types of traditional catechetical and ethical material. This essay contends that Colossians includes the use of lists of vices and virtues, household codes, and proverbial ethical sayings also known as "topoi." It makes a case that these three types of traditional ethical material predate Paul, but that their meaning in the context of Colossians will depend on Paul's use of them.