Note 23 at Col. 3:6: The "children of disobedience" Paul is referring to here are not believers. Every person, whether saved or lost, is God's child. Paul is specifying the unsaved children of God as the ones who would suffer His punishment (see notes 12-13 at Eph. 5:6-7, p. 1128). This is further confirmed in the next verse by Paul speaking to the believers as being separate from the children of disobedience of which he had just spoken.