Colossians 3:6-10

 

Col 3:6 (KJB)

For which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:

 

Wrath - Anger

 

In verse 5 Paul gave some examples of types of sin which the believer must guard against. Paul here states that it is sin in the life of the unbeliever which will cause them to be judged on the last day and sentenced to eternity in Hell. Paul warns the believers that they should not be involved in the same type of sins the unbelievers are engaged in. When a Christian partakes in sins, they will not incur the wrath of God but they will incur the chastisement of God. (Heb 12:6 KJV) For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. When a Christian partakes in a sin, they bring shame upon the entire body of Christ. (Rom 2:24 KJV) For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. Paul wrote Romans 2:24 to show that the hypocrisy of the Jews in Rome had caused the name of God to be blasphemed. This principle is definitely carried over to today. When a Christian is sinning, it causes unbelievers to mock Christianity and the name of God. This is why we are to live our lives in the spiritual realm. Remember, the Scripture stated that as we received Christ so walk (live) in Him the same way. Living according to the sins of the world, does nothing but bring reproach upon the name of Christ and Christianity in general. We are supposed to be redeemed people in Christ and therefore we must live as such.

 

Col 3:7 (KJB)

In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.

 

Walked - Lived or conducted oneself

 

Before the Christian becomes a Christian, they live in the same slime pits of sin as the rest of the unbelieving world. Paul wrote something similar to the Corinthians. (1 Cor 6:10-11 KJV) Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. {11} And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. It does not matter where an unsaved person lives, they will be involved in some type of sin. So when a person becomes saved, we are to guard against going back into the sin from which we were delivered. If a person is a drunk and becomes saved, they will not want to keep any liquor in the house for easy access to it. When a person becomes saved, they are to reject the things of the former life which caused them to sin. This verse is also a reminder that we must never look down upon those who are still in sin because we were once in that mode of living. It is also important to realize that someday, maybe the very person you are loathing may become a brother or sister in the Lord. The Gnostics had also believed that what happened with the physical body had no effect upon the spiritual because they considered only the spiritual of value. This is not true because our Christian walk is manifested through our physical body, directed by the Holy Spirit who dwells within the believer. If we are living a life of sin, it brings shame to the body of Christ but it may also be an indicator that we are not saved. There is a difference between falling into sin, as Christians do, and living in sin, as unbelievers do.

 

Col 3:8 (KJB)

But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

 

Put off - Rid oneself of or renounce

Anger - Great anger or rage

Malice - Depravity, ill-will, or badness

Filthy communication - Foul language, evil or abusive speech

 

The word for “put off” in the Greek is in the Imperative mood which means it is a command. It is not an option for the believer to act like an unbeliever. If you notice something that the first three have in common is that they can be done in private without anyone knowing it and that is what makes this list of sins very dangerous. First of all a person can be very angry on the inside and no one will know it. It can continue to build up until it erupts. Then there is anger which is not so furious but that too will also build up to a boiling point. Then a person can have malice toward another and this word carries with it the idea of having a mindset which desires to harm other people. Then the last two are sins of the mouth. The first is blasphemy which can be slander or reviling others. The last one is filthy communication which carries with it the idea of foul language or swearing. In the time we live in, there is not a person who does not swear on TV or in person. It is a rare thing to come across someone who does not swear or tell dirty jokes. Another sin which can be listed here would be a sin of the mind and that would be hand gestures. Many hand gestures are saying the same abusive things without words. This is especially true when driving. One way to combat this is to place bumper stickers on your car with the Lord’s name and you will watch yourself to make sure that you do not ruin your testimony.

 

Col 3:9 (KJB)

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;

 

Put off - Strip away, divest, or renounce

 

Here Paul gives another command and that is not to lie to one another. Lying was a normal part of the old life and is one of the most easily committed sins. Not only was the old man put off at the time of salvation and we have put on the new man but the accompanying deeds have also been put off. (Eph 4:22 KJV) That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; Paul also wrote this to the Ephesians and to the Romans. (Rom 6:6 KJV) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. The old man was crucified with Christ. Therefore the old man is dead so why would we want to carry around a corpse. Placing a corpse of the old man on the new man will cause the new man to start to decay and that means we will slip back into our old ways. This is why we put off the old man, stripping it away from our body, so we will live in the new man unhindered.

 

Col 3:10 (KJB)

And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

 

Have put on - Dress or clothe oneself

Renewed - Amended or changed

After - According to

The image of him - Likeness, form or appearance

 

Here Paul is basically saying that we were saved and we need to live within the confines of the life from God. This means, that sinful actions and a lifestyle are not part of that new life. (Eph 4:24 KJV) And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Paul told the Ephesians the same thing that they were not to only put off the old man but they were to put on the new man. The new man is the Christian life and it is being renewed on a constant basis. (2 Cor 4:16 KJV) For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. In 2 Cor. 4:16, we are told that the inward man, that is, our new life, is being renewed daily. In Colossians 3:10 we are told that this renewal is made in knowledge and that knowledge begins with the fact of what we were before salvation but then we are given knowledge concerning the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ plus we are increasing our knowledge by practical Christianity and the understanding of the Scriptures which the Holy Spirit gives us. Further that knowledge is according to the image of Christ in man which was created in man by Christ through salvation. Now the reason why we are to live in the new man and reject the ways of the old man is because we are made in the image of Christ or according to Christ.

 

Now let me give an understanding of the preposition “according to” and why it is important. Let us say a multi-millionaire asks me to carry his golf clubs for 18 holes. I do this and then he reaches in his pocket to pay me and comes out with a $1 bill. He gave out of his wealth but not according to his wealth. So we were created according to the image of Christ not out of the image of Christ. That is, we are the earthly representatives of the Kingdom of God created in Christ Jesus. (Eph 1:3 KJV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: We have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ, nothing has been withheld. Unlike the millionaire who gave out of his wealth, God gives according to His spiritual wealth and that is why the Christian lacks nothing from the spiritual realm. We may be physically poor on earth but we are spiritually wealthy beyond what we could even dream about. The verse tells us that we were created by Christ in the image of Christ, so He is not going to skimp on any spiritual blessings for His own sake. This is why sin is so out of character for the true believer because it is not part of the re-creation according to God’s design.

Back