PUT OFF THE FLESH, PUT ON CHRIST
In Colossians 3:5–16, the
Apostle Paul is instructing the believer to no longer live the life they use to
live. He insists that there must be a change in character if one is truly saved
and has the Holy Spirit living in them. This change is not automatic for most
and Paul is saying that if we want Christ to live through us, we have to first
clean out the vessel so God can use it. This portion of scripture contains
three lists. Two are lists of sins and one is a list of virtues with each
containing five things.
Sexual
Acts of the Flesh
In
verse 5, Paul begins with a call to “put to death therefore what is earthly in
you” (Col. 3:5 [ESV]). He lists certain sexual acts of the flesh that describe
the behavior of the Colossians before coming to Christ. The use of the phrase
“once walked” signifies a continuing behavior and lifestyle. Paul is
instructing all believers, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to put
away their former self which has been crucified with Christ. This declaration
was also made to the Roman church, “We know that our old self was crucified
with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we
would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Rom. 6:6).
The
sins listed here are all addressing sexual immorality. The terms for passion
and evil desire are also used together in 1 Thess. 4:5 and are translated as
“passion of lust.” Covetousness typically refers to greed but since it is used
in this contest of sexual sin, it could mean an indulgence of sexual pleasure
without moral regard (Utley 1997, 42). These are lifestyle sins that have to be
done away with. Ephesians 5 states, “sexual immorality and all impurity or
covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints” (Eph.
5:3). The regenerate believer possesses a reformed mind that must guide their
actions. This is what the word “repent” means. In verse 10, Paul tells the
Colossians that their mind has been “renewed in knowledge” after Christ and
that is the framework for the new self (Col. 3:10). As Anders points out,
“Christ changed our life; therefore, it is up to us to change our lifestyle”
(Anders 1999, 328).
In our
culture, we have gradually fallen into a state of relativism where the decision
on whether or not something is moral lies within the individual. We are told to
“follow our heart” even though the Bible tells us that our heart is deceitful
and wicked (Jer. 17:9). Christians can fall into this trap under the guise of
God wanting them to be happy and they try to rationalize sexual relationships
outside of marriage. Paul clearly states that the believer is to no longer engage
in this lifestyle.
Sinful
Acts of the Heart
Paul shifts
gears with the next list of five in that those listed are a reflection of our
hearts. Jesus said that things such as those listed in these verses are a
result of the person being defiled from within and that the problem is a sinful
heart that causes these things to come out of man (Mark 7:20-23). Our prayer
should be that of Kind David when he prayed to God asking, “Create in me a
clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10).
Most
would group anger, wrath and malice into one but they mean very different
things. “Anger” refers to long lasting, simmering anger and “wrath” means fast
burning anger or outbursts of rage with “malice” referring to vicious thoughts
and the desire to hurt others (Utley 1997, 42). These obviously reflect a heart
that is not yielding to the Spirit of God and is instead enslaved by the flesh.
The
remaining two refer to the power of our speech. People listen to how we talk
and what we say. Is the way we talk to and about others any different than
those that are not saved? Will people that knew us both before and after
salvation see a difference? Paul also gives a similar exhortation to the
Ephesians when he said to “let no
corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building
up” (Eph. 4:29). As a believer, we are to love one another and treat each other
with respect. We are to set an example for others to follow with our goal being
for others to see Christ in us and see Him living through us.
Virtues
of Christ
After
calling out specific outward sins of the flesh and inward sins of the heart,
Paul lists the virtues that the believer to “put on” after having shed the
previous. The first thing to note is that Paul makes an effort to point out
that we are different, that we have been chosen by God and that we are made
holy and beloved by Him. Peter also made this declaration when he wrote that we
“are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own
possession” (1 Pet. 2:9). This is an appeal, similar to the one made in Romans
12:1, for the believer to understand that he must live a life honoring God and
do away with the past sins of his life and to no longer conform to the world
but allow himself to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).
The
virtues listed in verses 12 and 13 are in stark contrast to the sins of the
heart listed in verse 8. Instead of having malice in our hearts we should have
compassion. Instead of fits of wrath we should exhibit meekness and patience.
These are the qualities that Christ presented in the Sermon on the Mount that
should be a part of every believer’s life and a reflection of their heart.
The one
in this list that I have seen destroy people is the lack of forgiveness. We
tend to forgive non-believers because, for some reason, we expect them to hurt
or lie to us. We may feel that our forgiveness might win them to Christ so we put
away our hurt and pride and show them compassion in order to allow them to
experience the grace that we experienced in Christ. This seems to fall apart
when it is a Christian that has hurt us. We consider them saved so there is no
need to reflect Christ and we are disappointed in their behavior because we
have adopted this false image that all believers are perfect and never make a
mistake.
For
reconciliation to take place, the offender must recognize, apologize and repent
from the offense and seek forgiveness. But this does not have to take place in
order for us to offer forgiveness because forgiveness is not something that
must be asked for but it is something that must be given. The basis for this is
the last thing that Paul instructs us to put on and that is love. If we truly
love one another, we will forgive regardless of whether or not the person has
asked for it. We have to realize that man never had to ask God for forgiveness
before He sent Jesus to die on the cross. When Adam and Eve sinned, we do not
read of them seeking God for forgiveness. Paul concludes in verse 15 with the
instruction to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts because that is what
we were called into, the peace of Christ.
Our
Response
In
these verses we understand that Paul is instructing us to no longer live under
the yoke of sin that once enslaved us. He tells us to put those things away and
instead set our hearts and minds on the things of Christ. With a renewed mind
comes renewed action. We have to take steps to rid ourselves from our past
lifestyle. This may mean losing some friends, changing jobs, changing hobbies
or even ending a relationship. Whatever the action, it must be done in order to
live free from what we have already been set free from. Richard Melick puts it
clear when he writes, “The first aspect of victory over sin is to know the
reality of the Christian experience. Death with Christ is the foundation” (Melick
2001, 287). Our sinful nature has been put to death with Christ, but that will
do us no good if we do not fully understand that sin no longer has power over
us. We put off the old self by turning and walking away from our former life of
sin and we put on Christ by resting in His grace and letting His Spirit guide
us and live through us.
References
Anders,
Max. 1999. Galatians-Colossians. Vol. 8 of The Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference. Nashville,
TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.
Melick,
Richard R. 2001. Philippians, Colossians,
Philemon. Vol. 24 of The New American
Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.
Utley,
Robert James. 1997. Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison
(Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, Then Later, Philippians). Vol 8 of The Study Guide Commentary Series.
Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International. Logos e-book.
