5Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
Dig Deeper
One of my students was complaining one afternoon about the police in his neighborhood as well as the other young people. He said that no matter where he went, even though he was trying to stay out of trouble, the police would harass him. They would pull up to him as he walked along and question him, and it really angered him. On top of that, he got harassed by various gang members as he would try to walk between home and school. Regardless of the route he took and whether he went through different neighborhoods or gang territory, he always got threatened or taunted. He was quite surprised when I told him that much of it was his own fault. He was trying to change his life around, be a good student, and stay out of trouble, but he forgot one important thing. He still dressed like a thug, complete with the saggy, baggy pants, the oversized jerseys, and the hats. I pointed out to him another student who lived in the same block, went to the same school, and was close in physical appearance to him. This young man, however, wore dress shoes, dress pants, and nice shirts to school everyday. He was never bothered by the police or the neighborhood gangs. The problem was that the young man to whom I was speaking had made an attempt to change his life, but he had never changed his wardrobe, the most visible thing about him.
Paul uses similar imagery to make his point here to the Colossians. They have entered into Christ but now they need to continue to go about doing the work that would allow them to realize the life of Christ that they had entered. When they fail to do so, it is like walking around in the clothes of their old life without putting on the clothes of their new life. It certainly wouldn't get them harassed by gangs or police but it would make them nearly impossible to identify and would keep them from fully embracing the life to which they now belonged.
It is the responsibility, Paul says, of those who have entered into the life of Christ to put to death anything that is part of our old wardrobe, those things which belong to our earthly nature. Sometimes, usually in good faith, we pray that God will remove some area of sin our life. Yet, we go on and continue to struggle with the sin. So, we pray even more that God will take it away. Eventually we can get to a point where we take on a victim mentality, believing that it's not our fault that we continue in that sin because we prayed for God to take it away and He won't. We can get the mentality that it's almost God's fault because He didn't take the sin away. Certainly God gives us strength in overcoming sin and putting it to death, but Paul reminds us of the need for personal responsibility. We need to take the initiative in throwing off our old clothes because we will all soon face the wrath of God, which is the biblical term for God's righteous judgment.
In this passage, calling for the putting off of the old self, Paul discusses two categories that can particularly plague young Christians. The first area are the sins that fall under the category of sexual sins. Humans were made in the image of God and the plan of God was that one man and one woman would marry and enjoy a close and intimate sexual relationship under the confines of marriage. This plan for marriage that God has ordained was intended to teach humans how to have a relationship with God. Therefore, any perversion of that relationship is a serious defacing of the image of God within us. The specific categories that Paul mentions here, sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, cover every type of the perversion of God's plan including actions, thoughts, and desires. "Greed" in this passage, most likely refers to sexual greed, which Paul singles out as idolatry. When we become idolatrous about something it is because we have focused our attention on that thing above and beyond our focus and attention to God. That means that Paul has put even sexual fantasies out of bounds for the new creation in Christ, not just because they usually lead to further action, but because they exalt the false god of erotic love above the good plan of YHWH, the creator of the universe.
Paul reminds them that they used to walk in these ways, but now they must rid themselves of all such things. To be in Christ and to still engage in the evidence of the things of our former lives is simply a category mistake. Paul has already discussed sexual sins, one of the most difficult areas for many people to truly throw off completely. Now he turns to perhaps the second most difficult category, the things that well up from our emotions, particularly sins of speech. This includes anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language, but Paul highlights lying to one another. Lying is particularly damaging in the Christian community, because the body of Christ is the place of new creation, the place that embodies truth, so there can be no room for lying.
We should note that It is not only the responsibility of the Christian to put off sexual sins but also we must control our anger and speech that damages and dehumanizes others. Sexual sins and sins of uncontrolled speech work against the formation of the image of God within us because they dehumanize us and others. Paul sees both of these types of dehumanizing sin as equally dangerous to the new life in Christ, a point that modern Christians, who often demonize sexual sins while all but excusing sins of speech, should well remember
As we saw in the previous passage, Paul is thinking about the image of God. God made man in his image but that image was largely lost due to sin. Those who have died to themselves have put on the new self, which is nothing other than the life of Christ. In order to be be in God's presence and the age to come, we must stand before Him in our original state, in other words, in His image. The only way to do that is to enter into the life of Christ and be renewed in knowledge in the image of the Creator. Don't miss what Paul says there. The renewed Christian life is about knowledge; it involves our minds. Entering into the life of Christ and being transformed into his image means that the Christian must engage their mind much more so than anyone else. The true Christian life is not about disengaging the mind and leaving our intellect behind as we engage in new spiritual practices. The Christian life demands that we think more deeply, more often, and in a demanding new way.
In this new community of people who have been renewed in the image of Christ and the knowledge of God's image, all human standards and divisions must be done away with. All the old categories that people can get so obsessed with have no bearing on one's status in Christ and no meaning in the renewed people of Christ. The creation of a new humanity is the essence of the gospel, so just as sins that dehumanize individuals must be thrown off, so must any of the divisions that might fracture God's new people. Human distinctions no longer matter because when we are in Christ and he is in us, renewing us that is all that truly matters in life. For Christ is all, and is in all.
Devotional Thought
Distorted thinking is not only the result of a life marred by sin but it is the cause of it. Thinking correctly and knowing the truth are a mark of the renewed humanity in the body of Christ. Are there any elements of the old way of thinking that you have yet to put off and bring into line with the renewed image of Christ?
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