Colossians 3:5-17

5–17. The individual life

Colossians 3:5-11. Negatively (together with a general description of the new life), for sins are inconsistent with the new self.

Colossians 3:12-17. Positively, especially love, and knowledge of God’s word, and thanksgiving.

(Colossians 3:5) The hidden life which will hereafter be manifested must, by all logic, take effect now. Put therefore to death your bodies and their parts; all of which have only to do with earth and are instruments of sin, thus including immoral actions, and wrong desires, and greed, for this is idolatry; (Colossians 3:6) on account of which things God’s wrath comes down on the ungodly; (Colossians 3:7) and in these things you too once walked, when you found your interest and pleasure in such things as these; (Colossians 3:8) But, as matters stand with you now, and in contrast to your former life, put off as disused garments all these things, including sins of disposition and speech. (Colossians 3:9) Tell no lies to one another (lying marks “the old man”), thus stripping off the old worn-out self together with all the actions that belong to it; (Colossians 3:10) and putting on the new self, which is maintained fresh and vigorous with the object of gaining full knowledge (of God and all that pertains to our relation to Him) with no less a standard than God’s image, in accordance with the original design after which man was made; (Colossians 3:11) the image in which there do not exist any differences of either nationality, or ceremonial religion, or culture, or social standing, but everything means Christ, and in everything is Christ.