Colossians 3:8

But now Under the divinely altered case of their conversion and union with Christ.

you also As well as all other true believers.

put off The Greek is imperative, and so the English is to be taken; but the English is verbally ambiguous between imperative and indicative. In Christ, they were already, ideally and potentially, divestedof sin; they were now, as if never before, to realize and act upon that divestiture. Cp. Ephesians 4:25; and see Romans 13:12.

allthese] Lit., "the all(things)," the whole congeries of sins. Here, as perpetually, comes in the principle that the Christian character is a sinless character, to be realized and lived out by its possessor, who assuredly discovers in the process that he is not a sinless person, while he is gifted in Christ with a Divine liberty from serving sin.

anger, wrath The two words occur together Romans 2:8; Ephesians 4:31; Revelation 16:19; Revelation 19:15. The word rendered "anger" is rather chronic, that rendered "wrath" rather acute an outburst. See Trench, Synonyms, § xxxvi.

malice The Greek word sometimes bears the sense of "evil," "ill," in general; e.g. Matthew 6:34. But in lists of vices (cp. here Romans 1:29; Titus 3:3; 1 Peter 2:1) it means what we mean by "malice." It is the vice which lies below anger and wrath, as a root or spring.

blasphemy Greek, blasphêmia;so Ephesians 4:31, where A. V. renders evil-speaking (so better, or, with R. V., railing). We now confine "blasphemy" to railing against God and Divine things; but the Greek has no such limit. Cp. (in the Greek) e.g. 1 Corinthians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 10:30; Titus 3:2.

filthy communication " shameful speaking," R. V.; "abusive conversation," Alford; turpiloquium, Old Latin Version. The reference to "abuse" rather than pollution is made likely by the words in context, anger, &c. But Lightfoot remarks that the reference to pollution is still latent; the "abuse" must be, as he renders here, "foul-mouthedabuse." The derivation and usage of the Greek word suggest this.