PUT OFF, PUT ON
Colossians 3:8-12 NKJV
8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 11 where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.
12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
Paul has moved to the practical side of his letter to the Colossians. Remember, his letter-writing pattern in some of his shorter letters is to begin with a more doctrinal position. After discussing the spiritual realities that are now a part of the new life in Christ, Paul then details how that spiritual reality looks in real time.
In the third chapter, Paul talks about behaviors that need to stop and that need to begin. He is working with the premise that this putting off and putting on is within the capabilities of the believer. Paul never uses terminology such as try to or give it your best shot. He directly says to put off some things and put on others.
That’s an important point to keep in mind. Because of the new spiritual life we have in Christ, we have new abilities. If we remain bound to our feelings and reasonings, we’ll limit ourselves. Paul never said put off or on if you feel like it. This is a conscious faith-based decision.
Start by putting off anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, and filthy language out of your mouth. And while you are at it, put off lying. Since you put off the old man, your old spiritual nature when you made Jesus Lord, put off your old ways. Paul was not writing to a group of believers who were steeped in Judeo-Christian values. He was writing to people coming out of very pagan cultures where they worshipped idols. There were no cultural norms that encouraged this new type of behavior. No generations of Christians who were considered role models. These were raw, new believers, so Paul’s instructions were not so they could get along with a polite society. This old man/new man revelation was a far cry from the life they came out of.
But because they have put on the new man who is renewed in the knowledge of God and what He has declared in His word, their lives are no longer the same. Just a few verses later, Paul encourages the believers in Colosse to put on new man clothes. They are now in Christ. This is their new identity. No longer are they identifying with being Greek or Jew. No longer is there an identity based on whether they were a slave or free. The new identity is in Christ. Nothing more is needed. This is the pinnacle of identification. Christ is all and in all. Forget class distinctions; we are talking about an entirely new way of looking at people and at self-awareness.
The new man in Christ is holy and beloved, the very elect of God. That’s quite an identity, an uplifting identity. So put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and longsuffering. There is a great amount of good qualities taking place in putting on this new man. Think about how much change would happen if putting on this new man became a priority in the churches of America. This is not an impossible task; it is just one we must wake up to. We have the ability. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You for believing in me. Thank You that I can put on this new man and put off the old man. The new is better.