All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95) published by the Lockman Foundation

In this world of senses, physical pleasures, pain, suffering, temptation, and sin, how does a child of God manage his thinking and behavior in a way that pleases the Father? Worse than external pressures and temptations are the sinful desires, affections, and thoughts that we’re all conscious of on an almost constant basis — if we’re honest. We all know that evil lurks within our minds, our affections, and our wills. But we also know that we’re no longer the people we once were. So we find an inner war inside our minds and hearts, as we supremely aspire to please our Lord in all things, and yet find that we’re so often disobeying, dishonoring, and despising Him through our evil thoughts, words, and actions. What is to be done in this war? How is it to be waged? How can we become more like our Savior, and more like our heavenly Father? If you’ve been born again, this is your ultimate aim in life. Thankfully, the Scriptures give us clear guidance for how we can think and behave in increasingly righteous and godly ways, so we’re progressively growing in our likeness to Jesus.

One of the clearest and most concise passages of Scripture that outlines the steps to be taken in our struggle to avoid sinning, and to increasingly make right choices, is contained in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. The central part on this topic is found in the first 11 verses of chapter 3, where he makes a major transition in the letter. Whereas earlier he’s been providing a basic explanation of the redemption and reconciliation that Christ has provided for Christians, and its relationship to the specific deceptions that the Colossians were being led astray by, now in chapter 3, Paul begins a systematic explanation of how to fight against sin, and grow in Christlikeness.

The truth that grounds our marching orders for thinking and acting right, as in almost all of Paul’s letters, and some of the others, is our “union with Christ”. That is, through our faith in Him, and the power of the Spirit, we are now identified with all the human experiences of Jesus. In other words, we share His life and status as a human being. That’s why in chapter 2, Paul’s already told the Colossians that they were “buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him”. Then later, he tells them that “you have died with Christ”. Put differently, the Christian has spiritually experienced everything that Jesus did physically. The believer has died as a sinful, rebellious, and condemned person, and has become a new person through the Holy Spirit’s power, and through sharing in the resurrection life of Jesus.

Based on this new life, Paul now instructs the Colossians in where to focus their affections, thoughts, and decisions in this section we’re looking at. There are a few main parts in his steps for thinking and living consistently with Jesus. First, they’re to think above. Then, they must think away their sins. Third, they must abstain from sin. And finally, they need to acknowledge what’s already happened to them.

Put in more detail, Paul tells the Colossians to do three main things in these 11 verses:

  1. Seek heavenly things with Christ (vss. 1-4).
  2. Slay your earthly members to sin (vss. 5-8).
  3. Recite your renewal of self (vss. 9-11).

Before looking at how Paul explains each of these actions, here’s what he writes:

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on thethings above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with  Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, thenyou also will be revealed with Him in glory. Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amoungts to idlatery. For it is because ofthese things that wrath of God will come upon th sons of disobediencve, and in them you also once awlked, when you were living in them. But now you also, put them all saside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. Do not lie to oen another, since you laid adside the old self with its evil practices, and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him —  a renewal in which there is no . . . Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Chirst is all, and in all.”

So, first we come to seeking the heavenly things with Christ, the fundamental pursuit of God’s children.

Seek Heavenly Things with Christ

Based on their spiritual resurrection with Jesus, Paul first urges the Colossians to pursue the things that they’ll eventually enjoy for eternity with Him. And since these things are fully manifested in the heavenly realm where Jesus is, that’s where he points them. It begins with their aspirations, and then must come to their pattern of thinking. And to encourage them in this direction of thought, he promises that eventually what they only think about will be fully realized in their experience.

The certainty of their future experience of heavenly perfection is underlined by Paul’s declaration that they’ve been “raised up with Christ,” as if they’ve been resurrected along with Jesus. But he goes further, since they’ve not only been resurrected with Him, but also are with Him “at the right hand of God” (v. 1). This is confirmed by his statements that their lives are “hidden with Christ in God” (v. 3), and that they’ll one day be “revealed with Him in glory” when He Himself is “revealed” from heaven. Hence, he’s assuring believers that since they are spiritually one with Jesus, their true character will only be fully manifested when He’s fully manifested in His coming again to the earth. It isn’t my business to discuss the entirety of what will take place at that time, but suffice it to say that this will mean the consummation and completion of the Christians’ salvation, according to Paul.

Based on this spiritual position and experience, which manifests itself now in the Christian’s new nature, he urges them to continually be seeking the things above. Following this direction of affections and pursuits, he then directs them to set their minds on things above, in contrast to “the things that are on earth” (v. 2). So what exactly are the higher things that he has in mind? I’ve already hinted at them, but they include all the blessings, privileges, pleasures, joys, and experiences of the next life in glory. Hence, anything that pertains to the way that we’ll be living in eternity, on the new earth, is included in the things we ought to be pursuing and thinking about obsessively. Not surprisingly, if believers focus their affections and attention on heavenly, spiritual, and eternal realities that are perfectly realized in heaven, then they’ll gradually conform their thought patterns, desires, and decisions to God’s will for them. Ultimately, what Paul is calling believers to seek after and dwell upon is the character, nature, and thinking of Jesus Himself. This zealous pursuit and mindset serves as the only true basis for fighting against temptations, sinful desires, and sin itself. And this leads Paul to explain how the Colossians must respond to their sins because of their heavenly and eternal obsession with the next age of Christlikeness and heaven. Anything that doesn’t belong in heaven must be progressively destroyed.

Slay Your Earthly Members to Sin

In the second section of this passage, Paul speaks of the removal of the most earthly parts of the Colossians in their affections and actions. He, as all believers do, recognizes that we’re still encased in flesh that regularly confront us with sinful thoughts, desires, and impulses. However, such things are inconsistent with our heavenly natures and destinies. Therefore, such behaviors need to be considered as no longer a part of us and our lives in Christ.

This is the basic thinking that Paul begins with, as he urges the Colossians to consider “the members of your earthly body as dead” to a list of sins, and then gives a couple more reasons why this is necessary. But first, what does he mean by this injunction? Well, what he literally writes in the Greek (as the ESV translates it) is to “put to death” their body parts “to” all these sins (v. 5). That is, they are to remove as much as possible any vital tie or relation from their bodies to such sins. They must believe that their bodies are no longer meant to commit these sins, but to do the righteous alternatives. Let’s briefly look at this list of sins because it’s significant, especially in relation to the next list he gives.

If you closely examine this list, you’ll find that all these sins are essentially sins of the mind and desires, rather than overtly outward behaviors. He lists sexual immorality, sexual impurity, excessive passion for pleasure, harmful desire, and greed or covetousness (v. 5). All these sins usually start through the excessive control of one’s physical desires over a person’s mind and will. But the main reason Paul gives for why the Colossians should no longer commit these sins is that it’s because of them “that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience” (v. 6). Who are these “sons of disobedience”? All those who, like sons of a father, obey and belong to disobedience to God. Anyone who lives in this way is on a trajectory toward God’s wrath, or hateful anger, coming upon them like a violent and eternal storm.

Why is this a reason that the Colossians ought not to do these things? Because they aren’t sons of disobedience anymore, though they once were. For Paul adds that they “once walked” in these sins when they were “living in them” (v. 7). The implication is that they no longer walk their everyday lives out by practicing these sins, since they no longer live in sin.

Based on this wonderful truth, Paul goes on to urge them to avoid committing even more sins, but of a different category, and in a different manner. Rather than telling the believers to put their bodies to death in regard to sin, next he calls them to “put aside,” or literally “take off,” certain sins. In contrast to the previous list, this list of sins consists of outward, apparent, and explicitly social sins. He points out two types of anger — the first a smoldering bitterness, and the second a violent, sudden, wrath. Then, he includes evil intent that manifests in hateful speech, deceptive portrayals of people, and “abusive speech” (v. 8). Since he ends the list by saying that all this comes “from your mouth,” it seems that all these sins are the kind that usually manifest in what people say. Hence, he’s telling the Colossians to avoid speaking angrily, wrathfully, maliciously, slanderously, or abusively, besides abstaining from the harboring of such feelings and desires in their hearts. Thus concludes his summary of how to avoid the most prevalent of the Colossians’ sins. He’ll next give the most powerful motivator for why they ought to live in conformity to their heavenly nature and destiny, and treat their brethren in Christ with the utmost love and honor.

Recite Your Renewal of Self

Having begun this passage by instructing these believers to fix their attention on the heavenly realities that await their full enjoyment, and to consciously decide to not indulge in sinfully excessive and hateful behavior, he now moves to the central explanation of why they ought to treat one another with love and honesty. This comes in the middle of Paul’s long series of exhortations for living right in general found in chapter 3. Thus, it comes as no surprise that he points out the literal heart of the Colossians’ relationship to each other.

What’s noteworthy is that he prefaces this explanation with the last instruction about abstaining from a particular sin, which highlights this one as the most grievous in their relationships. That sin is lying to each other. Now, we need to remember that he’s not talking about lying in general, but lying to brothers and sisters in God’s family, the body of Christ. Apparently, the Colossians had a long-standing habit as unbelievers of lying to people, so he has to remind them to avoid this. But the reason he gives is interesting, since it highlights the fundamental relationship that believers have with each other. Although it’s another way of describing what he begins this passage with in oneness of Christians with Jesus, it’s even more visceral and powerful.

The reason given for the inappropriateness of the Colossians lying to each other is that they “have laid aside the old self with its evil practices” (v. 9), and have also “put on the new self who is being renewed” (v. 10). In other words, they’ve become new people with new desires and affections. It’s important to note that the NASB makes a translation error here, since Paul’s Greek uses the word Anthropos, translated “self” here, but literally meaning “man”. By using this term, he’s alluding to the first man, Adam, who is the head of all natural humanity. But in putting on the new man, Paul is referring to Jesus, who is the head of the new humanity, to which all Christians belong. And since believers have put Him on as new people, they’re being “renewed to a true knowledge” in accordance with “the image of the One who created him” (v. 10). In other words, through the Spirit’s power, all believers are being gradually transformed increasingly to reflect the image of God as it’s revealed in Jesus. Hence, since the Colossians are becoming more and more like Jesus, it’s unthinkable that they would lie to their fellow image-bearers of Christ.

Paul adds to this argument against lying that this renewal of their minds, desires, affections, and actions is communal and Christ-centered. He reminds them that even more than being new people, they also have no distinctions among them worth justifying any mistreatment of each other. Although they were undoubtedly ethnically and socially diverse – as he lists Greek and Jew, barbarian, Scythian, and free and slave – they’re ultimately all part of the same race of humanity. But this race is that which belongs to Christ – the new humanity of the heavenly creation in glory. That’s why he ends this passage by telling them that “Christ is all, and in all” (v. 11). Put more clearly, Christ is all that matters among them, and He is the One that lives inside of them all. Therefore, they ought to treat each other with the utmost love, honor, and respect.

Keep Seeking Heaven, Kill Sin Here, and Remember Your Renewal

The applications to believers from this passage have already been basically outlined, but let’s review how we ought to follow these instructions from Paul in summary form. First, our basic outlook and mindset ought to be oriented toward the heavenly realities that we are hoping for in eternity. We ought to obsess over, and focus on, the perfection, blessedness, and virtues that we’ll enjoy at the end of the age. Thus, all earthly things must take a secondary role in the purpose for our lives. Second, based on our heavenly destiny and nature, we ought to make deliberate and dependent efforts to avoid all sin as much as possible. Of course, this must be done with reliance on the Spirit and the Lord, through faith, but we must resolve not to commit the sins that we’re used to committing. And finally, what will help us in this endeavor and warfare is constantly remembering that we’re not the people we once were, but are now new people in Christ, who are being renewed in our minds to conform to the likeness of Jesus Messiah. Therefore, we ought to view all our fellow believers as possessing the life and nature of Jesus, and treat them as our brothers and sisters in God’s family.