ETB Colossians 3:1-17

In the first chapter of Colossians, the apostle Paul emphasized the gospel’s power for emancipation and transformation. It possesses power to free believers from sin’s power and Satan’s control, as well as to make repentant sinners into mature and faithful followers of Christ and witnesses to others.

In the second chapter, the themes of forgiveness and freedom are the focus. False witnesses and teachers aside, forgiveness of sins comes only through God’s gift of His Son as sin-bearer. Being fully forgiven, repentant sinners find through Christ the freedom to live a God-honoring life.

Moving on from these doctrinal truths, the final two chapters of Colossians focus primarily on practical issues of living a Christian life that honors Christ. To be sure, this distinction between the doctrinal and the practical is one of emphasis. The opening two chapters do contain important practical matters and the final two chapters are certainly not without doctrinal truths. [LifeWay Adults (2020). (p. 114). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - ESV - Fall 2021. LifeWay Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]

Or as one commentator put it, the first to chapters deals with things that come in through our ears, the last two deal with what happens between our ears. There have been numerous books and ministries built around the principles found in today’s passage so there is no way we can delve too deeply into these verses but our goal today it to take away a least one transformative truth that we can build on and grow more into the likeness of Christ our Lord.

Explore the Text

Colossians 3:1–2 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Although the beginning “if then you” is an accurate translation of the Greek text, for a modern English reader the word “since” conveys the better meaning behind the words. The statement about the Colossian believers being raised with Christ is not in question but is the position assumed to be currently true and thus it is being built upon through the rest of the passage.

In my studies this week one of the language tools I used identified 6 commands and 2 mandates in our 17 verses of the day. The first command is here to “seek the things that are above”. This imagery is one of searching out until it is found and grabbing hold of it once possessed again. It is not a casual looking around but a diligent, purposefully pursuit.

To help us know where to hunt, these “things” are “above, where Christ is” which is in contrast to earthly things mentioned later and the human wisdom, philosophies, and rituals mentioned in the previous chapters. If what we are looking for is in the presence of our Lord, then they will be of the upmost benefit for not only our spirit but the mind and heart as well. To further emphasize the benefit and righteous aims, Christ’s position of authority over them is established by his place in the heavenly throne room. Images of Psa 110:1 “The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.”” would certainly come to mind for any readers that had Jewish backgrounds like Paul’s. This imagery also helps us connect our pursuits back to the preeminence of Christ and His authority over the things we can see but more importantly for today’s passage the things not seen.

Once we find those things not of this world or based in the elemental principals or plausible arguments of the day we are to “set your mind” on them, our second command. Both of these commands are “active”, so they are not a single action but are to be continuously done. Look for those things that are Christ like and guide your mind into His presence, once you find them dwell on them constantly so as not to be deterred from them, go back, look for some more and repeat until glorified.

Paul is not telling us by way of the Colossians to be so “heavenly minded that we are no earthly good” but more closely to the idea that we are of the “most earthly good because of our mind is being filled with heavenly ideals”. We are to pursue righteousness and let it come out in our daily activities. Our actions tend to follow where our mind is focused, when our mind is wrapped up on earthly entanglements then our actions usually are guided that way too.

Paul stresses again in the next verses how this should not be true of the person who is “raised with Christ”.

Colossians 3:3–4 ESV

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

These two verses seem to have had the most varied and contrasting interpretations in the things that I read.

“Hidden” implies both concealment and safety; both invisibility and security. He is not yet glorified, but he is secure and safe in Christ. In fact, Christ is his very life. Christ said He was going where “the world will not see Me anymore” (John 14:19). [The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures. Ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck. Vol. 2. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985. 680. Print.}

their hidden life is secure, unable to be touched by anyone. {New Bible Commentary: 21st Century Edition. Ed. D. A. Carson et al. 4th ed. Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, 1994. 1272. Print.]

This interpretation, which takes life in the sense of quality or essence, is preferred to the view that looks to the return of Christ as the time when those who are saved and thus belong to God will be identified. [Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2011. Print. Understanding the Bible Commentary Series.]

I am going to accept the English translations and use the context of the letter to interpret the figurative language being used. “Died” therefore points back to the “being raised” in verse one and is a statement of the reader’s justified position in Christ as a believer. Being “hidden” points back to Col 1:26 “the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.” We are pursuing spiritual things that cannot be seen with human or unregenerate eyes and may continue to be hidden to our earthly neighbors or persecutors. If we are properly focused as our first two verses imply, then Christ “is” our life and when He is revealed or appears - be that in the physical eschatological sense or the daily repentance and sanctifying sense - His glory will shine through us toward others and no longer be “hidden” from them as God has revealed Himself to them. When we seek and set our mind on Christ and His heavenly position then His glory is revealed in and through us as we daily pursue His righteousness and allow it to be revealed in part to those we are living life next to.

In order to set or minds on Christ and His working within us we must take our minds off of other things. Paul now gives us the next command about those things which oppose a heavenly mind set.

Colossians 3:5–7 ESV

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them.

My question and one of the commentaries raised it as well was, If I died in verse 3, why do I have to “put to death” these things? Paul’s letters to the Romans and Galatians help us understand this better.

Romans 8:13 ESV

For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Galatians 5:24 ESV

And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

We have “died” to sins eternal hold on us but as we are “raised” with Him to new life on this earth we will continue to be bombarded by its sin and the pursuit of ungodly. Our spirit is new, alive, and hidden away from the taint of this world in Christ. Our body and mind however struggle to allow this true to have its preeminence on a moment-by-moment basis therefore we must put these things to death or “mortify” them as often as they appear.

Let’s look at our first list of 5 vices again.

Colossians 3:5 ESV

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.

Depending on how the words are defined, how you group or divide these can vary. Most scholars agree there is significance to the items on the list, but few seem to agree on what it is. All agree these are in opposition to the list of godly traits in verse 12 and not things that are above or in Christ. I personally see a literary progression which Paul seems to use in most of his letters. I also like using the grouping that Paul defines for us in Col 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed”.

Porneia, where we get our word pornography, is the sexual immorality. This is an “action” or improper fulfilment of the God given desires for sex through non-marital means. “Impurity” is a moral uncleanness in more than just a sexual context and also seems to include the thoughts with the actions. This appears to begin the downward progression from most physical and outward vice to the more mental and inward sin. Passion can be either good or bad, but in this context, it is the negative. Other translations use the word “lust” which helps the modern reader with the negative connotation and continues a sexual nature to the list. This is another progression which can be seen as the first on the list was just wrong use of godly passion, now the imagery of desiring of ungodly things. Finally, the covetousness is so overwhelming in the person’s mind that they have completed replaced God as the object of worship with something created or worse yet imagined.

Colossians 3:5–7 ESV

Idolatry alone brought down God’s wrath in the Old Testament, but the wording apparently is unclear if the “these” point to one or all 5 of the vices lists. Paul’s point however is that they are all against God’s will and we should remember what kind of hold and addictive nature each of these had within us. This is a good list to use when telling others about what Christ has freed you from. We were there and “lived” in them but now we have died to their eternal hold and Christ works in us to remove their daily pull away from a life “in Him.”

Paul is writing to the believers in Colossae and does recognize that they “were” living this way suggesting that they “are not” now. However, we know that the taint of sin from our lives on this earth is not so easily removed. Although they are “dead” to these things and are not probably actively participating in them, when the mind is not set on Christ and we are not actively searching for more of His presence in our lives and heart, we like the Colossians, will fall back to our old thought habits. We may not act on the “sexual immorality”, but Christ holds us to a higher standard now and we cannot even “lust in our heart” (Mat 5:28).

Our next verses point to our heart issues even more directly.

Colossians 3:8–10 ESV

But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

We “were” like the first list and that was taken care of in a past tense, this list is with us today in the present tense and must be dealt with “now.” Our last list was a mix of actions and words, this list is mostly about words that we may actively use. The first list seemed to be more internal and sinfully meeting “my” needs whereas this list seems to be directly outward toward others and their debasement.

The first is anger, followed by its companion sin, wrath. While we might use these terms interchangeably, Paul likely meant for the readers to think of anger as a smoldering persistent feeling of the heart, while wrath is the sudden outburst of that feeling. Sometimes people experience the slow boil of anger that hangs on for a season, while others may experience a sudden explosion of wrath such as is quickly spent and then they move on.

Paul continued the catalogue of sins by naming malice, which commonly speaks of a vicious or hurtful disposition bent on doing harm to its object. This is followed by slander, which bespeaks insulting words uttered against its object with a view to hurting someone’s reputation. Obscene talk carries overtones of abusive speech and foul-mouthed language. [LifeWay Adults (2020). (p. 117). Explore the Bible: Adult Leader Guide - ESV - Fall 2021. LifeWay Press. Retrieved from https://read.lifeway.com]

Right after the list in verse 8, Paul singles out one more sin - lying. He is still writing to believers, so it makes me wonder what he has heard about the Colossians. When I read from verse 1 through 9 together, I get the sense that he is implying that the “lists” are you lying to yourself about who you are when no one else is around, and now he is commanding us not to lie to others also. Maybe we can convince others that we are “fine” when we really aren’t but that would be lying both to ourselves and others. Neither is Christlike and all these things are to be “put away” or “put off”. Some scholars give these terms a military imagery of disarming or stripping off one’s armor. Most seem to equate this more with normal clothing and “pulling off” the dirty clothes for discarding never to be worn again.

When we take off one set of clothes, we need to put on another. As Christ shows us the old habits that need to be removed from our life patterns, He will grow us in new habits that reflect His image better. He does not eliminate all our emotions and reactions to perceived needs but show us how to respond like He would. Part of that learning and growing comes from increasing or “being renewed” in the knowledge of Him who is the “image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:15).

As believers continue in this mortification process the community, we find ourselves within under Christ’s headship looks different than any other on the earth.

Colossians 3:11 ESV

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

Maybe it is just the variety of commentaries that I read, but this is another verse that gets grouped or categorized in different ways. If we start at the end “Christ is all” then we realize that all the preceding labels really do not matter. Paul covers every people group and nationality available at the time and finishes with social status. Once we are in Christ’s family, all other labels, groupings, or kinship are secondary to His Lordship because “whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

As His servant and “royal ambassador” we do not say or do things what will not represent Him well and we should even “dress the part”, girding ourselves with that which represents the best of His kingdom.

Colossians 3:12–13 ESV

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

In contrast to what we were and how we lived, we are able to “put on” these counterparts to the ungodly habits because God has chosen us, made us separate from the world and lavished His inexhaustible love upon us. The phrasing used to describe the believers is identical to words used to describe the people of Israel in the Old Testament. This could be to emphasize the unity that was just described which we now have in Christ as the head of the church.

If we group all the first two lists that we are to “put off” as self-centered and harmful of others for personal gain, then these things which we are to “put on” would be others focused and self-denying for their betterment. Although Christ is listed here as the example of forgiveness we are to emulate, all of the other attributes are equally His as well and shown to us as examples throughout the rest of the New Testament.

I did not go through the exercise of comparing each the 5 “ons” with the 10 “offs” to see if they were literal opposites or not but using the context of letter in general gives us that impression. There are other lists of characteristics that a believer in Christ are supposed to display to the world other places in Scripture: Romans 12, Galatians 5, Ephesians 4 immediately come to mind.

But there is one more character trait that needs to be on the list of “put ons” and it could be called the belt that holds the rest of the clothes together.

Colossians 3:14–17 ESV

And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The Shema tells us to “love God”, later we are instructed to “love others” as much or more than ourselves. The God we worship has told us that He is love, and we are to be like Him. Paul writes in his chapter on love to the Corinthians that love is the greatest of traits, and without it our efforts are meaningless. So, we can “put on” an act of all the things of verse 12 but if do it without Christ’s love coming through us then we have fallen back into habit of the previous lists.

In my studies on of the language tools pointed out that verses 15 and 16 are mandates and verse 17 has the last of the 6 commands of our passage today. What is the difference between a command and a mandate? Commands are expected to be obeyed; mandates are “mandatory”. Paul is telling the Colossians and all other readers, even if you cannot find a way to “put on” the things of verse 12 and 13, these two are not optional, you are obligated to obey regardless of all else. It is no coincidence that letting “Christ rule in our hearts” and letting the “word of Christ dwell” within us will ultimately lead to us displaying the character and compassion of the one we serve.

When we remember what Christ has done and seek for things He is doing, we find much to thank Him for. For those in my house this joyful gratitude often comes out in a musical format. The teachings and training through song lyrics and poetic recitations is an ancient practice still used today. How many of you learned a song in school that still plays in your head when going through the list of presidents or the alphabet? Paul is not saying this is the only way to teach but is using it as a final illustration of how we can “set our minds” on things above and help those around us do the same.

Just in case we did not pick up on how evident Christ’s character and workmanship is supposed to be apparent to those around us as we “do” life, Paul succinctly states it for us in verse 17. “In whatever you do” be like Christ. Can we go out and “smite our enemies in the Name of Jesus!”? NO! That would not be loving or several other of His traits. We are to do all these things in verse 12 & 13, and Romans, and Galatians, and Ephesians, and..... An impossible task on our own but one that is not for us to complete anyway (Phil 1:6).

Apply the Text

If there is anything I can do to help or encourage your growth in Christ so that you can reflect His character more this week than last, please let me know. It may help me stay more focused and committed to “things above” as well.

The Personal Study Guide has a good question about what can you do this week that would help you dwell on God’s word more this week than last? I like that and think I will add in some listening to more Christ-centered podcasts and books, or even just listening to the Scriptures this week instead of only music. I would challenge you as well to find a way to pour in more of Him and less of the world this week.

God allows us to see these areas in our lives that are still representative of earthly things in order for us to loving yield to His will and glorify Him through putting on His character instead. May we continue to put away, mortify, and strip off the vestiges of this world and seek after, set our hearts and minds toward, adorning ourselves in the raiment presented to us by our King and Savior so that the world may see just how loving and gracious He is.

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