Col 3:9-15 | KingComments | STEP | . After the magnificent view of the last verse you find yourself with both your feet on earth again. There is something you must do. If you enjoyed the glory of Christ and your partaking of it because you are in Him, you will have no desire to indulge in sinful desires. They hinder you from seeking the things that are above. In view of this you have already been told what things you should not seek. Now you read of things you must consider as dead, literally “put to death the members which are upon the earth”. You may ask how to put them to death. It is not that you should kill yourself or your flesh. The old man is dead, he has been made powerless. God condemned sin in the flesh ( ). The mechanism which made use of the sin, the old self, the old man is dead ( ). Consequently you need to consider yourself dead to sin ( ). That means you no longer allow the members of your body to be used for sin, but place yourself in the service of God ( ). When sin attracts, you must immediately cut off its work on you. A more radical solution than considering as dead does not exist. Putting to death is a strong and meaningful expression. You have to act uncompromisingly with immoral things. This is what you do when sin is denied any authority. Just say to yourself: ‘I do not give any room for that sin.’ You place that sin where it belongs, that is with the old man, who no longer has a say in your life. With this determined attitude you prevent thinking on it. As soon as you begin to think on sin you are lost and the sin in question grabs its chance to get hold of you. To put to death means to take the life out of sin. As a result sin is denied all chances to reveal itself. Paul is clear about the particular “members”. The members are identical with sins: 1. The list begins with “immorality” (as in ; ; ). This sin is a serious threat to holiness. 2. “Impurity” is closely related to immorality but more general; it means any kind of impurity. 3. “Passion” refers to erotic desires that lead to immorality in thought and action. 4. “Evil desire” in this context seems to refer to sexual desires. 5. “Greed” means wanting to have more and more, and seems in this context connected to sexual offences. 6. Sexual desire that dominates to the extent that it has taken the place of God becomes “idolatry”. . Maybe you have heard of the view that the only sin upon which God’s judgment comes is unbelief. This is a misconception as you see in this verse. There are other sins upon which the “wrath of God will come”. The wrath of God comes upon all sins. The wrath of God comes from His hatred of sin. God’s wrath is not the expression of His temperament but of His government. That wrath will be revealed and is described in Revelation 6-19. The wrath of God strikes people who do not know new birth and who remain in their unbelief. The characteristic of such a life is disobedience. It is presented as if disobedience is their father and that they are his sons with all his disobedient character traits . The thought that you as a believer would still resemble them must be intolerable. The motivation to put to death the members which are on the earth will be present with you. . That does not mean that you can now arrogantly look down upon the sons of disobedience. As a believer you must be aware that you are not standing above them. You too were resistant and lived exactly like them before ( ). Now it is not so. This life came to an end when you died with Christ. . Therefore you must put aside all these habits and traits which people saw in you before. It can be described as though you put off the piece of clothing you wore before. It is about the attitude that once marked your life. This attitude was particularly evident in your speech. The things that are mentioned here have to do with the tongue, and consequently with the heart, because what you say comes forth from the heart ( ). 1. As the first sinful expression of the heart, “anger” is mentioned. With us, anger is an expression of a temperament. An expression of anger need not necessarily be sinful ( ), however in this context it is. 2. “Wrath” emphasizes the sudden outburst of emotions about a thing; anger refers more to a state or condition of mind. 3. “Malice” is an attitude that is intended to harm or damage others. 4. “Slander” is the deliberate utterance of falsehood about another person in order to place him in a bad light. 5. “Abusive speech” can mean swearing and also debauched, obscene language. . Lying is a sin of the tongue, which characterizes the old self. It is not in vain said that every man is a liar ( ). Since the believer has put off the old self (or: old man) with his deeds, his utterances must also end. Relationships with the old man is torn down. The old man is the essence of the first Adam as he is expressed in the totality of his progeny. . You no longer belong to the first Adam but to the last Adam, Christ. He characterizes the new man you have put on. The new man is characterized by Christ as expressed in all believers. Only all believers put together can express the features of Christ as no single person possesses all of Christ. Something of Christ can be seen in each person. Putting on does not mean to be clothed from the outside but this new man is seen outside from the inside. The new man is what you are inwardly after your conversion. You will show this in your life. You have put on the new man in your conversion. The more you know of God, the more you will exhibit the new man in you. “Renewed to a true knowledge” means that God brings the new man to the full knowledge of His counsel. This is a process of development. The model God always has before Him is Christ. God wants to teach this new man in the knowledge of Christ in order to shape him in the image of “the One who created him” ( ; ). The more He works in you the more you will walk as the Lord Jesus did ( ). . Every difference disappears in the new self or the new man ( ). Only Christ is seen and He fills everything with His glory: 1. In the new man there is no difference between “Greek and Jew” and that means all difference in race, national origin or nationality is gone. 2. Also there is no difference between “circumcised and uncircumcised” which points to the religious difference, the external relationship with God. 3. The difference between “barbarian” and “Scythian” has vanished. Among these lowest cultures the Scythians were given by the Greeks a place lower than the barbarians. In Christ Jesus such difference is no longer there. 4. With the abolition of the distinction between “slave and freeman” the social difference in the new man is no longer present. The only position that counts is our position in Christ. He is everything in this new man; yes, you can now say that He is the new Man. While you are waiting for the glory of the Lord where God will be all and in all Christ already lives in His saints. He has formed the new man in them in whom He is all in all. The old man might have statutes and philosophies, but for the new man Christ is everything. Now read Colossians 3:5-11 again. Reflection: What are the characteristics of the new man and what are not?