5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
~ Colossians 3:5–11
IDENTIFY
• What habits in your daily life do you need to lay aside to experience more of Jesus?
• What habits in your daily life do you want to put on to experience more of Jesus?
When we purchased our first home in San Diego, we were simultaneously relieved and anxious. We were thrilled to have a home with “good bones” and great potential; however, as we looked at the amount of demolition it would take to get closer to our dream home, we were terribly overwhelmed. Before we could paint walls and hang up pictures, we had to tear down existing walls that were structurally unsound. We had to tear down before we could build up.
Paul uses a similar analogy to help the Colossians understand the path toward continued growth as a believer: the language of putting off and putting on. We must put off the old self continually so that we might live out of the new self. This language of our sinful natures as the flesh, the old man, and the old nature shows up throughout the entire New Testament.
Paul encouraged the early believers to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:22–24).
Before we can grow into the cloaks of righteousness Christ procured for us, the worn-out garments of our old selves need to be exposed, named, and removed through repentance. We must put off before we can put on. Christ exposes our anger, evil desires, malice, and falsehood so that he might clothe us in the fruit of the gospel: kindness, compassion, and forgiveness (more on this tomorrow). While this disrobing of sin happens initially in salvation, it continues to happen in an ongoing way in the process of sanctification. We must continue this process of putting off and putting on until the day when we will no longer have an indwelling sinful nature warring against our truest, deepest identity in Christ (Galatians 5:16–26).
- When talking about what we need to put off, Paul offers the Colossians two sample lists (Colossians 3:5, 9). What do you notice about these two lists? Which of these sins do you most often struggle with?
- What old patterns of the old self are hard to put off? Why do you think this is so?
- When Christ exposes your old self, he always dresses you in his promises. What promises of God can you claim for your life today?
Put on Love
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 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. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 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. 17 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.
~ Colossians 3:12–17
IDENTIFY
• When others describe you, what words do they most often use?
• When you think of what you want to define you, what words would you use?
Silly confession: one time I was trying on a cute, Boho top in a Target dressing room and got completely stuck in said shirt. When I say stuck, I mean a stuck that induced sweat and a near panic attack. Embarrassed, I had to ask another per-son in the fitting room for help in getting out of the mess I had made. Clearly, I should have tried on the next size up.
While I share this in jest, this story also offers us perspective when we are reading Paul’s invitation to put off the old man to make room for the new. Often, we struggle with divesting our-selves of our old sinful ways because we try to do it alone and in our own strength. No wonder we often find ourselves as spiritually discouraged and tangled as I was in the dressing room.
Whatever God commands, he also enables and empowers (2 Peter 1:3). God stands ready to help us in our spiritual dressing rooms, fitting us with new garments of patience, forgiveness, and love toward each other. Here’s the really exciting truth: the more comfortable we become in receiving the love that God has for us, the more we will become like Christ in reflecting his compassion, kindness, forgiveness, and peace in our relationships.
For the believer, all things flow from the central reality of the love of Christ. We love only because he first loved us (1 John 4:19). As we abide in his love, we will obey his commandments (John 15:9–10). The more we learn to wear the love of Christ as our cloak, the more our lives will be marked by the fruits of the Spirit. The marks of the old self (impurity, covetousness, idolatry, malice, anger, etc.) will be replaced by the peace of Christ which will act like a referee in our hearts, bringing order and security in our souls (Colossians 3:15).
Imagine what could happen in your relationships and in your community if you and fellow believers around you consistently lived this way. This is the picture Jesus gave us in John 13:35: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- Compare Paul’s list here (Colossians 3:12) with a similar list of spiritual fruit in Galatians 5:22–24. What do you notice? What stands out to you?
- Is there anyone you have been struggling to forgive? If so, pray for God to remind you of all the forgiveness you have received from him.
- How can you practically show compassion and love to those in your immediate circles this week?
Excerpted from You Are Secure ©2024 by Aimee Joseph. Used with permission of New Growth Press. May not be reproduced without prior written permission.
you are secure
Through You Are Secure, an eight-week devotional centered on the book of Colossians, Aimee Joseph helps us see that it is our union with Christ that fills our hearts with peace. Amidst a largely insecure world, our security is anchored into the unchanging person of Jesus.
