Friday, October 9 — Take Off the Old Self
Every spring cleaning there is a moment when you pull out a piece of clothing, hold it up, and realize you have been keeping it for a version of yourself that does not exist anymore.
Colossians 3:1-11 — KJV
1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. 5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6 For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: 7 In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them. 8 But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth. 9 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:1-11 — WEB
1 If then you were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, our life, is revealed, then you will also be revealed with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 For these things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. 7 You also once walked in those, when you lived in them; 8 but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth. 9 Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings, 10 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, 11 where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all, and in all.
Explanation
Paul wrote to the church in Colossae, a small town in what is now Turkey, where believers were being pulled by a mix of philosophies, rituals, and rules that suggested Christ was not enough on His own. Chapter 3 turns from what the Colossians believe to how they live. And notice where Paul starts: "If ye then be risen with Christ." He begins with resurrection. The way we live is not an attempt to earn a new life; it is what a new life looks like.
Paul gives two directions. First, look up: seek the things above and set your mind there, not on earthly things. That is not an escape from real life; it is about where you aim your attention. Second, put to death what belongs to the old way: sexual immorality, impurity, evil desire, and covetousness, which Paul calls idolatry. Then the everyday sins that wreck relationships: anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy talk, lying to one another. He uses the picture of clothing: put off the old self with its practices and put on the new self, "renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him." The last verse is a surprise. In this new humanity there is no Greek or Jew, slave or free; Christ is all and in all. Old ranking systems come off with the old clothes.
Sunday's lesson shows Israel choosing badly in Judges 2, giving in to the pull of the gods around them. Paul has a name for that pull: covetousness, which is idolatry. Israel's idols were called Baal and Ashtaroth; ours go by other names. And Paul gives the cure that Judges is missing: a mind set on things above, and a new identity that was handed to us, not built by us. Even this connects to the lesson title. God works despite evil, and part of His work is not only to forgive us but to make us new.
Be specific this week. What is the old coat you keep putting back on? It might be a quick temper, a habit of gossip, a little lie that smooths things over at work, or the late-night scrolling that feeds envy. "Put off" is an action. Think of hanging a jacket on a hook. You decide, you do it, and you are not carrying it around anymore. But you do not do it by gritted teeth alone. You do it because you have been raised. And when you walk into your workplace, your family, or your church, remember the last verse: no one is the "real" insider, and no one is beneath you. Christ is all and in all.
Thought for the Day
Take off what's dead. You were raised for more.
Reflection Question
What is one "old coat" you keep putting back on, and what would it look like to hang it up this week?
Prayer
Lord, thank You for raising us up with Christ. Turn our eyes toward You today, and give us the courage to take off what is dead. Show us the habits and words that no longer fit who we are in You. Teach us to see every person as someone Christ is in. In Jesus' name, Amen.
This week we walk toward Sunday's lesson: God Works Despite Evil.