“But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.”
My Notes
What Does Colossians 3:8 Mean?
Paul commands the Colossians to "put off" (apotithēmi, to lay aside like removing clothing) a specific list of behaviors: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, and filthy communication. The clothing metaphor suggests these aren't just behaviors to stop. They're garments to remove—an old wardrobe that no longer fits the new person you've become in Christ.
The five items cover the full spectrum of destructive speech and emotion: anger (orgē, settled, ongoing resentment), wrath (thumos, explosive, passionate fury), malice (kakia, intentional ill-will toward others), blasphemy (blasphēmia, slanderous speech—whether against God or people), and filthy communication (aischrologia, shameful, abusive language). Three emotions (anger, wrath, malice) produce two speech patterns (slander and filthy talk). The internal corrupts the external.
The word "now" (nuni) creates urgency: the putting off isn't scheduled for a future spiritual milestone. It's now. Today. The old garments come off today because the new person you are in Christ doesn't wear them. You've already been raised with Christ (3:1). The identity changed first. The wardrobe change follows. You're not putting off these things to become new. You're putting them off because you already are.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Which of the five—anger, wrath, malice, slander, filthy talk—is the garment you're most reluctant to remove?
- 2.If the identity change has already happened, what 'old clothes' are you still wearing that don't match who you are in Christ?
- 3.The internal (anger, malice) produces the external (slander, filthy talk). Which internal condition is driving your external speech?
- 4.Paul says 'now.' What are you waiting for before you put off what no longer belongs to the new you?
Devotional
"Put off all these." Not some. All. Anger. Wrath. Malice. Slander. Filthy talk. Take them off like old clothes that don't fit the new person you've become. The wardrobe change isn't optional or gradual. It's now. Today. Strip the old garments.
The clothing metaphor is deliberate: you don't gradually transition out of old clothes into new ones. You take the old ones off. Decisively. Completely. You don't wear anger under your new shirt. You don't keep wrath in your back pocket for emergencies. You don't carry malice in your purse just in case. Off. All of it.
The list moves from internal to external: anger (simmering resentment), wrath (explosive fury), malice (deliberate ill-will) are the internal conditions. Slander and filthy talk are the external expressions. The mouth speaks what the heart holds. If your speech is corrupt—if slander and abusive language flow from you—the source is the anger, wrath, and malice you haven't put off. Cleaning up the speech without addressing the heart is like washing a shirt you're wearing over a dirty body.
The "now" is the word that catches you: not eventually. Not when you feel ready. Not when the other person apologizes first. Now. The identity change has already happened—you've been raised with Christ. The wardrobe needs to match the identity. You're a new person wearing old clothes. The anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy talk don't belong to who you are anymore. Take them off. Now.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But now you also put off all these,.... Intimating, that now since they were converted and delivered out of the former…
But now ye also put off all these - All these which follow, as being also inconsistent with the Christian calling.…
But now ye also put on all these - See on Eph 4:22 (note). Being now converted, sin had no more dominion over…
As we are to mortify inordinate appetites, so we are to mortify inordinate passions (Col 3:8): But now you also put off…
But now Under the divinely altered case of their conversion and union with Christ.
you also As well as all other true…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture