Colossians 3:9

My Notes

What Does Colossians 3:9 Mean?

Colossians 3:9 grounds the command against lying in something that's already happened: "Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds." Don't lie — because you're not the person who lies anymore. The old liar has been stripped off like dirty clothes.

The word "put off" — apekdusamenoi — is an aorist middle participle, meaning it's a completed action you participated in. You took off the old man the way you'd take off a garment. The old self — the person you were before Christ, with all its habits, patterns, and instincts — has been removed. It's not being removed gradually. It was removed. The lying belongs to the old wardrobe. Wearing it now is like putting on clothes you already threw in the trash.

"With his deeds" — sun tais praxesin autou — the old man came off with his practices attached. The deeds weren't removed separately. They went with the person. The lying, the anger (verse 8), the malice, the blasphemy — all of these were clothing items on the old self. When the old self was stripped off, the deeds came with it. Paul isn't telling the Colossians to try harder to stop lying. He's telling them to stop wearing something that's already been removed. The logic is identity-based, not effort-based: you put off the old man. So stop acting like you're still wearing him.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Where are you still wearing the 'old man' — dressing in deception that was supposed to be removed?
• 2.How does Paul's identity-based approach (you already put it off) differ from the effort-based approach (try harder to stop lying) you might default to?
• 3.What lies — small, convenient, habitual — are the last remnants of the old wardrobe you haven't fully discarded?
• 4.If the old man was stripped off 'with his deeds,' what does that mean for patterns you've been treating as permanent rather than removed?

Devotional

You already took off the old self. The lying one. The one who deceived to protect himself, manipulated to get what he wanted, bent the truth whenever it was convenient. That person has been removed. Stripped off. Paul uses the language of undressing — you took the old man off the way you'd peel off filthy clothes. And the lying came off with him.

So when you lie now, you're putting on something you already removed. You're digging through the trash for a garment you threw away. The old man is in the bin. His deeds went with him. And every time you lie — to a friend, to yourself, to God — you're reaching back into the old wardrobe and wearing something that doesn't fit the new you. Not because you're still the old man. Because you're dressing like him.

Paul's approach to behavioral change isn't "try harder." It's "remember who you are." The command against lying isn't sustained by willpower. It's sustained by identity. You don't lie because you're not the liar anymore. The old man is off. The new man is on (verse 10). And the new man doesn't need deception because the new man lives in the truth of Christ.

If lying is still a pattern — small lies, convenient lies, the kind you barely notice — the fix isn't more effort. It's clearer identity. See yourself as the person who has already put off the old man. The clothes are in the trash. Stop wearing them.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture