Paul the apostle
differentiated between the “earthly” things and the “heavenly”
things as he wrote to the Colossian church members. The behaviors and
pursuits of those who had received Jesus Christ as their Lord and
Savior were to be changed after they received Him. No longer were
they to be involved in “fornication,
uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness, which is idolatry:”
nor were they to exhibit “anger,
wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.”
These traits invited the “wrath
of God on children of disobedience”, and
although Paul knew they fomerly “walked” and “lived in” them,
they should not do so any more. In chapter three and verse nine Paul
gave another characteristic to “put
off”
in the Colossians' lives, and he explained the reason why. We read:
Lie
not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his
deeds;
The verse begins,
“Lie
not one to another,” As
though it was an afterthought, Paul included “Lie
not”
or do not “speak
deliberate falsehoods or deceive” “one
to another”.
The idea is “do not lie reciprocally” to each other. Evidently
their behavior was to swap lies back and forth with one another, and
such behavior was to be
“put away”.
The
verse goes on to say, “seeing
that you have put off the old man with his deeds;” Paul
included the reason that they should not “lie
one to another”
when
He
wrote, “seeing
that you have put off”
which is the Greek word “apekdyomai
”
and means “wholly
put off from one's self, denoting separation from what is
put off, wholly to strip off for one's self (for one's own
advantage),despoil or disarm” “the
old man”
which refers to “the ancient man or way” in which they lived
“with
his deeds”
or “a doing, a mode of acting, a deal, a transaction, wicked deed,
crime, or wicked doings”. Paul likened the Colossians' former lives
as an “old
man”
or “old way of living”, and because they were now believers in
Jesus Christ, the former
“old man”
was to be “put
away”.
As
we ponder Paul's words, we should remember that “lying” should no
longer be a part of our lives. When we think about it long enough,
perhaps there are “little lies” or “white lies” that are part
of our behaviors. Paul's idea was to be truthful with one another,
not exaggerating, and “stretching the truth” as some phrase it.
We have been made new, different, and our “old
man”
and “old ways” should no longer be a part of our lives once we
have received Jesus into our hearts. Holiness and godliness are to
replace rebellion and sin even when those traits seem as small as a
“tiny lie”. The challenge to the Colossian church members was
demanding and exacting, and it is nonetheless to us as well. May the
Lord help us to see the “old
man”
traits within us and eradicate anything that is contrary to His ways.
Next
time Paul shares about
putting
on the
“new man”,
so
read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow...there is more...
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, www.amazon.com ;
www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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