Christ Preeminence is Detailed to the Colossians Volume 29

Paul Reminds the Colossian Believers to Put Off their Old Man and to Put On the New Man Part 2

Colossians 3:9-10 Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him:  KJV

The Apostle Paul was no stranger to confronting believers who were guilty of lying or being less than genuine with other believers for selfish reasons or even out of fear of what others may say about them or think of them as illustrated in his confrontation with one of the first disciples of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, "But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I protested {and} opposed him to his face [concerning his conduct there], for he was blameable {and} stood condemned. For up to the time that certain persons came from James, he ate his meals with the Gentile [converts]; but when the men [from Jerusalem] arrived, he withdrew {and} held himself aloof from the Gentiles and [ate] separately for fear of those of the circumcision [party]. And the rest of the Jews along with him also concealed their true convictions {and} acted insincerely, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy (their example of insincerity and pretense). But as soon as I saw that they were not straightforward {and} were not living up to the truth of the Gospel, I said to Cephas (Peter) before everybody present, If you, though born a Jew, can live [as you have been living] like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how do you dare now to urge {and} practically force the Gentiles to [comply with the ritual of Judaism and] live like Jews?" (Galatians 2:11-14) (Amplified Bible).

Therefore, having this boldness for the truth of the Gospel of Grace, we see why Paul separated the exhortation against lying from the other sins in the previous verses. Paul considered lying or playing the hypocrite with other believers to be of the utmost in dangerous behavior that could come into the Church of our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ, because just like the disease of cancer inside the physical body not usually staying in one place, but instead growing, spreading, and infecting other healthy parts of the body, so would lies, lying to one another, and liars spread within the Church of God and infect the entire Body of Christ. The English word 'lie' is translated by the Greek word pseudomai which is middle voice of an apparently primary verb; meaning to utter an untruth or attempt to deceive by falsehood. The 'old man' is the reference to the person's corrupt nature that every human being is born with passed down to us from Adam and due to Adam's original sin as this same Apostle Paul explained to the believers in Rome with these words, "Therefore, as sin came into the world through one man (Adam), and death as the result of sin, so death spread to all men, [no one being able to stop it or to escape its power] because all men sinned." (Romans 5:12) (Amplified Bible). 

Because of the Second Adam (our Lord Jesus Christ) and His Sacrifice on the Cross for our sin, now we have the ability to yield to Him through the Holy Spirit and put away or put off our 'old man' just as one would remove an old damaged garment just as Paul also declared to these same Roman believers with these words, "We know that our old (unrenewed) self was nailed to the Cross with Him in order that [our] body [which is the instrument] of sin might be made ineffective {and} inactive for evil, that we might no longer be the slaves of sin." (Romans 6:6) (Amplified Bible). Believers lying 'one to another' is like the hand of the human body reaching up and pulling out one of the eyes, this act hurts the entire human body and so does the act of believers deceiving one another by lying and so Paul said this to the Ephesian believers, "Therefore, rejecting all falsity {and} being done now with it, let everyone express the truth with his neighbor, for we are all parts of one body {and} members one of another." (Ephesians 4:25) (Amplified Bible). Paul wants these believers in Colosse and we believers today to focus in on the cultivation or refinement of the 'new man' or the 'new creation' we have been given within our souls at the moment of our 'new birth' and so he says, "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him:" (Colossians 3:10) (KJV).

The English phrase 'having put on' is translated by one Greek word enduo meaning (in the sense of sinking into a garment) or figuratively to put on a garment of clothing. In other words, just as we are to put off the old man and his deeds of unrighteousness, we are to put on the new man the recreated man and his deeds of righteousness as the Apostle Paul said with these words to the believers in Rome, "Do not continue offering or yielding your bodily members [and faculties] to sin as instruments (tools) of wickedness. But offer {and} yield yourselves to God as though you have been raised from the dead to [perpetual] life, and your bodily members [and faculties] to God, presenting them as implements of righteousness." (Romans 6:13) (Amplified Bible). The 'new man' is not a product of self-improvement or picking one's self up by their bootstraps, but instead like the Triune God created everything Genesis Chapter 1, so has He created a 'new man' or 'new woman' in every true genuine believer in Jesus Christ as Paul said with these words written to the Ephesian believers, "For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]." (Ephesians 2:10) (Amplified Bible) and also these words Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth teaching them the same concept, "For God Who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts so as [to beam forth] the Light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty {and} glory of God [as it is manifest in the Person and is revealed] in the face of {Jesus} Christ (the Messiah). However, we possess this precious treasure [the divine Light of the Gospel] in [frail, human] vessels of earth, that the grandeur {and} exceeding greatness of the power may be shown to be from God and not from ourselves." (2 Corinthians 4:6-7) (Amplified Bible).

"Lie not one to another (Col_3:9), for it is contrary both to the law of truth and the law of love, it is both unjust and unkind, and naturally tends to destroy all faith and friendship among mankind. Lying makes us like the devil (who is the father of lies), and is a prime part of the devil's image upon our souls; and therefore we are cautioned against this sin by this general reason." Matthew Henry

"In Christ we profess to have put off the old man, i.e., the habits of our former life, Col_3:9; now let us actually do so, in the power of the Holy Spirit. We profess to have put on the risen Christ, Col_3:10; now let us don the attire and habits of the new man. Too many Christians resemble Lazarus, quickened from his death-sleep, but still arrayed in grave-clothes. Too few array themselves in the radiant beauty of the risen Lord, which is the common heritage of all who believe in Him, whatever their rank or nationality." F. B. Meyer

"It is our joy to know that the new principles of thinking and being (as we declared in a previous study/commentary) is not of our own doing, but that the very God who created everything that is visible (the earth, sun, stars, moon, galaxies, etc., and invisible (gravity, sound, the wind, etc.) has recreated us from our lowly, base, vile, corrupt condition we were born in and with, but now He gives to us a 'new man' and is renewing us internally even at the same time our physical bodies are perishing (2 Corinthians 4:16), yet our glory concealed now (Romans 8:18) will soon be revealed for all eternity with the same glory the Christ Himself has (John 17:22), what more needs to be said after that." Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…