Colossians: Living by the One Imperative (3:5-9)
"Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and greediness, which is idolatry; Because of which things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience; In which you also once walked, when you lived in these things. But now, you also, put away all these things: wrath, anger, malice, blasphemy, foul abusive language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his practices" (Colossians 3:5-9)
We have no capacity to accomplish the content of these verses without understanding the previous 4 verses. So many believers are lost in the Christian struggle, gritting their spiritual teeth striving to mortify the words and deeds of the flesh and put off the old man! Let us consider a few important things in these verse:
1. The word “therefore” in verse 6 ( and verse 12) means what we are instructed here to do In these verses is because of what has taken place in the previous 4 verses! In short the old man is put off, mortified and cast off because we now have Christ as our Life.
2. The phrase “since you have put off the old man with his practices" is in the aorist tense. IIt happened in the past and it’s done, once and for all. This indicates that the putting off the old man is not up to our future performance but rather a constant realization that the victory has been achieved through Christ.
3. Finally, the old man is just that, old. It is the former life. The Christian life, we shall see,is about living in the realm of the new man. New means something that has never been seen before. The old is something that has been dealt with, a “has- been” and has no place with Christ on the throne, it has been crucified and no longer has vitality. Old!
So all of these things: to put to death, to cast off, or to put off are not commandments for us to keep, but Irather realities that we need to enjoy with Christ as our life. They are declarations of what has happened through Christ, and declare what has happened through Christ is supplied to us from the throne, therefore set your affections there, where your life is now hidden in Christ with the Father.
The life of Christ is also now in you, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Therefore, the imperative to “ set your affections on things above.” Is an all inclusive imperative. To set your mind on the things above is to enjoy the reality of the old man’s demise and of the new man’s existence. This is so practical! What are you doing, what are you watching, where are you going, what are you uttering, feeling, thinking????? We interrupt the flesh, the self, the ‘old man “ by setting our affections on this Christ, who is our life! It’s all really true ! Christ is my life! He dealt with everything through his crucifixion, and then buried it all and left it there, arose into the newness of life, and then took it to the throne, declaring the culmination of it all! And then he dispensed this life into my spirit! His life is my life as I experience an endless supply from the throne. So right now , Jesus, I just set my mind on you, these things , and praise your name.
This does not mean we are perfect, that the flesh will never rise up and seek to defeat us, but it means the principalities and powers of that realm are once and for all defeated, and I am now wired to receive and enjoy the very life of Jesus Christ 24/7.
So brother, sister, set your mind on that, and that alone!
South Africa