PUT OFF, PUT ON

COLOSSIANS 3:8-10 NKJV 

8 But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, 

This chapter is where Paul gets very detailed and practical. He is writing about living the Christian life.  

Always keep in mind these instructions were not written to the world. These writings are for the church. 

And because Paul is writing to believers, he never assumes that they will not be able to do the directives he lays out. Paul may have had more revelation than anyone of what has taken place in the lives of those who has become a new creation in Christ. So he never says to try or if you can. Writing by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he knew the capacities of a believer.  

To put off, in verse eight, means to lay aside. One translation says to rid yourself of anger and the other negative behaviors.  

The New Living Translation lists anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. There is no need to delve into the Greek. These words are clear. 

And then Paul writes to stop lying. 

The big picture is that these behaviors are not to be a part of our life because we have put off the old man with his deeds. 

The word for put off here is stronger and means to strip off as you would clothing. When we made Jesus Lord and became a new creation in Christ, we stripped off our old sinful spiritual condition.  

And we put on the new man, the new spiritual condition. This word, put on, is to put on a garment. We have stripped off the old and put on the new.  

We were not conscious of this putting on and putting off. But we do believe it and receive this truth by faith. There is no need to check your feelings; spiritual realities do not always show up in our feelings. Just go ahead and believe it and begin to put off the old and put on the new.  

And like most things, even in the natural realm, the new is better. Our new man is destined to look more and more like Jesus. We are just getting started, but we are starting with something good. 

And the more we see Jesus, the greater the insight we gain into how we are to live and act. We have such a bright future, so, put off, put on, and let's go.