COLOSSIANS 3:6

The Bible says in Colossians 3:6, “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” This verse refers to the previous verse: Colossians 3:5, which is a verse that lists five sins. Colossians 3:5 says, “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.” God must punish sin, and He will punish sin because He is a holy and just judge. It is wrong to let a wrong-doer go without punishment. God will not be an unjust judge like some judges on this earth, and therefore God will punish sin. That is all the more reason that salvation and forgiveness through Jesus are wonderful.

According to Colossians 3:6 God has “wrath.” It is true that God holds back His wrath for a time, but it is also true that there is a time when God’s wrath will be exercised. Repent while there is time. The merciful God who is so patient and who gives so many chances to repent is still a God of wrath against sin. The wrath of God will ultimately be brought by Jesus Christ at His return to the earth. Jesus will return as Judge. The reaction of people who will suffer the wrath of Jesus against sin is recorded in Revelation 6:15-17, “And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?” It says about Jesus in Revelation 19:15-16, “And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Notice that Colossians 3:6 says that the wrath of God is coming “on the children of disobedience.” Once a person has truly turned to Christ; that person wants to obey God. Their goal and desire is to obey God. Turning to Christ for salvation involves repentance, and repentance involves the desire to start doing what is right. In contrast to that, those who do not turn to Christ remain disobedient and rebellious. The unsaved human beings do not want to obey God. Their disobedient attitude towards God is a great sin. And God must punish sin.

That is all the more reason that those who are saved should be thankful to the Lord Jesus for what He has done. for us on the cross of Calvary, and for what He has done for us by visiting each of us and drawing us to Himself. The Bible says in Colossians 3:7, “In the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them.” Of course, every person who is a true Christian had a time when they were not saved, and were no different than the rest of the unsaved. Believers are not better than unbelievers, but believers are different because believers have been saved by the grace of God which is in Christ Jesus.

Because believers have been saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ, the lives of believers should be different. Believers should avoid the sins that are a part of the lives of unsaved human beings. Sexual sins and covetousness were mentioned in Colossians 3:5 and more sins are mentioned in the following verses that Christians should avoid. Colossians 3:8 says, “But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.” The word that is translated “anger” speaks of a negative internal emotion that takes place when one’s passions are touched in a negative way. The word that is translated “wrath” speaks of the outpouring of these negative feelings. A Christian should have neither anger nor wrath. A Christian should have neither the negative feelings within himself nor the outpouring of those feelings. The word that is translated “malice” speaks of wanting to see bad things happen to someone. The devil has malice, but God does not and neither should man. A good-hearted person will want to see good things happen to others.

The last two things that are forbidden in Colossians 3:8 have to do with speech. God is very interested in the things that we say. Words can do great good, or words can do great harm. Christians should never use blasphemy. To blaspheme is to use irreverence against God in one’s speech. But do not forget that man was made in the image of God. And therefore to blaspheme also refers to speaking evil of people. For example, the word “blaspheme” is translated as “speak evil” in Titus 3:2 that says, “To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.”

The last thing mentioned in Colossians 3:8 that Christians should avoid is “filthy communication.” This refers to the use of low and base words. A Christian should always use proper words that would be acceptable at any time and in any company. It may not be an easy thing to do, but it is a requirement for Christians. It is no wonder that James 1:6 says, “And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”

There is another misuse of speech that is very common among the members of the human race: lying. It says in Colossians 3:9 “Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.” Every Christian should be known for his or her honesty. We were given the true words from Jesus Christ. Therefore, we should always love the truth and always tell the truth.

Colossians 3:10 tells us why Christians should have such a dramatic change in their behavior after being saved. The last part of Colossians 3:9 says along with Colossians 3:10, “Seeing 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.” The “old man” is the unregenerate man: the person that each believer was before being saved. The word “old” means “former.” Once again we are told the relationship that should exist between what God has already done for us, and what we should do as a result. For the believer, God has already done away with the old man, and God has already made us a new man. Now each believer should make the proper decisions that result in the actions characteristic of the “new man.”

Colossians 3:10 gives us very important information about the “new man”. How does the old man become a new man? How does the change take place? Colossians 3:10 says, “And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” There is a relationship between this renewal and a certain type of knowledge. This knowledge is the knowledge of Christ. A human being becomes renewed through knowing Christ. Christianity is not a religion: it is a relationship with Jesus Christ. That relationship starts with the new birth. Jesus said, “Ye must be born again.”

The relationship with Jesus Christ also involves growing with Christ. Colossians 3:10 indicates both the new birth and the need to grow in Christ. The “new man” is “put on” by knowing Christ. But there is also the sense that the “new man” is constantly being renewed by a continuing relationship with Christ. As soon as the believer stops looking to Christ and stops trusting in Christ, the believer will not be able to put off any of the deeds of the old man. Without Jesus we can do nothing. Knowing Christ means to experience a personal relationship with Him moment by moment. As we are knowing Christ in this way, we are being renewed in our capacity to “put on” the deeds of the “new man”, and then we are living more after “the image of him that created” us.

Everyone who knows Christ in this personal way is a part of the great unified body of believers. Concerning this body of believers, the Bible says in Colossians 3:11, “Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all and in all.” In God’s eyes there is a great equality to all believers. It does not matter what is someone’s religious background. They can be a Jew or a non-Jew. It does not matter what someone’s national background is. Barbarians and Scythians referred to those who were the most uncivilized or uneducated in the Roman Empire and in the outer regions of the Roman Empire. Of course, there was a great difference in status between a man who was “bond” and one who was “free.” But not in God’s eyes. All believers are equal in value and worth. All are sinners. Christ died for all. Each one gets saved by trusting in Christ. Once saved, Christ dwells within each one of us, and Christ gives spiritual gifts to each one of us. Human beings create hierarchies and differences between each other, but God does not. Cast systems and hierarchies divide people. True equality unites people. There is no greater equality than to be united by faith in Christ.

Notice that Colossians 3:11 says that “Christ is all.” Christ is “all” to every believer. Jesus is Savior, Master, Leader, Lord, King, Shepherd, Counselor, Teacher, and Comforter. Jesus is God. Only God is “all.” Jesus is the lover of our soul. Jesus is “all” wisdom, all knowledge, all love, all power, all mercy. Jesus is everything. Hopefully you can say, “Jesus is all the world to me.” If you cannot, you are missing something. You are missing “the all.”

Because Jesus is in each one of us, and because Jesus is everything to each of us who believe, there should be a result to how believers treat each other. Colossians 3:12-13 says, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” The first thing mentioned that Christians should have for each other is “bowels of mercies.” We should be merciful to each other because Jesus is merciful to each of us. We need to be merciful to each other because we are all still sinners. One of the reasons that Christian groups have so many divisions, splits, and internal problems is because the Christians are not as merciful to each other as they need to be. Notice that it is called “bowels of mercy.” It is mercy that comes from deep within you, and therefore is not superficial but is true and genuine, and covers everything that other Christians might do.

It is no wonder that Christians are told to show “kindness” to one another. So many people in the world are not kind. But Christians certainly should be, and they should especially be to each other. Someone who has this type of kindness would be a very gracious and giving type of individual.

Christians should have “humbleness of mind.” This is the opposite of being high-minded or being proud. Human beings have a tendency to be arrogant. Of course, arrogance causes a lot of relationship problems. No one likes an arrogant person. A Christian has nothing to be arrogant about. A true Christian has admitted his great sinfulness at the feet of Jesus. A true Christian has admitted that he cannot save himself and has turned to the Savior for help. It should be easy for a Christian to have a modest opinion of himself. “Pride goeth before a fall, and a haughty spirit before destruction.”

Christians should also demonstrate meekness. This meekness is in reference to one’s attitude towards others. It means to be mild and gentle. It is the opposite of being aggressive or over-bearing. Jesus said, “I am meek and lowly in spirit. Learn of me.” A meek person does not try to control others or force his will on others.

The last thing mentioned in Colossians 11:12 is “longsuffering.” This word refers to being patient in the sense of being slow to showing strong passions. It refers to perseverance. God is longsuffering. God has been withholding His judgment against this wicked world even though the world deserves His judgment. And also we must remember that God is the Judge. That is all the more reason that we should be “longsuffering.” Let God be the Judge in His way and in His time. Christians should know how to be longsuffering. We have benefited from the forgiveness of Christ. How can we be quick to show our strong passions against those who have wronged us, when we have received the Lord’s longsuffering?

Christian groups would be transformed instantly just by putting this one verse into practice and showing to each other: “bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, and longsuffering.”

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