Colossians 3:5by Dr. Grant C. RichisonTo: Colossians Main Menu To: Grace Notes Home Page Colossians 3:5"Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry."This verse begins the practical section of the epistle. Imperatives abound. This is a turning point of huge importance at this juncture in Colossians. Paul builds his epistles on the same construct. The epistles do not vary much from this format. First, he lays a substructure of positional truth. Doctrine always comes first. Then the letter concludes with a superstructure of plain imperative of practical importance. These imperatives deal with both attitudes and behavior. Before we do we must believe. First it is doctrine, then deed. First it is belief, then behavior. If our belief does not affect our behavior then we have a flawed belief. First it is creed, then conduct. If our conduct does not match our creed there is something wrong. First it is principles, then it is practice. First revelation, then responsibility. The last two chapters are given over to lucid, crisp, terse, relevant and stinging imperatives. PRINCIPLE: Our condition is predicated upon our position. APPLICATION: Our position is the result of justification. Our condition is the result of our position. Our position is God's responsibility. Our condition is our responsibility. We can do nothing about our position other than to accept it by faith. We can do something about our condition. However, our condition is predicated upon our position. We need to bring our condition into alignment with our position. God wants us to put to death five areas that could attack our lives. If the goal of the Christian life is to bring our position into our experience, we should put five to death. In our position we are dead with Christ but God wants us to make a corpse of specific sin. If we do this, spirituality will flourish. We died with Christ (3:3). How can kill what is already dead? The members of our body are not evil in themselves as the Gnostics believed. Verses 5-12 describe how we are to deal with the engine in us that produces sin: v. 5, "put to death" the capacity to sin; v. 9, strip off the old man; and in vv. 10 and 12, put on the new man in order to represent the life of Christ. The imagery moves from death to takes clothes on and off. ---------- "Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth" "Therefore" -- on the basis of your positional truth (1:1-3:4) "put to death" the evil forces that pull you down. This paragraph extends from verse 5 to verse 11. In these verses we are to "put to death," "put on" (v.10), "put off" (v.9). These are not suggestions; they are commands. The great obstacle to living for the "things above" is our "members which are on the earth" -- the capacity within us which causes us to sin (Rom. 7:24). They are the corrupt desires of the mind that lead us away from God. God wants us to "put to death" or kill these members as we would kill a fly. God wants us to put out of commission the strength of sin in our lives. "Put to death" means to cease completely from activity, with the implication of extreme measures taken to guarantee such a cessation -- to stop completely, to cease completely. God charges us with a mandate to radically deny the self-centered life. The Greek tense suggests decisive and urgent action. Since God has already done this by our co-death in Christ, we are now to make it part of our experience. We are to count it true in our experience (Rom. 6:5-14). Metaphorically, "put to death" means to neutralize the tendency toward committing a given sin. When we confess a given sin, we neutralize that particular sin. That is the start of the process of neutralization. Another way to neutralize sin is the displacement of sin with a principle from the Word. When we do this we displace the temptation toward that sin with a principle from God's Word. When a person becomes a Christian something radical happens to him. Verse three announces that we "died" with Christ. We cannot continue to live as we have in the past. Our history as a non-Christian has come to a close; God has made us a "new creation" (II Cor. 5:17). We are not the old person made over; we have the life of God resident within us now. God expects us to put away the old life. God does not want us to go on living as if nothing radical happened to our sin. Everything we say and do is either an asset or a liability to the cause of Christ. We are either a credit to Christ or a disgrace. "Your members which are on the earth" is a contrast to the "things above" (3:1,2). These members are the sinful tendencies of our sinful nature (2:13). We cannot live like we did because we are new creations in Christ (II Cor. 5:17). The word "members" means the facets or faculties of our person. These faculties rule us. Our lusts pull us down. Cf Rom. 6:13; 8:13. God wants us to kill off base inclinations, these wicked propensities that come from the flesh. PRINCIPLE: God wants us to make a clean-cut break with sin. APPLICATION: God commands us to make a clean-cut break from sin. God demands a holy life. Salvation is free but after you become a Christian, God expects some returns -- a holy life. He is gratified to see his children walk in loving obedience to his Word. When a person becomes saved they are saved from something. "I am saved from hell." Yes, but what are you presently being saved from? II Tim. 2:19; Tit. 2:11-13; Mt 16:24. The Bible makes clear what is right and wrong, dirty and clean. We shortchange God when we walk in sin. When we "put to death" the force that gives rise to sin, we must do it on the basis of what Christ did on the cross. We must execute our position (dead to sins in Christ) to the particular sins we commit as Christians. God has sentenced the things of verse 5 to death; we are the executioners. God warns against five sins. Of the five, the fifth ("covetousness") can go to church and is rather fashionable. Mark the first of these five sins. ---------- "fornication" The Greek word for "fornication" is porneia from which we get the English pornography. It means to engage in sexual immorality of any kind, often with the implication of prostitution -- to engage in illicit sex, to commit fornication, sexual immorality. It means any sexually evil activity. This term includes both fornication and adultery. "Fornication" is both an attitude and an overt sin. The heathen temples of Colosse were filled with illicit sexual activity of all kind. They committed illicit sex in the name of religion. They would worship Ishtar (fertility deity; goddess of love) or Aphrodite. That is another name for Easter where they worshipped sex and fertility. The bunny is fertile. "Eggs" has to do with fertility. On another holiday they would worship Demeter (goddess of the harvest and fertility). The Phallic cult revolved around worship of sex. You can see why the whole city was just about 100% in favor of this! All the Christians did this before they received Christ at each holiday. This is the way they worshipped their gods. It is not surprising that the Colossian church was pulled in this direction. The New Testament uses "fornication" in a number of shades of meaning. "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the Gentiles-that a man has his father's wife!" (II Cor. 5:1). This young man was having sex with his step-mother. Corinth was the Paris of antiquity. It was notorious for its wickedness. Yet here was a case in the church that even offended the loose standards of Corinth -- "that one should have his father's wife." This man was living in sin with his step-mother and the church treated it indifferently! The situation was too touchy. He may have had relatives in the church. Or, maybe they had too much money. When word got to Paul he exposed the whole thing. "Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body" (I Cor. 6:13). Our body belongs to the Lord (Rom. 12:1), not ourselves. God wants us to have a clean, healthy body. The Holy Spirit does not to live in a dirty house. Our Heavenly Guest likes clean accommodations (6:16; 6:18,19). "Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body" (I Cor. 6:18). "Flee" means to become a fugitive. Run away from fornication. Don't play with it. This is a warning to the saints. The Bible plainly declares that immorality is sinful. It is not a debatable issue in the Bible. There are no two sides to the question. There are no extenuating circumstances that make it right (Gal 5:19; Eph 5:3; I Thes 4:3). The New Testament uses "fornication" and "adultery" six times in the same verse; 20 times "fornication" stands by itself. There are 82 warnings in the New Testament against immorality of one kind or another. "Fornication" occurs 34 times in the Bible, 26 times in the New Testament. Of the 8 times it occurs in the Old Testament it is invariably figurative, referring to the apostasy of Israel. Jehovah was the husband of Israel. Whenever Israel worshipped idols they committed fornication. PRINCIPLE: Victory over fornication comes by fleeing from it. APPLICATION: "Fornication" is a plague in High Schools and Universities and other parts of our society. Immorality does not begin in High School any more; it beings in Grade School. The church is not exempt either. Immorality is so common in society it finds its way into the church as well. Immorality appeals to people no matter what language they speak, what their educational background or their economical status. It is rampant on every continent as seen in the AIDS epidemic. It is not necessary to take lessons to be immoral. All we need to do is do what comes naturally. Barnyard morality is the standard for our day. It is debatable where there is such a thing as morality at all. Is it right to have premarital sexual intercourse? This is not debatable from the Bible. God has spoken; it is a closed issue. The sin of fornication is so powerful that we cannot conquer it by will power. The only way we can gain victory over it is to not put ourselves in situations where we will be tempted by it. We live in a society were nothing is right or wrong. It just depends on the context. Immorality is simply a matter of the genes. This is more to be pitied than censored. Nothing is clearly wrong or right with the possible exception of murder. Murder is not too bad if you have sufficient aggravation. We live in a crazy, mixed-up world that has developed a system for condoning sin. ---------- "uncleanness" "Uncleanness" is any substance that is filthy or dirty -- filth, dirt, rubbish. This is the state of moral impurity, especially in relationship to sexual sin -- impurity, immorality, filthiness. "But inside they are full of dead people's bones and all kinds of filth" (Mt 23.27). This word occurs 10 times in the New Testament. "Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves" (Rom 1:24). This describes raw humanity who dabble in raw spiritual sewage of society. They are foul, reeking with sin. This is the seamy side of life. "Lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and I shall mourn for many who have sinned before and have not repented of the uncleanness, fornication, and lewdness which they have practiced (II Cor 12:21). This is written to saints who fell into sin. "Uncleanness" is an action; it can be committed; it is more than an attitude. Every form of impurity is involved here (Gal 5:19 Eph 4:19). Just like a hog they dive into the muck and submerge themselves in the mud. "But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints" (Eph 5:3). "All" -- whatever form of uncleanness may come our way. We expect this from the lost who are vulgar, profane and blasphemous. This is their atmosphere of operation. "For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness" (I Thes 4:7). PRINCIPLE: God wants us to deal decisively with uncleanness on the authority of the Word of God. APPLICATION: If we remove the Bible from society there is no standard by which to measure right and wrong. We cannot place confidence in a society that turns rapists and murderers back on society with very little time served in jail. The Bible is the only book that speaks with authority on morality and immorality. Some of the most immoral people who have ever crawled on the face of the earth are in universities. A person can become a brilliant philosopher, surgeon or engineer and remain immoral. Education in itself has no morals. It does not possess a moral standard. It is possible to be a brilliant physicist and a pervert who molests children. The Bible does not say "wound" uncleanness in our lives. It does not say "cripple" uncleanness. God does not want us to compromise with uncleanness. There is no neutrality or peaceful co-existence with sin. The third area the Christ is to put to death is "passion." ---------- "passion" The Greek word for "passion" is pathos from which we get the English "passion." This is an uncontrollable desire, a compulsive desire. It means to suffer and primarily denotes whatever one suffers or experiences in any way; hence, an affection of the mind, a passionate desire. The New Testament uses this word primarily of evil desire (Rom. 1:26). This word denotes strong desire of any kind, the various kinds being frequently specified by some adjective. The word is used of a good desire in Luke 22:15; Phil. 1:23, and 1 Thes. 2:17 only. Everywhere else the New Testament uses it in a bad sense. In Rom. 6:12 it refers to those evil desires that are ready to express themselves in bodily activity. These lusts are the natural tendencies towards things evil. They are not necessarily base but they are always inconsistent with the will of God (Rom. 13:14; Gal. 5:16, 24; Eph. 2:3; 2 Pet. 2:18; 1 John 2:16). Romans 1:26 uses this word of sexual deviation, sexual perversion; I Thes 4.5 of immorality. PRINCIPLE: Some people are ruled by their desires and make no attempt to rule them. APPLICATION: When sexual perversion seeps into the church it becomes a scandal. The flesh is just as foul in the Christian as in the non-Christian. If a Christian is not aware of this deadly tendency to sin, he may get caught off guard. Someone in whom he places his confidence might snare him. People who commit sin often say, "Well, I could not help myself." J. Vernon McGee tells the story of the little boy who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. When his mother asked him what he was doing he said, "I am fighting temptation." That is not the place to fight temptation. God assumes that we can conquer compulsive sins. He expects us to execute them. The fourth sin catalogued in this list of five is "evil desire." ---------- "evil desire" The word "desire" occurs 35 times in the New Testament and is sometimes translated "lust" (Jn 8:44; Gal 5:24; Eph 2:1-3; I Jn 2:16,17). This is illicit ("evil") craving. It means to experience strong physical desires, particularly of a sexual nature -- passion, lust, lustful desire. "God gave them over to shameful passions" (Ro 1.26). "Not with lustful desires, like the heathen" (I Th 4.5). "The sinful passions aroused by the Law were at work in our bodies" (Ro 7.5). "They have crucified their sinful nature with its passions and desires" (Gal. 5.24). "Lust" is the greed to have more. It is to strongly desire, to have what belongs to someone else and/or to engage in an activity that is morally wrong -- to covet, to lust, evil desires. "I have not coveted anyone's silver, gold, or clothing" (Ac 20.33). "Anyone who looks at a woman lustfully" (Mt 5.28). "Many foolish desires" (I Tim 6.9). "Youthful desires (II Tim 2.22). "The former desires when you were ignorant" (I Pet. 1.14). "Do not gratify the desires of the body" (Gal. 5.16). This is strong desire of any kind and is used of a good desire in Luke 22:15; Phil. 1:23, and I Thes. 2:17 only. Everywhere else it conveys a bad sense. In Rom. 6:12 the injunction against letting sin reign in our mortal body to obey the lust thereof refers to those evil desires that are ready to express themselves in bodily activity. This is a phrase that describes the emotions of the soul, the natural tendency towards things evil. Such lusts are not necessarily base and immoral. They may be refined in character but are evil if inconsistent with the will of God. In Rom. 7:7, 8 the commandment convicted Paul of sinfulness in his desires for unlawful objects. PRINCIPLE: The believer lusts when he goes beyond the limits of desire that the Bible authorizes. APPLICATION: The Spirit of God makes the will of God clear through the Word of God. If we insist on going beyond the Bible in our desire we enter the sphere of lust. We may know that it is wrong to marry a non-Christian, but if we marry them we go out of bounds from the Bible. We are headed for chastening. The non-Christian crowd can get away with murder but the Christian cannot. The Word of God is the supreme court beyond which there is no appeal. The Holy Spirit does not like a dirty home in which to dwell. The fifth and last in the list of five sins we are to put to death is "covetousness." ---------- "and covetousness, which is idolatry" This word occurs 10 times in the New Testament. "Covetousness" is the desire to have more. The Greeks defined it as insatiate desire. It can no more satisfy than using a sieve for a container. "Covetousness" is ruthless self-seeking. It is a strong desire to acquire more and more material possessions or to possess more things than other people have. This is all irrespective of need -- greed, avarice, covetousness. It takes advantage of others from the motivation of greed. This person exploits others. "In this matter, then, no one should do wrong to his brother or take advantage of him (I Th 4.6). "As something you want to do and not because you are being taken advantage of" (II Cor 9.5). The New Testament always uses this word in a bad sense in the New Testament (Mk 7:22; Lk 12:15; Rom. 1:29; Eph 5:3; I Thes. 2:5). "They are experts in greed" (2 Pet. 2.14). Gadgets, stuff and things do not make up real life. Often people who have all the stuff have the least of true life. The "good life" is not necessarily good. They have no monopoly of life. Once we strip off the camouflage of covetousness by confessing it as sin, by identifying it for what it is, then God gives us relief from greed. PRINCIPLE: The desire to have more and more is a vanity that can never satisfy. APPLICATION: Some believe that looking in store windows and longing for certain items is covetousness. If you go to a boat show and say "I like that one," that is not covetousness but normal desire. If your neighbor has beautiful wife and you seek her for yourself, that is covetousness. Satisfaction comes from knowing Christ (Phil. 4:10-13). Knowing him personally will displace your need for more. "Covetousness" conveys the idea of idolatry. Idolatry is worship of something other than God. It is to love enjoyments over God and to place too high a value on them. This distorts a proper enjoyment of them. When we have inordinate sorrow and anxiety over their loss, they have become a god to us. Therefore, covetousness is spiritual idolatry. "Covetousness" is used of material possessions in Luke 12:15; 2 Pet. 2:3; 2 Cor. 9:5. It is also used of sensuality in Eph. 4:19, "greediness" and "covetous practices" in 2 Pet. 2:14. "Idolatry" is found in 1 Cor. 10:14; Gal. 5:20 and, in the plural, in 1 Pet. 4:3. The essence of idolatry is the desire to obtain. It is the desire to get something out of God. A covetous person believes he can persuade or even bribe God to give him something. This is the person whose whole life is dominated by the desire to get more. He worships things and not God. An idolater is a slave to the depraved ideas his idols represent (Gal. 4:8, 9) and thereby, to divers lusts (Tit. 3:3). "Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen" (I Jn 5:21). Some think that this means that you are not to have statues of Buddha in your house. No, this goes beyond statues, pictures, icons that people superstitiously revere; this is an idolatry of the heart -- covetousness. The tenth commandment reads: "You shall not covet your neighbor's wife" (Ex. 20:17). Think of the kind of houses Israelites lived in during their wandering. They lived in tents! They were not even shanties. Some were able to build better tents than their neighbors. Some tents would leak and they would covet their neighbor's tent. Covetousness also includes his car, snow thrower, television or electric fork! Covetousness places undue emphasis on the things of life. These people develop a lust pattern. They center their lives around approbation lust, money, success, social life, friends, health, sex, status symbols -- anything but God. PRINCIPLE: Covetousness is erecting something other than God in his place. APPLICATION: We often view "covetousness" as a less severe sin than the previous four. In this verse it lives in very bad company. God lists the first four sins without comment but provides "covetousness" with a short commentary following it -- "which is idolatry." The essence of covetousness is idolatry. We substitute something other than God in his place and worship it. Copyright © 1995, Dr. Grant Richison. All rights reserved. There is no charge for Grace Notes Materials. You can help further this work by your prayer and by sending a contribution to: Grace Notes% Warren Doud wdoud@bga.com1705 Aggie Lane Austin, Texas 78757 Grace Notes Web site: http://www.realtime.net/~wdoud/ Anonymous FTP site: ftp://ftp.bga.com/vendors/wdoud/ Grace Notes is a ministry of Village Missions International. |
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