Put On the New Self, Renewed After the Image of the Creator (Colossians 3:9–11)

Col. 3:9. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its deeds.

First: “do not lie” is a continuation of the indication of what must be put away; and second: “seeing that you have stripped off” at the same time as what is said in the following verse, presents a motive for fulfilling the proposed commandments.

“Do not lie to one another,” εις αλληλους, can be understood: do not speak lies to one another before each other; similarly as in the Epistle to the Ephesians: “put away falsehood and speak the truth to each other” (Eph. 4:25), where this commandment is drawn, as here, from the putting off of the old self and the putting on of the new self. The blessed Theophylact writes: “you have clothed yourselves in Christ, who said: ‘I am … the truth’” (Jn. 14:6). How then can you now clothe yourselves in another form (of dress), the form of falsehood? Then it will be evident that you are discarding that form (as though a uniform dress), which characterizes you with the mark of truth.“But it can also be understood this way: do not speak lies against one another, do not make false accusations, do not slander one another, as with the apostle James:”do not slander one another (Jas. 4:11). The latter is closer to the flow of the discourse; because the Apostle is here forbidding the feelings and deeds produced by irritability and mutual enmity, of which slander does not occupy the last place.

Having enumerated what should be put away, the Apostle now proposes the motives for doing so. The first is: “seeing that you have stripped off the old self with its practices.” All these are deeds of the old self which you have stripped off. Therefore you should not concern yourself with any such things. “By ‘the old self’ is meant corrupted will, expressing itself also in corresponding deeds” (blessed Theophylact). “He calls it ‘old,’ wishing to show its shamefacedness, deformity, and weakness” (holy Chrysostom). “This is a life in sins, aged, corrupted, exhausted, before regeneration and renewal in baptism through faith in Christ the Lord” (Oecumenius). A man, as he has become through the fall, is the old self. In him self-will reigns, compelling him to employ all his efforts to arrange his earthly wellbeing, placed in sensual pleasures, while everything else is turned into a means to this. In consequence of this, his direct passions are the passions of lust, of which the Apostle has spoken above. The passions of anger come as from without, or are conditioned by external circumstances. Men living with the character of the old self live together, each desiring to arrange only his own wellbeing and seeking it. Wherefore clashes are inevitable, from which arise anger and all the passions and deeds of enmity produced by it among men. Their foundation lies in selfishness; but the awakening, the manifestation, the variety, and the obsolescence depends on external clashes. But for this, the old self would only indulge in self-will, wallowing in lusts and living according to its own will without any anger.

But how does the Apostle present the stripping off of the old self, that is, the rejection of self-will, as the motive for putting away not the direct passions of self-will, but the accidental ones? There is nothing inconsistent in this. For after, with conversion to Christ, selfness and self-will are rejected, and this rejection is made firm and clothed with strength in the mysteries, all passions are rejected together with them—both those directly produced by self-will, namely the passions of lust, and those produced out of selfishness as a result of accidental clashes and resistances, namely the passions of anger. Wherefore from the stripping off of the old self it directly follows that Christians are obligated also to put away these passions and the deeds in which they are expressed.

Yet taking this into account, we can recognize that the Apostle continues here the exposition of the motives for withdrawal from passions begun above (Col. 3:6, 7) and as though unfinished. There he said: “You too once lived in these ways,” that is, in the deeds and passions of lust, when you lived according to the spirit of the old self. Here, after enumerating the deeds and passions of anger, he adds: “seeing that you have stripped off the old self.” You once walked in those passions of lust, but now you have ceased. Why? Because you have stripped off the old self from which they directly arose. Thus this motive—“seeing that you have stripped off,” as well as the following—“and have clothed yourselves with the new,” directed directly against the passions of anger, being in connection with the former, directed against the passions of lust, is directed also against these latter, as the very essence of the matter of stripping off the old self requires. From this it follows conversely that the motives indicated before against the passions of lust (Col. 3:6, 7) go equally against the passions of anger which are here directly in view. What in these motives is more specially directed against this or that passion? Against the passions of lust, there is: “the wrath of God is coming,” as has already been noted in its place; and against the passions of anger: “according to the image of the Creator,” as will be explained now.

Col. 3:10. And have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its Creator.

This is the second action, inseparable from the first: one is cast off, the other is received. The self-willed selfness with all the passions born from it is cast off, and the resolve to live self-denying for the sole purpose of pleasing God is received. This resolve, embracing the whole nature of the one who has come to the Lord with faith and been baptized, is the new self. “The new self,” says the blessed Theophylact, “is the will toward God,” that is, the will that has resolved to live according to God and to please Him alone. But although this clothing with the new is inseparable from the stripping off of the old, nevertheless it presents a new motive not to give in to passions, not to clothe oneself in these rags. Having clothed oneself in the new, bright, fragrant, who, except one who has lost his mind, would agree to put on again the old rags, deformed and foul-smelling? If, having stripped off one thing, one had remained naked, perhaps he would be drawn to put on again what had been cast off, in spite of acknowledging its utter worthlessness. But since at the very same time that the stripping off occurs, the clothing with the new also occurs, such an action is unthinkable for those in sound mind, in full awareness of themselves and all that surrounds them. It does occur, but always as a result of darkening of the mind. The brightness of the state in grace, perceived and felt, has always been, is, and will be the strongest motive for putting away the passions that deprive us of this state. Wherefore this is given not merely to understand, but to feel by all who have recourse to the Lord, both in the mystery of baptism and in the mystery of repentance.

“Which is being renewed in knowledge.” You have clothed yourselves in the new—what further renewal? The new—how is it still being renewed? Clothing with the new is not a completed work. It is only a beginning, a seed, a germ, a root. From this moment of clothing with the new begins the very process of renewal and continues uninterrupted, unfolding more and more completely and striving to attain its original form, hidden in the Creator. This conveys that there is no end to renewal. “The new self does not grow old, but blooms and grows ever more through knowledge of God and divine things, always appearing youthful and yet becoming ever stronger, the more fully it acquires knowledge and the greater the things it is granted” (blessed Theophylact). “You have stripped off the old and clothed yourselves with the new in its place. Do not expect that the same thing will happen to this (that is, that it too will grow old). On the contrary, the more it lives, the more it approaches not to age, but to youth, which is better than before. For the more it acquires knowledge, the greater things it is granted, and the more it flourishes, and the more strength it has, not from youth alone, but also from the image toward which it is drawing near” (holy Chrysostom). “Such is the nature of a virtuous life according to God, that it is ever young; although it may appear old in body, yet it is always in bloom spiritually” (Oecumenius).

“Which is being renewed in knowledge according to the image of its creator.” The renewal proceeds properly according to the image of the Creator, as is self-evident. What then is the phrase “in knowledge,” εις επιγνωσιν? It is an indication either of the goal of renewal, or of a consequence accompanying it; that is, the believer, recreated in baptism, is renewed according to the image of the Lord who here recreated him, with the goal of knowing, of becoming enriched with knowledge, or is renewed in this way and through this becomes enriched with knowledge. Neither the Lord who directs our salvation nor man who seeks salvation in Him have knowledge as their goal. Knowledge is one part; salvation embraces all nature in all its manifestations, and renewal also proceeds comprehensively. But this is certainly true: that knowledge, understood as spiritual knowledge having as its subject the orders of spiritual life in God, always follows upon spiritual renewal. And only such knowledge is true, firm, and reliable. But it is received, not sought. The spirit that encounters it rejoices as one finding great gain; but not as a merchant who receives profit on which he had calculated beforehand. It always appears suddenly. Here is how it proceeds: the one being renewed, in the course of being renewed, encounters something new. This new does not escape consciousness; it makes itself known. The acting subject, receiving it into his consciousness, becomes acquainted with it and begins to know it. The sensory eye saw a thing and knows it. So too consciousness is conscious of what is within it, and knows it. Every spiritual knowledge is gained only in this way. It is recognition—in which the knower says within himself: now I know. I see, I experience, I feel, and I know.

The new self is renewed “according to the image of its creator.” There is a question: what image is meant here—that according to which man was created, or that according to which he is being recreated? Are they not the same? Is not the Creator and the Recreator one and the same? And is not the image in both cases one and the same? Man was created according to the image of God; but he lost it. Now he is recreated in that same image and is continuously renewed to come to the measure of that image. The blessed Theodoret writes: “In the beginning God the Creator of all made us and impressed upon us the exact features of God’s image, which sin damaged (now in Christ Jesus they are recreated again). The Apostle spoke of this also in the Epistle to the Romans: ‘those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son’” (Rom. 8:29). And Oecumenius added his own words: “such a one (that is, renewed by grace) keeps the image of his Creator God always pure within himself, not allowing to mingle with it features borrowed from a lower realm, false and deceptive (that is, received as a result of deception).” In holy baptism we are clothed in Christ. This clothing is sacramentally graceful, a mystical reception in spirit of the original form. Then there follows a transfer of all the features of Christ the Lord to the corresponding members of our nature. In this is the labor of the will, the struggle of a whole life, the working of renewal, or, as in the Epistle to the Ephesians, the creation “according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:24). The blessed Theophylact writes briefly from holy Chrysostom: “according to the image of his Creator,’ that is, of Christ. Christ did not come to old age; but was always so beautiful that one cannot speak of it, ‘Fair beyond the sons of men’” (Ps. 44:3). For He committed no sin, which ages and corrupts. And we, made by Him according to His image, should cut off from ourselves every sinful corruption and aging. The Apostle means creation both that which happens in baptism and that which happens through the beautiful form of life.

Why did the holy Paul mention here the “image”? The flow of discourse required it. Previously he gave the commandment about putting away the passions of anger. The mightiest motive for suppressing the very arising of such movements is brought to mind by remembering that we are according to the image of the all-good and all-forgiving Lord. We see the same pairing of sickness and its remedy in the words of the Lord in the Gospel: “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust… Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt. 5:44, 45, 48). That is: “Be merciful, as your Father also is merciful” (Lk. 6:36).

Col. 3:11. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian nor Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all things and in all.

“Here” means where? “In Christ, in faith” (Oecumenius)—in the new orders, principles, and rules of life established by faith in Christ, in His kingdom of grace. Here no distinctions are taken into account—neither national ones, whether one is Greek or Jew, nor religious ones, whether one is circumcised or uncircumcised, nor by education, whether one is barbarian or Scythian, nor by civil status, whether one is slave or free. Whatever one may be, if he has brought faith, he is received; if he has cleaved to Christ the Lord, he is saved. The grace of God in Christ Jesus unites all and from all constitutes one body. And here Christ is all and is in all. Not this or that Christ, but all, and not in this one or that one, but in all. From this all are one. How? We are clothed in Christ in baptism, the features of the image of Christ are then transferred to us, in the action of the continuous renewal that penetrates ever more deeply, to the corresponding parts of our nature. And all of this Christ accomplishes. He is the beginning and source from which, He is the image according to which, He is the producer by which all is made in all. He just as accomplished the incarnate dispensation of salvation, so He directs the salvation of each according to this dispensation. All Christians should bear this in consciousness and feeling. And in the realm of all that exists, all is given over to Christ the Lord; for He Himself says: “All things have been handed over to me… I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth” (Mt. 11:27, 28:18). The Apostle’s thought is that in Christ Jesus all natural differences disappear. Only what each one receives from Christ the Lord and takes to himself has significance and power. The blessed Theophylact writes briefly from holy Chrysostom: “And here is yet another praiseworthy distinction of the new person in Christ, that in him no external thing is taken into account: neither race, nor status, nor ancestors, but Christ is his distinguishing mark, his character. In all who have formed themselves through truly virtuous life in spirit, Christ is all—both race and status. Or it can be said otherwise: you are all one Christ, being His body.” Oecumenius continues this. “‘Christ is all and is in all,’ inasmuch as we all are one body, having Christ as our head. Wherefore it is right for us that Christ is all—Saviour, and Lord, and head, and High Priest, and sacrifice. ‘In all’ means either in all deeds, or in all the contacts of our life, or in all of us. For, he says, God has no partiality.”

Why did the Apostle mention here the distinctions among men outside Christ the Lord and the unification of all in Him? To present yet another motive for putting away the passions of anger. These passions produce division. The Apostle, having shown how all and everything is unified in Christ by grace, says as it were: Is it fitting for you, so comprehensively and so deeply unified in Christ, to allow within yourselves the movement of passions that produce division among you and violate your mutual unity, produced in you by the fact that Christ is all in you? In tearing the bond, you tear Christ.

bb) The Apostle teaches enrichment in good (Col. 3:12, 13)

Having separated the Christian from the passions, he now clothes him in virtues. And just as before he taught to put away the passions of lust and anger, so now by contrast he impresses the good dispositions, some of which work against the passions of lust, and others against the passions of anger.