VERSES 9-11: LIE NOT!
VERSE 9:
“Lie not to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds.”
“Lie not to another,”
Literally: “do not lie to one another”— Lying (Grk.–pseudos) could have been included in the preceding list where it really belongs.
Lying is another common vice of the tongue, and to which all mankind are prone, and ought not to be done to anyone and particularly to another believer. REMEMBER: saints (believers) are members one of another, and of the same Body, which makes the sin the more unnatural.
1. Do not deceive each other;
2. Speak the truth in all your dealings;
a. Do not say, “My goods are so and so,” when you know them to be otherwise;
b. Do not undervalue the goods of your neighbor, when your conscience tells you that you are not speaking the truth
It may seem strange that Paul should seriously exhort Christians to put away lying, implying that they were in the habit of indulging in falsehood. But we are to remember that:
1. Lying is the universal vice of the heathen world.
Among the ancients, as among us moderns, it was almost universally practiced.
It has been remarked by a distinguished jurist who had spent much time in India, that he would not believe a Hindu on his oath. The same testimony is borne, by almost all the missionaries, of the character of heathens everywhere. No confidence can be placed in their statements; and, where there is the slightest temptation to falsehood, they practice it without remorse.
2. The Colossians had been recently converted, and were, to a great extent, ignorant of the requirements of the gospel.
A conscience has to be created when heathens are converted, and it is long before they see the evils of many things which appear to us to be palpably wrong.
3. The effects of former habits abide long, often, after a man is converted.
He who has been in the habit of profane swearing finds it difficult to avoid it; and he who has been all his life practicing deception will find himself tempted to continue to practice it. Perhaps it was for reasons such as these that Paul exhorted the Ephesians to put away lying, and to speak the truth only. Nor is the exhortation now inappropriate to Christians; and there are many classes to whom it would now be proper–such as the following:
a. He who is in the habit of concealing the defects of an article in trade, or of commending it for more than its real value–
let him put away lying.
b. He, or she, who instructs a servant to say that they are not at home, when they are at home.
Or that they are sick, when they are not sick; or that they are engaged, when they are not engaged– let them put away lying.
c. He that is in the habit of giving a coloring to his narratives; of conveying a false impression.
by the introduction or the suppression of circumstances that are important to the right understanding of an account–
let him put away lying.
d. He that is:
(1). At no pains to ascertain the exact truth in regard to any facts that may affect his neighbor;
(2). That catches up flying rumors without investigating them, and that circulates them as undoubted truth;
though they may seriously affect the character and peace of another–let him put away lying.|
e. He that is in the habit of making promises only to disregard them– let him put away lying.
The community is full of falsehoods of that kind, and they are not all confined to the people of the world. Nothing is more important in a community than simple truth–and yet it is to be feared that nothing is more habitually disregarded. No professing Christian can do any good who has not an unimpeachable character for integrity and truth–and yet who can lay his hand on his breast and say before God that he is, in all cases, a man that speaks the simple and unvarnished TRUTH?
LIE NOT: (Grk.–mē pseudesthe)–Literally: “wholly put off, utterly renounce” (cf. Eph. 4:22). This command really denotes two basic ideas:
1. Stop lying if you have been doing it; and,
2. Continually do not lie to one another.
To lie is:
1. To deliberately tell an untruth;
2. To create a wrong impression by revealing a partial truth; and,
3. To distort the facts by exaggeration.
Lying must be replaced by the telling of truth BEFORE complete spiritual victory can be attained.
Lying is Part of the Old Life
“seeing at ye have put off the old man”
Literally: “having put off the old man”—Paul uses the expression to denote our sinful and corrupt nature; the passions and evil propensities that exist before the heart is renewed. It refers to the love of sin, the indulgence of sinful propensities, in opposition to the new disposition which exists after the soul is converted, and which is called “the new man.”
When people become Christians there ought to be a change in their entire personalities. They leave their old self and put on a new self, but understand that this change is progressive. This new creation is a continual process; a continual renewal.
PUT OFF: (Grk.–apekdusamenoi)–Literally, “wholly put off; having stripped clean off.” To utterly renounce (Eph. 4:22). You have received a faith totally different from that you had before; act according to its principles.
THE OLD MAN: (Grk.–ton palaion anthrōpon)–Your former corrupt and evil nature. The unregenerate nature which you had before conversion.
The reason for putting away lying, stated in Eph. 4:25, is, that we “are members one of another;” that is, we are brothers. The reason assigned here is that we have put off the old man with his deeds. The sense is that lying is one of the fruits of sin. It is that which the corrupt nature of man naturally produces; and when that is put off, then all that that nature produces should be also put off with it. The vice of lying is a universal fruit of sin, and seems to exist everywhere where the gospel does not prevail. There is, perhaps, no single form of sin that reigns so universally in the heathen world.
“with his deeds.”
Literally: “with his practices”—The sense is, that lying is one of the fruits of sin. It is that which the corrupt nature of man naturally produces; and when that is put off, then all that that nature produces should be also put off with it. The vice of lying is a universal fruit of sin, and seems to exist everywhere where the gospel does not prevail. There is, perhaps, no single form of sin that reigns so universally in the pagan world.
As for "his deeds,” they are the same with the deceitful lusts there mentioned, and the works of the flesh in Gal. 5:19 and with the members of the body of sin in the context, (v. 5). Some think that here is an allusion to the rite of baptism in the primitive church; which, as he truly observes, was performed only by immersion; and which required a putting off, and a putting on of clothes, and when the baptized persons professed to renounce the sins of the flesh, and their former conversation, and to live a new life. Practice must square with profession.
VERSE 10: The New Life is a POSITIONAL Newness.
“And have put on the new {man}, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him:”
“And have put on the new {man}”
Literally: “and having put on the new”–Here the Greek word means “the recently-put-on nature;” that nature received at regeneration (see Eph. 4:23, 24). Get a new nature; for in Christ Jesus – under the Christian dispensation, neither circumcision avails anything, nor uncircumcision, only a new creation. Therefore you must be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
PUT ON: (Grk.–endusamenoi)–As in the sense of putting on a garment. Used of putting on Christ (Rom. 13:14; Gal 3:27.).
NEW: (Grk.–neon)–This is not the old made new or reformed. This new has no connection whatsoever with the old.
The new man refers to the renovated nature. He has new feelings, principles, and desires. He has laid aside his old principles and practices, and, in everything that pertains to moral character, he is new. His body is indeed the same; the intellectual structure of his mind the same; but there has been a change in his principles and feelings in all the great purposes of life, a new being.
“which is renewed in knowledge”–Literally: “being renewed in knowledge”–“Which is being renewed, denoting a continuous process.
This really is showing the process of Progressive Sanctification, in which the Holy Spirit is transforming the believer into Christ-likeness (Rom. 12:2; II Cor. 4:16; Titus 3:5). Understand this one important point: the believer cannot renew himself, but the Holy Spirit renews him by working within him daily.
RENEWED: (Grk.–anakainoumenon)–Literally: “made anew,” consists in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness.
“And be not conformed to the world: but be ye transformed (renewed) by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what {is} that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2)
“For which cause we faint not: but though our outward man perish, yet the inward {man} is renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4:16).
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost” (Titus 3:5).
KNOWLEDGE: (Grk.–epignōsin)–The goal of this renewal knowledge– knowledge of God, His will, His word. This means a full, and comprehensive and personal knowledge. Paul wanted to know Christ in a deeper way (Phil. 3:10); to know Him is to become like Him.
The knowledge here referred to is not the knowledge of everything, but the knowledge of God.
1. Man was acquainted with his Creator.
2. Man resembled his Creator in his capacity for knowledge.
3. Man was an intelligent being, and he had an acquaintance with the Divine existence and perfections. But especially:
4. Man had that knowledge which is the fear of the Lord; that knowledge of God which is the result of love
The standard of renewal is, “after the image of Him that created Him.” God created man in His own image (Gen. 1:26, 28), When he was created, man was originally established in knowledge, righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4:24). Because of his sin in the Garden, man lost the moral expression of that innate image. Through regeneration and sanctification this moral expression can gradually be restored to a life; and because Christ is THE image of God (1:15), the standard of sprituatl excellence is Christ Himself.
IGNORANCE was the grand characteristic of the heathen state; KNOWLEDGE, is the goal of the Christian. The utmost to which heathenism could pretend was a certain knowledge of nature. Christianity reveals God Himself, the Author of nature; or, perhaps more correctly, God has revealed Himself, in the Christian system with which He has blessed mankind. Christianity teaches a man the true knowledge both of himself and of God.
“after the image of Him that created him:”
Literally: “according to {the} image of the {One} creating him.”– So as to resemble God. In knowledge he was made in the likeness of his Maker. This may be an allusion to Gen. 1:26, 28. The restoration of the image of God in us is gradual and progressive (II Cor. 3:18), but will be complete in the final result (Rom. 8:29; I John 3:2).
We hae already seen that God made man in His own image; and we have seen in what that image consisted. Does not Paul here refer to the case of an artist, who wishes to make a perfect resemblance of some exquisite form or person? In this case it is God Who is the Artist and man is the copy, and God Himself the Original from which this copy is to be taken. Therefore, we see that man is made by his Creator, not according to the image or likeness of any other being, but according to His own; that of the Creator.
The new man; for this is a creation work, and so not man's, but God's work; and it is not made after the image of the first man, (that is, not as innocent), and much less as fallen; but after the image of Christ, Who is not only the Pattern, but the Creator of it; even the Author and Finisher of faith to which the elect of God are predestined to be conformed (Rom. 8:29).
VERSE 11: The New Life is a POSITIONAL Oneness
“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond {nor} free: but Christ {is} all, and in all.”
“Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision”
Literally: “Where there is no Greek and Jew”—The meaning here is:
1. That all are on the same level; that there is no distinction of nation or station in life in the church;
2. That all are to be regarded and treated as brethren, and,
3. That therefore no one should be false to another, or lie to another.
“circumcision nor uncircumcision,”
Literally: “circumcision and uncircumcision”–Nor is their peculiar form of religion of any consideration, whether circumcised like the Jews, or uncircumcised like the Gentiles.
No one is admitted into that blessed society just because he is circumcised, and no one is excluded because he is uncircumcised. That distinction is unknown to Christ, and all are on the same level before Him. A man's being circumcised in the flesh signifies nothing; this he may be, and still not a new creature; for that is not true circumcision, but that which is of the heart, and in the spirit: but, on the other hand, it is no objection to a man's being born again, that he is uncircumcised in the flesh. Neither one nor the other is of any account with God, nor does it make the man either better or worse
“Barbarian, Scythian, bond {nor} free:”|
Literally: “foreigner, Scythian, slave {or} freeman”—Bondmen and freemen, and men of all descriptions who are born of the Spirit, have equal rights and are entitled to equal privileges in the church of Christ. They are all living members of His living Body, and objects of His gracious favor. The standing of persons in the Christian church, and their rights and privileges as members, do not depend on their outward circumstances or condition in life, but on their union to Him on whom they are dependent, and to whom they are accountable.
BARBARIAN: (Grk.–barbaros)–This term barbarian really denotes one who speaks a foreign language; that is, a foreigner. The Greeks, and Romans, regarded all others as barbarians (Grk.–barbaroi), Rom. 1:14–Users of outlandish jargon or gibberish, repetition (bar-bar).
The Greeks (and also the Romans), applied this word to all who did not use their tongue. Comp. I Cor.14:11. “I shall be unto him that speaketh a barbarian,” etc.; i.e., I shall speak a language which he cannot understand. The word did not therefore of necessity denote any crude or uncivilized manners, or any want of refinement.
No one is excluded because he is a “barbarian,” or because he lives among those who are uncivilized, and is unpolished in his manners. All who were not intended under the general name of Greeks. Thus Ammonius says, that "all who were not Greeks were barbarians."
SYTHIAN: (Grk.–Skythēs)—heretofore regarded as more barbarian than the barbarians. Though the relation of bond and free actually existed, yet in relation to Christ, all alike were free in one aspect, and servants of Christ in another (I Cor.7:22; Gal. 3:28).
This word does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. The name Scythian is applied in ancient geography to the people who lived on the north and northeast of the Black and Caspian seas, a region stretching indefinitely into the unknown countries of Asia. They occupied the lands now peopled by the Monguls and Tartars. The name was almost synonymous with barbarian, for they were regarded as a wild and savage race. The meaning here is, that even such a ferocious and uncivilized people were not excluded from the gospel, but they were as welcome as any other people, and were entitled to the same privileges as others. No one was excluded because he belonged to the most rude and uncivilized portion of mankind.
SLAVE: (Grk.–doulos)—Nor does the particular state or circumstances in which a man may be found, either help him or exclude him from the benefit of this salvation. The slave having as good a title to salvation by grace as the freeman.
FREE: (Grk.–eleutheros)—The condition of a free man does not give him any peculiar claims or advantages in regard to religion; and the condition of a slave does not exclude him from the hope of heaven, or from being regarded as a child of God, on the same terms, and entitled to the same privileges as his master. In regard to religion, they are on the same level.
1. They are all alike sinners,
2. They are all alike saved by grace.
3. They all alike sit down at the same communion tabl
4. They all alike look forward to the same heaven.
Christianity does not admit one to favor because he is free, or exclude the other because he is a slave. Nor, when they are admitted to favor, does it give the one a right to lord it over the other, or to feel that he is of any more value in the eye of the Redeemer, or any nearer to his heart. The essential idea is, that they are on the same level, and that they are admitted to the favor of God without respect to their external condition in society.
5. They should all alike sit down to the same communion table.
6. They should all alike be regarded as Christian brethren in the house of God, and should be addressed and treated accordingly.
“but Christ {is} all, and in all.”
Literally: “but Christ {is} all things and in all”—Christ absorbs in Himself all distinctions, being to all alike, everything that they need for justification, sanctification, and glorification (I Cor. 1:30; 3:21-23; Gal. 2:20).
The great thing that constitutes the peculiarity of the church is, that Christ is its Savior, and that all are His friends and followers. Its members lay aside all other distinctions, and are known only as His friends. They are not known as Jews and Gentiles; as of this nation or that; as slaves or freemen; but they are ALL known as Christians–distinguished from all the rest of mankind as the united friends of the Redeemer. All mankind are His creatures, all conditions are disposed and regulated by His providence, and all human beings are equally purchased by His blood. He alone is the source whence all have proceeded, and to Him alone all must return. He is the Maker, Preserver, Savior, and Judge of all men.
1. He is “all” sifufficient.
2. He is the "primo genator" (first cause) of all things,
a. The Beginning of the creation of God,
b. The Author of the old, and of the new creation, of the regeneration of His people, and of their whole salvation:
3. He is all comprehensively; has:
a. All the fullness of the Godhead,
b. All the perfections of deity in Him;
4. He is possessed of all spiritual blessings for His people; and,
5. He has all the promises of the covenant of grace in His hands for them;
All fullness of grace dwells in His life,
a. Their wisdom,
b. Their righteousness,
c. Their sanctification,
d. Their redemption,
e. Their food
f. Their clothing,
g. Their strength,
h. Their riches,
i. Their joy,
j. Their peace,
k. Their comfort,
Who gives them grace here, and glory hereafter.