Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Colossians 3:5

"Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry;" — Colossians 3:5 (ASV)

In principle when we became Christians, we died with Christ (cf. 2:20; 3:3). Now we are charged to “put to death” (GK 3739; lit., “to make dead”) the old life in everyday practice. This verb suggests that we must not simply suppress or control evil acts and attitudes; rather, we are to wipe them out and completely exterminate the old way of life. The verb also suggests that we must do so in a vigorous, possibly painful act of personal determination (cf. the principle taught in Mt 18:8–9).

“Whatever belongs to your earthly nature” is defined by the list of sins placed in apposition with it in this verse. Paul is calling, then, not for the maiming of the physical body, but for the slaying of the evil passions, desires, and practices that root themselves in our bodies, make use of them, and attack us through them.

His catalog of sins is a grim one, and all of the sins, with the possible exception of the last, have to do with sexual vice. “Sexual immorality” translates the most general Greek word for illicit sexual activity (GK 4518). “Impurity” (GK 174), though sometimes used of physical impurity (Matthew 23:27), here has a moral connotation. Including uncleanness in thought, word, and act, it has a wider reference than the previous word. “Lust” (GK 4079) means uncontrolled desire and has a negative connotation. “Evil desires” is similar to lust, but is perhaps more general in meaning.

“Greed” (GK 4432) suggests a desire to have more. It has a much wider significance than its English equivalent, denoting a ruthless desire for, and an intense seeking after, material things. Included in it is an entire disregard of the rights of others. This attitude is identified with “idolatry” because it puts selfinterest and earthly things in the place of God.