Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Colossians 3:9-10

"lie not one to another; seeing that ye have put off the old man with his doings, and have put on the new man, that is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him that created him:" — Colossians 3:9-10 (ASV)

(9a) The sin of falsehood may be singled out because in it more frequently than in anything else we manifest ill-will toward our fellow human beings. Its being given separate treatment makes the condemnation of it more emphatic. The Greek construction used here suggests the translation “stop lying.”

(9b-10) Grammatically there is a strict connection between these verses and the prohibition against lying, though probably the “since” connects with the entire thought of vv.5–9a. The essence of it is that Christians have had a radical, lifechanging experience in which they have put off the old self with its practices (i.e., habits or characteristic actions) and have put on the new self. The metaphor again is one of clothing. The “old self” is like a dirty, worn-out garment that is stripped from the body and thrown away. The “new self” (i.e., the regenerate self) is like a new suit of clothing that one puts on and wears. The picturesque language gives vivid expression to a great truth, but one must be careful not to press the imagery too far, for we are painfully aware that the old nature is ever with us.

The new self is described as “being renewed in knowledge.” That is, the new self does not decay or grow old but by constant renewal takes on more and more of the image of its Creator. “Being renewed” (GK 363) expresses a continuous process of renewal. “Knowledge,” the sphere of this process, denotes true knowledge (cf. 1:9).