John Calvin Commentary Colossians 3:6

"for which things` sake cometh the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience:" — Colossians 3:6 (ASV)

On account of which things the wrath of God cometh. I do not find fault with the rendering of Erasmus—solet venire—(is accustomed to come), but as the present tense is often taken in Scripture instead of the future, according to the idiom of the Hebrew language, I have preferred to leave the rendering undecided, so that it might be accommodated to either meaning. He warns the Colossians, then, either of the ordinary judgments of God, which are seen daily, or of the vengeance which he has once denounced against the wicked, and which hangs over them, but will not be manifested until the last day. I willingly, however, admit the former meaning—that God, who is the perpetual Judge of the world, is accustomed to punish the crimes in question.

He says, however, expressly, that the wrath of God will come, or is accustomed to come, upon the unbelieving or disobedient, instead of threatening them with anything of this nature. For God would rather that we should see his wrath upon the reprobate, than feel it in ourselves. It is true, that when the promises of grace are set before us, every pious person ought to embrace them as much as if they were designed for him particularly; but, on the other hand, let us dread the threats of wrath and destruction in such a manner, that those things which apply to the reprobate may serve as a lesson to us.

God, it is true, is often said to be angry even with his children, and sometimes disciplines their sins with severity. Paul speaks here, however, of eternal destruction, of which a reflection is seen only in the reprobate. In short, whenever God threatens, he shows, as it were, indirectly the punishment, so that, seeing it in the reprobate, we may be deterred from sinning.