Heaven and Earth

Spurgeon is recorded to have said in his characteristically quaint way, that this chapter begins in heaven and ends in the kitchen. At this point comes an exhortation to practical living, based on the great truths of vs. 1-3.

I. The Appeal (v. 4)

Because their life is hid with Christ, they are exhorted to “put to death” their earthly members. The wrong way of living has already been shown (2:23), but since these believers had died with Christ (2:20) it was possible for them to carry out in their life the spiritual results, for union with Christ is at once our power and our pattern. The word rendered “put to death” or “mortify” implies a definite act, and is interpreted by Bishop Moule as “give to death.” This means that they were to realise in practical life what is meant by “reckoning themselves dead to sin in Christ” (Rom. 6:11). We are to accept this as a fact and then live in the power of it. When the soul is conscious that Christ not only died for its salvation, but that it is united with Him in His death, there comes a power which enables it to live to God’s praise and glory.

II. The Description (v. 5)

The sins mentioned here include moral actions and moral desires, and all of them are of course characteristic of “our members which are upon the earth.” It is very impressive that “covetousness” is included in this state¬ ment, and is further described as idolatry. It shows that every evil desire, whatever form it may take, is really equivalent to removing God from His place in our life as the Object of our worship and devotion. “Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

III. The Outcome (v. 6)

On account of these things, God’s wrath is certain to come, both now and hereafter. The phrase “wrath of God” should be carefully noted here and elsewhere (Rom. 1 :18; Eph. 5:6), for it means the divine judicial attitude to everything that is sinful. The solemn word “cometh” indicates the absolute certainty that this result will accrue.

IV. The Reminder (v. 7)

They are then told that these things formed part and parcel of their life in old days. The word “walk” always means the outward expression of life, the conduct which comes from the possession of life. It is frequently found in the Bible as indicative of the true outward behaviour of the believer (Gen. 17:1; Eph. 2 :2; 4 :17; 5 :2). The connection between life and walk is the same as that between cause and effect. It was because they lived in this sphere that they manifested in their conduct that which was in agreement with it.

V. The Call (v. 8)

Then follows the earnest entreaty to put aside all the things mentioned and those that are now to be included (v. 8). The words “put off” are in the imperative mood and expressive of the disrobing of the Christian. It is as much as to say that as they have put off the old man (2:11), they were now to put off his clothes. The two general lines mentioned here are sins of uncharitableness and sins of insincerity. “Anger” is a sudden outburst of feeling; “malice” means sheer malignity; “slander” is a false accusation (v. 8). “Shameful” speaking seems to

Heaven and Earth, 3:5-11 refer to abusive and perhaps impure language. They were also to avoid everything that is untrue, for lying was a characteristic feature of their old life (v. 9).

VI. The Reason (v. 9)

All this was to be done because they had already put off the unregenerate self (v. 9) and had put on the new life in Christ, which was continually being renewed in the likeness of God (v. 10). This reference to their old and unconverted state, in contrast with their new position, is very impressive and demands thorough attention. It was a contrast between self and Christ, between the old life and the new, and every day this union with Christ was providing new life and power. The reference seems to be clearly to the fact of the original creation (Gen. 1 :26, 27). Knowledge is, of course, spiritual experience, which in Christ makes us partakers of the divine nature (2 Cor. 4:4; 2 Pet. 1:2-4).

VII. The Result (v. 11)

The word “cannot” (v. 11) shows the absolute impossibility of any of these distinctions being maintained in the Christian life. The first two are national, “Greek and Jew”; the second two are religious, “circumcision and uncircumcision”; the third two are racial, “Barbarian and Scythian”; the fourth two are natural, “bondman and free¬ man.” To the Jew the human race was divided into two classes, Jews and Greeks, each of which scorned the other, and one writer remarks “that the Scythians were regarded as one of the lowest types of Barbarians. Cicero classes Scythians with Britons.” The reference to “bond or free,” is particularly important in view of the question of slavery in the days of St. Paul, and more particularly because of the fact that one of the messengers who carried this epistle was a runaway slave who was being sent back to his master Philemon. The distinction of bond and free is destroyed in Christ, and Philemon was to receive back Onesimus as a brother beloved. The fact that no word is spoken in the New Testament about the emancipation of slaves is a striking testimony to the essential truth of oneness in Christ, for the abolition of slavery has grown out of the fundamental truth of Christianity that all are one in Christ.

As we review this vitally important and very practical passage, we notice: (1) the threefold call. They were to put to death their members (v. 5); they were to put off all that was wrong in word and deed (v. 8); and they were to realise that they had put on Christ (v. 10). (2) This is followed by a threefold reason. There was the certainty of divine judgment on sin (v. 6); they had put away the old habits (v. 9); and they were enjoying their new position of oneness and fellowship with Christ (v.ll).