Tuesday, March 26th, 2024

Scripture: Col. 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices,

Col. 3:10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him –

Col. 3:11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all and in all.

Teaching: Paul completes his thought from verses 9-10 in verse 11 – the renewal of believers in Christ makes them no longer bound by earthly distinctions – they are one in Christ because Christ is all and in all.

In these verses, Paul uses grammatical forms that indicate a few things to us. First, in saying “the new self who is being renewed” Paul is making clear that the new life is not the result of a winning a daily battle against sin; rather, we are being renewed each day by the Spirit and the day we put on the new self is the starting point. The imperative grammar of the verses shows that we are always in need of continual renewal, but because we already are new in Christ, we should therefore be new creations in Christ. Walk in Christ’s ways!

The passive voice of this verse also indicates that this renewal is not a work of ourselves – we are being transformed not transforming ourselves, as Paul says in Rom. 12:2. It is a gift of God, not a thing to be achieved by us individually.

Lastly, in saying we are renewed “to a true knowledge” of Christ, Paul is expressing the importance of living a life pleasing to God. As Dawson Walker says, “The more we are like Him the more we shall understand Him.” This renewal and true knowledge of Christ comes from being in Christ, a major theme of the letter to the Colossians. The result, as we see in verse 11, is that man-made distinctions between groups of people disappear when they are joined in Christ.

Takeaway: So much depth of theological understanding and how to apply it is found in the grammatical structures of Scripture. When we gloss over the grammar – the words chosen, the verb tenses used, the modifying participles and prepositional phrases – we miss some of the richness of Scripture. Grasping this does not require anything more than a desire to do so. There are countless resources available to aid Bible study. What makes the difference is first, believing in Christ as Lord and Savior and receiving the Spirit as a guide, counselor, and helper. He will illuminate God’s Word to us. Secondly, going to God’s Word intentionally to understand what He is saying! All Scripture is God-breathed and useful for teaching, thus, we should all be students of it. Believe today that God will help you to understand more of Him when you go to His Word in faithful desire to understand it and live it.