Colossians 3:9-13 | |
9. Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; | 9. Ne mentiamini alii diversus alios, postquam exuistis veterem hominem cum actionibus suis: |
10. And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: | 10. Et induistis novum, qui renovatur in agnitionem, secundum imaginem eius, qui creavit eum: |
11. Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircum-cision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. | 11. Ubi non est Graecus nec Judaeus, circumcisio nec praeputium, barbarus, Scytha, servus, liber: sed omnia et in omnibus Christus. |
12. Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; | 12. Induite igitur, tanquam electi Dei sancti et dilecti, viscera miserationum, comitatem, humilitatem, mansuetudinem, tolerantiam, |
13. Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. | 13. Sufferentes vos mutuo, et condonantes si quis adversus alium litem habeat: quemadmodum Christus condonavit vobis, ita et vos. |
9. Lie not. When he forbids lying, he condemns every sort of cunning, and all base artifices of deception. For I do not understand the term as referring merely to calumnies, but I view it as contrasted in a general way with sincerity. Hence it might be allowable to render it more briefly, and I am not sure but that it might also be a better rendering, thus ó Lie not one to another. He follows out, however, his argument as to the fellowship, which believers have in the death and resurrection of Christ, but employs other forms of expression.
The old man denotes -- whatever we bring from our mother's womb, and whatever we are by nature. 1 It is put off by all that are renewed by Christ. The new man, on the other hand, is that which is renewed by the Spirit of Christ to the obedience of righteousness, or it is nature restored to its true integrity by the same Spirit. The old man, however, comes first in order, because we are first born from Adam, and afterwards are born again through Christ. And as what we have from Adam becomes old, 2 and tends towards ruin, so what we obtain through Christ remains for ever, and is not frail; but, on the contrary, tends towards immortality. This passage is worthy of notice, inasmuch as a definition of regeneration may be gathered from it. For it contains two parts -- the
10. Which is renewed in knowledge. He shews in the first place, that newness of life consists in knowledge -- not as though a simple and bare knowledge were sufficient, but he speaks of the illumination of the Holy Spirit, which is lively and effectual, so as not merely to enlighten the mind by kindling it up with the light of truth, but transforming the whole man. And this is what he immediately adds, that we are
11. Where there is neither Jew. He has added this intentionally, that he may again draw away the Colossians from ceremonies. For the meaning of the statement is this, that Christian perfection does not stand in need of those outward observances, nay, that they are things that are altogether at variance with it. For under the distinction of circumcision and uncircumcision, of Jew and Greek, he includes, by synecdoche, 4 all outward things. The terms that follow, barbarian, Scythian, 5 bond, free, are added by way of amplification.
Christ is all, and in all, that is, Christ alone holds, as they say, the prow and the stern -- the beginning and the end. Farther, by Christ, he means the spiritual righteousness of Christ, which puts an end to ceremonies, as we have formerly seen. They are, therefore, superfluous in a state of true perfection, nay more, they ought to have no place, inasmuch as injustice would otherwise be done to Christ, as though it were necessary to call in those helps for making up his deficiencies.
13. Put on therefore. As he has enumerated some parts of the
He mentions, first, bowels of mercy, by which expression he means an earnest affection, with yearnings, as it were, of the
1 See Calvin on the Romans, p. 224; also Calvin on the Corinthians, vol. 1:p. 188.
2 "Deuient vieil et caduque;" -- "Becomes old and frail."
3 "De laquelle Moyse fait mention au Genesis 1:chap. c. 26, et 9:b. 6;" -- "Of which Moses makes mention in Genesis 1:26, and 9:6."
4 Synecdoche, a figure of speech, by which a part is taken for the whole. -- Ed.
5 Howe supposes that Paul "may possibly refer here to a Scythian who, having an inclination to learning, betook himself to Athens, to study the principles of philosophy that were taught there. But meeting one day with a person that very insolently upbraided him on the account of his country, he gave him this smart repartee: 'True indeed it is, my country is a reproach to me; but you, for your part, are a reproach to your country.'" -- Howe's Works, (Lond. 1822,) vol. 5:p. 497. -- Ed.
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