Colossians 3:9
“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →They are not to lie to one another, since they have stripped off the old self with its practices.
What Does Colossians 3:9 Mean?
Paul gives a specific command and its deep reason. Lie not one to another: truthfulness among believers is essential, for deceit corrodes the trust that holds a community together.
The reason reaches back to their transformation -- seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. The old man is the former self, the whole identity shaped by sin, and it has been taken off like a worn-out garment, together with its habitual deeds. Lying belongs to that discarded self. Paul's ethic is always rooted in identity: behave according to who you now are, not who you were. For the Colossians, honesty is not merely a rule but the natural expression of having shed the old life. Because the old self with its lying ways has been put off, truthfulness should now mark every dealing among them.