By B.J. Sipe
Synopsis: To make lasting changes in our walk of faith and our relationships, we must first be transformed through the renewal of our mind.
Everyone makes changes, but how many of us make a lasting change? All of us in our walk with Christ strive to put to death the old man and put on the new one. Yet, no matter how hard we try to make lasting changes to our faith, we just can’t seem to stick with it. That old man creeps back up, and we go right back to the sinful practices from which we were delivered. How do I make lasting changes with my faith?
This is a question that Paul is going to address in the third chapter of the letter written to the Colossians. There are many, even among Christians, who believe that following Christ is primarily about behavior modification. It is not. It is first and foremost about heart transformation. The first is not truly possible without the second. We fail to make a lasting change in the way we love God and the way we love others because we try so hard to fix our faith or fix our behavior, but we have never let Jesus truly change our heart. To make lasting changes in our walk and our relationships, Paul teaches us that we must first have a transformation of the heart.
Colossians 3:1 is a continuation of 2:20, where Paul writes, “If you have died with Christ to the elements of this world, why do you live as if you still belonged to the world?” If one has been raised with Christ, he must have first died with Him (cf. Rom. 6). We die not only to sin, but to the practice of sin itself. This change in behavior and practice will be much of Paul’s focus throughout this third chapter, but it is not how he begins. There is a prerequisite to this. To make lasting change—true transformation—it always begins with the heart.
The heart was considered the center of the will. It has reference to the mind. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.” The mind is a powerful place, and what we allow in it and for it to dwell on will greatly determine our convictions and our actions. Jesus makes this correlation between the heart and the hand in Matthew 15:16-20, which says, “But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a person. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, slander.” These sinful behaviors, all common practice to the old self, have a common birthplace. Jesus says they are born out of the heart, which is to say—the mind.
It is for this reason that Paul will structure his teaching the way that he does to begin this third chapter. In fact, in nearly every instance of Paul’s writings, before he enters a lengthy dialogue about Christian conduct, he first addresses the state of the Christian’s mind. The apostle calls for those who have been raised in Christ: (1) to seek the things above, and (2) to set our mind on things above.
We must seek the things that are above. The term “seek” is here best understood as meaning to desire, demand, and obtain. This is the first and most important lesson that we must see: for true transformation to occur, we must first see the supreme value of things above (Matt. 13:44-46). If we do not see the supreme value of Christ and the things that are above, true lasting transformation will never take place. A heart that is still in love with the world will always go back to seek the things of the world, not the things above.
We also must set our mind on things above, not on things of this earth. To set one’s mind here means to ponder, honor, or regard. We must therefore not only be changed through what we value but also in what we dwell upon. When we neglect to fill our mind with things above, but rather set our mind on the flesh—especially sinful desire—transformation will never take place. Romans 8:5-8, “For those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit have their minds set on the things of the Spirit. Now the mindset of the flesh is death, but the mindset of the Spirit is life and peace. The mindset of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit to God’s law. Indeed, it is unable to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”
This collective process is what Paul will reference throughout Scripture as “renewing of the mind” (3:10; Rom. 12:2; 2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 4:23; Titus 3:5). For true transformation to take place, one’s mind must first be made new after the likeness and image of Christ.
The result of a changed mind will be a changed walk, putting off the old man and putting on the new “according to the image of your Creator” (3:10). Colossians 3:5-9 details the way in which we once walked when our mind was seeking after things of an earthly nature. It is important to recognize this as not an exhaustive list, but examples of works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21). It is also important to recognize it is these works of the flesh that the wrath of God will come upon, and therefore it is imperative that we no longer walk in them.
The language used here is “put to death” (3:5) what is earthly in us. If you have seen the film The Princess Bride, you can appreciate the misconception people often have of this reference. Unfortunately for many, rather than putting to death the old man, much like Wesley, the old man is only “mostly dead.” Part of him we have allowed to continue to live on and have not crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20). Why does this happen? It is because our heart is still seeking and set on earthly things (1 John 2:15-17). The old man lingers when we are still in love with the world. No matter how much we try to put him to death, he pops back up because of the desires of our heart. This is why Paul goes back to the mind, saying putting off the new self and putting on the new is founded upon renewal of the mind (3:10).
Rather, we are to put on the new self, which is detailed in 3:12-17. Note that above all, we are to “put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.” Love is the goal of our transformation. Each of these other traits of the new man—compassion, kindness, humility, etc.—are all qualities of love (cf. 1 Cor. 13). This love must not be a worldly love as defined by man, but a godly love as defined through God’s word (3:16; 2 Tim. 3:16-17). When we walk in love in word and deed, then we walk under the direct authority of the Lord Jesus (3:17).
Love is the perfect bond of unity, but of what? I would argue it is not of what but rather of whom. “I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of complete understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery—Christ” (2:2). Paul will conclude this section by illustrating the outcome of a changed mind and changed walk through changed relationships. This transformation is therefore not merely inward in nature, but outward in the power it has to change our relationships (cf. 1 John 4:7-12).
Paul will address wives, husbands, children, fathers, slaves, and masters in this context. Notice the commonality between them all; each of these relationships returns to the Lord and one’s love for Him. Wives are to submit to husbands as fitting “in the Lord” (3:18), children obey for this “pleases the Lord” (3:20), slaves obey masters while “fearing the Lord” (3:22), “serving the Lord” (3:24), masters act with justice and equity for they have a “Master in heaven” (4:1). Elsewhere, Paul will make this correlation to husbands and fathers (Eph. 5:25ff; 6:4). It is our love for the Lord that serves as our foundation for our love for others.
“Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands” (Matt. 22:36-40). The greatest commandments are about transformation in how we love God and love others, a changed walk and changed relationships. Yet notice where Jesus begins—the heart and the mind. To make lasting change, each of us must be renewed!
