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John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Colossians 3:12

Verse 12 13.Put on therefore. As he has enumerated some parts of the old man, so he now also enumerates some parts of the new. “Then, ” says he, “will it appear that ye are renewed by Christ, when ye are merciful and kind. For these are the effects and evidences of renovation.” Hence the exhortation depends on the second clause, and, accordingly, he keeps up the metaphor in the word rendered put on He mentions, first, bowels of mercy, by which expression he means an earnest affection, with... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 3:1-17

SECTION VII . THE TRUE CHRISTIAN LIFE . The apostle, having delivered his attack on the system of error inculcated at Colossae, now passes from the controversial to the more practical purport of his letter. There is no break, however, in the current of his thought; for throughout this chapter he urges the pursuit of a practical Christian life in a sense and in a manner silently opposed to the tendencies of Gnosticizing error. How much more congenial was the task to which he now... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 3:1-17

The true Christian life. From above only can we be raised. There is no salvation in mere antipathy. Disgust at the vanities of life, repulsion from earthly things, will of itself never lift us beyond them; it needs the superior influence of heavenly things to do that. This the Colossian errorists did not rightly understand; or they could not have made ceremonial purifications and bodily austerities the way of holiness, the means of reaching spiritual perfection. "Touch not, taste not" ( ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 3:5-11

Mortification after death. Paul, having spoken of our death to earthly things and of our heavenly life, speaks next of mortification as succeeding death. It seems at first sight strange, yet, when analyzed, it is seen to convey most important truth. To quote from Coder's 'Etudes Bibliques:' "When this apostle [Paul] wishes to teach us how one may attempt to die to sin and to live to God, see how he expresses himself: 'Reckon that you are dead to sin and living unto God in Jesus Christ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 3:5-11

Dying before rising. There is an alternating between dying and rising. Having carried out the idea of rising, the apostle goes back to the idea of dying; and, before this paragraph is concluded, he goes back to the idea of rising. I. MORTIFYING OF OUR MEMBERS WITH REFERENCE TO TWO SINS . "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth." It is not a ground of condemnation that our members are upon the earth. The idea is simply the members through which we... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 3:5-11

Death to evil. The central thought around which the strange and striking ideas of these sentences gather is "Death to evil." St. Paul exhorts us to put evil to death, to make a corpse of it. Here we have truly "Mors janua vitae." We inquire— I. IN WHAT THIS DEATH CONSISTS . "Put to death your members which are upon the earth." The meaning seems to be the same as Christ's command, "If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out," etc. Neither Christ's nor Paul's injunction can mean... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 3:8-11

The new life in Christ the death warrant to old sins. The apostle still employs the most powerful motives possible in his exhortations to personal holiness. His figures and illustrations vary ("Ye died; ye were raised with Christ; therefore put your sins to death." "Ye put off your old nature and put on a new nature; therefore put away your old sins" ) . I. OLD SINS TO BE PUT AWAY . From the sins of the flesh Paul passes on to sins of the spirit and the tongue. There... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 3:9-10

The ground of these practical precepts. "Seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto knowledge after the image of him who created him." We have here the negative and the positive aspects of the great spiritual change effected in conversion. I. THE NEGATIVE ASPECT OF CONVERSION . "Ye have put off the old man with his deeds." 1 . The old man is the old unconverted self, strong in his deeds of sin. His... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 3:10

And having put on the new (man), which is being renewed unto (full) knowledge, after (the) image of him that created him ( Ephesians 4:23 , Ephesians 4:24 ; Ephesians 2:15 ; Romans 6:4 ; Romans 7:6 ; Romans 8:1-4 ; Romans 13:12-14 ; 2 Corinthians 5:17 ; Galatians 6:15 ; Colossians 1:9 ; Colossians 2:2 , Colossians 2:3 ; Genesis 1:26-28 ; Matthew 5:48 ; Hebrews 12:10 ; 1 Peter 1:16 ; Romans 8:29 ). New ( νέος ) is "young," "of recent date" (compare... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Colossians 3:11

Where there is (or, can be ) no Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondman, freeman ( Galatians 3:28 ; Galatians 6:15 ; Ephesians 2:14-18 ; Ephesians 4:25 ; 1 Corinthians 12:13 ; Romans 15:5-12 ; Philemon 1:15 , Philemon 1:16 ; John 17:20-23 ; Luke 22:24-27 ; John 13:12-17 ). That ἔνι means "can be," "negativing, not merely the fact, but the possibility," is doubtful in view of 1 Corinthians 6:5 (Revised Text). "In Christ"... read more

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