Colossians 3:1–11 Put To Death Therefore What Is Earthly In You

Colossians 3:1–11 Put To Death Therefore What Is Earthly In You

Main Point: If we have been raised with Christ, we must leave behind what belongs to our old life and walk in the hope, holiness, and unity of His kingdom.

Introduction: Before some training programs begin, students are required to pass a pre-course inspection. In one program, applicants had to bring a properly maintained vehicle to prove they could follow basic safety standards. If they failed the inspection—expired paperwork, broken lights, or missing equipment—they were dismissed before ever setting foot in the classroom. The expectation was simple: if you're going to represent the standards, you have to meet them yourself. In the same way, if we claim to walk the path that leads to Christ’s kingdom, there are certain things that no longer belong in our lives. What we say we believe must match how we live.

Our Hope Is in the Future

Our future includes a glorified body.

Paul says, “When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory” (Colossians 3:4). This is not poetic language—it is a literal promise. Our current bodies are weak, temporary, and subject to death, but the hope of the Christian is resurrection. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:50–53 that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, but we will be changed. When Christ returns, we will receive imperishable, glorified bodies that are fit for eternity.
This truth should shape how we view physical pain, aging, and even death. Our bodies may wear out now, but they are not our final form. Every ache and limitation reminds us that something better is coming.

Our future includes a renewed mind.

Paul urges us to “set [our] minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2). This isn’t escapism—it’s transformation. The Christian life involves a total reorientation of thought. We no longer process life through the values of the world but through the truth revealed in Christ. As we walk with Him, we are being renewed in knowledge after the image of our Creator (Colossians 3:10).
This means our priorities, desires, and decisions are being reshaped daily by the Spirit of God. What once made sense to us no longer does, and what once seemed foolish now becomes our guiding wisdom. The more we set our minds on Christ, the more we begin to think like citizens of the kingdom we belong to.

Our future includes an eternal inheritance.

The Christian life is not a call to suffer with no reward. It is a call to follow Christ toward a kingdom that is real, permanent, and full of joy. Peter says we have been “born again to a living hope… to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:3–4). Revelation 21 describes this inheritance with tangible beauty—God will dwell with His people, and there will be no more pain, mourning, or death.
We are not just forgiven. We are adopted into a kingdom. The riches of heaven, the presence of Christ, and the full restoration of all things are waiting for us. This is what we gain. This is what Jesus purchased with His blood. And this is what we live for—not temporary pleasure, but eternal treasure.

If this is our future—glorified bodies, renewed minds, and eternal inheritance—then it only makes sense that our lives today should reflect that destination. Paul now turns to what must be left behind. If we belong to Christ, we must put to death the things that belong to our old life.

Our Fight Is Against Our Flesh

Desires of the body must be crucified.

Paul begins with a sobering command: “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Colossians 3:5). He doesn’t say to manage sin, excuse it, or make peace with it. He says to kill it. And the first category is what we might call bodily desires—sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness. These are not just actions; they are heart-level cravings for things God has not given. Paul calls this idolatry, because these desires demand our loyalty, consume our attention, and offer false promises of satisfaction.
Christians are not immune to temptation, but we are no longer enslaved to it. To walk in step with Christ is to make war on anything that seeks to rule us from the inside out.

Our mouths must be brought under Christ’s rule.

Paul moves next to what flows from the tongue—anger, wrath, malice, slander, obscene talk, and lies (Colossians 3:8–9). These sins often feel less dangerous than physical immorality, but they are just as destructive. They poison relationships, divide the church, and reveal hearts still ruled by self. Slander and obscene speech tear down what God calls us to build up. Lying destroys trust and denies the truth that saved us.
Jesus said that out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). So Paul is not simply giving us a list of forbidden words—he’s calling for a heart that has been transformed. As our minds are set on things above, our speech must follow. The tongue, like the body, must die to the old way and come alive in the new.

We have put on the new self.

The Christian life is not just about avoiding sin—it’s about becoming someone new. Paul says we have “put off the old self with its practices” and “put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Colossians 3:9–10). This is not a surface-level behavior shift. It is a complete identity change. We are being shaped, day by day, into the likeness of Christ.
This means our fight against sin is not legalism—it’s transformation. We do not kill sin to earn God’s love. We kill sin because we have already been raised with Christ and belong to Him. Every act of obedience is a response to the grace that has already been given.

Christ Is Our Savior

In Christ, we are one.

After listing all the things that must be put off, Paul reminds us what we are now part of—a new people defined by Christ alone. “Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all” (Colossians 3:11). The gospel does not only transform individuals, it unites them into one body. The divisions that once defined us—race, background, status, education—no longer carry ultimate weight.
This doesn’t erase our differences, but it does mean they are no longer what matters most. What matters is Christ, and He is in all who believe. The church should reflect that reality in how we treat one another, how we forgive, and how we walk together toward glory.

We began with the idea of a pre-inspection—an early test to see if you’re truly ready for what lies ahead. For Christians, that inspection isn’t a test of perfection, but of direction. If we are being raised with Christ, then we must live like those who belong to Him. The kingdom we are walking toward demands that we leave behind the things that once enslaved us. We don’t do this in our own strength, and we don’t do it to earn God’s love. We do it because Christ has already raised us, claimed us, and filled us with His Spirit. Our hope is in Him. Our fight is against the flesh. And our unity is found in His name alone.

Scripture References

  • Colossians 3:1–11 — The main text—calls believers to set their minds on Christ, put sin to death, and live in the unity of the new self.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:50–53 — Explains the transformation of the believer’s body at the resurrection—imperishable and fit for the kingdom of God.
  • 1 Peter 1:3–5 — Describes the believer’s eternal inheritance—kept in heaven, unfading, and secured by God’s power.
  • Revelation 21:1–4 — Portrays the beauty and finality of the believer’s inheritance in the new heaven and new earth.
  • Ecclesiastes 1:12–14 — Shows the emptiness of worldly achievements and the search for meaning apart from God.
  • Hebrews 10:19–25 — Encourages believers to hold fast to their hope in Christ and remain faithful as the Day approaches.
  • Luke 9:57–62 — Jesus challenges half-hearted discipleship and calls for full commitment to the kingdom.
  • John 14:1–7 — Jesus promises to prepare a place for His people and reveals Himself as the only way to the Father.
  • Matthew 12:34 — Jesus teaches that the mouth reveals what is stored in the heart.
  • Revelation 6:12–17 — Describes the terror of God’s wrath against unrepentant sin when Christ returns.
  • Romans 1:1–6 — Proclaims the gospel as promised through the prophets and given for the obedience of faith among all nations.
  • Romans 1:16–17 — Declares the gospel as the power of God for salvation to all who believe, both Jew and Gentile.

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