Colossians 3:9, 10 – Why Lying No Longer Fits

9 Do not lie to one another, stripping off the old humanity together with its practices,
10 and putting on the young, which is being renewed into recognition, to accord with the Image of the One Who creates it…

Paul names lying here as a practice of the old humanity. Lying here is more than uttering something untrue. It is the language of the old humanity, which lives in pretense and falsehood.

Paul does not merely say, “Do not lie.” He also gives the reason. The old humanity is being stripped off, together with its practices, and the young humanity is being put on. The image is that of clothing. You take off what no longer fits. It even evokes the thought of laying out someone who has died. The old humanity has been laid aside and belongs to the past.

Opposite it stands the young humanity, the counterpart of the old humanity. Not old humanity refurbished, but humanity that is still young. While the old humanity is characterized by falsehood, the young humanity is being renewed into recognition/realization. This recognition goes beyond merely knowing. Paul refers to this recognition repeatedly in this letter (1:6, 9, 10; 2:2). It concerns knowing the truth of God and His all-encompassing will. This recognition is not something the young humanity produces itself, but something into which it is being renewed. Therein lies the great contrast Paul points out here.

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