Colossians 3:9 tells Christians not to lie to one another, because they have already taken off their old way of living, the patterns of self that belonged to life before Christ. Paul writes the command as something that follows from a change that has already happened. The verse is part of a letter from the apostle Paul, traditionally thought to have been written from prison around the early 60s AD, to the church in Colossae, a small city in what is now western Turkey.
Don’t lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his doings…
Colossians 3:9 (WEB)
What Colossians 3:9 Means
The verse begins with a plain instruction: “Don’t lie to one another.” Paul is not talking about a general honesty policy or a rule for courtroom testimony. He means the everyday deception that happens inside a community of believers, such as shading the truth to protect yourself, hiding a fault, or telling someone what they want to hear while meaning something else. The words “to one another” make it clear that this is about how members of the church treat each other.
The reason Paul gives is in the second half of the sentence, where he says the readers have “put off the old man with his doings.” The phrase “the old man” describes the person you were before you came to Christ, with the habits and desires that went with that life. Paul uses the picture of taking off old clothes. Lying belongs to the old wardrobe, so it does not fit the person who has changed.
The verse does not promise that lying will vanish from a believer’s life overnight, and it does not say that Christians will never be tempted to deceive. Paul’s point is about who you are and how you should now live, given what has already taken place in you. It is a call to act consistently with that new identity, not a guarantee that the struggle is over.
The Context of Colossians 3:9
Colossians 3:9 sits inside a passage that moves from what must be left behind to what must be put on. In the verses just before it, Paul lists anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech as things to put away. Lying appears right after this list, which suggests that Paul sees dishonesty as part of the same family of damaging behaviors that tear relationships apart. The verse that follows describes the new person being renewed in knowledge, and the verses after it describe the virtues to be worn like clothing, including compassion, kindness, humility, and patience.
Read this way, the command not to lie is one piece of a larger picture of renewed community. Paul is writing to a church with people from many backgrounds, and in verse 11 he says that the old divisions of Greek and Jew, slave and free, no longer define the body of Christ. Honesty within that community is part of how a mixed group of believers can trust one another and live together in peace.
Key Phrases in Colossians 3:9
Ephesians 4:25
Therefore putting away falsehood, speak truth each one with his neighbor. For we are members of one another.
(WEB)
This verse, written in a similar spirit, tells believers to put away falsehood and speak truth with their neighbors because they belong to one another. It develops the same argument Paul makes in Colossians, showing that honesty flows from the unity of the body of Christ.
Ephesians 4:22-24
22 That you put away, as concerning your former way of life, the old man, that grows corrupt after the lusts of deceit; 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
(WEB)
These verses use the same language of putting off the old self and putting on the new, helping you see that the command against lying belongs to a broader pattern of transformation in Christian life.
A Short Prayer From Colossians 3:9
Lord, you know how easily I slip into saying things that protect me more than they honor the truth. Thank you that I am no longer defined by the old way of living that once held me. Give me the courage to speak honestly with the people you have placed around me, especially when the truth is hard to say. Let my words be trustworthy and kind, reflecting the new person you are shaping in me. Amen.
