Colossians 3:9 tells believers not to lie to one another, because they have already taken off the old way of living that made lying normal. Paul writes this to the church in Colossae, a congregation he did not personally found but cared for deeply. He speaks as an apostle who expects the believers’ new life in Christ to show up in how they speak to each other.
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 command is simple: do not lie to one another. Paul does not say “try not to lie” or “lie less often.” He states it as a direct instruction that flows from something already true of the believer. The reason he gives is that you have “put off the old man with his doings.” The image is of taking off a garment. Paul pictures the old pattern of life as clothing that no longer fits and that the believer has removed.
The phrase “the old man” refers to the person you were before you came to Christ, shaped by self-centered habits and patterns of sin. Paul’s point is that deception belonged to that old way of living, and a person who has been changed by Christ no longer has to live that way. The verse describes honesty as a result of a new identity, not only a rule to follow.
The verse does not promise that lying will vanish from your life overnight or that other people will always be truthful with you. It describes what belongs to the believer’s new life and calls you to live in line with it. Growth in honesty is ongoing, and this verse gives you the direction to keep moving in.
The Context of Colossians 3:9
Colossians is a letter traditionally attributed to Paul, written to a church in the Lycus Valley region of Asia Minor. Paul writes to address false teaching and to encourage believers to live fully in their new life with Christ. The letter moves from who Christ is in chapters 1 and 2 to how that truth shapes daily conduct in chapters 3 and 4.
Verses 6 through 8 list behaviors that belong to the old life, including anger, malice, slander, and shameful speech. Verse 9 follows directly with the instruction against lying, and verses 10 through 12 describe the new self being renewed in knowledge and clothed with compassion, kindness, and humility. Read this way, the command against lying is one part of a larger picture of a community being reshaped by Christ, where truthful speech and unity go together.
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 was written in a closely related setting and gives the same instruction to put away falsehood and speak truth with one another. Reading it alongside Colossians 3:9 shows that honesty among believers was a consistent teaching across Paul’s letters.
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 describe the same picture of putting off the old self and putting on the new, and they explain the renewal that makes honest living possible. Together with Colossians 3:9, they show the connection between who you are in Christ and how you speak and act.
A Short Prayer From Colossians 3:9
Lord, you know the places where I still reach for the easy lie or the half-truth to protect myself. Thank you that I am not bound to the old way of living that Paul describes. Help me to set aside deception and to speak honestly with the people you have placed around me, especially in the moments when honesty costs me something. Renew my mind and shape my words by your grace, so that my life reflects the new person you are making me to be. Amen.
