The Truth About Identity

Colossians 3:9-11

In my last post, I intentionally left this section out.  Even though it may seem like “do not lie to one another” goes with all of the other things that Paul encourages the church to put aside, this one sticks out in how he describes lying.  Initially, we consider lying to be about obvious things, but he is touching upon more than just falsehood here; he is talking about our identity in Christ.  We saw this topic in the introduction to Colossians, and now it has come full circle.

When Paul says, “do not lie to one another,” I believe he is referring to how we view one another and treat one another accordingly.  Let’s remember, he is writing to the church at Colossae, so it is assumed that the recipients of this message are followers of Jesus, saved by the Gospel, and trying to live a godly life.  This is why he reminds each individual of who they are in verse 10. Verse 11 highlights various distinctions in society and status.

-As a side note: at the time, barbarian signified people who did not speak Greek or adapt to the culture.  Scythian referred to the worst of barbarians: a nomadic culture that roamed the southern region of present-day Russia.

What does this have to do with lying to one another?  Similar to society today, we tend to prejudice people based on various indicators and relationships to society.  Religion, physical stature, education level, race, sex, age, what part of town they grew up in, what language they speak, how they talk, and many more variables.  Paul reminds us that all that distinction doesn’t matter anymore if we are in Christ!  We have been folded into the family of God and are united in Him.

You may or may not have a good, close relationship with members of your family.  So, this might also be a difficult concept to accept.  Since living in a sinful world has distorted what a true family looks like, maybe we should pause and consider the definition before we move forward:

 A family is a fundamental social unit consisting of individuals related by blood (consanguinity), marriage (affinity), adoption, or strong emotional and commitment ties.
Core Functions
Emotional Support: Provides love, security, and companionship.
Socialization: Teaches children cultural values, norms, and how to behave in society.
Economic Support: Supplies basic needs like food, shelter, and physical care

Barnard, Alan John. “family”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 24 Aug. 2026, https://www.britannica.com/topic/family-kinship. Accessed 29 September 2026.

This is the type of organization we have been adopted into!  Additionally, let us not confuse this necessarily with a church organization…because it is easy to confuse the two.  Agreeably, this is what the church organization strives to achieve, but is not 100% perfect at it.  We are all still fallible, broken people.  Yet, the “church” is not an organization, denomination, or building; it is the body of believers worldwide.  Just like the nuclear family we grew up in, the organized church makes mistakes too and should not be expected to be perfect!  So, does that mean you should avoid churches?  Not at all!

What it means is, just as we read here in Paul’s letter, we should not identify them by what they do, but by who Christ says they are.  The next passage we will read, as Paul continues to encourage the body of Christ, will help us understand how to do so.  But for today, let us consider who we have been lying to within the body.  Is there someone you know who is saved, but you consider them a sinner?  Is there someone who acts differently than you and so you consider them an outsider, not one of “your kind”?  Do you judge others based on their past?  Do you avoid certain people because of what you have seen them do or heard them say?  Maybe you are afraid of them because they are covered in tattoos.  Maybe you look down on them because they smoke cigarettes, or attend a different denomination, or do not speak the same language.  There are a million reasons why we tend to judge other believers…Paul says to look at them as children of God.

Ironically, most of us do not look at ourselves as critically as we look at others.  Even when we make mistakes, we cry out for mercy, grace, understanding, and love.  The rest of us, however, criticize ourselves in the same manner!  Yet Paul reminds us that we are not what we do, what we have done, how we look, or how we act.  Rather, our identity is in Christ alone.  He has levelled the playing field, so to speak.  We are united in Him.  I am no better than you, and vice versa, because nobody is better than Christ, in whom we identify.  Our identity is no longer based on these things, but in the One who has saved us, sanctified us, and justified us to live in communion with a Holy God.  It is out of this identity that we can learn how to behave.  Stay tuned for what that looks like.