Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
All Commentaries on Colossians 3:5 Go To Colossians 3
John Chrysostom
AD 407
I know that many are offended by the foregoing discourse, but what can I do? You heard what the Master enjoined. Am I to blame? What shall I do? Have you not seen the creditors, when debtors are obstinate, how they wear collars? Did you hear what Paul proclaimed today? Mortify, he says, your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. What is worse than such a covetousness? This is worse than any desire. This is still more grievous than what I was speaking of, the madness, and the silly weakness about silver. And covetousness, he says, which is idolatry. See in what the evil ends. Do not, I pray, take what I said amiss, for not by my own good-will, nor without reason, would I have enemies; but I was wishful that you should attain to such virtue, as that I might hear of you the things I ought. So that I said it not for authority's sake, nor of imperiousness, but out of pain and of sorrow. Forgive me, forgive! I have no wish to violate decency by discoursing upon such subjects, but I am compelled to it.
Not for the sake of the sorrows of the poor do I say these things, but for your salvation; for they will perish, will perish, that have not fed Christ. For what, if you dost feed some poor man? Still so long as you live so voluptuously and luxuriously, all is to no purpose. For what is required is, not the giving much, but not too little for the property you have; for this is but playing at it.
Mortify therefore your members, he says, which are upon the earth. What do you say? Was it not you that said, You are buried; you are buried together with Him; you are circumcised: we have put off the body of the sins of the flesh c. 2:11, 12; Romans 6:4; how then again do you say, Mortify? Are you sporting? Do you thus discourse, as though those things were in us? There is no contradiction; but like as if one, who has clean scoured a statue that was filthy, or rather who has recast it, and displayed it bright afresh, should say that the rust was eaten off and destroyed, and yet should again recommend diligence in clearing away the rust, he does not contradict himself, for it is not that rust which he scoured off that he recommends should be cleared away, but that which grew afterwards; so it is not that former putting to death he speaks of, nor those fornications, but those which do afterwards grow.
He said that this is not our life, but another, that which is in heaven. Tell me now. When he said, Mortify your members that are upon the earth, is then the earth also accused? Or does he speak of the things upon the earth as themselves sins?
Fornication, uncleanness, he says. He has passed over the actions which it is not becoming even to mention, and by uncleanness has expressed all together.
Passion, he said, evil desire.
Lo! He has expressed the whole in the class. For envy, anger, sorrow, all are evil desire.
