Colossians 3:5-6
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The verse isn't just listing bad behaviors; it frames them as "members" to be "put to death." This emphasizes that sin isn't external to us but deeply embedded in our very being, requiring decisive action, not just a gentle nudge, to sever its power. Furthermore, calling covetousness "idolatry" reveals it as the ultimate act of replacing God with material possessions as the source of our desires and security.
Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Having just explained that believers have "died with Christ" and their true life is hidden with God, Paul now urges them to actively put to death the sinful desires still active in their earthly bodies. He lists these earthly desires, starting with sexual immorality and impurity, then moving to passion and evil desire, and finally highlighting covetousness as a form of idolatry. This call to "mortify" these earthly members flows directly from their new, heavenly identity in Christ.
Paul doesn't just ask us to resist sin; he uses a strong, almost shocking word to describe what needs to happen to our earthly desires. What does this intense command truly mean for our daily lives?
The word Paul uses, 'mortify' (from the Greek nekros, meaning 'dead'), is incredibly strong. It doesn't mean to suppress or manage our sinful desires; it means to put them to death. Think of it like putting a criminal to death – their power over you is completely eliminated.
This isn't about self-harm, but a decisive, ethical 'killing off' of the sinful inclinations that still try to live within us. Our earthly members, our physical bodies and their desires, are to be rendered inoperative for sin. This is a radical action, not a mild suggestion, reflecting our new identity in Christ where we are already 'dead to sin'. This death must be actively applied to our earthly passions.
Paul lists several sins, but ends with 'covetousness, which is idolatry.' Why is this specific desire singled out as the ultimate form of idolatry?
The list Paul provides—sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire—all point towards a disordered pursuit of pleasure and self-gratification. But he climaxes this list with 'covetousness,' explicitly stating 'which is idolatry.'
This is because covetousness is fundamentally about replacing God with something else. When we covet, we are setting our hearts on possessing something – money, possessions, status, or even people – to the point where it becomes our supreme object of desire and trust. It's making that earthly thing the ultimate source of our security and happiness, which is the very role only God should fill.
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In essence, covetousness dethrones God and enthrone something else. It's an outward expression of an inward state where our affections are wrongly placed, seeking from creation what only the Creator can provide.
Understand the original words
nekrōsate · Greek Verb
A decisive, active rejection and mortification of sinful impulses; it requires the ongoing empowerment of the Holy Spirit to kill the influence of the flesh and sinful nature.
porneian · Greek Noun
Any form of illicit sexual activity or unchastity that falls outside the boundaries of the marriage covenant as defined by God.
akatharsian · Greek Noun
Moral uncleanness, defilement, or corruption in a person's behavior, speech, or inner character, standing in direct contrast to divine holiness.
pathos · Greek Noun
An intense, uncontrolled, or sinful desire; often refers to strong, destructive cravings that overwhelm a person’s moral judgment and draw them away from obedience to God.
epithymian kakēn · Greek Noun and Adjective
The root movement of the heart toward what is sinful, forbidden, or against God’s will; it represents the corrupt inclination of the human nature before it is acted upon.
pleonexian · Greek Noun
The insatiable, sinful greed or intense desire for more, especially for what belongs to others; it is condemned as a form of worshiping created things rather than the Creator.
eidōlolatria · Greek Noun
The sin of elevating any created thing, person, or self-interest above God, making it an object of worship, devotion, or ultimate trust.
orgē · Greek Noun
The righteous indignation and settled judicial response of God against sin, rebellion, and ungodliness. It signifies God's holiness reacting against that which is contrary to His nature.
Paul's letter to the Colossians was written during his Roman imprisonment. This context highlights that the instructions in this verse were given by an apostle under house arrest, emphasizing the urgent need for believers to live a transformed life, distinct from the pagan world around them, even in challenging circumstances.
c. 40s-60s AD
Paul's Missionary Journeys
The Apostle Paul travels extensively, establishing churches and spreading the Christian message throughout the Roman Empire, including regions like Asia Minor where Colossae was located.
c. 60-62 AD— this verse
Paul's Imprisonment in Rome
Paul is imprisoned in Rome, a period during which he writes several epistles, including Colossians, from which this verse is taken. His imprisonment likely led to his closest associates, like Epaphras, being influenced by his teachings.
c. 60s AD
Ministry of Epaphras
Epaphras, a Colossian believer and possibly the founder of the church there, likely carried Paul's teachings and letters, including Colossians, back to the church in Colossae, influencing their understanding and practice.
This passage echoes the call to 'put to death' earthly desires by urging believers not to let sin reign in their mortal bodies, but to present their bodies as instruments for righteousness instead.
Galatians 5:16-17It highlights the ongoing conflict between the flesh and the Spirit, which is the underlying reality of the struggle Paul describes when he calls believers to 'mortify' their earthly desires.
Ephesians 5:3-5This passage directly parallels the list of vices in Colossians 3:5, emphasizing that sexual immorality and impurity are unfitting for believers and that covetousness is a form of idolatry.
1 John 2:15-16It warns against loving the world and its desires, aligning with Paul's instruction to 'put to death' what is earthly in us, as these desires are not from the Father.
henryColossians 3:5-11: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:"
3:5-11 It is our duty to mortify our members which incline to the things of the world. Mortify them, kill them, suppress them, as weeds or vermin which spread and destroy all about them. Continual opposition must be made to all corrupt workings, and no provision made for carnal indulgences. Occasions of sin must be…
vincentColossians 3:5: "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:"
Mortify (νεκρώσατε)Only here, Romans 4:19; Hebrews 11:12. Mortify is used in its literal sense of put to death. So Erasmus: "Christ was mortified and killed." And Shakespeare:" - his wildness mortified in him,Seemed to die too.""1 Henry V., 1, 26"Members (μέλη)See on Romans 6:13. The physical members, so far as they…
The verse isn't just listing bad behaviors; it frames them as "members" to be "put to death." This emphasizes that sin isn't external to us but deeply embedded in our very being, requiring decisive action, not just a gentle nudge, to sever its power. Furthermore, calling covetousness "idolatry" reveals it as the ultimate act of replacing God with material possessions as the source of our desires and security.
Having just explained that believers have "died with Christ" and their true life is hidden with God, Paul now urges them to actively put to death the sinful desires still active in their earthly bodies. He lists these earthly desires, starting with sexual immorality and impurity, then moving to passion and evil desire, and finally highlighting covetousness as a form of idolatry. This call to "mortify" these earthly members flows directly from their new, heavenly identity in Christ.
Having just explained that believers have "died with Christ" and their true life is hidden with God, Paul now urges them to actively put to death the sinful desires still active in their earthly bodies. He lists these earthly desires, starting with sexual immorality and impurity, then moving to passion and evil desire, and finally highlighting covetousness as a form of idolatry. This call to "mortify" these earthly members flows directly from their new, heavenly identity in Christ.
"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming." — The verse isn't just listing bad behaviors; it frames them as "members" to be "put to death." This emphasizes that sin isn't external to us but deeply embedded in our very being, requiring decisive a…
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Last reviewed October 2026
