In Colossians 3:5-9, Paulo aliandika, Basi, vifisheni viungo vyenu vilivyo katika nchi; uasherati, uchafu, mapenzi ya kupita kiasi, tamaa mbaya, na tamaa, ambayo ni ibada ya sanamu: Kwa vitu gani’ kwa sababu ghadhabu ya Mungu huwajia wana wa uasi: ambayo ninyi pia mliziendea zamani, mlipoishi ndani yao. Lakini sasa ninyi pia yawekeni haya yote; hasira, hasira, uovu, kufuru, mawasiliano machafu kutoka kinywani mwako. Msidanganyane, kwa kuwa mmevua kabisa utu wa kale pamoja na matendo yake. Na kuvaa mtu mpya, ambayo inafanywa upya katika ujuzi kwa mfano wake yeye aliyemuumba: Ambapo hakuna Mgiriki wala Myahudi, kutahiriwa wala kutotahiriwa, Mshenzi, Msikithia, kifungo wala huru: bali Kristo ni yote, na katika yote. What does mortify your members which are upon the earth mean? How do you mortify your members which are upon the earth?
The responsibility of the new man (mtoto wa Mungu)
If you are risen with Christ and are seated in Him, you shall seek those things which are above, where Christ is seated, and not the things on this earth. The spiritual transformation (the new birth in Christ) shall become visible in your life on earth by putting off the old man and putting on the new man.
God has not only given you the authority in Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit, but God has also given you the responsibility to (kiroho) mortify your members on earth and to put off the works of the flesh, so that the flesh shall no longer reign as king in your life and dictates you what to do, and make you walk after the flesh in disobedience to God and His Word, but that Christ reigns as King in your life and you walk after the Spirit in obedience to God and His Word (Soma pia: Dhambi isitawale tena kama mfalme!).
That responsibility has been given to the new man, and no single excuse can be cited, to relieve the new man from this responsibility and duty.
No one, who says to be a Christian and claims to be born again has an exceptional position and is excluded.
No one has the right to keep walking in ignorance and be carnally minded, which is enmity against God and is death, and live as children of disobedience as enemies of God and His righteousness (Oh. Waefeso 2:2; 4:18-19, 1 Peter 1:14).
The old man (son of the devil) is crucified with Christ
If you say that you are born again in Christ, you shall live as a regenerated person, who belongs to God, since your nature has changed.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made you free from the law of sin and death. Therefore you no longer live under the law of sin and death, which reigns in the flesh, because your flesh has been crucified with Christ. You have been made free in Christ and live under grace and the law of the Spirit of life (Warumi 6:14; 8:1).
When you were the old man, you were alive to the world, but dead to God, due to your trespasses and sins (Oh. Waefeso 2:1-3, 1 Peter 1:13-16).
You belonged to the world and therefore you walked according to the course (lifestyle) of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.
The old man doesn’t do the will of God, but the will of the devil (the ruler of this world), and lives in obedience to the devil in disobedience to God in unbelief.
The old man walks in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the (carnal) akili, and is by nature a child of wrath (Waefeso 2:1-3).
The new man is raised from the death in Christ
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? Mungu apishe mbali. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Hamjui, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into His death? Therefore we are buried with Him by baptism into death: kwamba kama vile Kristo alivyofufuka kutoka kwa wafu kwa utukufu wa Baba, vivyo hivyo na sisi tuenende katika upya wa uzima.
For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over Him. For in that He died, He died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord
Basi, dhambi isitawale ndani ya miili yenu ipatikanayo na mauti, mpate kuitii katika matamanio yake. Wala msitoe viungo vyenu kuwa silaha za dhuluma kwa dhambi: bali jitoeni wenyewe kwa Mungu, kama wale walio hai kutoka kwa wafu, na viungo vyenu kuwa vyombo vya haki kwa Mungu. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, bali chini ya neema.
Nini sasa? tufanye dhambi, kwa sababu hatuko chini ya sheria, bali chini ya neema? Mungu apishe mbali. Hamjui, kwamba kwake yeye ambaye mnajitoa nafsi zenu kuwa watumwa wake katika kumtii, ninyi ni watumwa wake ambaye mnamtii; kwamba ni wa dhambi inayoleta kifo, au wa utii uletao haki? (Warumi 6:1-16)
By faith in Jesus Christ and regeneration in Him, the old man has died in Christ and the new man is raised from the death in Christ and made alive unto God.
The spirit of man has been made alive and the Spirit shall reign in the life of the new man. Through submission to God and obedience to His Word and by the power of the Holy Spirit, the new man shall mortify the members which are upon the earth and lay down the works of the flesh and deprave sin from its power, by not giving in to the will, tamaa, and desires of the flesh and not act upon the thoughts, which oppose the words of God.
If you have become the new man, you shall no longer seek the things which are on the earth and sow in the flesh and reap corruption, but you shall seek those things, which are above and sow in the spirit and bear the tunda la Roho.
You are no longer a servant of sin and death, but you have been made free in Christ and have become a servant of righteousness.
Therefore you shall no longer yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin. You shall no longer let your members on earth dictate to you what to do, but from your new position in Christ, you shall take authority over your members and mortify your members which are on the earth and yield yourself unto God and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
What are your members, which are upon the earth?
Basi, vifisheni viungo vyenu vilivyo katika nchi; uasherati, uchafu, mapenzi ya kupita kiasi, tamaa mbaya, na tamaa, ambayo ni ibada ya sanamu: Kwa vitu gani’ kwa sababu ghadhabu ya Mungu huwajia wana wa uasi: ambayo ninyi pia mliziendea zamani, mlipoishi ndani yao (Wakolosai 3:5-7)
Your members, which are on the earth, are fornication, uchafu, mapenzi ya kupita kiasi, tamaa mbaya, na tamaa, ambayo ni ibada ya sanamu.
If a Christian keeps walking in fornication, uchafu, mapenzi ya kupita kiasi, tamaa mbaya, na tamaa, the person is still the old man and not the new man, since the person still bears the fruit of the old carnal man.
It’s important that the person repents and becomes born again in Christ, and from the Spirit mortifies his or her members which are upon the earth.
Katika Kristo, you have been given all authority and power to mortify your members on the earth and put off the works of the flesh by resisting the devil, dhambi, and death so that they shall not have dominion over you anymore.
But it’s up to you, if you want to do it or not. It all depends on whether your love for Jesus and the Father is stronger than your love for your flesh (Soma pia: Do you love God above all?).
Mortifying your members which are upon the earth and putting off the works of the flesh is something you have to do yourself. Nobody else can do that for you. It’s your responsibility, you will be held accountable for it.
But if you don’t take your authority in Christ and you don’t mortify your members which are upon the earth, then your members will eventually mortify you.
How do you mortify your members, which are upon the earth?
If you have become a son of God (hii inatumika kwa wanaume na wanawake), you shall no longer feed yourself with the things of this world that will arouse and strengthen the will, and the lusts and desires of your flesh.
You know the truth and the will of God and you will be careful with whom you associate with and the things you get involved with and what you do. You will be cautious about what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, na kadhalika.
When you stop feeding your flesh and subdue the flesh, then the lusts and desires of the flesh shall not be aroused and strengthened but shall die.
You mortify your members, which are upon the earth by reigning over your members and resisting them. You’re not giving in to what your will and the lusts and desires of your flesh want.
The new man is an obedient son of God
Lakini sasa ninyi pia yawekeni haya yote; hasira, hasira, uovu, kufuru, mawasiliano machafu kutoka kinywani mwako. Msidanganyane, kwa kuwa mmevua kabisa utu wa kale pamoja na matendo yake. Na kuvaa mtu mpya, ambayo inafanywa upya katika ujuzi kwa mfano wake yeye aliyemuumba: Ambapo hakuna Mgiriki wala Myahudi, kutahiriwa wala kutotahiriwa, Mshenzi, Msikithia, kifungo wala huru: bali Kristo ni yote, na katika yote (Wakolosai 3:8-11).
Besides mortifying the members, which are upon the earth (uasherati, uchafu, mapenzi ya kupita kiasi, tamaa mbaya, na tamaa), you shall also put off anger, hasira, uovu, kufuru, mawasiliano machafu kutoka kinywani mwako, because they don’t fit in the life of the new man (Soma pia: Biblia inasema nini kuhusu yule mzee? na Jinsi ya kumfukuza mzee?).
The old man is a liar, just like his father the devil, but the new man is not a liar, but speaks the truth just like his Father. Therefore the new man shall not lie, despite the fact that in some countries lying is considered normal and is part of a culture.
The devil uses cultures to execute his destructive work and to keep the people in bondage to the beggarly elements of this world and sin and death and control the people so that they will do what the devil wants and the devil can build his throne (Soma pia: Kiti cha enzi cha shetani)
Lakini ukweli ni, that every culture disappears in Christ. Both the old nature of fallen man as the culture disappears in Christ (Soma pia: Kila utamaduni unatoweka ndani ya Kristo)
There is no distinction in Christ
Kwa maana ninyi nyote mmekuwa wana wa Mungu kwa njia ya imani katika Kristo Yesu. Maana ninyi nyote mliobatizwa katika Kristo mmemvaa Kristo. Hakuna Myahudi wala Mgiriki, hakuna mtumwa wala huru, hakuna mwanamume wala mwanamke: maana ninyi nyote mmekuwa mmoja katika Kristo Yesu (Wagalatia 3:26-28)
Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, kuwa na kiasi, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: But as He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy (1 Peter 1:13-16)
Through the process of sanctification, you shall renew your mind with the Word, put off the old man and put on the new man, ambaye anafanywa upya ufahamu kwa mfano wake yeye aliyemuumba, whereby there is neither Greek nor Jew, male nor female, kutahiriwa wala kutotahiriwa, Mshenzi, Msikithia, kifungo wala huru, but Christ is all and in all.
‘Kuweni chumvi ya dunia’
