By "malice" he means bearing grudges, which some have called resentment, when someone holds malice within himself against another, as if to take revenge.
Col. 3:8. slander,
The apostle speaks about abusive speeches.
Col. 3:8. filthy language from your mouths;
Expressively he said: "your mouths," for your mouths are sanctified by partaking of the body of the Lord. Therefore it is extremely unfitting for you to defile with slander and foul language the mouths that receive Christ the Lord.
Col. 3:9. Do not lie to one another
You have clothed yourselves in Christ, who said: "I am the truth" (John 14:6). How then can you now clothe yourselves in another form of garment, the form of falsehood? Then it will be evident that you are casting off that form (as it were, the uniform) which characterizes you with the mark of truth.
Col. 3:9. Having put off the old man with his deeds
Why did he, having named the members, the body, and the man of a corrupt life, again call the same thing virtuous? To show that freedom in man is more important than essence, that we are named rather by it than by essence. For Scripture calls horses, dogs, and foxes those who by their own will have made themselves like such animals. And it is freedom, not essence, that leads us into Gehenna or the Kingdom of God. Thus, by the old man he means a corrupted will. Therefore he also added: "with its deeds," meaning freedom and its deeds. He called it old, wishing to show its vileness, ugliness, and weakness. See how he composed the members of the old man: his mind consists of falsehood, his heart of fury, his mouth of lying and slander, his eyes and hidden members of fornication, his liver of evil desire, his hands of covetousness.
Col. 3:10. and having put on the new, which is renewed in knowledge
The new man is the will according to God; it does not grow old, but more and more blossoms and grows in the knowledge of God and of divine things, always and ever appearing more youthful and yet all the more strengthened, the fuller the knowledge it acquires and the greater the things of which it is deemed worthy.
Col. 3:10. "according to the image of Him who created him,"
That is, Christ. Christ did not come into old age, but was always so beautiful that it is impossible to express, "fairer than the sons of men" (Ps. 45:2). For He committed no sin, which ages and corrupts. And we, created by Him in His image, must cut off from ourselves every sinful corruption and aging. By "creation" the apostle means both that which occurs in baptism and that which comes from a beautiful way of life.
Col. 3:11. where there is neither Greek nor Jew,
That is, a proselyte and a Jew of noble birth.
Col. 3:11. Neither circumcision, nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free, but Christ is all and in all.
Here is yet another praiseworthy distinction of the new man in Christ: that in him nothing external is taken into account—neither lineage, nor rank, nor ancestors—but that Christ is his mark of distinction, his character. In all who have been formed according to the spirit of a truly virtuous life, Christ is everything—that is, both lineage and rank. Or it can be said another way: you are all one Christ, being His body.
Col. 3:12. Therefore put on, as the elect of God, holy and beloved,
By this word he shows the ease of virtue: for just as we easily put on a garment, so we can readily take up virtue as well, but virtue must be held constantly, and used as the greatest adornment: he who does not have it is unsightly. The exhortation is joined with praise, and excessive praise at that. For there were, he says, saints, but not chosen and not beloved, yet you have all of this.
Col. 3:12. in mercy,
He did not say: clothe yourselves in compassion, but "in mercy." This is so as not to humiliate those who are worthy of pity, and at the same time to show that one must condescend to them out of an inner disposition, not as brothers to brothers, but as fathers to children. Lest you say that the brother has sinned, the apostle says: I require of you wholehearted mercy – σπλάγχνα.
Col. 3:12. goodness, humility, gentleness, longsuffering,
He who has clothed himself, he says, in "compassion," in him all the other virtues appear of their own accord. For what father is not kindhearted toward his son and does not practice humility, providing him everything without dispute? And notice what a beautiful order there is in all this! Goodness, born of compassion, gives birth to humility, for he who is kindhearted is also humble-minded. From humility comes meekness, for the proud man is also wrathful. From meekness comes long-suffering, which is magnanimity.
Col. 3:13. Bearing with one another and forgiving each other, if anyone has a complaint against someone:
Condescending (ἀνεχόμενοι) – is the same as bearing (βασάζοντες) one another – you him, and he you. Do not judge strictly the faults and failings of one another, but, considering them trifles, pass them over without attention. And see how he himself showed their insignificance by calling them a "complaint."