Clothed With Christ

Pondering Colossians Chapter Three

Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us. Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.—Colossians 3:11b-15

Every day we clothe ourselves, and some thought is put into that. We all have our own standards. Are our clothes designer-labeled? Are they fashionable? Are they loud and flashy or subdued and underwhelming? At my age, the one main qualification for anything I wear is that it must be stretchy. Artists depict people living in Paul’s day as wearing clothes that can best be described as robes (except for military regalia).

When Paul describes the new life to which we are called, he uses this imagery of clothing. Instead of material and color, these clothes represent the new life to which we are called. We are not left on our own to pursue the Jesus life, we are surrounded by Him and He lives within us. Thus, the qualities of holiness come from him, not our own imagination.

• Tenderhearted mercy - “compassionate hearts” (ESV)

• Kindness - “goodness of heart, a sweet disposition, seeing our neighbor’s welfare is as important as our own” (Vines).

• Humility - “a lowly opinion of yourselves” (AMPC). “modest appraisal of self. The focus is on giving up our “rights” for the sake of others” (Vines).

• Gentleness - “quiet yet rock-solid strength” (Vines).

• Patience - “which is tireless and long-suffering, and has the power to endure whatever comes, with good temper” (AMPC)

With these qualities surrounding and identifying us, we are empowered to give other people some elbow room. Others are human beings who struggle as well. They have faults, so make allowance for them. When someone offends you, forgive them. This is a great message for our always-offended, always-outraged social media world, which is washing over into real life as well. These garments of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience are important. Paul also notes that the overcoat that covers them all is love.

Love does something that is essential for the Colossians, necessary for all Christians: it binds believers together in perfect harmony. Paul’s concern for the unity of the church should also be our concern. Harmony, by nature, is made up of different parts. In singing, four-part harmony takes four different melodies and merges them into one single unit of music. That means that we do not all have to be identical to enjoy sweet harmony in the church. And this comes about by the love that comes from Christ.

Harmony is important because it brings about peace. When we put on the overcoat of love, peace becomes the priority and the blessing. It is the peace of Christ that must RULE in our hearts—making the peace of Christ the standard of behavior and relationship. It is simply our calling to be at peace. The world does not know how to do this and cannot accomplish this. When peace rules the Christian heart, gratitude becomes our primary attitude.

This is so much the opposite of the old life mentioned in previous verses. That life was always embroiled in conflict and causing pain for self and others. When I think of the life Christ offers, I am so thankful.

Note: I hope you have a great weekend! The next post from Colossians will be Monday morning, Lord willing. We will be moving into chapter four.

*Vines: Vines Expository Bible Notes by Jerry Vines.

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