Put On Christ
Colossians 3:12-14
Sometimes you can identify someone by the clothes they wear. A policeman or soldier wears a uniform. A nurse wears scrubs. A businessman might be wearing a suit. What should a Christian look like? If you were looking at a crowd of people, how would you know the Christian from the non-Christian? Can you tell by what they wear? Should there be something about believers in Christ that makes them stand apart from the world around them?
Last time in our study of Colossians, Paul instructed the Colossians (and us as his readers) to put to death what is earthly (Col. 3:5). He told us to kill sins like “fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” (Col. 3:5). He instructed us to put off sins like “anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language” (Col. 3:8) and lying to one another (Col. 3:9). We are to kill these sins, take them off like a filthy garment, and throw them away forever because we are new people in Christ.
In sports, when a player gets traded or joins a different team, he changes uniforms. He puts away his old uniform associated with his previous team, and puts on the uniform of his new team. As a Christian, you have switched teams. You are no longer of the world (John 15:19). You are in Christ. Romans 13 says, “Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. … But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.” (Rom. 13:12, 14).
In Colossians 3:9-10 Paul says “you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.” That’s what happened when you believed in Christ and He saved you. Piper says, “our old unbelieving self died and we sloughed it off like a butterfly sloughs off its old wormlike cocoon when the springtime of salvation comes.”[1] And we have put on the new self which is like Christ—like a butterfly taking flight with its new wings.
Christ has changed us. We are different than we used to be. Now, our life should reflect the image of Christ in us. As we saw in Colossians 3:11, God is creating a new community out of all kinds of people whose primary identity is Christ. So that “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free.” Those things that separated us in the past no longer matter. One thing matters: “Christ is all and in all” (Col. 3:11). For our new self and for our new community, the church, Christ is everything. Christ is our significance. Christ is our fulfillment. Christ is our satisfaction. Christ is our security. Christ is our peace. Christ is our life. “Christ is all and in all.”
Because we are made new in Christ, and because Christ is everything, and because Christ is in all of us, we must live like Christ, put on Christ. This is what Paul instructs us to do in Colossians 3:12-14. First, Paul tells us why we should put on Christ. Then He tells us what putting on Christ looks like and how we are to live with one another. Finally, he tells us to put on the crown jewel that binds them all together.
1. Why we should put on Christ (Col. 3:12a)
Colossians 3:12 begins, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved.” Here, Paul gives three reasons why we are to put on Christ and live Christ-like virtues: we are elect, holy, and beloved.
A. God has graciously chosen us.
We are to put on Christ-like virtues because we are “the elect of God.” The word “elect” means chosen or picked out. And in the 23 times this word is used in the New Testament, it always refers to God’s elect. Three times it refers to Christ as God’s chosen one (Luke 23:35; 1 Pet. 2:4, 6). Once it refers to the chosen angels (1 Tim. 5:21). And every other time it refers to elect or chosen believers in Jesus Christ.
Jesus used it when He said, 14 “For many are called, but few are chosen.” (Matt. 22:14). Jesus said in Matthew 24, “And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” (Matt. 24:31).
Paul uses this word, writing in Romans 8, “Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.” (Rom. 8:33). To Timothy he writes, “Therefore I endure all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.” (2 Tim. 2:10). Peter writes to “To those who are elect exiles” (1 Pet. 1:1 ESV), calling us “a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people,” (1 Pet. 2:9). In Revelation 17:14, those who overcome with the Lamb are “called, chosen, and faithful.”
This means that if you’re a Christian it’s not because you first chose God, but because He chose you. Ephesians 1:4 says that God the Father “… chose us in Him [in Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love.” Notice all three of the same concepts are in that verse as in Colossians 3:12, chosen, holy, and loved. Ephesians 1:5 goes on to say “having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” There were those in Colossae during the first century whom God had chosen to be in Christ before the world was ever created. When they heard the gospel that Epaphras brought to them (Col. 1:6), they opened their arms and whole-heartedly embraced it. Yes, they chose to follow Christ and placed their faith and trust in Him. This is true. Yet at the same time, God was working in them and through the preaching of the gospel to bring His chosen ones in Colossae to faith in Christ Jesus.
The doctrine of election should be a comfort to us because God’s sovereign purpose to save those whom He has chosen cannot fail (cf. Rom. 8:28-39).[2] It assures us, as Paul said in Philippians 1:6, “that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” It motivates us to press on in God’s work of sanctification. The fact that God has saved us and chosen us through election should motivate us to put on the clothing Christ-likeness.
Another motivation to put on Christ is that,
B. God has made us holy.
The biblical idea of someone being “holy” means that we have been set apart for God. We are “saints,” God’s holy people. Holiness implies purity and purpose. We have been sanctified, set apart from sin and this world and set apart for God’s purposes. Because we are holy, we must live holy lives.
The third motivation to put on Chist is that,
C. God has loved us.
Paul says we are “beloved” (Col. 3:12), meaning that we’re the special objects of God’s love.
All three of these terms were also used of God’s chosen people Israel in the Old Testament. For example we find all three words together in Deuteronomy 7:6-8,
6 “For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth. 7 The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you …” (Deut. 7:6-8).
And so, it is not surprising that we find them used again of the church in the New Testament as the new chosen people of God. God has chosen us in love to be set apart to Himself when we weren’t worthy of His love. God’s working in our life–to choose us, to make us holy, and to continue to love us–is great motivation for us to live out these Christian virtues. Secure in His gracious, unfathomable love, we are to put on Christ so that we love one another as God loved us.
2. What virtues we should put on (Col. 3:12)
Paul gives us a list of Christ-like qualities that we should be clothed with. One preacher called these the “garments of grace.” Look at them in Colossians 3:12, “put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.” All of these are characteristics of Jesus Christ. He was compassionate and kind (Matt. 9:36; 14:14), humble and gentle (Matt. 11:29), patient, forbearing, and forgiving (1 Pet. 2:23; Luke 23:34). As we put on these things, we are putting on Christ. Let’s walk through these to see what they look like when we put them on.
Tender mercies. The old King James Version translates this literally as “bowels of mercy.” The bowels were thought of as the seat of our emotions. Even today, we say “I felt it in my gut.” Today, we refer to the heart in the same way. So other versions translate this, “a heart of compassion” (NASB, LSB).
Jesus used this word to describe the good Samaritan, who felt compassion for the wounded traveler and was moved to help him (Luke 10:33). He used it of the father of the prodigal son, who saw his wayward son returning, felt compassion for him, ran to him, embraced him and kissed him (Luke 15:20). Jesus felt compassion for the widow of Nain who had lost her only son (Luke 7:13). Jesus saw the multitude and felt compassion because He saw that they were like sheep without a shepherd (Mark 8:34).
Tender mercies will always show up practically in,
Kindness. Kindness is tender mercy lived out in both attitude and action. Kindness considers others and does good to them which is the opposite of malice which desires the harm and results in harsh treatment of others.
Jesus said that God Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men (Luke 6:35). Paul said that the kindness of God leads us to repentance (Rom. 2:4) Peter said that tasting God’s kindness should motivate us to long for the sincere milk of the word, that we may grow in respect to salvation (1 Pet. 2:1-3). If we’ll show kindness to those who are not kind to us, it will often motivate them to repentance and growth.[3]
Humility. Literally, this word means “lowness of mind.” The humble one doesn’t bring attention to himself, his gifts or his achievements, considering himself to be a servant of others. Steven Cole points out three sides of Christian humility: First, a humble person is Christ-sufficient, not self-sufficient (1 Pet. 5:5-7; 1 Cor. 4:7), trusting in God’s strength not his own(2 Cor. 12:9-10; Phil. 4:13). Second, a person with humility has a proper evaluation of himself. Paul said (Rom. 12:3), “For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.” Third, the one with humility will put others before himself, as Paul writes in Philippians 2:3, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.” (Phil. 2:3).
Humility will naturally result in the next virtue:
Meekness. In Galatians 5:23, Paul lists this as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. There is translated “gentleness.” This word was used in classical Greek of trained animals, such as a horse which was strong and powerful in battle, but totally submissive to the warrior who rode him. The gentle person is not self-willed, but surrendered to do God’s will. In Galatians and 2 Timothy Paul instructs us to restore someone caught in sin and correct opponents with “gentleness” (Gal. 6:1; 2 Tim. 2:25).
Longsuffering. This word for patience is the opposite of a quick temper. It refers especially to being patient in suffering or when being attacked by others. It means being tolerant of imperfections, differences and faults in others. The patient person gives others time to change and room to make mistakes in the process.
What does it look like when we cloth ourselves in these Christ-like virtues?
3. How to live out the Christ life (Col. 3:13)
This is what Paul shows in Colossians 3:13, writing, “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
If we have tender mercy, if we show kindness, if we have humility, if we display meekness, and if we are longsuffering, it will show up in the way we act toward each other. Why? Because living in close relationship with others is sometimes difficult.
The phrase translated “bearing with each other” in this verse means “continually bearing with each other, or continually putting up with each other.” It describes an endurance, with an element of leniency, toward another person whose actions tend to provoke you. The reality is that others provoke us by the annoying things that they do. The one who forbears will overlook all of these things.
And the word for “forgiving” is not the normal word for forgive but a special word that means “to graciously forgive, to freely or readily forgive.” It’s the same word that was used back in Colossians 2:13 where we were told that God has “forgiven you all trespasses” at the cross. The one who forgives will never again bring the offense to light, because he has willingly forsaken the right for revenge in his heart. Our forgiveness of others is based upon the forgiveness that God has given to us.
We need to forgive because people do things against us. Paul says, “if anyone has a complaint against another.” The word translated “complaint” in this verse refers to any grievance that you might have against someone else. Do you have any grievances this morning? Do you have any complaints you would like to register against someone else? Do you think anyone has complaints or grievances against you? Forgive them. Forgiveness is choosing to absorb the wrong and not allowing it to be a barrier between you and the other person.
Jesus told a parable about forgiveness. Peter had come up to Jesus and had asked him how many times it was necessary for him to forgive. Peter said, “Up to seven times?” By any Jewish standard of the day, this was very generous. Based upon a passage in Amos (Amos 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 13; 2:1, 4, 6), the Jewish teachers at the time only required you to forgive another person three time. Perhaps Peter expected a pat on the back for being more generous in his forgiveness than the norm.
But Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matt. 18:22). Jesus proceeded to tell him a parable of a slave who owed an astronomical debt that could never be paid in several lifetimes. When his master found out the extent of the slave’s debt, he threatened to sell him along with his wife and children to help make repayment for the debt. The slave pleaded mercy from his master. With unbelievable grace and kindness, the master forgave him his debt completely!
You would think receiving such mercy would make the one who received it want to be merciful also. But it didn’t. When he went out, he found one of his own slaves who had owed him a very small debt. The slave pleaded mercy from his master with the exact same words. But, this man, who had been forgiven a great debt was unwilling to forgive a small debt. He threw him into prison until it would be paid. When news got back to the master, he said, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?” (Matt. 18:32-33). He was thrown into prison and tortured until all the debt was repaid.
This is the heart of our text this morning. Each of us has been forgiven a great debt of sin before God. As our great sin has been forgiven freely through the blood of Christ, so also do we need to forgive others of their sins against us just as freely.
Finally, Paul says to put on,
4. The crown jewel that binds it all together (Col. 3:14)
“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” (Col. 3:14).
The word translated love in this verse is the Greek word “agape.” Agape love is that beautiful self-sacrificing, unconditional love with which God loves us in Christ. Love is the virtue which unites and holds everything else together in perfect harmony. Continuing with the clothing imagery here, love is like the crown that goes over all or the coat that covers our whole outfit. Like a belt or an outer garment, everything else falls apart without love.
And so, love is not just another virtue to put on along with others. Rather it is the supreme virtue that binds all the other ones together. Or another way to look at it is love is what is common to all these virtues. It is what unites them. It is what runs through all of them. When you love, you will be compassionate. When you love, you will be kind. When you love, you will be humble toward others. When you love, you will be gentle and patient. When you love, you will forbear and forgive. These things all flow from love.
Paul speaks of love in 1 Corinthians 13 saying,
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. … (1 Cor. 13:4-8).
The goal of love is always to present every person mature in Christ (Col. 1:28), so that God may be glorified through each person. Love is what binds us together as we grow to maturity in Christ (Eph. 4:13-16).
So, in conclusion, Christ is central. And so as one who has received new life in Christ, you are to put on Christ-like qualities. Put on this clothing, the clothing of the new man, the clothing of Christ: tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness and longsuffering, bearing with and forgiving each other. And bind them together with love. This is practical Christianity. This is what the world needs to see. And, to quote DL Moody, “Out of one hundred men, one will read the Bible, the other ninety-nine will read the Christian.” If people were to read you what would they see? What would your work mates see? What does your family see? What do your neighbors see? Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35).
[1] John Piper, Living Together When Christ Is All in All, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/living-together-when-christ-is-all-in-all.
[2] Steven Cole, Lesson 21: Healthy Relationships (Colossians 3:12-13), https://bible.org/seriespage/lesson-21-healthy-relationships-colossians-312-13.
[3] Cole, ibid.
