Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, inward parts of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, long-suffering; (13) Bearing one another and forgiving one another, if anyone should have a complaint against anyone; even as the Lord forgave you, so also should you forgive. (14) And over all these things put on love, which is the uniting bond of perfectness.
Having put on the new man, we also need to put on the spiritual virtues listed in these verses. In verse 12 Paul addresses the believers as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved. The new man is God's elect, God's chosen ones. Furthermore, the new man is holy. This means that the new man is neither common nor worldly; rather, he is separated to God. Moreover, the new man is beloved. According to this verse, the new man is chosen, holy, and beloved. As such a new man, we need to put on all the necessary spiritual virtues: a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, and longsuffering. Lowliness is somewhat different from humility. A person may be proud of his humility, but not of lowliness. In verse 13 Paul goes on to speak of bearing one another and forgiving one another. The forgiving Lord is our life, and He lives within us. Forgiving is a virtue of His life. When we take Him as our person and live by Him, forgiving others will be a spontaneous virtue of our Christian life. God is love (1 John 4:16). Love is the very essence of God's being, the very substance of the divine life. Hence, to put on love is to be clothed with the element of God's life. Such a love is the uniting bond in the combination of perfectness, completeness, and mature virtues.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Colossians, pp. 241-242. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
To unsubscribe from the mailing list, either: Send an email to: [email protected] (No subject or message needed; a blank email will work) or visit www.emanna.com and fill out the unsubscribe form there.
