11 Living the New Life

Previously, Paul had spoken about the various things which believers must remove from their lives, now he transitions from the negative, to the positives, those things which the believer must “put on”.

These positive attributes or qualities are necessary for the child of God to succeed and grow in the life as a Christian. And just as Paul had previously shown that removal of the hindrances must be a decisive action, the same an be said of putting on the positive qualities.

1 What We Must Include

Colossians 3:12

Paul begins the section with “therefore” which shows he is connecting it to what he’d must recently taught, that Christ is in every believer.

Since the believer is complete in Christ, there should have certain qualities which might be seen.

Paul also referred to his audience as “elect of God”. The word “elect” literally means “chosen”, showing that God has chosen the believer out of all those in the world.

Yet, the believer’s having been chosen, is because of God’s grace, which shows that it’s independent of the individual’s worthiness, which is seen throughout Scripture:

Deuteronomy 7:7-8

The same idea can be seen for those under the New Covenant, who are also the chosen of God:

2 Thessalonians 2:13

Because the believer by God, it shows that they are special to Him, wherefore, Paul describes them as “beloved”.

Because the Lord has first loved us, we should therefore respond in love, and desire for greater closeness and obedience to Him. Which is why Paul is giving the instruction to “put on” certain attributes, illustrative of “spiritual clothing”:

• The first item he listed was “tender mercies”.

The rendering in the original Greek is “bowels of compassion”. It points to someone having heartfelt compassion for another.

The Greeks believed that one’s deepest emotions emanated from the intestinal area, considered as the deepest regions of the body.

• The next item he listed was “kindness” which means “benevolence in action”.

This speaks of having a disposition of doing good. That should be the attitude of the believer, since it was in His kindness, that the Lord exercised grace leading to our salvation:

Ephesians 2:7

• The next attribute Paul mentioned was “humility” which speaks of having an attitude of lowliness.

Humility pictures the understanding, that another person’s point of view might be more important, or have equal value as their own.

It is also important that believers act in humility toward the Lord, constantly submitting to His will.

• The next attribute Paul listed was “meekness”. Much like humility, meekness also shows an attitude of lowliness. But it also includes an idea of self-restraint. Rather than asserting one’s power and authority, the meek individual doesn’t place their desires over those of others.
• Paul then added the need for being “long-suffering”. The Greek word is <makrothymian> which speaks of patiently enduring a particular offense or hardship.

And as with meekness, the long-suffering person will show restraint when he or she is provoked.

None of the attributes come naturally, nor are they easily shown, which is why Paul showed that the believer must deliberately “put them on” much in the same way we deliberately put on each item of physical clothing every day.

Each of the final three attributes Paul listed here, were also included in the epistles to the Ephesians (Ephesians 4:2) and Galatians (Galatians 5:22-23).Interestingly, they are always listed in the same order.

2 That Which is Most Vital

As stated previously, each necessary is necessary for the believer, however there is another attribute which is vital and above all other, and that is love:

Colossians 3:14

Each of the previous attributes are manifestations of the degree of love in the believer’s life, which is why Jesus commanded His followers that we are to reflect His love:

John 13:34-35

In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul listed the fruit of the Spirit, which he began with “love”:

Galatians 5:22-23

So, in the same way love is the overriding and unifying spiritual fruit, which manifests in the other fruit, the same may be said of the attributes Paul lists here in Colossians 3.

3 Letting God’s Peace Rule

After speaking of that which the believer should “put on” Paul gives the command that believers are to ensure that God’s peace is to rule their hearts:

Colossians 3:15-17

In the original Greek word for “rule” is an athletic term which was used for the those who officiated contests, ensuring that the participants followed the rules. He would also award the prize to the victor after the contest.

Therefore, Paul was stating that believers should allow the peace of God to officiate their hearts. The result will be that the believer will be victorious over the flesh, and those things which Paul had previously commanded that we “put off”.

While we are unable to understand and therefore cannot control our own hearts, the Lord alone can, since He knows and test our hearts:

Jeremiah 17:9-10

Still, because our hearts are deceitful, we must be careful to determine that we are being directed by the Lord. This can only come about when we are abiding in God’s Word:

Colossians 3:16

The believer is to have a great hunger for the Word. Only the Word of God can discern what is really taking place within the believer’s heart:

Hebrews 4:12

Paul speaking of God’s Word dwelling within the believer, harkens back to the Shechinah glory of God, which dwelt in the tabernacle under the Old Covenant, showing His presence with His people.

Next, Paul showed the need for believers to build one other up, which may be accomplished by encouraging one another through worshipping the Lord together. This was something those of a Jewish background would have been familiar with, as they would corporately sing many of the psalms.

This should be an encouragement for the modern believers to also participate in corporate worship when together, especially when the worship songs are taken from Scripture.