At the moment of salvation, every Born-Again Christian put on "Christ," the "breastplate of faith and love,” and the “helmet of salvation" (1 Thess 5:8-9 ESV; Rom 13:145; Gal 3:27). We are implored to daily "put on":
- The Armor of light (Rom 13:12) – To honor Jesus.
- The new self (Eph 4:24) – The new person, "created according to God" according to his image or likeness (See
also Rom 5-8).
- The Armor of God (Eph 6:11) – To protect us against the attacks of darkness from our spiritual enemy.
The Bible tells us there are eight virtues of moral excellence and righteousness that are the result of becoming Born-Again that we are commanded to "put on" (Gk: "enduoe" (en-doo'-o) which means to envelope in, clothe with, and practice daily so that we become "possessed of the mind of Christ as in thought, feeling, and action to resemble Him and, as it were, reproduce the life He lived" (Thayer).
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony." (Col 3:12-15 ESV)
These verses are to remind us of what God's grace had done. We are "chosen," "holy," and "beloved" by God. Grace is His unmerited favor to undeserving sinners, yet He chose us because we chose Jesus as our Lord and Savior. The “chosen ones” are those set apart for God are the objects of His love.
The word "holy" (Gk: "hagios" hag'-ee-os) means to set apart for God. The word speaks of their standing in grace as separated ones who must live a separated life from the ways of the world. Because we have trusted Jesus, we have been set apart from the world to God. We are not our own and belong entirely to Him (1 Cor 6:19-20). Becoming Born-Again sets a person apart exclusively for Jesus.
When an unbeliever sins, they are a created being breaking the laws of the holy Creator, who is love. Love is the strongest motivating power in the world. As you grow in your love for God, you will grow in your desire to obey Him and walk in the newness of life that Jesus has given you.
God forgave you on the Cross before you were born. His forgiveness is complete and final. It is not conditional or partial. The sacrifice of Jesus made that a reality. God has forgiven us "for Christ's sake" and not for our own sake (Eph 4:32). All we must do is appropriate the benefits of His forgiveness by becoming Born-Again through repentance and total surrender to Jesus.
The word "beloved" (Gk: "agapaoe" (ag-ap-ah'-o) is a perfect participle and is used to describe God's love that created all things and was shown at the Cross. It is a love that denies self for the benefit of the object loved. The perfect tense is used to indicate the far-reaching and the abiding character of that love.
"Do not let your adorning be external - the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear - but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." (1 Peter 3:3-5 ESV)
Let's review the eight virtues we are to wear daily like clothing as a profession of our faith.
1. Tender mercies. (Gk: "splagchnon" (splangkh'-non) literally means bowels. Figuratively, it is tender affections or sympathy. The Greek language uses the term ‘bowels of compassion’ because the Greek people located the deeper emotions in the intestinal area while locating them in the heart. The Hebrews considered it the seat of the tenderer affections, especially kindness, benevolence, and compassion. It is a phrase expressing the effect on the body of the intense emotions of sympathy and compassion visible on the outside and uttered by our lips but is felt in the innermost heart and prompts us to generous actions.
We need to display tender feelings of compassion toward one another (see Phil 2:1). This is not something that we turn on and off, like a TV. Instead, it is a constant attitude of heart that makes us easy to live with.
2. Kindness. (Gk: chrestotes [khray-stot'-ace] means usefulness, i.e., moral excellence (in character or demeanor). The word speaks of a gentle, gracious disposition.
We have been saved because of God's kindness toward us through Jesus (Eph 2:7; Titus 3:4). Therefore, we must show kindness toward others. Kindness is not sympathy with one's suffering, but in every way simply doing what is good and pure to others. "Be ye kind one to another" is God's command (Eph 4:32).
3. Humbleness of mind. (Gk: tapeinophrosune [tap-i-nof-ros-oo'-nay] means humility of the mind; having a humble opinion of one's self and a deep sense of one's (moral) littleness, modesty, and lowliness of mind.
The world has never admired genuine humility. Jesus is the greatest example of humbleness of mind (Phil 2:1). Humility is not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less and others more. It is having the proper estimate of yourself in the will of God (Rom 12:3). The person with humbleness of mind thinks of others first and not of themselves.
4. Meekness (Gk: "prautes" [prah-oo'-tace] means 'mildness, i.e., (by implication) humility. The root word is "praus" (prah-ooce') which denotes being humble, gentle, and mild. The entire Greek meaning is not easily understood in English which requires a bit more elaboration.
Meekness does not express weakness or timidity as does the English definition. Jesus used it of His temperament (Matt 11:29, 21:5). The word occurs four times as an adjective and 11 times as a noun in the New Testament.
Meekness is a gift of God. It is not a natural human virtue. The word describes a condition of the mind and heart and refers to the inward work of grace by the Holy Spirit within us. It is the characteristic of how we are to live in what we do and how we are challenged by others, including those who do evil.
Meekness is a divinely balanced virtue that can only operate through faith (1 Tim 6:11; 2 Tim 2:22-25). True biblical meekness is a fruit of God's power and a work of the Holy Spirit by grace within us. The expressions of it are primarily toward God, which is why we are implored to walk in it (James 1:21; 3:13; 1 Peter 3:15).
We are commanded to "follow after meekness" for our own sake and show "all meekness toward all" people (1 Tim 6:11-12; Titus 3:2; Col 3:12). It is the opposite of jealousy, contentiousness, self-assertiveness, or self-interest. It is gentleness in our attitude and behavior, in contrast with harshness, in dealing with others because it is not about us but the character and nature of Jesus (2 Cor 10:1). Meekness is not weakness. It is having a spirit of patience and self-control when under reproach, misrepresentation, and unkind treatment by others because God has everything under His control.
We should defend our faith with gentleness without getting angry when we deal with those who are "'ignorant and erring" by exhibiting "a spirit of meekness" as we gently correct them (James 1:21, 3:13; 1 Cor 4:21, Gal 6:1; 2 Tim 2:25).
We are exhorted to "receive with meekness the implanted word" of God (James 1:21). It is the attitude in which we accept God's dealings with us as GOOD and do not dispute or resist them. It provides spiritual and emotional strength and courage necessary for service, renouncing violence, and having trusting-faith in God.
5. Patience/Long-suffering. (Gk: makrothumia (mak-roth-oo-mee'-ah) means (objectively) forbearance or (subjectively) fortitude. It speaks of the person who has to deal with a harmful person yet is not easily provoked by them to get angry.
The word expresses patience under the ill-treatment of others. This word means "long-temper." It stretches out meekness in any circumstance you find yourself in. The impatient/short-tempered person speaks and acts impulsively and lacks self-control. When a person is showing godly patience, they can put up with provoking people or circumstances without retaliating. It is good to get angry when a person is wronged, but it is wrong to get angry quickly at the wrong things and for the wrong reasons.
6. Bearing/Forbearance. (Gk: "anechomai" (an-ekh'-om-ahee) means to bear with, patiently endure, retrain, stop, hold oneself upright or from falling, i.e. (figuratively) put up with another.
The word is used regarding a person who needs hold back their judgment of sinners and receive, listen, have patience and bear with another in their mistakes or weaknesses (Rom 2:4,3:35; Matt 17:17; Mark 9:19; Luke 9:41; 2 Cor 11:1,19; Eph 4:2; Col 3:13; Sept.: Isa 46:4; 63:15). God is forbearing toward sinners in that He holds back His judgment (Rom 2:4; 3:25). Meekness, patience/long-suffering, and bearing/forbearance go together.
7. Forgiving (Gk: charizomai) means to show one's self gracious, kind, benevolent, to grant forgiveness. It is the logical result of all that has been previously presented in the verses above. We are implored to endure grief and provocation from others without retaliation, but we are commanded to forgive them [70x7=490 times per day or once every 3 minutes!] (Eph 4:32).
Forgiveness opens our hearts to the fullness of the love of God. The very instant we have a complaint against another person, we should forgive them. When it is a family member, we must go to them and seek to help them in love (See Matt 18:15-35). We are to love and forgive others as Jesus has loved and forgiven us. 'Love one another" is a commandment. Obedience to the one we love is delightful. We are to forgive others because God forgave us and the degree that He forgave with complete forgiveness. When you reach out in forgiveness, you are reaching out with the hands of God.
8. Love. (Gk: "agape") means affectionate regard, goodwill, benevolence. It is God's willful direction towards us. It involves Him doing what is best for us and not necessarily what we desire. Every good and perfect gift is from Him (James 1:17-18). It is His kind and merciful goodness that leads a person to repentance (Rom 2:3-4).
Love is the fruit of the Spirit and manifests itself in joy (Col 3:16), peace (Col 3:15), long-suffering, gentleness, kindness, and meekness (Col 3:12). Love is the most important virtue, and it acts like a belt or coat that ties all the other fruit together. If we say we love God but do not love/forgive our neighbor as ourselves, we lie and do not know the truth (Matt 22:37-40; 1 John 2:4).
God's love binds everything together in perfect harmony" (vs. 15). When His love rules in our lives, it unites all these spiritual virtues so that there is beauty and harmony, indicating spiritual maturity. This harmony and maturity keep the life balanced and growing. The outward adornment of these virtues has an inward root found in the Holy Spirit. We must put them on externally by letting Him develop them within as we yield to Him daily.
We were chosen by God, loved, forgiven, and set apart for Him. That is what grace is all about! However, these blessings have some solemn responsibilities before God.
Let's Pray
