Colossians 3:12-14 - A Wardrobe of Love

Intro

You guys have prepared so much for this big day!

There have been a lot of different facets of this event that you’ve had to get ready.

And one of those things was what you would wear.

The clothes that would distinguish you as the bride and the groom and the wedding party.

I’m going to show you a passage of Scripture that uses the metaphor of putting on beautiful clothing to help you understand how you ought to live with each other in light of what Christ has done for you.

This is especially important because as you start this new chapter of your life together you need to understand who you are in Christ and what these beautiful clothes look like and fill your wardrobe with the love of Christ.

How you live should match your identity in him.

This is Colossians 3:12-14

Colossians 3:12–14 ESV

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.

First, let’s look at…

Your Identity in Christ

Paul begins this paragraph with a reminder of who you are in Christ because who you are in him motivates how you live for him.

And the first thing he says… is that you are…

Chosen

God chose you to be saved, to be adopted into his family.

Chase, you chose Dana to be your bride, and Dana you chose Chase to be your husband.

I’m sure there are a lot of reasons why you chose each other…

But God’s choice to bring you into his family had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with his own desire.

So, when you find yourself in sin against each other and against God, yes it grieves him…

But you don’t have to worry about being kicked out of God’s family because your identity as his child has never been about your performance.

The next thing Paul says… is that you are…

Set Apart

The word he uses is “holy.”

The idea Paul has in mind here is a state of being set apart by God for his purposes.

When you picked out the clothes you would wear today, you set them apart from the rest of your clothes…

I bet you’ve had these clothes set apart for a while because they have a very specific purpose…

To make you guys look awesome for your big day.

In a similar way, God has set you apart from the rest of humanity for a particular purpose.

To make him look awesome because he is the most awesome.

We make him look awesome by loving him and loving others the same way that he loves us.

And that leads to the third thing Paul says about you… you are…

Beloved

This is the key aspect of your identity in Christ that motivates how you live for him.

You are beloved!

The greatest act of love for you was when God sent his precious Son to die in your place and rise again so that you could live with him forever.

God’s love for you is measured by the value of what he gave for you, his infinitely valuable Son.

You are infinitely loved.

So, your identity in Christ is chosen, set apart, and beloved in Christ.

Now, in light of that identity, what kind of clothes or actions should match that identity?

Let’s look at…

Your Wardrobe in Christ

You’ve got a lot of different pieces that make up your beautiful outfits today.

Paul here lists six character traits of those identified with Christ like articles of clothing.

But notice that all of them are ways he has interacted with us and how you are to interact with each other.

I want you to think of these character traits as the different ways to interact with your spouse that match your identity in Christ.

You are to put on…

Compassion

When you were lost, dead in your trespasses and sin, Christ had compassion on you.

He saw you in your helpless state and he was moved to help, to stand in your place to reconcile you back to the Father.

Likewise, when your spouse is in need, show compassion and help alleviate whatever their need happens to be.

You are also to put on…

Kindness

Jesus saw what would help you the most, and he did it…

Even though it cost him dearly, he still did it.

What would help you the most was reconciling you back to the Father by taking the Father’s wrath against you and your sin… dying in your place so that you wouldn’t have to.

Likewise, when you see what would help your spouse the most, do it…

Regardless of the cost to you.

Another thing you are to put on is…

Humility

Jesus is the prime example of humility as Paul says in Philippians chapter 2.

Jesus is the eternal Son of God, but he considered it more important to serve you than to serve himself.

He stepped down into his creation and gave up his life for your sake.

Likewise, you are to consider serving each other more important than serving yourself.

Yet another thing to put on is…

Meekness

Again, Jesus is the prime example of meekness in his interaction with you.

You deserve punishment for your sin, but he is gentle with you, and comforting to you.

Matthew records Jesus’ own description of himself like this in Matthew 11:29…

Jesus says, “Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Likewise, when you interact with each other, do it in a way that is gentle, willing to listen, not harsh or insisting on your own way or your own opinion.

Also put on…

Patience

Think about how long it took for you to finally submit to Jesus or to finally overcome a particular sin.

Think about how much patience he’s had with you, and let that fuel your patience with each other.

Because let’s be real, you will try each other’s patience.

You’ll wonder why your spouse hasn’t figured it out yet, and you’ll want to shout, “Get with the program!”

But Jesus is patient with you, and that should make you more patient with each other.

The last garment to put on is…

Forgiveness

Similar to patience, forgiveness is necessary because you are both sinners.

But Jesus offers you eternal forgiveness.

That’s why he went to the cross in the first place… to afford you eternal forgiveness of your sin.

And that’s why he is interceding on your behalf right now in heaven.

Every time you sin, Jesus says, “I already paid for that!”

Forgiveness is the heartbeat of the gospel.

The Son of God became a man, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross so that you could be forgiven; he was buried, and three days later he was raised from the dead so that you could have eternal life with him.

All you have to do to gain this forgiveness and eternal life is repent of your sin and put your faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who loves you that much.

That’s the glorious message of the gospel.

For this particular garment Paul explicitly states its gospel motivation, “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”

You will sin against each other… It’s inevitable.

The goal should be to sin against each other less frequently…

But an equally important goal is to learn how to forgive more frequently and more readily.

When you are sinned against remember the forgiveness you have in Christ, and let that motivate your forgiveness of each other.

So, we saw your identity in Christ as chosen, set apart, and beloved.

And we looked at six different articles of clothing to put on to match that identity.

Now, let’s briefly look at the one accessory that pulls the whole outfit together…

Your Love in Christ

Colossians 3:14 says, “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”

Love is the thing that brings all of these things together into a unified outfit that matches your identity in Christ like the perfect belt.

Love is a compassionate, kind, humble, meek, patient, and forgiving mindset that comes out in your sacrificial actions toward each other.

That’s why Paul says that it binds everything together in perfect harmony.

It really is the binding of all of these character traits together, so that you can’t be humble and UNforgiving… you can’t be patient and UNkind.

Your love for each other makes it so that these character traits, these articles of clothing cannot be separated.

Your love for each other means that you ought to be all of these things toward each other in the good times and the bad, not just some of them when you feel like it.

And your love for each other is motivated by God’s love for you in Christ.

He loves you in all of these different ways brought together in the gospel, the greatest act of love in the world.

Conclusion

So, as you embark on your new life together…

Remember your identity in Christ.

You are chosen, set apart, and beloved in him.

And remember that your identity deserves appropriate clothing to match it.

Just as God in Christ displayed these aspects to you, so you ought to display them in your relationship with each other.

And remember that God’s love for you in Christ is what binds all these things together.

When your interaction with each other becomes unloving remember God’s sacrificial love in the gospel.

And consider that your identity in Christ ought to result in your sacrificial love for each other.

You are a chosen, set apart, and beloved child of God, so fill your wardrobe with that same love.