Vs. 12 - Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with a heart of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,
- 'And so' or 'Therefore' - this is part of an If-Then statement. The IF part is verses 9-11, the four reasons for the new way of living. The THEN part of the Statement starts with the word "Chosen" (see discussion below).
- "as the elect..." This is a parenthetical phrase - the verse would read just as well without it. 'Elect' and 'chosen' are used interchangeably. These words almost always are used to describe a person special to God, and are not often used in the verb sense. You are "chosen" because of who you are - a child of God. You are not chosen as in picking teams for a dodgeball team. Christ said that He called his apostles first, then they responded.
- "Chosen" - usually a title of position. We are "chosen" because we are in Christ. I don't think we are in Christ because we were chosen, plucked specially out of the masses, leaving the others. Sovereign God, omnipotent and omniscient, could pick and choose whom he pleases - there is no doubt about that.
But there are several promises and commands:
- All who possess Christ are saved - Rom. 10:9,10; Matt. 10:32; John1:12;
- Anyone who so desires may come - Matt. 5:6, 10:32, 18:18-20;
- Go, witness, make all men His disciples - Matt. 28:18-20; Acts 1:8.
Two other points to consider -
(1) God sees time and events from the end of all things, as well as at the beginning and the present, e.g., He chastises us now because He can see the end result of our present actions. God 'foreknows', knows beforehand, who will come to Him for salvation (eternal, omniscient). But knowing and arbitrarily choosing are not the same. God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11). God must, He has to know (the eternal and omniscient Lord) who the chosen ones are. If God picks the people for salvation, why 2 Pet. 3:9, or Matt. 11:28?
(2) God planned before time began (eternal) that we would be saved in this manner: by believing on The Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior; 1 Pet. 1:20; Rom. 8:28,29; 2 Tim. 1:9; Acts 2:23; Eph. 1:4.
- 'Clothe yourselves' - or 'put on' - this is a list of things that come from above, heaven. See also Gal. 5:22, 23.
- heart of mercy - Also reads as compassion
- kindness - “moral goodness, integrity”
- humility - See: James 4:6, 10. (“A deep sense of one’s moral littleness”)
- gentleness - “mildness of disposition, meekness”
- patience - “endurance, constancy, steadfastness, perseverance; forbearance, long-suffering, slowness in avenging wrong
- 'bearing...' See Gal. 6:2,"Bear one another's burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." Rom. 15:1 -"Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves."
- 'forgiving each other' see Eph. 4:32 - Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you; Matt. 6:14 - For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; Mark 11:25 - "Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions."
- for the 'put on love' see Eph. 5:14, 4:16b; Rom. 14:15; John 15:12, 17, 13:34,35; 2 Pet. 1:5-7.
- 'unity' see John 17:23.
- Above and beyond all the things Paul lists as necessary for Christian living - is love. Love is the motivation, purpose, of Christ's sacrifice. Love is the basis for the unity of the body of Christ, the church. If we Christians loved one another with the love of Christ, forgave as He did, etc., there indeed would be no bickering, back-biting, arguing, splitting of churches. Most of the church splits and 'doctrinal stances' are rather unimportant squabbles over matters that really have nothing to do with Christ or his saving grace. I feel that God will chide us when we meet Him for arguing over these things.
- There are references to the peace, but not descriptions. See John 14:27, 16:33; Phil. 4:7; Isa. 26:3. Just what is the 'peace of Christ'? It first must be based on absolute faith in God and Christ. Note the calm nature and peaceful attitude of Christ as He faced the cross. How could anyone face that, knowing the pain and the load? Only when He knew the final outcome - Christ could see beyond the cross to the coming glory. That is peace. God gives us that peace when we put our whole trust in Him. The peace can flood our hearts despite the circumstances. Let this peace and the love of Christ control your actions.
- "to which...were called" - truly amazing. This stopped me and made me wonder. We have been called to peace as one body - Christian unity. Ponder on that - we are called for the purpose of peace. More than that, we are called to be peaceful within the body of believers! In other words, the peace of Christ is to control our actions towards others. On these principles, I would like to see someone start a church squabble or fight! It ain't gonna happen.
- 'be thankful' - See: 1 Thess. 5:18
- For the 'word of Christ' see Rom. 10:17; John 1:1, 14; 1 Cor. 15:3,4 - the gospel of Christ, including all the wonderful blessings.
- 'dwell in you richly' - to inhabit copiously. The gospel can not (should not) only be in us, but be fruitful and multiply, richly growing and overflowing.
- 'teaching' - Paul often writes of teaching with wisdom, admonishing with wisdom. (Eph. 5:19; Col. 1:28)
I believe the sequence goes like this: (1) facts, (2) knowledge, (3) wisdom - arranged in ascending order.
First: facts - the basic information, data - who, what, where - in this case about Christ (the Word).
Second: knowledge - understanding the facts - the how and the why of the facts. Seeing the meanings of Christ's actions and teachings.
Thirdly: wisdom - application of the knowledge to daily living to attain right living. There is a fourth word used a lot in Proverbs and other wisdom books - 'insight' or 'understanding'- which seems to have the connotation of application of wisdom, perhaps a synonym for wisdom.
Look at Proverbs 4:5-8 Acquire wisdom, acquire understanding; do not forget and do not turn aside from the words I speak. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will guard you. Wisdom is supreme - so acquire wisdom, and whatever you acquire, acquire understanding! Esteem her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.
- Note the emphasis: Whatever else you get, get understanding. Wisdom will help you navigate through life, understanding will help you know why the wisdom is applicable and it works.
- 'singing with thankfulness' - this would read better 'sing to God, with thankfulness in your heart.' When you meditate on the reasons for us to be thankful, the singing will come almost naturally.
Vs. 17 - And whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.- This verse is a summary thought for the preceding sixteen verses.
'do it all...' see also 1 Cor. 10:31, Col. 3:23 - any overt action, speaking as well as actions, is to be done for the glory of God. The old sayings apply: "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," or "... as if Christ was physically beside you, looking on".
Because Christ is beside you. He is looking on, and everything should be with His approval. If Christ is the basis for all our behavior, then there is no problem with right actions - they will be there. The reason I say "If" is that I don't always think before I act, don't always think of Jesus before I speak. When I live in the power of the Holy Spirit, listening to Him, then Christ is the basis.
No comments:
Post a Comment