As Paul begins to speak about the “new clothes” that befit the life in Christ, he once again reminds us of who we are in Christ. With three terms—chosen, holy, and dearly loved—he reminds us of the goodness of God toward us.
The theme of choosing, or “election,” is one that runs through the whole Bible, from Abraham (who was chosen to be the father of a people who would bring the blessings of God to the whole world) to Jesus Christ (who was the one through whom those blessings finally came). As people who trust in Jesus, we discover that God has chosen us too: to be his children (“dearly loved”) as well as his witnesses in the world (“holy,” or set apart for God’s purposes). We have been accepted but also given an assignment. We have received a welcome but also a work. We have confidence in our place, but we have also received a calling.
Like players chosen to join a sports team, now that we have a place on the team we now have the right and responsibility to put on the team’s uniform. Here in Colossians 3:12, Paul outlines some of the characteristics of our “uniform.” All of the virtues he highlights have to do with living well with other people, and all of them are character traits we can see in God and in Jesus. The virtues are these five:
- Compassion
- Kindness
- Humility
- Gentleness
- Patience
Compassion points to a merciful heart: the word could be literally translated “bowels of mercy.” This mercy is exactly what we see in God’s attitude toward us from the very beginning. We rebelled against him, but he chose to extend mercy toward us, even to the point of coming to us in Jesus to lead us back to himself.
Kindness is a characteristic of God as well, as we see in Titus 3:4-5: “When the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but according to his mercy.” God’s kindness is supremely shown in the coming of Jesus.
Humility is again at the very heart of the character of the Son of God. It means not putting oneself first. Philippians 2 makes it clear that this is what we see in the ministry and death of Jesus: he is one who put our well-being ahead of his own comfort, first by giving up the glory of heaven for human life, and second by humbling himself to the point of death on the cross.
Gentleness, or “meekness,” is another key characteristic of Jesus. He cared for the gentle or meek people in the world, pronouncing a blessing on the meek in the Sermon on the Mount. And despite his power and authority, he claimed that he was gentle: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” His meekness didn’t keep him from standing up and speaking up about right and wrong, but rather it meant he had a disposition that always sought to work for people’s ultimate good.
Patience is required if we are to be in community with other people. God has exercised patience with each of us as we stumble and fall then try again throughout our lives. And Jesus exercised patience in surrounding himself with 12 close friends who were on a journey from being ordinary fisherman to becoming the vehicles of God’s work in the world.
Sometimes when we try on new clothes, they aren’t as comfortable as our old clothes. But the old clothes might be falling apart or otherwise no good for future use. It’s similar with our behaviours: it sometimes feels awkward to respond in new ways, and it’s easy to slide back to old patterns. But because the Holy Spirit is making us like Jesus, and because we’ve been chosen to belong to the people of Jesus, his clothes will eventually fit us perfectly and suit us just fine.
Discussion Questions
1. In Christ Jesus, God has chosen us. Whoever trusts in Jesus has been chosen to be part of God’s family. How does it feel to be chosen for something (a team, a task, a role, etc.)? When have you experienced either the joy of being chosen or the disappointment of not being chosen?
2. To be holy is not to have achieved moral greatness, but to have been set apart by God for a special purpose. However, things that are holy are not left unchanged. We are made like the holy God.
a. Read Isaiah 6:1-7. What does this passage teach us about holiness? What does it involve? How does it come to us?
b. Read Romans 1:7 and 1 Corinthians 1:2. What does holiness have to do with churches?
c. Read Hebrews 2:10-13 and Hebrews 10:1-3 and 8-10. What does the process of holiness look like in us. Where does it come from? How does it come to us? What are some other Bible passages that speak of our being made holy?
3. How do we know that we are dearly loved by God? How have you experienced this love at different times in your life?
4. Look again at the list of characteristics in Colossians 3:12. What are the things that make each of these virtues difficult? For each one, try to think of a situation that calls for that virtue, and what temptation might try to pull us away from practicing that virtue.
5. Read Titus 3:3-7. What does this passage have to say about God’s compassion and kindness?
6. Read Philippians 2:1-11. In what ways does this passage speak about humility? How can you learn from this picture of humility and put it into practice?
7. Read Romans 2:1-4 and 2 Peter 3:8-9. What do these passages have to say to you about patience? How do they challenge us to rethink patience?
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