Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; (13) bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you must also do.  (14) But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.  (15) And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.  (16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. (17) And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. 

The letter to the Colossians was written by the apostle Paul while he was imprisoned in Rome for preaching the gospel. This letter was occasioned by heresy in Colosse and reaffirms the sufficiency of Christ – true God and true man. In our verses today Paul is addressing the principles of Christian living; the faithful have been given a new eternal life in Christ and this demands a certain pattern of behavior – the righteousness of Christ is applied to the faithful in God’s eyes and we are to act as God now sees us

Paul tells us that we are sovereignly selected by God and not a Christian by choice. We are holy – separated out – that we are now positionally different. We are beloved of God. The direction of our external lifestyle is very specific and is identified elsewhere as fruit of the indwelling Spirit. In context, there was no Greek word for humility which was a despised attribute in that ancient world; pride was all important. Christ Jesus changed that in His teachings and His life – He turned the wisdom of the world upside down. The antidote to pride and self love which poisons us and our relationships with others is humility. Patience is the opposite of resentment; forgiveness is demanded of us if we expect forgiveness ourselves. Jesus Christ is our pattern for living. Once the faithful have that we are to put on love which in this case is an act of the will – without love all would be legalistic and moral attitudes.

Paul ends this list of priorities of a new man/woman by reminding the faithful we are to do all in the name of the Lord who gives us peace and the calm to guide our behavior. We will learn to be content in all situations; be thankful to God and sing to the Lord a new song. Happy new year