Not Absence, but Presence – Colossians 3:12-17

How do you know you are no longer a thief? When you quit stealing? Not according to the apostle Paul. It is when you work with your own hands to provide for the needs of others (Ephesians 4:28). This is a powerful principle of holiness, that Paul expounds on now as he seeks to teach the Colossians about true holiness. It is not just a taking off. It is a putting on.

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. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17, ESV)

The righteousness of God is not the absence of sin in our lives, it is the presence of holy love that leads to compassion, kindness, humility and meekness, patience, forbearance, and forgiveness. It is love that binds all these characteristics together. And it is love that leads to peace among the members of Christ’s church, the peace to which we were called as one body. It is this love and peace which is to rule in our hearts. When it seems we want to separate from each other because of conflict, peace should instead make the decision that we stay together. When it seems anger and even hatred want to rule the roost in our churches, the peace of Christ should correct that decision.

The righteousness of God includes gratitude, a recognition that everything good in our lives comes from Him. Our rescue at the hands of the slain Lamb and all other good things originate in the One who loved us with a perfect love.

The righteousness of God also includes ministering to others out of the richness of what Christ teaches us. As a result we teach one another, admonish one another (warn each other about deadly sin in our lives), encourage one another with sung truth, and with, again, hearts full of gratitude.

The righteousness of God is doing everything we do in the name of Jesus, the name above all names, the one to whom all praise and thanks is due and who gives us access to our wonderful relationship with the Father. Righteousness is not just taking off our “dirty clothes” but putting on the wedding garments God has provided for us in anticipation of that great wedding banquet in the kingdom.