Colossians 3:12-17

Colossians 3:12-17 (NRSV)

¹² As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. ¹³ Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. ¹⁴ Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. ¹⁵ And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. ¹⁷ 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 has the theme of the character of the Christian. The concern Paul has in this section is to explain the type of lifestyle appropriate for those who have laid claim to the promise of a new life in Christ. It was the way Paul had of connecting to the virtue tradition of the Greeks and Romans. The avoidance of vice and the development of virtue would occur in the context of a community of people. They would become habit forming even as Aristotle thought of virtue in the context of the Athenian city-state in which he lived. We are to think of 3:5-17 as Paul connecting with what we would call moral philosophy or ethics, especially focused on character. 

This unit — while containing words of wisdom that even today’s Christian can readily understand — is a charge to a church in danger of being ripped apart by false teaching. The Pauline mission must counter false teachings that are threatening the church’s understanding of Christ and, thus, the body of Christ. The unit of Colossians 3:12-17 comes after an argument in 2:6-3:4 countering this teaching. The letter is confident that the Colossians are faithful to Paul's message. Yet, the apostle writes in response to some doctrinal and behavioral errors that were beginning to plague that community. These errors had a tendency toward ascetic ritualism and attraction to angels. In addition, rather than narrow legalism suggested in asceticism, some became “licentious,” as 2:23 suggests. This text is one of several attempts in the New Testament to address the notion that the new life they live in Christ has nothing to do with physical contamination and everything to do with dispositions of the will and affections.

In this passage, love is the sum of all the mercy, goodness, humility, long-suffering and mutual forbearance and forgiveness that those whom God choses, sanctifies, and loves are to put on as a garment what has prepared for them and suits them. Love is the bond that unites all the individual elements that embraces their activity and from which they move toward their goal. Love is the fulfilling of the Law.^[1]

Yet, how do we maintain this wardrobe in a world where people tend to dress their lives in ways that are hostile, tempting, or offensive? 

Colossians 3:12-17 contains an appeal to the members of the church at Colossae to allow the love of Christ to flow through and in them to forge them into the one body of Christ — as they have been called to be. Thus, in the immediate context, the Colossians hear a command to put to death “whatever in you is earthly” (3:5), warnings to purge themselves of vices (3:5, 8, 9), and a reminder that the body of Christ is one that does not recognize divisions between “Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and free” (3:11). This body without division was an especially pertinent message to a cosmopolitan city full of a variety of peoples and religions. What distinguishes the Colossians now is their place in the body of Christ. Paul reminds these followers of Christ that instead of being the chosen ones of those “elemental spirits of the universe,” they are the elect of God, “holy and beloved” (3:12). Therefore, they must act like it.

Paul begins by referring to them 12 As God's chosen ones. In the Old Testament, the term “chosen ones” is rare, one finding it mostly in the Psalms as a reference to the children or descendants of Abraham. However, the concept of divine election, of God choosing a people, is the basis for the covenant between God and Israel. The basis of being the people of God is not human decision, but divine choice. Paul makes it clear that the churches of Jesus Christ stand in continuity with the choice of God to have a people that began with the choice of a family, Abraham, and continued to having a nation, Israel. For example, the Lord did not set his heart on them and chose them because they were numerous, for they were the fewest of all peoples (Deuteronomy 7:7). In John, Jesus says he chose the twelve (6:70). He makes it clear that they did not choose him, but that he chose them and appointed them to bear fruit (15:16).  In Ephesians, God lovingly chose “us” in Christ before God began creating so that we would be holy and blameless before God (Ephesians 1:4). The assurance of divine election provides the people of God is that, even when present circumstances suggest the contrary, the people of God have a special connection with God that sustains them. The people of God may be few, they are far from perfect in their part of keeping the covenant, and they experience suffering and persecution. Yet, God has chosen them, and remains intricately connected to them, providing guidance and strength through the trials of life. Further, such divine election suggests a grand mission, for the people of God are such to bear witness to the will and purpose of God in the world. Such a high purpose sustains the people of God through the trials, struggles, and temptations of life. The divine election of both Jews and Christians is meant to explain the incongruity between the unpromising natural condition of those chosen with their spiritually exalted mission, on the one hand, and, on the other, to provide support and encouragement to those facing opposition, trial or persecution for the sake of that mission. The idea serves the latter function in this passage.

Further, Paul assigns to the church of Jesus Christ the Old Testament term holy people. Even in time of exile, persecution, and suffering, Israel received comfort in this knowledge.  The Lord will establish them as a holy people belonging to the Lord, if they keep the commandments (Deuteronomy 28:9). People will know Israel as the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord (Isaiah 62:12). The prophet refers to the holy people of the Lord, who took possession of the land for a while, but adversaries have destroyed the temple (Isaiah 63:18). They are a holy people that wisdom delivered from oppressors (Wisdom 10:15).  

Further still, Paul describes them as beloved. The Old Testament also refers to the people of God as beloved. The tribe of Benjamin is the beloved of the Lord, resting between the shoulders of the Lord (Deuteronomy 33:12). The Lord gives restful sleep to the beloved (Psalm 127:2). The prophet weeps because of the destruction of the beloved people (Isaiah 22:4). 

Paul them urges them to clothe yourselves.  Any time the New Testament refers to “clothing” oneself, most scholars think of the intent of Christian baptism. While many religions then and now focus upon physical contamination, ritual, and purity, Christianity focuses upon the disposition of our will and behavior. Baptism involves stripping off the old clothing and putting on the new clothing. We see the ethical orientation, or the new orientation of our lives, as indicated in baptism. At this point, the emphasis is upon the human response and spiritual transformation to the divine choice, to the divine setting them apart, and to the divine choice of love.

Baptism in Christ is not simply about our relationship to God. In fact, the primary sign of whether we really understand baptism is in the way it transforms our relationships to other people. The churches of Jesus Christ are not to simply enjoy a special relationship to God, or to have profound individual experiences, but to lead transformed lives in relation to others.

Martin Luther, in a sermon on this passage, expresses the content of this “putting on” as being that “by faith we put on Christ, and he us; how in love we put on our neighbor and our neighbor us. The Christian apparel is of two kinds – faith and love. Christ wore two manner of garments – one whole and typical of faith, the other divided and typical of love.” Such love leads to concern for the neighbor and the adornment of Christian character, “an adornment in the eyes of” humanity. Paul continues by identifying the proper response and spiritual transformation that results from the quality of being chosen, holy, and beloved. Martin Luther stresses that in seeking to persuade in this way, Paul uses gentle language, rather than the harsh language of the legalist. 

We find a list of five virtues. Thus, they are to clothe themselves with compassion οἰκτιρμός. One quality of this new self is a compassionate heart, literally bowels of compassion or mercy. Paul uses the word in Philippians 2:1 in a hendiadys meaning “heartfelt sympathy” as a quality followers of Christ are to develop. Mercy is a human quality Christians are to develop. Concerning the word “compassion,” Martin Luther observes that Paul “condemns the works and arbitrary rules of hypocritical saints, whose severity will not permit them to associate with sinners. Their rigorous laws must be all-controlling. They do nothing but compel and drive. They exhibit no mercy, but perpetual reproach, censure, condemnation, blame and bluster. They can endure no imperfection.” He then offers this reminder, which I find powerful, “But among Christians many are sinners, many infirm. In fact, Christians associate only with these; not with saints. Christians reject none but bear with all. Indeed, they are as sincerely interested in sinners as they would be for themselves were they the infirm.” As he continues with this theme, Luther advises his listeners that “when you meet one so ready to censure and condemn, one requiring absolute perfection in Christians--know that such a one is merely an enforcer of the Law, a base hypocrite, a merciless jailer, with no true knowledge of Christ.” He reminds them “with Christians, there is no law but all is love, so neither can there be judgment, condemnation and censure.” From my perspective, however, Luther may enter self-justification of his own language and behavior toward those he preached against in the Roman Catholic Church, as he says that he does not have to have compassion toward people who are not Christian or those of unsound doctrine. He then makes what I think is a bold statement. He says he must not censure, oppress, nor drive people, but persuade, entreat, and tolerate. “A defective life does not destroy Christianity; it exercises it.” However, “defective doctrine--false belief--destroys all good. So, then, toleration and mercy are not permissible in the case of unsound doctrine; only anger, opposition and death are in order, yet always in accordance with the Word of God.” Dare I say it? This attitude is why so many of the educated in Europe turned away from Christianity. They saw the disconnection between people who preached Jesus, who loved his enemies, and had attitudes such as Martin Luther displays here. Such attitudes led to the religious wars in Europe. I find all of this quite sad. He compounds the issue with the other four virtues in this list. Kindness refers to gentleness and sympathy toward all … not, of course, to those of unsound doctrine. As he puts it, faith and love differ in this regard. “Love will be, must be, kind even to the bitterest enemy so long as he assails not faith and doctrine.” However, it cannot “tolerate the individual” who does assail faith and doctrine, “be it father, mother or dearest friend.”

Paul urges them to clothe themselves with a second quality, that of kindness (χρηστότης). Paul refers to kindness again (II Corinthians 6:6). It is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22). It refers to moral goodness (Romans 3:12). In other passages in Romans, the word refers to divine goodness toward humanity, such as in 2:4 and 11:22, a use we also find in Ephesians 2:7 and Titus 3:4. Given the context, the mercy shown in Christ is to find a reflection in the character of the individual Christian. Contrary to K. Weiss, Paul does have a humanitarian objective here, as if to unite Christian virtue with the classical virtue tradition of Aristotle and the Stoics. Of course, it occurs in a quite different context, but we must not miss the common ground Paul is seeking here with the virtue tradition of his culture.^[2]

A third quality with which they are to clothe themselves is humility or lowliness (ταπεινοφροσύνη). It can simply mean having a humble opinion of one’s self, a deep sense of moral littleness, and even modesty. He uses the same word in 2:18, 23, to refer to a quality of worship used by his opponents. Here, it refers to a quality of character. He uses the word in Philippians 2:3 as a contrast to self-seeking. It gives a sense of unselfishness. It suggests there a willingness to subject oneself to others and have concern for their welfare. The subjection of Christ to service to humanity becomes a model for Christian virtue, subjecting one’s self in service to others. The passage in Colossians seems to carry the same connotation as that in Philippians., at least as Grundmann sees it.^[3]Ephesians 4:2 also lifts up this virtue. “Lowliness” for Luther, considers oneself the servant of all. Such humility is rare, he says, but all Christian graces are rare.

Fourth, they are to clothe themselves with meekness or gentleness (πραότης). Writers often use this word in contrast to anger. Paul uses the word as a quality of Christian character in II Corinthians 10:1 (point to the meekness of Christ), Galatians 5:23, 6:1 (a fruit of the Spirit), Ephesians 4:2 (a gift of calling), and in the Pastoral Epistles in II Timothy 2:25 and Titus 3:2. In this passage, meekness is a gift of election.

Fifth, they are to clothe themselves with the quality of patience or longsuffering (μακροθυμία). He uses it in 1:11 as well. Paul uses it in II Corinthians 6:6, Galatians 5:22 as a fruit of the Spirit, and Ephesians 4:2. The pastoral epistles use it in I Timothy 1:16, II Timothy 3:10 and 4:2. 

We find other lists in this letter at 2:21, 23; 3:5, 8, 11, 16; 3:18-4:1; 4:7. Scholars caution readers not to try to link too closely Paul's two lists of five vices or this list of five virtues with any particular practices occurring within the Colossian church. Selecting the number five is a common ancient literary device, and Paul may well have been more concerned with recording a specific number here than relating them to the Colossian situation. Lists were common rhetorical devices in nonbiblical as well as biblical writings of the period, and they often took the form of collections of stereotyped or conventional items. None of the attributes is rare or unusual. One can find them in non-biblical sources of the time. Such virtues will help keep the people of God intact, as well as bear witness to the world what God wants. To caution against legalism, we need to remember that the sequence of virtues in 3:12 is possible only because of their status in Christ as chosen and beloved. Yet, that status in Christ also demands such behavior to keep the body of Christ intact. The status is not an abstraction from human life, but intimately related to it. A life of faith is also a life of obedience. 

13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other.  Just as the Lord[4] has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Paul is elaborating on what patience means. We find that the churches of Jesus Christ are to have a conciliatory approach within their communities. The basis for this approach to each other is the fact that God has forgiven them in Christ. Practicing forbearance and forgiveness is a test for the people of God to live truly a new life in Christ. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Love is the last article of clothing that holds every other article of clothing we put on together. Above all these virtues, they must clothe themselves with love (3:14; see also I Corinthians 13:4, 13). Love is the “bond of perfection.” Paul singles out one quality that stands "above all" the rest - love ("agape"). He describes this love as "a bond of completeness." Love is not optional. Love is “the bond.” The text does not make clear the function of "agape" and its binding relationship to the earlier listed virtues. The text could be identifying love as that which binds together those virtues or declaring that love produces unity or harmony in the people who experience it. However, this love is a crucial component to one who is raised in Christ. It brings harmony and completion to all the other qualities Christians seek to embody. This letter has already referred to the love the churches have in 1:4 and 8. The writings of John find the source of the centrality of love in the command of Jesus. Jesus gives them the new commandment to love each other, even as Christ has loved them (13:34). His commandment is that they are to love each other as Christ loved them (15:12). He gives them these commands so that they will love each other (15:17). The message his readers have heard from the beginning is that they should love each other (I John 3:11). The writings of Paul continue this emphasis upon the centrality of love. They are to owe no one anything but to love each other, and by doing so they fulfill the law (Romans 13:8). While faith, hope, and love abide, love is the greatest (I Corinthians 13:13). The only thing that counts is faith working through love (Galatians 5:6). Love is the outer garment that holds all the others in their place. Paul's concern is for corporate life, not individualistic piety. To play with the clothing metaphor, love is the last garment that holds the whole outfit together (the suspenders, belt, overcoat, tie, scarf, etc.).

Martin Luther has a good reminder when we read such lists of virtues. He refers to those who complain that real Christians do not exist, given the rarity of the practice of such virtues. He wants his listeners to see the failure in reasoning of such persons. He asserts they know nothing of kingdom living. Such persons misinterpret passages like this, thinking that Christians are to “be kind and meek” as if they must always be such. Such a person is blind. Such a person “fancies Christianity to be a holy order of perfection, altogether without infirmity, a perfection as in heaven among the angels.” The Bible does not communicate such thinking. Rather, one needs to see following Christ “as a progressive order in its beginning,” and then, one will not be offended by the ungentleness, unkindness, and impatience exhibited by one’s fellow disciples. The point of such a list of virtues is not a Law, but that followers of Christ are to strive to develop this type of character. “We are tending toward it (Christian character), we are in a state of progression; but during the progress much of the old and as yet untransformed nature is intermingled.”

15 In addition, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed God called you in the one body. Paul reiterates the body metaphor and reminds the Colossians that they, as God’s chosen ones, are to be one body in Christ. This is possible because the peace of Christ is to “rule” or “umpire” behavior within the churches of Jesus Christ. The peace of Christ will settle disputes within the community. We see the gentleness of Christian love in this admonition. Talk of the ruling “peace of Christ” runs counter to the Roman peace that in fact ruled Colossae. Pax Romana came at the expense of war, but the peace of Christ exhibits love and forgiveness. The "peace of Christ" that results creates "one body" - a unified Christian community. The harmony of the church is God's will. The church is to become in fact what it is intended to be by God's design. "Hearts" are all of life.

Further, they are to be thankful. This thankful attitude continues to inform the advice Paul gives in the next two verses. Such a spirit of gratitude is to permeate the reflection of Christians upon their behavior toward each other. 16 Let the word of Christ, a phrase occurring only here in the New Testament, dwell in you richly. It takes knowledge of both the familiar stories about Jesus and the careful meditation upon them so that they become part of one’s life for believers to experience the full "richness" of the indwelling presence of Christ. The point is that while the rest of the world may rely upon other sources of wisdom and knowledge, the word of Christ provides the wisdom for living that the Christian community needs. They are to teach and admonish one another in all wisdom. Only when the believers have put on all these virtues and have allowed the peace of Christ to unite them will they be able to teach and admonish one another in all wisdom. In contrast, the false teachers only appear to have wisdom (2:23). The guidance provided by Christ is an internalized voice to which Christians listen and allow to direct their behavior. Any wisdom the community has will arise out of this reflection upon the word of Christ. Wisdom, in fact, is one of the prominent concerns of the writer, since it is false teaching (2:8, 16-18, 23), propounded as esoteric wisdom by false teachers, which has provoked the writer’s concern and letter. Reliance upon other sources of wisdom threatens the unity of the church as the body of Christ and threatens its connection to the head of the church, Jesus Christ. Chrysostom expands on the notion of wisdom, encouraging his listeners not to seek another teacher. Rather, “procure books that will be medicines for the soul.” He urges particularly the New Testament “for your constant teachers. If grief befall thee, dive into them as into a chest of medicines; take thence comfort of thy trouble, be it loss, or death, or bereavement of relations; or rather dive not into them merely, but take them wholly to thee; keep them in thy mind. This is the cause of all evils, the not knowing the Scriptures.” He reminds his listeners, “We go into battle without arms, and how ought we to come off safe?” We can be safe with them, but not so much without them. He offers the encouragement that they should not always be learning, for then they are not taught. If you are always learning, you never learn. His point is simple, “finish learning, and to teach others.” They are to do all of this with gratitude in your hearts. In Paul, gratitude for the saving action of God in Jesus Christ forms the starting point and context of all Christian prayer. Therefore, with special emphasis, Paul here calls on believers to thank God the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. If they do this, they will not fall victim to false notions of wisdom. When everything is done in the name of the Lord Jesus, it is as though Christ himself is doing it - an understanding that certainly fits with Paul's sense that Christians are now reborn and clothed with a new self, one in which "Christ is all and in all!^[5] They are to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. The thankfulness or gratitude of the community one best expresses in various forms of music – psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Paul could have much overlap in the words he uses here. Jewish hymnody was highly developed. Note Pauline fragments of such hymns. The practice of such wisdom and thankfulness will arise out of meditation upon the word of Christ.17 Further, whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. In verses 16-17, as Andrew Lincoln insightfully suggests, Paul directs his readers to the type of worship they should experience. Paul has referred to their worship of angels and that some people have visions. In these verses, Paul will remind them of the nature of genuine worship. An important part of the ministry of the community is the offering of praise. The community should allow the Word of God to dwell in it richly, sing, and do all things in the name of Christ and with thanksgiving to God, but also in wisdom teach and admonish each other in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. ^[6]

Fortunately, the presence of love in the world does not depend upon individual Christians or the Christian community. Prior to any decision human beings make to move toward God, God has already moved toward them in love. Love is not such an obvious virtue as one might think. Christians quite naturally think of God as love. However, many religions do not make that assumption at all. Polytheistic religions have gods that have many qualities far from loving. Further, Christians have a sense that God has a special relationship with the Christian community, in continuity with the special relationship God had with Israel. Of course, this special relationship to God is in contrast to the standing that the church has in the world. In a secular society, the church does not have a seat in positions of either political or economic power. However, the tools of the church such are such humble things as words, behavior, and communal life. The Christian community encourages values like compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. It encourages bearing the load of life. It encourages forgiveness. The concern for Christian growth is not simply individual piety. Rather, the concern is for how we treat each other. Love becomes the unifying and harmonizing ingredient of the Christian community. God is love. Jesus is the supreme example of love. Love provides the unity of all the virtues Christians practice. Love also brings unity to the people who practice such virtues. Love becomes the principle that settle disputes, suggesting that the guidance God gives to us is an internalized sense of direction as to where God wants us. 

I have been around Starbucks for a long time. Part of the vision of Starbucks founder Howard Schultz was to create a good third place. He understood that family and work would be the first two places in the lives of most people, but he wanted to create an environment where his company would become a good third place. I like the image. I want to invite you to consider it for a moment as an image of the strategy for the churches today. If we do, the question we in the church need to ask ourselves is how we can introduce the church, not the coffeehouse, as a third place where community and connection take place. Why is the church not serving as a third place for many of our neighbors today? Why are we not creating a community marked by the qualities lifted up by Paul in his letter to the Colossians? 

First, we may need to take seriously the deep human hunger for a third place. Howard Schultz has given people an inviting, stimulating, soulful environment; he has offered them a place to enjoy community and camaraderie within the attractively decorated walls of Starbucks. Are we doing the same within the walls of our church? Are we being inviting, open and inclusive of all people, or are we behaving in ways that are exclusive and isolationist? Compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience are irresistible, and they should fill the air of our congregation, like the intoxicating aroma of freshly ground coffee beans. Any other smell is going to drive people away.

People are hungrier for an inviting third place than ever before. In his book The Great Good Place, Ray Oldenburg writes that, due in part to the suburbanization of modern cities, “we do not have that third realm of satisfaction and social cohesion beyond the portals of home and work that for others is an essential element of the good life.” Our neighbors crave a place of satisfaction and social cohesion — it is something they need at the very deepest levels of their hearts and souls. The question is whether they find it here. Alternatively, will they find it only at Starbucks?

Second, remember, “Everything matters.” Starbucks pays attention to detail, and it desperately wants to meet people’s needs for enjoyment. It is hard to have a bad experience at Starbucks, given the delicious coffee, tasty snacks, lovely decor and comfortable chairs. 

Fortunately, an almost unlimited supply of people exists for people who are in the market for an experience of quality community. We do not have to be in competition with the congregation down the street, since many Americans today do not attend any church in a given week. The challenge for us is to remember, “everything matters,” and to draw new people in by caring about their needs and focusing on a broad spectrum of Christian concerns.

“Bear with one another,” advises Paul, but also “forgive each other” (v. 13). Both of these virtues are important, not just one or the other. “Clothe yourselves with love,” he recommends, and “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” (vv. 14-15). Everything matters in a quality Christian community, not just one issue or concern. Forbearance, forgiveness, love, peace — all are going to be noticed by people looking for a third place, and all are worthy of our attention.

Third, extend the church into the marketplace. Starbucks cafés are not located in isolated areas, but instead the corporation always places them in the middle of the marketplace in high-volume areas. Drive through a congested area, and you are going to see a Starbucks, guaranteed — sometimes two or three. 

 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God” (v. 16). Paul encourages us to teach and to sing, two things that the marketplace is anxious for us to do. In a world of moral confusion, our neighbors are looking for conversation and guidance about difficult and thorny issues, everything from raising teenagers to responding to terrorism, so the time is right for the church to think creatively about addressing these concerns. 

Finally, care about community. Do not simply care about church attendance figures and the maintenance of this institution. Care about community, and about the filling of needs that people may not even be aware they have. Howard Schultz did this when he opened the first Starbucks in order to fill an emptiness that people could not even articulate. He gave them a third place before they even knew they needed a third place.

“Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (v. 17). If we do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, we will surely meet the needs of our neighbors, because our neighbors are desperately in need of Jesus Christ. Whether they can articulate it or not, they have a hunger for Jesus in their lives — they long for Immanuel, God with us, and the One Eternal God in human form. They need a Savior to bring them forgiveness and new life, and a Lord to lead them through the twists and turns of daily existence. What they require, whether they realize it or not, is a community of Christ-followers that can function as their third place, because only a community centered on Christ can help them to make sense of their first two places, their homes and their workplaces.

The churches need to respect the hunger for a third place. Churches need to offer our neighbors an adventure of hope and discovery — a Christ experience, not a coffee experience — although many churches offer both. We can do this through respecting the human hunger for a third place, remembering that everything matters, extending the church into the marketplace and always caring about community. Whether they know it or not, whether we know it or not, we need what Paul describes here as love, gratitude, teaching, and singing. 

I offer one caveat with a different image. If the church becomes a good third place in the lives of people, it will become their central place, around which everything else in their lives revolves. By center, I mean that in Christian community we receive baptism and receive the reminder of our union with Christ. We receive the Lord’s Supper in a way that points us toward the goal of fellowship with Christ and with each other. We become part of the listening church as we hear the word of God preached. We pray and sing as a community. Out of what we hear and practice in this place, we go into the world to witness and serve. Even though we will spend far more time with family, work, and recreation than we will in church, what we learn and experience in church will touch every part of our lives. 

I want to mention at least two broader philosophical and theological matters raised by passages like this.

First, Paul is utilizing philosophy in this passage, specifically, the already well-established virtue tradition from Aristotle. Virtue, as Aristotle suggested, is a state of character gained by repeatedly performing good actions. Thomas Hibbs, a contemporary philosopher who teaches at Boston College, calls virtue "an acquired excellence of character that renders a person capable over the long haul of behaving in certain reliable ways." However, just how do we activate these qualities and put them to work in the world? The answer is practice. In virtue - as in most things - practice makes perfect.  Hibbs likens the acquisition of virtue to athletic training: Both require repetition and arduous work, and one most easily learns both by following examples. While books, classes, and sermons can be helpful, one still best learns virtue by practice, not through abstract thought. To put it directly, if you want to learn to shoot hoops, playing basketball beats reading a book about basketball. Virtuous living, then, is a team sport, not an individual activity. This means that virtue requires a community of accountability and support, a healthy and unified body like the church. When our children go to Christian Education classes, they absorb from their teachers virtues of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness, love, harmony, peace, unity, thankfulness, wisdom and praise.

Second, a theological issue arises in the connection between faith and grace on the one hand and works or human action on the other. The risk is a purely moralistic church. I am not sure one can avoid exposing oneself to this risk. The risk of not connecting faith in the truth that God has revealed in Jesus Christ with its ethical implications is the risk of abstraction. Acknowledging truth would become a purely intellectual matter that would have no effect upon the way one lived. If we care about how people live, then we will need to accept the risk that some will go down the path of legalism. I can only urge any potential reader not to go down that path. The source of our ethical reflections is our union with Christ symbolized in our baptism. The goal is the deep fellowship with Christ and each other, of which the Lord’s Supper is a sign. The virtues, which overlap with the virtue tradition of the Greeks (and with all cultures) are one of the paths to arrive at the goal. Some good practical advice in such matters is to forget an act of kindness as soon as we do it. If someone praises us, forget it quickly. If you hear a piece of slander, forget it before you can repeat it. Forget the wrong done to you quickly. Remember your promises. When people help you, remember gratitude. Remember the happiness you experience in your life. Forget that which worries or distresses. Remain hopeful and forgiving. Remember what is good and true.[7]Theologically, one must connect the character Paul discusses in this passage with the previous section of resurrected and eschatological life in Christ, of which this character is a manifestation. Without that connection, we promote a purely moral understanding of human destiny as developed in modern Protestant theology, typically descending from the approach of theologians like Schleiermacher and Ritschl. Properly understood, the hope of participation in this new life is guaranteed to believers by the fact that even now they put on the new humanity in the power of the Spirit, namely, by righteousness and true holiness, by mercy, kindness, gentleness, and generosity, as Christ has taught and shown.^[8]

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[1] Barth, Church Dogmatics IV.2 [68.3], 784.

[2] (TDNT Volume IX, 491)

[3] (TDNT Volume VIII, 22-23)

[4] Concerning a manuscript matter, the editors of the Greek text used by the NRSV chose the word Lord over the alternatives (“Christ,” “God” and “God in Christ”). They based this on the Alexandrian and Western manuscript evidence, as well as the reasoning that at least the last of the alternatives appears to have been introduced under the influence of Ephesians (4:32), the book with which Colossians has the strongest literary affinity.

[5] Pannenberg (Systematic Theology Volume 3, 207)

[6] Barth Church Dogmatics IV.3 [72.4] 866.

[7] Forget each kindness that you do as soon as you have done it. Forget the praise that falls to you the moment you have won it. Forget the slander that you hear before you can repeat it. Forget each slight, each spite, each sneer, whenever you may meet. Remember every promise made and keep it to the letter. Remember those who lend you aid and be a grateful debtor. Remember all the happiness that comes your way in living. Forget each worry and distress; be hopeful and forgiving. Remember good, remember truth, remember heaven is above you. And you will find, through age and youth, that many will love you. —Source unknown.

[8] Pannenberg (Systematic Theology, Volume 2, 220)