Character of the New Man
Character of the New Man Therefore, v as the elect of God, holy and beloved, w put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; x bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. [1] (Colossians 3:12-13, NKJV) 3:12 . Again Paul called on believers to take a decisive action: Clothe yourselves ( endysasthe ). Because they have “put on (endysamenoi) the new self” ( v. 10 ), they should live accordingly, with appropriate attributes and attitudes. In verses 8–9 Paul listed six vices ( anger, rage, malice, slander, filthy language, and lying ). Now in contrast to them, Christ ians — as God’s chosen people ( cf . Rom. 8:33 ; Titus 1:1 ), holy ( “separated to God ” ; cf . Col. 1:2 ) and dearly loved ( cf . Rom. 5:8 ; 1 John 4:9–11 , 19 )—are to have several virtues. These include compassion ( splanchna oiktirmou , lit., “tender sympathy of heartfelt compassion”— a...