As a christian what you wear matters

“So, chosen by God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you: compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline, be even-tempered, content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you. And regardless of what else you put on, wear love. It’s your basic all-purpose garment. Never be without it.” —ce

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I know there has at times been debate over how a christian will cloth themselves, but after I read this the topic took on a whole new meaning for me. Just thought I would pass it along and share it with some few here :)

God bless
mary

I love this because it makes me think of the wedding garment.
We can't have the fruit of the Spirit without the indwelling Spirit of Christ, and I can't put on the garment without walking as Christ did.

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing"

Colossians 3:12-14, found word for word in The Message.

God bless,
Lisa

by onemite on 2012/3/21 20:04:37

I love this because it makes me think of the wedding garment.
We can't have the fruit of the Spirit without the indwelling Spirit of Christ, and I can't put on the garment without walking as Christ did.

"I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing"

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I love how you expressed that so beautifully. When this was shared with me and I read it over all I could think of was yes Lord. Because I realize if I let go and allow HIM to cloth me as HE desires all the external stuff will get taken care of too. Only with Christ can I daily walk in this way that HE has laid out for me :)

God Bless and thank your for so kindly sharing your heart with me.

God bless
mary

You are so right. Thanks for the post.

Mary Jane, thank you for the thought provoking post.
I just want to Amen!
May it be unto us as the Lord desires. May we continually bind mercy and truth around our neck and see opportunities each day to be obedient to the wooing of the Holy Spirit. I have fallen so short... but God is faithful. He is the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
My soul shall be joyful in my God;
For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
He has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
As a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments,
And as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. Isaiah 61

Quote: We can't have the fruit of the Spirit without the indwelling Spirit of Christ, and I can't put on the garment without walking as Christ did.

I am going to challenge the thinking in this post, please don't take it personally as it's something that I am being challenged with myself.

We can't walk like Christ did if you haven't put on Christ. In other words if we try to walk like Christ and haven't put on Christ you'll soon find out your walk will be a walk of trying, failing and repenting, trying, failing and repenting...

Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

It's the putting on of Christ that deals with the flesh...and that will enable us to walk as Christ did...

As was quoted later: "for apart from Me you can do nothing"

Gal 5:24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections.
and lusts.

We can't really claim to be "Christ's" until we have "crucified the flesh" with it's lusts and affections....

Knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. Roms 13:11

PS ---- To the original poster this a good subject..

Edited for spelling

krispy wrote:
lol... nuts. The Message. My tongue is bleeding now from biting it very hard.

God bless,
Lisa

Murrcolr-

No offense taken. I am nobody to argue theology, I just can't get my mind around all of the wording, so I will sound really dumb when I ask: What then does it mean then to put on Christ? To me, it has meant that I- who by faith in the blood of Christ, have been redeemed from the penalty of sin and am now on the journey to follow Christ.
Following consists of walking out my life in the way he walked out his, which I cannot do on my own, because on my own, it will only be an outward thing and not be from a change of heart.
Following consists of me denying my will daily- even my own flesh, by Jesus' example of humbling himself before the Father with and for everything. I know that I can do nothing without the Holy Spirit. I cannot even see my own sin without His convicting me. But I know that I am His, because I have the Spirit in me that cries "Abba- Father!"

You say: "It's the putting on of Christ that deals with the flesh...and that will enable us to walk as Christ did..." please tell me what this means. I could be missing something important as I have not yet mastered all sin in my life.

To me, putting on Christ means sharing in his sufferings, having the mind of Christ, and arming msyelf with his attitude.
Phil 3:" I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead!"

We don't claim Christ because of our perfection otherwise we could never claim Him. We claim Him because of His word to us. We claim Him because He gives us the privilege to. He gives us the privilege to identify with His life because we were willing to die with Him and be born anew by His Spirit.

John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

The minute you are born again you receive Jesus Christ and are justified and sanctified. And now you are in Him and live in Him and by Him and through Him - so as you received Him just walk in Him.

If you don't think you are sanctified or any better than the Corinthian church, I have news for you. They were sanctified according to God.

1Cor 1:2 Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, TO THEM THAT ARE SANCTIFIED in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

Because when the Holy Spirit enters a temple (us) the presence of God sanctifies the place.

They were washed, justified and sanctified in HIS NAME by the Holy Spirit.

1Cor 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

Here is how I put on Jesus Christ:

I look to Him and away from myself. I trust in Him and not myself. I have confidence in Him and no one else. I know only He is righteous and in His righteousness I trust.

Here are some things God has provided to decorate our Temples/Houses with. Notice that He provides all that we need and it's all HIM.

Eph 6:14 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and HAVING ON the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS.

He is your righteousness - Trust in Him - If you do you are putting on Christ.

Jer 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

1Co 1:30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and SANCTIFICATION, and redemption:

He is the Truth - Look to Him to light your way and follow Him. You are putting on Christ when you do this.
John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I AM the way, THE TRUTH, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Eph 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

He is our peace - dwell in His peace and walk in peace before all men. You are putting on Christ when you dwell in His peace.

Eph 2:14 For HE IS OUR PEACE, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

We live by His faith - When you live by His faith and not your own you are putting on Christ. It is Christ that is perform the good work in you and will complete it.

Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through THE FAITH OF CHRIST, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live BY THE FAITH OF THE SON OF GOD, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Gal 2:16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but BY THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

Eph 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

He is our Salvation - When you look to Him for your salvation in every situation you are putting on Christ.

Exo 15:2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.

1Th 5:8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

He is love - Walk in His love and you are putting on Christ

1Jn 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Rom 13:14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Other verses that might help you.

Rom 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us PUT ON THE ARMOUR OF LIGHT.

Eph 4:24 And that ye PUT ON THE NEW MAN, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Col 3:10 And have PUT ON THE NEW MAN, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:

Col 3:12 PUT ON THEREFORE, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Col 3:14 And above all these things PUT ON CHARITY, which is the bond of perfectness.

And an interesting study is to look up all the verses in the NT that have the phrase "PUT OFF". It is very enlightening. These are things we should not decorate our Temples with.

Pilgrim

"Trying to imitate Christ is ultimate pretending, but to put on Christ is the ultimate truth."

George Monta

Yes! Amen! What Pilgrim said :)

...but what of 1 Cor 11:1? "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ."

Hi onemite,

I too had thought about that verse and this is the conclusion I came to when considering my walk with Christ.

To those that knew Paul, I think they knew that he was saying "as Christ abided in His Father I am endeavoring to abide in Christ and you should do the same because it is not about imitating an outward life but doing (imitating) the things that profit you inwardly and thus produce the fruit in our lives. Abiding in Him produces fruit". So find out how to abide in Christ and "imitate" that.

Paul was not busy showing people out to "do Christianity" but rather he was an example of abiding in the Vine (Christ) and this is what he was trying to show people and told them to imitate. "Imitate how I trust the Lord, depend on Him, look to Him and dwell in Him, but of course it will be you doing it and has to come from your heart and by faith on your part".

That is the only imitation that would really catch my eye and that is what I think Paul was saying. In order to imitate the love that you see Paul walking in and the forgiveness for his enemies that he had, you and I will need to first "imitate" how he abided in Christ.

John 10:15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

"I lay down my life for the sheep" - Because He knew the Father. Now, that is FRUIT!!

Pilgrim

Yes, that is my understanding as well.