Bible Study 201
Colossians 3:14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
Yesterday we looked at 1 John 3:16-22 in four different translations. It spoke of sacrifice; it spoke of the ultimate sacrifice that Christ gave us at the Cross, and how we are to live our lives as such. How can we claim to be Christians and not act or live like we are Christians? Verse 18 simply says that if you are “going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk.” This passage shows the inner strength that we receive out of living our lives as Christ would have us do. Satan takes every opportunity to come at us in guilt and doubt, and he is timing is always great when we truly know we should have handled a situation differently. But when we handle that situation in an expression of love, not out of anger or turning our backs on needs, our heart and soul are strengthened, for we know that we feel closer to God because we acted as though he desired us to act. Living out your faith is a great encourager of your faith; it grows you closer to God and you begin to pursue that growth even more.
When you look even deeper into this passage you see love woven throughout it. We are taught to compare scripture with scripture; a good study Bible is an important part of this. Also a Bible Concordance makes those words that God lays on your heart much easier to find. Free online resources allow you to simply search and compare translations. This passage in Colossians from the apostle Paul reiterates what John was saying. Colossians 3:12-17 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 also must 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 deeper you dig, the more you find. 1 John 4:8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. We started looking at living our lives out in the faith that we proclaim; acts of love to express the love of God that we say that we possess. This can be to those in, or out of the faith. We cannot claim to be a Christian, and not love like a Christian. God is love, and right there in 1 John 4 we are told if we do not love, we do not know God.
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