Colossians 3:14 Commentary and Bible Study

‘And above all these things put on charity,’ love in the modern versions. The King James Version chooses charity because the apostle has in mind a love that gives. It would be impossible to really love without the previous virtues and duties being in place, but what does the apostle mean by, ‘above all these things’? He means that love is the crowning grace. Some people seem to think he is saying, ‘Oh, if you want a kind of cement that will bind these virtues together, then love is the thing that helps you with everything else.’ It doesn’t actually mean that. It means that love is the chief of the graces, it is the crowning thing. So you work through the Christian attributes and then you come to love – love for one another, particularly here within the Church because it is the bond that completes the picture. ‘Put on charity [love] which is the bond of perfectness.’ It completes the picture of what God wants to see in any local church, that people have real affection for each other and regard for each other, respect for each other and concern for each other. It is Christ’s special command.