In the world, a person who is a “put on” is a phony. To be a “put on” is a saying that is used to describe someone who is trying to be something or someone that they are not. And while that saying may indeed be true in many cases, it obviously is not a term that The Holy Spirit agrees with when it comes to describing a born again Christian.
Though perfectly forgiven, no child of God will ever attain sinless perfection in this life as long as we dwell in these mortal bodies (1 John 1:8-10). Thus, our perfect, heavenly position in Christ (Ephesians 2:4-6) is not to be confused with our imperfect, earthly condition that is in the ongoing process of putting on Christ in our day-to-day walk (Romans 13:14; Philippians 2:12-13).
So as we work our way through these passages this morning, we are being reminded of what The Spirit of God is up to in our lives. As followers of Jesus, He is allowing us to experience things in our lives that necessitate that we “put on” the new garments of Christ-likeness, with the greatest garment being His precious love. These garments of compassion, forgiveness, love, peace, worship, and service for our King are the fruit borne by those whose imperfect condition is being gloriously transformed into our heavenly position that we hold in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18). We are to “put on” these garments because this is who we really are in Christ! We are being renewed in knowledge after the image of Him Who created and recreated us.
Put on Christ, beloved, and remember that the practical goal of every follower of Jesus is God-glorifying growth in The Lord, not perfection.
