Clothed With Christ
By
Shelby G. Floyd
In Paul's letter to the Galatians, we have a very meaningful statement to all who have been baptized into Christ and have become Christians:
Galatians 3: 26-27
You are all sons of
God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ
have clothed yourselves with Christ.
NIV
Baptized Into Christ
We observe from this simple statement that we are all the
sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.
Faith is the foundation and the superstructure of the Christian
life. But we are not sons of God by “faith
only” in Christ Jesus. The
doctrine of faith only is the same teaching that is accepted by Devils (James
Clothed With Christ
Not only does faith and baptism put one into Christ, but also when one believes and is baptized that person has clothed himself with Christ: “…for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Chris.” (Galatians 3:27). In this text, the word "clothed" is translated from [endunw-enduno], and properly means to envelop in, to hide in, and to put on something. The word “clothed” has been defined "to become so possessed of the mind of Christ as in thought, feeling, and action to resemble him and, as it were, reproduce the life he lived." –Joseph Henry Thayer, page 214.
In the New Testament this word is used of putting on clothing literally and metaphorically. Let us look at some examples of people who literally put on garments of clothing. These examples will help us to understand him how we figuratively clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Clothed Literally
1. When Christ was
arrested and brought before Governor Pilate, he turned him over to the soldiers
who put on him a scarlet robe (Matthew 27:28).
After they had mocked him for claiming to be the king of the Jews,
Matthew states that “they took the robe
off him, put [endunw] his own clothes
on him, and led him away to be crucified” (Matthew 27:31).
2. Another example is
that of the prodigal son who took his inheritance, left home and wasted it in
riotous living. This symbolizes all
mankind who have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But when he came to his senses and returned
home to his father, his father received him with joy and forgiveness. His father said to the servants, “Bring out the best robe and put [endunw]
it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet” (Luke
3. But perhaps the
best example is that of a man who was invited to the wedding of the king’s son
and the wedding garment was even provided for him to wear on the joyous
occasion. However, he refused to put it on: “But
when the king came in to see the guests, he noticed a man there who was not
wearing [endunw] wedding clothes.
‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’ The man
was speechless” (Matthew
Clothed Metaphorically
Now the application of our study is to discover what it means when Paul says that those who have been baptized into Christ have clothed themselves with Christ. What does that mean? In order to answer that question, we will look at several figurative uses of the same word we have studied thus far.
Put On the Armor of
Light
1. As a Christian soldier, we are to put off our armor of darkness and put on the armor of light:
The night is far
spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and
let us put on [enduw-enduo] the
armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and
drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on [enduw-enduo] the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the
flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
NKJV
Put On the Full
Armor of God
2. The armor of light is not just a helmet or a pair of shoes. The Christian soldier who has clothed himself with Christ takes on the whole armor of God:
Ephesians 6: 11, 13
Put on [endunw]
the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's
schemes.
Verse 13: Therefore
put on [endunw] the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand.
NIV
1 Thessalonians 5:8
But since we belong to
the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on [endunw] faith and love as a breastplate, and
the hope of salvation as a helmet.
NIV
Put On the Moral
Virtues
3. In Paul's letter to the Christians at Colossae, he defined the full armor of God that we are to clothe ourselves as being the moral virtues of love, kindness etc.:
Colossians 3:12-14
Therefore, as God's
chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves [endunw]
with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each
other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive
as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on [endunw]
love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
NIV
Put On New Purpose
of Life
4. When we clothe ourselves with Christ,
we take on a new purpose of life. We put
off the old man of sin through repentance and we put on the new man pledged to
serve Christ and live like Christ as far as humanly possible. This new purpose Paul expressed to the church
at
Ephesians 4: 22-24
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to
put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be
made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on [endunw]
the new self, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness.
NIV
Clothe Yourselves with Christ
The greatest act that any of us
can do for ourselves is to put on or clothe ourselves with the Lord Jesus
Christ: “For all of you who were baptized
into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians
Romans 13:11-14
And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to
awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.
The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on [endunw] the armour of light.
Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
But put ye on [endunw] the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the
flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
KJV
All of the Scriptures we have
examined in this essay teach us what it means to clothe ourselves with Christ.
It is high time for a new suit of clothes.*
* Copyright © 2009 Shelby G. Floyd, All Rights Reserved