Colossians 3:12Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

So that you may not say to me, “He has erred,” he added, “bowels.” He did not say “mercies,” lest he abase them, but “bowels of mercies: kindness, humility of mind, meekness, and longsuffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also” (Col 3:12-13).

So that you may not say, “My brother has sinned,” the Apostle says, “I require from you whole-souled mercy,” σπλάγχνα.

“Kindness, humility of mind, meekness, longsuffering.” He says that whoever has put on mercy naturally has all the other virtues. For what father is not kindhearted toward his son? What father does not humble himself, giving him everything without contention?

Notice the beautiful order in all this. Kindness, begotten of mercy, gives birth to humility of mind, for the kindhearted man is also humble-minded. From humility of mind comes meekness, since the proud man is also angry. From meekness comes longsuffering, which is greatness of soul.

“Brethren,” the holy Apostle exhorts, “put on, as the elect of God, as saints sanctified by the Spirit, as beloved by Christ, put on mercy and kindness.”

This means the following. You Colossians, having become Christians and children of the God who abounds in love, must now yourselves be kind and loving toward all, toward the good and the bad alike.

Put on mercy and kindness. That is, just as one cannot go out into society without clothing, so a Christian cannot appear among men without mercy and kindness. Otherwise he will not be a true disciple of God.

Without doubt, being constantly kind to everyone is difficult. People, even the poor, are of every sort and way of life. For some, it is burdensome to give help, knowing that the one asking will drink away what is given, or is simply deceiving you.

Yet one must still be kind. For this reason the holy Apostle immediately exhorts us to arm ourselves in benefactions with longsuffering and condescension. “Put on kindness, humility of mind, meekness, longsuffering.”

God had made them His friends according to the saying, “You are My friends” (Jn 15:14). They were elect, holy, and beloved of God on His side, having been made such by the grace of Holy Baptism.

Yet it was necessary that they become such also on their own side, through works pleasing to God. Therefore the divine Apostle commands them, and through them all of us who believe in Christ.

As we are elect, holy, and beloved on God’s side, so also by our good works we must show ourselves worthy of that election, holiness, and love which God has shown us.

Notice here how fitting this metaphorical expression, “put on,” is to the Apostle’s purpose. As bright garments adorn the body, so the brightness of virtue adorns the spirit. As the body appears vile and unseemly when stripped of clothing, so the soul becomes vile and unseemly when deprived of virtues.

The King and Prophet David used this same metaphorical speech concerning the Lord: “The Lord is King; He is clothed with majesty. The Lord is clothed with strength and has girded Himself” (Ps 92:1).

After commanding the virtues already named, he then commands them to preserve two other virtues, which proceed and are born from the former ones.

According to Blessed Theophylact, by the word “put on” the Apostle shows the ease of virtue. Just as it is easy to put on clothing, so we may readily receive virtue.

This also teaches that virtue must be possessed continually and used as the greatest adornment. Whoever lacks it is shameful and unseemly.

“Kindness, begotten by the parental bowels of mercies, gives birth to humility of mind. From humility of mind comes meekness. From meekness comes longsuffering, which is greatness of soul.”

St. John Chrysostom says: “By the words ‘even as Christ,’ he means not only that what is endured from others is insignificant, but also that one must forgive from the whole heart. Not only this, but one must also love.

For Christ, presented as the example, teaches all this. He teaches still more: that one must forgive offenses even when they are great, and finally that one must lay down one’s soul for them.”

“Therefore look upon the Master’s love for mankind, and how many sins He has granted you remission from. For this reason, imitate the Master, and let each forgive the sins committed against him by his brother” (Theodoret).

In this renewal the word of God brings great benefit. The Apostle desires that Christians resort to it as often as possible, instructing one another by it in the various circumstances of life.

Likewise, in place of their former pagan idle talk and pagan songs, Christians must sing to the Lord in their household gatherings through new songs of various kinds: hymns, psalms, and odes.

They must do this with special inspiration, έν χάριτι, and from a sincere heart; cf. Eph 5:19.

Because of this reverence for the word of God, everything in Christian life must be sanctified by the name of Christ. Everything must be worthy of Christ’s followers, and thanksgiving must be offered to God for everything.

As clothing covers the body on every side, warms it, and protects it from outward harmful assaults, so virtue warms the soul with spiritual warmth. It makes the soul strong and invulnerable to the enemy’s temptations. Saint Anthony the Great called the union of the virtues an army that defends and drives away enemies. “Therefore” indicates that the following instructions are drawn from what preceded. Before this it was said that one who has put off the old man and put on the new must not yield to the passions. What then befits him? To clothe himself in every virtue. Here lies the chief motive: to be zealous for such a clothing. The new man is he who, having received power in regeneration, then continually renews himself. He cuts off the passions and establishes in their place the virtues opposed to them, or clothes himself with them. But the Apostle did not stop with this. He added: “as the elect of God, holy and beloved.” “He joins exhortation with praise, for from this it receives greater force” (Saint Chrysostom). Praise moves one to manifest that for which one is praised, to preserve it, and to raise it toward ever greater perfection. You are elect. You are holy. You are beloved. How much fire of zeal is added if such titles are received into feeling! You are elect. Are you the only people there are? Yet from many God chose you, preferring you to others. He hopes that you will bear yourselves worthily of Him who chose you. You are holy. God has sanctified you by forgiving your sins and giving you strength not to sin any more. Rather, He has given you strength to advance in every virtue. You were called to this, so be such. You are beloved. God does not hold you as strangers, but as His own, and He loves you as His children. Show yourselves worthy of this love, and establish in yourselves what God loves. God loved you and chose you. Having chosen you, He sanctified you. Insofar as you remain holy, He will love you more and more. These titles oblige one to every virtue. Yet by them the Apostle especially urges us to be well-disposed toward our neighbors. Be merciful, as your heavenly Father, who chose you, sanctified you, and loved you, is merciful. “Put on bowels of mercies.” Bowels of mercies are whole-souled compassion with pain for every neighbor as for one’s own blood. This expresses the love of parents for children. As parents suffer over their children, so you also must suffer over all the brethren in Christ. “He did not say that you must have care for one another as brothers. Rather, you must care for one another as fathers care for children” (Saint Chrysostom). “Put on, he says, not simply love of whatever kind, but such love as naturally lives in the hearts of parents toward children” (Oecumenius). Kindness, χρηστοτης, is beneficence. It is readiness on every occasion to show in deed the soul’s pain for the good of others. It is actually doing for others everything that is needful and useful to them. Humility of mind. Whoever is tenderhearted and beneficent forgets himself. One who does not have himself as his aim is naturally humble-minded. A mother who suffers over her children and endures every difficult care for them is humble-minded. Her concern is only for her children. She has forgotten herself. This humility is not forced by reasoning, but is naturally rooted in the heart. So also is the tenderhearted man. Everything is for others, nothing for himself. He considers himself obliged to serve others. Having served, he does not exalt himself, but considers that he has only fulfilled his duty. Yet this duty is not cut off by the service already rendered. It remains upon him in all its force. The man who is not humble, by contrast, feels that he places another under obligation when he does something for him. Having done one thing, he supposes he has already done everything for that person. Through several such favors, he thinks he has done everything for all. “See,” he says, “everything is for others, and now one must think of oneself.” Then he closes his hands, because selfhood has closed his compassion. In general, where selfhood exists, active beneficence appears unwillingly, if it appears at all. Meekness is a virtue wide in embrace. It is disturbed by nothing contrary and disturbs no one in anything. This is not heartlessness or indifference. It is a strong heart, which sees and understands, more wisely than any reason, that no good is attained by disturbance, whether in oneself or in others. Rather, evil is only multiplied and grows. Meekness is the direct daughter of humility of mind. It always accompanies it and is strong through it. As soon as it withdraws even slightly from humility, it at once grows weak and evaporates. Longsuffering is constant and unchanging patience in troubles, slanders, attacks, insults, oppressions, persecutions, beatings, and killings that come from men through the enemy’s instigations. This is the outward side, or visible manifestation, of meekness. As the inward bowels of mercies are outwardly manifested in beneficence, so meekness rooted in the heart visibly reveals itself in longsuffering. Blessed Theophylact derives all these good dispositions one from another, setting bowels of mercies at the head. “Whoever has put on bowels of mercies,” he says, “has all the other virtues manifesting themselves of themselves. For what father does not show kindness to his son and humble-mindedness, providing him everything without disputes? What father does not endure long? And note what beautiful order there is in all this. Kindness, born from bowels of mercies, gives birth to humility of mind. For whoever is kind is also humble-minded. From humility of mind comes meekness, for the proud man is also angry. From meekness comes longsuffering, which is magnanimity.” But one may also set all five in this relation. The root of all is humility of mind. It cuts off and drives out selfhood, which is the source of all the passions. From selfhood are born, on one side, the passions of desire, and on the other, the passions of irritation. When selfhood is struck on the head by humility of mind, all its offspring are also struck. This means both the passions of desire and the passions of irritation. From the striking of the passions of desire, bowels of mercies and kindness enter into force. Desire wants to live only for its own pleasure. Therefore, when desire is no more, there remains in the soul the disposition not to live for its own pleasure. Or the soul’s natural disposition of goodwill returns to it, which until then had been suppressed by selfhood. On the other side, when irritation is struck, the peaceful condition natural to the soul returns to it. Until then this had been disturbed by intrusive irritability. Goodwill is manifested in bowels of mercies and kindness. The peaceful condition is manifested in meekness and longsuffering. Thus, in a few words, the Apostle reflected and struck down the whole army of the passions.