Colossians 3:14Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Do you see that he says precisely this? Since one may forgive and yet not love, he says: yes, one must also love. He shows the way that can lead to forgiveness.

This way is found when a man is kind, meek, humble-minded, longsuffering, and not irritable. For this reason he first said, “bowels of mercies,” and “love,” and “mercy.”

“But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” He means this: those qualities of soul are useless. All of them grow weak if they are not joined to love. They are strengthened only by love.

Whatever good thing you may name, without love it has no value and quickly disappears. It is like a ship whose high sides would be useless if it had no planking.

“But above all these things put on love.” Since it is possible to please one another not out of pure love, but only outwardly and hypocritically, he shows the way by which we may attain true good pleasure.

A man may be meek and humble-minded, yet not possess love. Therefore he says, “But above all these things put on love.”

“Which is the bond of perfection.” Love binds together all the virtues listed above by its presence. When love is absent, everything vanishes. In reality nothing remains except hypocrisy.

If in a house there were no crossbeams, commonly called bonds, or if in a body there were no ligaments, all the rest would be useless. So also love joins together everything that contributes to perfection.

Without love there is no perfection. Even if someone appears to have it, this is not perfection at all.

In life generally, rising above its trifles and looking closely at its particular needs, “above all these things put on” Christian love. It is “the bond of perfection.” It is the power that moves us and our sinful, stubborn nature.

It contains, or rather permeates, every particular manifestation of good: patience, meekness, humility of mind, and actual almsgiving. It envies no one, is not provoked, and despises nothing and no one. It suffers long and bears all things (1 Cor 13:4-7).

A man who lives by the love of Christ is peace-loving and modest.

Love is greater than all, and the Apostle persuades us that the greatest attention must be given to it. Then everything he previously commanded them to keep can lead to rewards, if they travel the path of the law under love's guidance. For everything is accomplished by the mind that acts from love.

For love is both the guardian and the helper of the other commandments. As bonds give strength to buildings, so love bestows perfection and unites the members of the body.

Nothing that is due is accomplished unless love comes first. We refrain from doing harm to one another and take care to do good precisely when we love one another.

The phrase, “But above all these things put on love,” means: before all other virtues, and for a special reason, place love in your heart.

He spoke rightly and justly in this way, because love is the first and great commandment. It is the fulfillment of the law and the foundation of the moral teaching of the Gospel.

Why, then, does he say that it is “the bond of perfection”? Because spiritual perfection is nothing other than the convergence and fulfillment of all the virtues. All the virtues, having come together, make up the perfection of the soul.

If you look at any virtue, you will see that it grows either from love for God or from love for neighbor. You cannot find a virtue that does not have its beginning in love.

"Put on love, which is the bond of perfection." Completing His commandment about love for neighbors, rising even to love for enemies, Jesus Christ added: "Therefore be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48). By this He showed that love is the nearest path to attaining Godlike perfection. The Apostles showed with sufficient clarity the power and importance of love as a Christian virtue. In it the whole Law is summed up (1 Jn 3:23; 1 Jn 4:21; Rom 13:8, 10, and others), and it is higher than all virtues (1 Cor 13). Now the Apostle directly calls love the fullness of perfection.

From this it follows that we must mortify our earthly members: fornication, uncleanness, and the rest. In general, we must put off the old man and put on the new, so as to form a new society. There there is no enmity and no division of nationalities. There there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, and the rest. There all are clothed in love, which is the bond of perfection, and the peace of God rules in hearts (Col 3:5-15).

The Apostle speaks of love and peace as gifts of the perfect life in Christ. He encourages us to abide in them by reminding us of the Christian calling to be members of one body.

The members of one body do not work against one another, but act harmoniously according to the direction of the head.

St. John Chrysostom says that by the words, “love is the bond of perfection,” the Apostle meant this: “Those qualities of soul already mentioned are useless if they are not joined to love; cf. 1 Cor 13:1-3.

It is like a house whose walls have no crossbeams laid in them. It is like a body in which large bones would be useless if they had no ligaments. The bond, like the root, holds together what constitutes perfection.”

Having put on the new man, the Colossians must adorn themselves with the virtues that correspond to the nature of the new man. They must gird all these virtues like garments with love: έπι πασι δε τουτοις την αγάπην, with ένδοσασθε understood, “put on love over all this.”

Only the man who is girded is fully clothed and ready for the journey. In exactly the same way, all the other virtues receive their significance only with love, for love is σύνδεσμος τής τελειότητας.

The peace of God, or peace from God, which appears in such a man adorned with virtues, must decide the victory of Christians. Or it must help Christians attain the heavenly reward; φροφεύετω, cf. 2:18.

“Acquire” is not in the Greek. It has only: “above all these, love.” “Put on” is understood. Those were inner garments, but this is the outermost garment, which constitutes all the beauty. Above everything, he says, put on love.

This is the uniform garment of Christians, by which they should be distinguished from non-Christians. If a general does not put on his uniform, no one will think he is a general. So it is with us. If someone has no love, no one who knows how to distinguish will recognize him as a Christian: neither God, nor the Angels, nor the saints. People may call him so, but there will be no truth in it.