Saturday 26 April 2025
Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. (v. 14)
Background
It is a great privilege to give the address at a service of baptism or reception into membership to a gathering of people who have accepted the call to discipleship and seek to join the company of the faithful. This passage is one that could be used at such an event. Indeed, it does not require too much imagination to see Paul using this when speaking to a group of converts seeking baptism.
Easter time was, and possibly still is, the traditional time for baptism. Preparation took place during Lent with baptism at Easter, symbolising the old ways dying and rising from the water renewed. It was also tradition that the newly baptised would be dressed in white clothes as a sign of new life. As this celebratory week of Easter closes there is a sense of moving on to live out a new life.
These verses fall into three sections: verses 1-4 are a pathway for the Christian life; verses 5-11 remove the rubbish of the former life; and verses 12-14 talk about the clothing of new life.
The passage begins with a recognition of living a new life and therefore the need to focus on things above (v. 2). All is not yet revealed but that doesn’t stop people living the new life. The following verses concentrate on how to live that new life.
Paul loves lists and the second section of this passage is all about removing unhelpful habits. The image of being stripped bare shows another of Paul’s great themes – that in Christ there is no distinction, or race, or circumstance (v. 11). All are equal before Christ, and this is important for an inclusive Church to powerfully assert.
The third section lists the contrast to the second and continues the image of clothing with the things to put on. This hold true to any age. Verses 13-14 express something similar to 1 Corinthians 13 emphasising love is at the heart of the ‘more excellent way’. (1 Corinthians 12:31) What better way could there be to end this special week?
To Ponder:
- What would you say to those about to be baptised?
- What things impede us from living ‘the more excellent way’?
Prayer
Lord Jesus, help me remove all that holds me back and clothe me with love for you and for others. Amen.
Bible notes author: The Revd Paul Davis
Paul Davis is a supernumerary minister in the Chorley and Leyland Circuit.