Patience is a virtue that can only come from the new-creation clothes of Christ. As we who believe in Christ pursue the virtue of patience, he will enable us to bear with one another and forgive each other, as the Lord has forgiven us.

Pursue Patience

Patience is a virtue, they say, and it is a virtue Paul urges us to pursue: “Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience” (Col. 3:12). Paul probably uses a clothing metaphor in this verse. We are to “put on” patience like a new set of clothes. Here, I explore where we got these new clothes (the origin of patience), what the clothes are made of (the substance of patience), and how they look on us (the result of patience).

The Origin of Patience

Where did these new clothes come from, or if we don’t have them, how can we get them? We must first recognize that these are not our own clothes but rather the clothes of Christ. I’m sure most of us can recall times in which we have not exhibited patience toward other people. We have shown ourselves to be what Paul calls, in this context, the old self or the old man (Col. 3:9)—that is, who we are in Adam. As children of Adam, we have participated in the evil of fallen humanity. But as believers in Christ, Paul says, “you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator” (Col. 3:10). That is, we have put off who we were in Adam and put on who we are—and who we are becoming—in Christ.

So, have we already put on the clothes of Christ, or do we need to still put on the clothes of Christ? Paul’s answer is “yes.” Here we see one of the best examples of what New Testament scholars call the “indicative and imperative” in Paul. Paul will sometimes speak of the same thing paradoxically as both an indicative reality and an imperative command: “you…have put on the new self” (Col. 3:10); “Put on then…” (Col. 3:12). So it is true both that believers have put on the clothes of Christ and that we must therefore put on the clothes of Christ by pursuing patience.

My point, though, is that we must recognize that these clothes do not belong to us. To put it in modern terms, Paul is not calling us to be the best version of ourselves. He’s calling us to renounce ourselves—to take off our own clothes and to put on the clothes of Christ. The wonder is that believers can do this because we are united with the crucified and risen Christ by faith. This means we can now live out his new life by pursuing the virtue of patience.

The Substance of Patience

What is this patience we are to pursue? The Greek word Paul uses (macrothumia) is memorably translated “longsuffering” in the King James Version. Paul can use this word more broadly to speak of the patience we must have to wait for our heavenly inheritance: “May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col. 1:11, my emphasis). But in Colossians 3:12 the word refers especially to our patience and longsuffering with one another in the church.

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