Colossians 3:1-17 Be who your are in Christ, part 2 put on

What we have been seeing in Colossians 3 is that our new identity in Christ is not only personal but corporate. God raised up in Christ a new holy, beautiful community Colossians 3:1 -4.
And in the putting off of the sinful nature verse 5 -9 and the putting on of Christ 12ff we actually come to experience who we truly are in Christ as a community After describing our genuine fellowship that we now have in Christ; Paul speaks of the renewal of the knowledge that was once lost to us in the fall; the image of God is our creator, Father, Son, The Holy Spirit.
The very renewed image of God as our creator, comes to us through the new man Jesus Christ -it is a living relational knowledge of God in Christ, by the Holy Spirit. As one commentator pointed out; the Bible does not begin with man as a self -defining creature (this is the chaos of our age). instead, God is our creator, and we were made in his image and likeness and in Christ the true man we are now redeemed and renewed in this knowledge.
Practically, as we live out who we are in Christ, we are renewed in the very truth of our identity as the family of God. That’s why Paul says what he says in verse 11 Colossians 3:11
Here there is (in Christ the new man) not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
By belonging to Christ, we belong to a multi-ethnic diverse family that is completely unified and one: where Christ is our unity. When we are renewed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, we come to understand that In Christ all racial barriers and class barriers are actually broken down, because Christ is all and in all.
After describing the diversity and the unity of Christ being all and in all he proceeds to talk about the new clothing we are to wear, the putting on.
Colossians 3:12 - 13 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved (Notice that the apostle Paul again defines the status of the church) compassionate hearts (a tender hearted ability to identify with people in suffering), kindness (the ability to serve people in ways that make us vulnerable and cost us) humility (looking to the interests of others above one’s own interests), meekness (power under control it’s the opposite of rage and malice), and patience (the ability to not take vengeance and to press through difficult circumstances), bearing with one another (literally in love) and if one has a complaint against another forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you so you also must forgive (in Christ).
These are the clothes (virtues of the person of Christ) and we cant have one virtue without the others. Jonathan Edwards speaking of the fruit of the Spirit or the virtues we seen in Christ says this there is a concatenation (chain) of the graces of Christianity. That is, you do not get one part… without the other…
And Paul in Colossians 3:14 speaks about all of the virtues of Christ in terms of the belt of love which binds them together in perfect harmony. This is helpful for people who say I have a hard time loving or I’m struggling to love such and such a person! No Biblically put on Christ, where his clothes, experience his beautiful love and virtues for people And as we do this, as forgiven sinners in Christ we experience the holiness and beauty of who we already are in Christ in very real and tangible ways.