As we’ve been walking through Colossians together, we’ve been doing more than studying one book of the Bible—we’ve been learning how to study the Bible itself. We’ve talked about the importance of context, asking good questions, comparing Scripture with Scripture, seeing Christ throughout the Bible, following the author’s flow of thought, and recognizing types and shadows. This week, I want to show you another Bible study principle that has completely changed the way I read Scripture: learning to read the Bible through the lens of the New Covenant.
One of the biggest reasons people become confused when reading the Bible is because they don’t recognize that the Bible contains different covenants. They read something Moses wrote, something Jesus said before the cross, and something Paul wrote after the resurrection as though they all function exactly the same way. One of the best questions we can ask whenever we’re studying a passage is simply, “Which covenant is this written under?” That one question will answer a lot of questions before we ever open a commentary.
As we come to Colossians 3:12-17, Paul isn’t telling us how to earn God’s acceptance. He’s showing us how people who have already been accepted by God now live. That order is everything.
Notice how he begins. Colossians 3:12 (NKJV) says,
12 “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering.”
Before Paul tells us what to do, he reminds us who we are. We’re chosen. We’re holy. We’re beloved. That’s completely different from religion. Religion says, “Change your behavior and maybe God will accept you.” The Gospel says, “God has already accepted you in Christ. Now live from that reality.”
That’s how Paul writes throughout his letters. Identity always comes before behavior. He never tells us to become someone we’re not. He reminds us who Christ has already made us to be and then calls us to live like it.
Paul says we’re to put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, love, peace, and thankfulness. I love the phrase “put on” because it reminds us that these qualities already belong to us. Every morning we intentionally choose what we’re going to wear. The clothes are already hanging in the closet—we simply put them on. In the same way, these qualities already exist in our born-again spirit because Christ lives in us. We’re not trying to manufacture them through self-effort. We’re learning to live from the new nature we’ve already been given.
Then Paul says something that beautifully illustrates why understanding the New Covenant matters. In Colossians 3:13 (NKJV) he writes,
“…bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
Notice the order. We don’t forgive so God will forgive us. We forgive because He already has. Now compare that with Matthew 6:14-15 (NKJV) where Jesus said,
15 “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
At first glance those verses almost sound contradictory, but they’re not. Jesus was speaking before the cross while people were still living under the Old Covenant. Paul is writing after the cross, after Jesus established the New Covenant through His blood.
The cross changed everything.Under the New Covenant, we don’t forgive to receive forgiveness—we forgive because we’ve already received it. We don’t love so God will love us. We love because He first loved us. Everything flows from what Christ has already accomplished rather than what we’re trying to earn. That brings us to the very next verse. Colossians 3:14 (NKJV) says,
14 “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.”
I love that phrase because Paul says love is what holds everything together. The word bond carries the idea of something that binds or unites. It made me think about an autoimmune disease.
In a healthy body, the immune system protects the body. In an autoimmune disease, the body begins attacking itself. The very thing designed to preserve life begins destroying it instead. Churches can do the same thing. Marriages can do the same thing. Families can do the same thing.
When we forget the New Covenant, we stop living from what we’ve received and start relating to one another based on performance. We become critical instead of compassionate. We become easily offended instead of forgiving. We start attacking one another instead of protecting one another.
But Paul says that’s not how the body of Christ is supposed to function. We’ve already received unconditional love, so we freely give unconditional love. We’ve already been forgiven, so we freely forgive. We’ve already received mercy, so we extend mercy. That’s what keeps the body healthy.
Healthy leadership and good doctrine matters, but love is the glue that holds it all together. Without it, even a church with great doctrine can begin attacking itself like an autoimmune disease. With it, the Body grows the way God designed it to. Paul then says something I’ve leaned on for years.
Colossians 3:15 (NKJV) says,
15“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts…”
The word rule was used of an umpire making the call in an athletic event. I love that picture.
As we walk with the Lord and keep our minds renewed to His Word, His peace begins acting like an umpire on the inside of us. Sometimes everything looks right on paper, but we lose our peace. Other times something doesn’t make perfect sense naturally, yet the peace of God says, “Go.” Learning to follow that peace has saved me from a lot of bad decisions over the years. And by the way, based on the New Covenant, the spirit of God that brings that peace is already in us!
Paul then writes, Colossians 3:16 (NKJV)
16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…”
People ask me all the time how long it takes me to prepare a message. My answer is always the same. A lifetime. I don’t want to just prepare sermons. I want the Word to dwell in me so richly that it changes the way I think, the way I lead, the way I love people, and the way I live. Then, when I teach, I’m simply sharing out of the overflow of what God has already been doing in my own heart.
I think that’s exactly what Paul is describing. The people who impact others the most usually aren’t the ones with the biggest notebook. They’re the ones who have allowed the Word of God to transform them from the inside out. They don’t just teach information—they teach out of overflow.
Finally, Paul wraps this section up by saying, Colossians 3:17 (NKJV)
17 “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
I love how practical Paul is. Following Jesus isn’t just about Sunday mornings. It’s how we work, it’s how we treat our spouse, how we parent our kids and how we conduct ourselves when nobody else is watching. Everything becomes an act of worship because Christ isn’t just part of our lives—He is our life.
As we continue studying Colossians, don’t just ask what a passage says. Ask where it fits in God’s plan of redemption. Is it pointing toward the cross, or is it written in light of the cross? Learning to read through the lens of the New Covenant will completely change the way you read the Bible. You’ll stop trying to earn what Jesus has already provided and start living from the reality of who you already are in Him. That’s exactly where Paul wanted the Colossians to live, and it’s where God wants us to live today.
