Colossians 3:12 Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering;
13 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.
14 But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.
“Put on” is an action we must take here and now. Some doctrines would suggest we have nothing to do, no accountability or responsibility. That attitude goes against the essence of life. We are to “occupy” until HIS return. "Go into all the world”, “say unto this mountain”, and “plant seed” are all actions associated with maturity in Christ. When we were children we were takers catered to by the teachers. We were unable to give because we did not understand how to be fruitful, we had nothing to offer in our immaturity. As we grow we should produce fruit that can be observed by others to be good fruit. My fruit is different from your fruit but we all should work together as a body fitly joined together. If any part of a body is not productive, it dies and is removed.
In Colossians the “elect” of Our Heavenly Father are given the attributes to “put on”. Above all, put on Love, the bond of perfection! How simple can it get? Those that yearn for the manifestation of the Tabernacles age and want to be in the middle of it must go on to maturity. How can you call yourself mature without having put on Love? Will Jesus say to you “I never knew you”? Paul tells us that many things will pass away but Love will remain. Why is it that Love is not the center of teaching, study, etc? It is because the “old” man knows that he must die if this revelation of Love comes into its fullness in an individual. If the old man dies, the blindness departs along with the self preservation, manipulation, and the subtleties of divisiveness. Exalting oneself in various subtle ways will be exposed and will require removal. This most fundamental, deep-seated fear prevents many from pursuing the revelation of Love. Everyone who has seen the revelation of Tabernacles wants the transition to occur but most do not want to pay the price to enter in. Some would have us believe that we have no responsibility and that Our Heavenly Father will by HIS sovereignty change us against our will. We have been told to choose life or death, we have the choice. Do I believe that we all be ultimately reconciled to Our Heavenly Father? Yes, without question. However at what point do we enter into the fullness of HIS rest is the question.
Love is the bond of perfection. Love demands action. John 3:16 was fulfilled because Our Heavenly Father acted. Jesus acted to fulfill Our Heavenly Father’s plan. Love is at the center of Salvation, Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the bringing forth of the Kingdom on earth. Eternal hell does not have Love found anywhere in its doctrine. Would you send your son or daughter to an eternal punishment? No, you would correct them no matter how severe in order to restore them. Why? It is because you love them. To me it is self-evident that Love is the greatest revelation that we could pursue. There is a notable difference in our current fruit and the fruitfulness of Jesus as HE walked in HIS earthly ministry. Our old man would have us believe that we cannot operate in the same fruitfulness as Jesus. But I hold on to the truth HE spoke when HE said we would do “greater things”: John 14:12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater [works] than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.
Isn’t time that we quit settling for anything less? How long will we use the excuse of previous ministries who abused the anointing and power thus we are reluctant to operate in the Gifts of the Spirit? Love is in the here and now. People are in need right now! Isn’t it time we embraced the Bond of Perfection and started producing the same fruit that Jesus produced?
This is the ultimate goal of our upcoming Bible Study. Am I perfected in Love yet? No, but as I am a man after GOD’s own heart and Love dwells in the middle of HIS heart. I want to become like My Heavenly Father so I will pursue all aspects of HIS most basic character trait- Love.