12 You are always and dearly loved by God! So robe yourself with virtues of God, since you have been divinely chosen to be holy. Be merciful as you endeavor to understand others, and be compassionate, showing kindness toward all. Be gentle and humble, unoffendable in your patience with others. 13 Tolerate the weaknesses of those in the family of faith, forgiving one another in the same way you have been graciously forgiven by Jesus Christ. If you find fault with someone, release this same gift of forgiveness to them. 14 For love is supreme and must flow through each of these virtues. Love becomes the mark of true maturity.

15 Let your heart be always guided by the peace of the Anointed One, who called you to peace as part of his one body. And always be thankful.

16 Let the word of Christ live in you richly, flooding you with all wisdom. Apply the Scriptures as you teach and instruct one another with the Psalms, and with festive praises, and with prophetic songs given to you spontaneously by the Spirit, so sing to God with all your hearts!

17 Let every activity of your lives and every word that comes from your lips be drenched with the beauty of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. And bring your constant praise to God the Father because of what Christ has done for you!

If we are going to put off something, then we must put on something! If we are laying our armor down, then we as the bride of Christ must put on the bridal garment. What Paul stated to be clothed with in Ephesians and Colossians is that of a bride (Isaiah 3:18-24). In both Ephesians 4 and Colossians 3, the following chapters Paul would lay out for husbands to love their wives and wives to submit to their husbands. If you are the holy and beloved elected of God you must:

1) be clothed with bowels of mercy. To be clothed means, “to be fastened together” (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary). The bowels of mercy would be linked in the armor of God to the breastplate of righteousness because righteousness and mercy protect the heart. It is about having a “heart of compassion”, seeing people through His eyes. It correlates with the bride’s cloak or mantle in which a Jewish bride would wear in those days. The bride is clothed with a mantle of mercies! This reflects the very nature of God as Jesus was moved with compassion before healing multitudes and working miracles for them, seeing and feeling their pain and need. It does not judge or condemn, convincing yourself that they are simply getting what they deserve, but you are moved to be merciful to them, endeavoring to understand them in a deeper level. Philippians 2:1-2 says, “1If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, 2Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.” If His mercy endures forever, then so should ours!

2) kindness. Kindness means “moral excellence in character or demeaner, integrity” (Thayer’s Greek Definitions). On the armor of God, it correlates with the sandals of the gospel of peace as being a minister of the goodness of God. It is taking advantage of every opportunity to evangelize His kindness to the word. On the wedding garment, it would be the bride’s mirror as we are to be a reflection of His goodness in the earth, which leads men to repentance. Ephesians 2:6-7 says, “6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” By being seated in heavenly places with Him, He shows us the exceeding riches of His grace in his merciful kindness (Psalm 117:2) toward us, for it is by grace we are saved and through His kindness we are comforted (Psalm 119:76). Isaiah 54:8, 10 says, “8In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the LORD thy Redeemer…10For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the LORD that hath mercy on thee.”

3) humbleness of mind. It means to be of a lowly mind and modest (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionary). Humility is not low self esteem, but it is recognizing that you are submitting to a greater authority and power! It correlates in the armor of God with the helmet of salvation because salvation protects the mind. On the bridal garment, it is the bride’s veil, indicating that you belong to someone else. You will either be humble in mind or prideful in thought. A humble mind will always inspect self while a prideful thought will condemn everyone else. 1 Peter 5:5-6 says, “Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” James 4:6 says, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

4) meekness. Meekness means to be of a gentle spirit (Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Definitions). When you are of this spirit, you refuse to initiate arguments or strife, but you choose to maintain peace and listen to people’s hurt and needs. Just as kindness, meekness would be the sandals of the gospel of peace in the armor as it ministers evangelistically to people’s needs, pointing them to Jesus. On a bride, it represented her jewelry. 1 Peter 3:4 says, “But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.” It is being ornamented with a meek spirit that can win people to Christ through your behavior. There is no such thing as a bad example of Christ. If that is what you are, then you are lost and need to be saved! Galatians 6:1 says, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.” Never be too proud for restoration, neither be too proud to restore others!