12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved , bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
This is a mouthful!
As the Elect of God? WHAT or who is the elect of God?
The elect of God are those who have elected or decided to trust CHRIST as Savior and have become part of GOD's Family! Their names have been written down in the Lamb's Book of Life which is kept in Heaven, as are several other Books of Record, such as the Book of Life,
So, what instruction does God have for HIS OWN children here in these verses?
Verse 12 says we are to be MERCIFUL to others,KIND, Humble, Meek, and Patient! We are to "forbear" one another, which simply means to "get along with" and then we are told that if we have a problem or quarrel, a dispute with another or someone has done us wrong, that we are to be QUICK to FORGIVE them. WHY?
Because GOD was quick and WILLING to FORGIVE US of our sins against HIM!
In a WORD, we are to become more and more LIKE HIM seeing as we have HIM dwelling within us and providing instruction and equipping us daily to behave toward one another like Jesus would!
Lastly in verse 13 we are exhorted with these words: EVEN as CHRIST FORGAVE YOU, SO ALSO are WE to Forgive those who have transgressed against US!
It isn't easy to do and the flesh will rebel against doing so, but if we stay close to Christ through HIS WORD and keep our INNER MAN strong through daily feeding of the Word, we have HIM inside who is ABLE to forgive, even as we have been forgiven!
A wonderful portion of scripture that is full of instruction for our daily lives!
Thank You Lord!
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