Romans 13:14 – “Put on the Lord Jesus”
Someone asked a Christian, “What translation of the Bible do you use?” The reply: “The living flesh one.” The response was classic, as well as scriptural, even though many Christians haven’t come to grips with what this means.
The first incarnation, Christ coming in human flesh, (John 1:14) is familiar to believers, but the second incarnation, Christ dwelling in the believer in order to make an impact for Christ, is not a high priority with us. Recently the “shroud of Christ” was discovered, and some scholars believe the impression of Christ on the cloth is very visible and perhaps authentic. Others are skeptical. Regardless of our response to the “shroud,” Christ is more interested in impressing His likeness and image on believers than on a piece of cloth. “Ye are our epistles written in our hearts, known and read of all men” ( II Cor. 3:2). Our task is to make the print legible for all to read. Believers could possibly be the only Bible the unsaved will ever read.
The metaphor, “put ye on the Lord Jesus,” was very common to the Hebrew people in Bible times. God reminded them of the necessity to put on certain garments (Is.61:10; 64:6; Zech.3:3-4). Occupations and people were known by their dress. The Jews had a distinct dress, the Pharisees had their phylacteries and Kuwaiti colors are different from Jordanian. The Palestinian headdress is black and white, and the Jordanian red and white.
Other countries embraced a strict dress code to reflect social standing. In ancient Egypt only the aristocrats were allowed to wear red and yellow footwear. The lower classes were required to stick to papyrus flats of the one-thong variety. Slaves went barefoot, mostly.
Paul could also be referring to a Roman custom when he exhorted them to “put on the Lord Jesus.” When a Roman boy reached manhood the crimson-bordered TOGA was removed and replaced with the TOGA VIRILIS, the garment of manhood. This emphasized the position believers have in Christ and should be reflected in our lifestyle Christ did not allow us to guess what our badge of identification is. “By this (loving) shall all men know ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another”(John 13:35).
The unsaved are desirous to see this badge. Let us not go public without it.
Mar 24th by admin