This is the practical application of seeking those things which are above. In effect what Paul is saying is that, if we are seeking those things which are above, the resources to overcome these things will be here. They will be part of us, because God responds to such as are truly seeking after Him.
Now, be patient. Our relationship with God is not magic. It takes work, does it not? And if any of you have any of these problems, you understand that you really have to hold a tight rein on yourself to keep yourself from doing these things that Paul says to "put off." They are so deeply ingrained within us that they want to break out, all by themselves. That is why Paul wrote that in Romans 7. "The things that I do not want to do, I do. The things I do want to do, I do not do."
So Paul said there were two conflicting laws working within him. There was the law of his mind—which loved God, understood a great deal about God, wanted to submit to God, wanted to sacrifice for God's sake and in His name, wanted to discipline himself. But the law of his flesh, sin that dwelt within him, put up its ugly head and, every once in a while, it would break out.
We do have to discipline ourselves. "Putting on" and "taking off" is not always easy. Sometimes we find that there are certain things that we can do readily. It almost seems like it comes easily to us. But there are other things that are like a thorn in the flesh, and they gnaw away at us, and embarrass us from time to time, and make us feel guilty. They make us wonder whether we will be acceptable before God. They embarrass us, and we wish they were not there. And we know that it takes a great deal of work. Work requires discipline. We know that we are to "put off" those things that do not fit the image of God, and to "put on" the characteristics that do.
The final thing that he mentions there really is love. Love is the crown. It is what tops off, as it were, all of the other virtues and ties them all together. The "putting on" and the "taking off" will actually be the manifestation of the seeking God and those things which are above.
Even when we understand this, even the ability to do this—to "put on" and to "take off"—is a gift from God. The resources to do this come from Him. God responds to those who make Him the focus of their lives. And this is the way that it is exhibited. The evidence begins to show in the way we live our lives.
This is why Paul can say in Colossians 3:14 that sacrificial love is the bond of perfection. Let us go read that paragraph.
All of these things that we can do for each other in our own mutual relationship of obligation to one another ends in thanksgiving. Be thankful. You can be thankful when your brethren are supporting you and you are supporting them. And the thanks ultimately goes to God the Father for calling us and giving us this ability through His Spirit and the example of Jesus Christ to do these things.
It is high-level spiritual life, but that is what we are aiming for as God's people. We are aiming to replicate that covenantal relationship with God that we should have with each other. You cannot separate the two great commandments: love God, love neighbor. It all works the same. It all works together.
God comes first, obviously. He has the greatest power. He has the greatest love. He has the greatest sovereignty. He has all the things that we need, and we love Him and obey Him and do what we can in worship of Him. And then we are supposed to transform that relationship into our relationships with each other. Now it is among equals, and we give and they give back to us. We give thanks. They give thanks. We give kindness. They bestow kindness upon us. We give them mercy. They give us mercy back. We forgive them; they forgive us. You can go through this whole list. It is how it is supposed to work.
