THE OLD SELF. The new self. As translated in the New International Version, that’s the language Paul uses to describe how believers are made spiritually new in Christ. Again, we identify with the death and resurrection of Jesus through baptism. God has put the old self to death, and we are to live accordingly; we have died to sin so we can live for Christ in righteousness. Paul uses such language not only in his letter to the Colossians, but in writing to the Ephesians as well:

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph 4:22-24, NIV)

But let’s face it. On any given day, if we were to look at ourselves in the mirror of conscience, we might not see the likeness of Jesus staring back at us; we see more of the old than the new. We’re still too short-tempered; we get angry too easily and want to retaliate when we do. We want the wrong things or want them too much. We say things we shouldn’t.

So…where is that “new self” Paul talks about?

As I suggested a couple of posts back, the word “self” carries too much cultural baggage; it’s too individualistic, too me-focused. The word Paul actually uses translates roughly to “person” or “human being,” which is why I prefer the Common English Bible’s reference to the “person” in the Ephesians 4 passage, and “human nature” in the parallel passage from Colossians 3. Similarly, in The Message, Eugene Peterson paraphrases Paul as referring to an old and new “way of life.” Indeed, given Paul’s metaphors of taking off and putting on clothing in Colossians 3, Peterson even refers to our “new wardrobe.”

This isn’t just an abstract, academic concern that only a professional theologian would love. The kind of individualism that many of us take for granted in modern western society would have been, at best, puzzling to Paul and his contemporaries. His pastoral concern isn’t just for the individual, but the community; it’s not just about who we are in ourselves, but who we are together, in relationship, in a congregation where the old social prejudices have been broken down.

Thus, having said what we are to “put off,” as one might strip off a ratty or dirty piece of clothing, Paul turns to what we are to clothe ourselves with instead:

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Col 3:12-14)

In Paul’s day, it was common practice for philosophers to include lists of vices and virtues when writing about morality. But Paul’s lists aren’t grounded in philosophical principles. Both lists reflect his pastoral concern over how believers should treat one another, and the virtues in particular are grounded in the character of Christ. Let’s briefly take a closer look at compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience — beginning with humility, which was not considered a virtue in pagan Roman and Greek society.

The word “humility” could be translated as “lowliness of mind,” and was sometimes used in a negative sense to mean timidity or even mean-spiritedness. But Paul uses it in Philippians 2:3-8 to refer to the very mindset of Christ, who was equal to God but took the path of humble service in becoming human and dying on the cross. This has nothing to do with a kind of timidity that comes from having a low opinion of oneself. Jesus knew exactly who he was, but subordinated his rights and privileges to his Father’s loving and gracious purposes for humanity.

What the NIV translates simply as “compassion” is actually two words, which the King James Version translates literally (though awkwardly!) as “bowels of mercies.” Such language, I suspect, reflects a reality we still experience today: when we see someone suffering or in need and feel compassion or pity, we feel it in our “bowels”; we might call it a “gut reaction.” The related verb is used in the gospels repeatedly to describe the compassion of Jesus, who had a gut reaction to the needs of others. Jesus himself uses the word to refer to the God-figure in the parable of the Unmerciful Servant in Matthew 18. The king took pity on a servant who owed an unpayable debt, and had mercy on him — which created a spiritual and moral obligation for him to be merciful to others in turn.

Similar things could be said about “kindness,” “gentleness,” and “patience.” In Romans 2:4, Paul pairs kindness and patience in describing the attitude of God toward the unrepentant; he does so in the context of teaching the Romans to stop arrogantly passing judgment on each other. He pairs them again in 2 Corinthians 6:6 and most famously, in his description of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22, where “gentleness” can also be found. Clearly, all these qualities go together; they are of a piece in the character of God and of Jesus, and should be reflected in the lives of Christians. How? Paul’s advice will get more concrete in the words that follow.

It’s not necessary to try to draw hard boundaries between the five virtues Paul lists, anymore than we should try to distinguish too minutely between the vices of “anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language.” What he writes to the Galatians about the fruit of the Spirit, for example, is not meant to be a laundry list of self-improvement projects. The word “fruit” is singular, not plural, and refers to a broad and multifaceted description of how the Holy Spirit transforms a person’s life and character in relationship to others.

Where it begins is setting our hearts and minds on things above, always keeping the character of God and Christ before the eyes of our conscience. And what does this look like in practice? As Paul will say next, it looks like forgiveness.