Clothe Yourself: How to Live with Confidence in Christ’s Character

It’s been said that “the clothes make the man.” The type of clothes you wear instantly alters your appearance before others.  How people perceive you, and how you perceive yourself, is greatly impacted by how you dress. Wear the wrong clothes, and your confidence diminishes to the point that you might no longer function properly.

Let’s say, for example, that I’m wearing the nicest suit I’ve ever owned. Something perfectly tailored to my exact measurements. If I were to wear that to officiate a wedding, I would walk to the front of the room feeling very comfortable. If, however, I wore that out and ended up getting taken to a family BBQ outside, my ability to relax and enjoy myself would be greatly hindered. Similarly, a pool is a great place to wear flip flops. The basketball court is not. If I were to try to play basketball with sandals, I’d struggle to play my best as I would be afraid of injuring myself in the process. 

Having the right clothes is a big deal. The Apostle Paul, knowing this, would often use clothing as a metaphor for the Christian life. In 2 Corinthians 5:2-3, he says, “Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.” His point being that, in this age, existing in a current state of sin, evil, and death, we feel out of place. We have a hope of being dressed for the marriage feast with Jesus, dressed in our best, but we find ourselves working in the landfill and feeling out of place. 

By God’s grace, our future clothing is not just something we wait for, but something we can actively wear as we wait! Paul not only points forward to a day when we will be fully clothed, but he commands us to put on that clothing now. In Ephesians 4:22-24, Paul says,

“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 the true righteousness and holiness.”

Here, the Apostle implies that we have the opportunity to participate in clothing ourselves in a manner that allows us to live out our Christian life with confidence and effectiveness. As encouraging as this metaphor is, we can struggle with what this looks like practically. To help us, I want to focus on three verses that give us insight into how we might practice this in our daily lives.

1. To clothe yourself is to actively trust in Jesus.

“For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” – Galatians 3:27

While in 2 Corinthians 5 we see the Apostle Paul saying that we long to be clothed at Jesus coming at some point in the future, here in Galatians we see him state that the act of being baptized in Christ is the equivalent of being clothed in Christ.

This is a great example of the “already, not yet” tension we wrestle with in the Christian faith. On one hand, we have already been truly clothed in Christ. And yet, on the other hand, we are not yet totally clothed in him. 

Practically speaking, this verse shows us that clothing ourselves with Christ is to actively trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ in His atoning work on the cross on our behalf. You see, baptism is not simply an event in your history; it’s a lifelong position. We often use the language that your baptism is a physical display of a spiritual reality. The spiritual reality is that, by faith, you are identifying with Jesus – his life, death, and resurrection. It’s a physical demonstration of a spiritual reality that is ongoing throughout our lives.

Clothing ourselves is, then, a daily reliance on Jesus’ finished work that has been personally applied to ourselves. I say it this way because, for many of us, we are quick to agree with the idea that Jesus lived, died, and maybe even resurrected, but we struggle to believe that it was for our benefit. We continue to live in such a way that we feel as if we need to earn God’s approval to receive the reward of Jesus.

The good news of the Gospel, however, is that Jesus died in our place. And, as a result, he took on our sin in exchange for his righteousness. We don’t earn his righteousness; we just receive it.

No matter the circumstance, we can enter every day with confidence knowing that, because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, we are fully clothed in God’s approval. We’re always dressed appropriately for every situation.

2. To clothe yourself is to take off what’s old.

“Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.” – Colossians 3:9-10

There’s an episode on the old sitcom “Friends” where the gang is preparing to attend an important event at the museum where Ross works. The only problem is that no one is ready to leave. At one point, Chandler and Joey get into an argument, which leads to Chandler hiding all of Joey’s clothes so that he couldn’t get dressed. In response, Joe puts on all of Chandler’s clothes at once so that Chandler couldn’t get dressed either.

When Joey enters the scene wearing all of Chandler’s clothes, he looks ridiculous. And very uncomfortable. Part of the humor is that no one in their right mind would ever dress like that. And yet, for many Christians, we are trying to do this in our spiritual life. We find ourselves trying to add the clothing of Christ without taking off what’s old.

In Colossians 3, the Apostle Paul instructs the believers to take off their old nature so that they can put on the character of Christ. Talking about the old nature, Paul shares a list of evil attitudes and deeds that displease God. Behaviors that include sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, greed, idolatry, anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language.

The lesson being that, in order to be clothed in Christ, we must be able to identify and remove what no longer fits with him. This goes beyond a vague acknowledgment of the presence of sin in your life to being specific and repentant of every sin that you become aware of.

To put on Christ, we must learn to bravely identify and confess the sins in our lives to one another. Going back to our first verse, this is where being confident in Jesus’ work is so vital. Knowing that you are secure in Jesus allows you to freely confess your weaknesses, knowing that no matter how dark your sin is, nothing can separate you from God’s love and acceptance.

3. To clothe yourself is to practice the way of Jesus.

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” – Colossians 3:12

It should go without saying, but when we talk about clothing ourselves in Christ, it’s not so much about how we dress as much as it is how we act. In Colossians, the Apostle encourages the church to clothe themselves by putting on the life and character displayed by Jesus in his earthly life. And this takes a lot of practice!

There’s an interesting source written by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, just before the time of Christ, called “Roman Antiquities.” Throughout the work, he uses the Greek word for “put on” as we see it used in the New Testament writings of Paul. At one point, it’s used in a way to describe someone “putting on Tarquin.” In this specific context, to “put on” Tarquin is to adopt the tyrannical, arrogant, and oppressive role/character of the Tarquin kings.

When the Apostle Paul comes on the scene and tells his disciples to “put on” Jesus, this is what he means. He intends for them to adopt Jesus’ character and live as if they were Jesus. To do what Jesus would do if he were in their shoes.

Personally, sometimes I feel a bit hypocritical trying to act like Jesus. I know that I often fall short. But, as I examine the truth of Scripture, I come to see that putting on Jesus is really about practicing what has already been gifted to me. There’s no deadline for getting it right. It’s just for me to possess, practice, and slowly perfect with the Spirit’s help.

As you think about how you want to present yourself in this coming season, let me encourage you to put on Christ. Trust in his finished work. Take off what’s old. And practice his life and character. The clothes really do make the man.