And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity.
Parallel translations
- WEB Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
- KJV And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
- NKJV But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
- NASB In addition to all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.
- NLT Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Above all, they must put on love, which binds all the virtues together in perfect unity. Love is the crowning grace.
Overview
'Above all these things, walk in love'—love is the supreme virtue that completes the rest. It is 'the bond of perfection,' holding the other graces together and uniting the church in maturity. Without love the other virtues remain incomplete; with it they cohere into a Christlike whole.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- 1 Pet 4:8Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
- Eph 5:2and walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant sacrificial offering to God.
- 1 Cor 13:1–13If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a ringing gong or a clanging cymbal.
- Col 2:2that they may be encouraged in heart, knit together in love, and filled with the full riches of complete understanding, so that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ,
- Rom 13:8Be indebted to no one, except to one another in love. For he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.
- John 13:34A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another.
- Eph 4:3and with diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
- 1 Jn 4:21And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well.
- 1 Tim 1:5The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
- John 15:12This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
- 1 Th 4:9Now about brotherly love, you do not need anyone to write to you, because you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another.
- 2 Pet 1:7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love.
- 1 Jn 4:7–12Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
- John 17:23I in them and You in Me—that they may be perfectly united, so that the world may know that You sent Me and have loved them just as You have loved Me.
- Eph 1:4For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
- 1 Jn 3:23And this is His commandment: that we should believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and we should love one another just as He commanded us.
- Heb 6:1Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith in God,
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The image of the invisible God, firstborn over creation, in whom all things hold together and all the fullness of God dwells bodily — supreme over every power.
How Colossians 3:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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