Putting On Christ: Why Every Christian Wears the Same Spiritual Uniform

Summary

People wear clothes to communicate identity and purpose, and Scripture teaches that every believer wears the same spiritual uniform, Christ Himself. Putting on Christ protects us from sin, identifies us with Jesus, and calls us to humility, love, and good deeds. Rather than comfort or status, this new clothing produces spiritual fruit and makes believers clearly recognizable as followers transformed into God’s image.

Why People Wear the Clothes They Do

Why do people wear the clothes they choose? Eleven reasons explain people’s clothing at any given moment. They wear clothing to:

1.     Protect themselves from cold, heat, rain, snow, wind, etc. My blue rainsuit keeps me dry when it is raining.

2.     Protect themselves from injury. My granddaughter wears a helmet when riding a horse.

3.     Identify with a specific group. My school’s track and field team must wear school-issued uniforms at meets.

4.     Conform to preset style and color clothing – Our track and field team may not wear red sweatshirts at meets because our school colors are blue and gold.

5.     Serve as a status symbol. People show off in designer suits to demonstrate their financial success.

6.     Be Sanitary. Surgeons wear caps, masks, gloves, etc., to protect their patients from infection.

7.     Look good in certain situations. People make themselves as attractive as possible when going to a social event.

8.     Be modest. Clothing reflects a culture’s view of covering the body properly.

9.     Display insignias that show group membership. When I was in high school, I wore a sweater with a letter “M” that my school awarded for athletic achievement.

10.  Be comfortable. At home, I wear comfy clothes.

11.  Be identifiable. Policemen, sports officials, etc., wear uniforms so people can easily identify them.1 

Putting On Christ as Our True Uniform

Every Christian is to wear the same “uniform.” The Apostle Paul described it. “And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes” (Galatians 3:27 NLT). Let’s consider how the eleven aforementioned reasons apply to putting on Christ.

Protected and Preserved Through Christ

We Christians put on Christ to:

• Protect ourselves from the world’s ill winds, sinful influences, and frostbite of the soul that the cravings for physical pleasure and everything we see and pride in our possessions and achievements demonstrate (1 John 2:16). We discard those formerly worn clothes to put on the new.

  
  

• Protect ourselves from the ultimate injury of eternal spiritual death (Romans 6:23) and the attacking Enemy by putting on every protective piece of God’s armor (Ephesians 6:11-13).

Identified with Jesus and His Way

• Identify publicly with Jesus and His church. Jesus is our God-issued uniform, not to be hidden under some more acceptable outer garment.

  
  

• Conform to the Jesus way—the self-sacrificial way of the cross (Luke 9:23).

  
  

• Serve as a status symbol of our royal but undeserved standing as children of God (John 1:12), yet worn with Christ-like humility (Philippians 2:6–8), not like a designer suit.

Living Clean, Humble, and Loving Lives

• Be sanitary by protecting others against the infection of hypocrisy we spread by professing commitment to Christ while living for ourselves.

  
  

• Not look good to others but be “totally committed to doing good deeds” (Titus 2:14 NLT) for others.

  
  

• Be modest, humbly conforming to Jesus’ example and putting on “the shining armor of right living” (Romans 13:12 NLT), which is in style in every culture.

  
  

• Display the love insignia that shows we belong to Jesus. “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples” (John 13:35).

Recognizable by Fruitful, Transformed Living

• Not be comfortable but spiritually fruitful by remaining in Jesus (John 15:5). God’s pruning to make us more fruitful isn’t comfortable.

  
  

• Be identifiable as His followers. We put on our new nature and are renewed as we learn to know and become like our Creator (Colossians 3:10).

1.     Purpose of Clothing - Textile School

Photo: Image Creator (microsoft.com)