But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
Parallel Translations
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But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, for its lusts.
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but put the on the Lorde Iesus Christ. And make not provision for the flesshe to fulfyll the lustes of it.
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But put yee on the Lord JESUS CHRIST, and take no thought for the flesh, to fulfill the lustes of it.
Cross-references (10)
Passages linked to Romans 13:14 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ephesians 4:24 and put on the new man, who in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of truth.
- Galatians 5:16-17 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, that you may not do the things that you desire.
- Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
- Galatians 5:24 Those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.
- 1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I beg you as foreigners and pilgrims, to abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
- Colossians 3:10-12 and have put on the new man, who is being renewed in knowledge after the image of his Creator, where there can’t be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, or free person; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance;
- Romans 8:12-13 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if you live after the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
- 1 John 2:15-17 Don’t love the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the Father’s love isn’t in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, isn’t the Father’s, but is the world’s. The world is passing away with its lusts, but he who does God’s will remains forever.
- Colossians 3:5-8 Put to death therefore your members which are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, depraved passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. For these things’ sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience. You also once walked in those, when you lived in them; but now you also put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and shameful speaking out of your mouth.
- Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me. My justice was as a robe and a diadem.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (17 sources)
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John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,…
14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, etc. This metaphor is commonly used in Scripture with respect to what tends to adorn or to deform man; both of which may be seen in his clothing: for a filthy and torn garment dishonors a man; but what is becoming and clean recommends him. Now to put on Christ, means here to be on every side fortified by the power of his Spirit, and be thereby prepared to discharge all the duties of holiness; for thus is the image of God renewed in us, which is the only true ornament of the soul. For Paul had in view the end of our calling; inasmuch as God, by adopting us, unites us to the body of his only-begotten Son, and for this purpose, — that we, renouncing our former life, may become new men in him. On this account he says also in another place, that we put on Christ in baptism. (Galatians 3:27.)
And have no care, etc. As long as we carry about us our flesh, we cannot cast away every care for it; for though our conversation is in heaven, we yet sojourn on earth. The things then which belong to the body must be taken care of, but not otherwise than as they are helps to us in our pilgrimage, and not that they may make us to forget our country. Even heathens have said, that a few things suffice nature, but that the appetites of men are insatiable. Every one then who wishes to satisfy the desires of the flesh, must necessarily not only fall into, but be immerged in a vast and deep gulf.
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Paul, setting a bridle on our desires, reminds us, that the cause of all intemperance is, that no one is content with a moderate or lawful use of things: he has therefore laid down this rule, — that we are to provide for the wants of our flesh, but not to indulge its lusts. It is in this way that we shall use this world without abusing it.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain To put on Christ, is to possess Christ, to…
To put on Christ, is to possess Christ, to have him in us, and us in him.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,…
14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Ver. 14. But put ye on] Augustine confesseth that he was converted by reading and pondering this text.
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And make not provision] Make not projects, cater not for the flesh.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ; he exhorted,…
Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ; he exhorted, Rom 13:12, to put on the armour of light; now, to put on Jesus Christ. This is necessary, for though grace may help to defend, yet it is Christ and his righteousness only that can cover us (as a garment doth our nakedness) in the sight of God. To put on Christ, is to receive him and rest upon him by faith; as also to profess and imitate him. You have the same phrase, Gal 3:27.
Make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof: by flesh, here, some understand the corrupt nature; others, the body. When he says,
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make not provision for the flesh, he doth not mean, that they should not provide things necessary for the body; this is allowed, Eph 5:29; 1Ti 5:23; we are no where commanded to neglect or macerate our bodies; but he means, that we should not gratify it in its sinful lusts or lustings: see 1Co 11:27. Sustain it we may, but pamper it we may not: we must not care, cater, or make projects for the flesh, to fulfil its inordinacics and cravings.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain Observe here, the apostle doth not say, as a…
Observe here, the apostle doth not say, as a moral philosopher would have said, "Instead of rioting and drunkenness, chambering and wantonness, put on temperance, put on sobriety, put on chastity, and so set a single virtue against a single vice; but, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, seek by faith union with him, that so you may derive virtue from him, to enable you unto holy walking before him. Set the doctrine and life of Christ continually before you; follow every instruction, and imitate all the parts of his holy conversation, even as the garment is commensurate to the body: Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ."
May not the expression imply, 1. That the soul of man, since the fall, is in a naked state, destitute of those divine graces of the Holy Spirit, which were its original clothing in the day of undefiled innocency?
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2. That Jesus Christ is our spiritual clothing?
(1.) In his righteousness, to pardon and justify us; he is our clothing, to cover the guilt of sin out of God’s sight.
(2.) In his grace, to sanctify us, by which he cleanses us from our sin’s pollution and filthiness.
3. That Jesus Christ, in order to our spiritual clothing, must be put on by faith: an unapplied Christ justifies none, saves none.
It was not sufficient under the law that the blood of the sacrifice was shed, but it was also to be sprinkled, in order to the expiation of guilt. The personal application of Christ’s blood by faith on our part, is as absolutely necessary to salvation as is the shedding of his blood on his part, in order to our remission and salvation. Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. It follows, And make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Observe, the apostle doth not say, Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the necessities and the necessary desires thereof. But, to fulfil the lusts, or inordinate desires, thereof. Then only is provision for the flesh sinful and unlawful, when it is sought more to satisfy its appetite, and to gratify the inordinate desires, than to strengthen and fit us for our duty to God and man.
In this latter sense, to make provision for the flesh, is to furnish our enemy with arms and ammunition to fight against ourselves. Interpretatively, he makes provision for his lusts, that doth not provide against them; he feeds his lusts, that doth not starve them; he nourishes and strengthens his lusts, that doth not mortify and kill them.
Explicity and directly, men provide for their lusts by entertaining such thoughts in their minds as do kindle, excite, and stir up lust; and when those thoughts are gratified with desires, and those desires accompanied with endeavours; but worst and saddest of all it is, when men’s desires to gratify their lusts are turned into prayers unto God Almighty in order to that end. Thus the apostle James says, Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts. Jas 4:3.
Learn hence, 1. That a sober and moderate use of the creatures which God has given us, not barely for necessity, but delight, is allowable, and a commanded duty.
Learn, 2. That to make use of the comforts of life, not to satisfy our natures, but to gratify our lusts and inordinate desires, is a perverting of God’s intention in bestowing the supports of life upon us, and a very heinous sin. Make we then no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,.... As…
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ,.... As a man puts on his clothes when he rises in the morning: the righteousness of Christ is compared to a garment, it is the best robe, it is fine linen, clean and white, and change of raiment; which being put on by the Father's gracious act of imputation, covers the sins and deformities of his people, defends them from divine justice, secures them from wrath to come, and renders them beautiful and acceptable in his sight: which righteousness being revealed from faith to faith, is received by faith, and made use of as a proper dress to appear in before God; and may be daily said to be put on by the believer, as often as he makes use of it, and pleads it with God as his justifying righteousness, which should be continually: moreover, to put on Christ, and which indeed seems to be the true sense of the phrase here, is not only to exercise faith on him as the Lord our righteousness, and to make a profession of his name, but to imitate him in the exercise of grace and discharge of duty; to walk as he walked, and as we have him for an example, in love, meekness, patience, humility, and holiness:
and make not provision for the flesh; the body: not but that due care is to be taken of it, both for food and clothing; and for its health, and the continuance and preservation of it by all lawful methods; but not so as
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to fulfil the lusts thereof; to indulge and gratify them, by luxury and uncleanness: it is a saying of Hillell (k), "he that increases flesh, increases worms"; the sense his commentators (l) give of it is, that
"he that increases by eating and drinking, until he becomes fat and fleshy, increases for himself worms in the grave:''
the design of the sentence is, that voluptuous men, who care for nothing else but the flesh, should consider, that ere long they will be a repast for worms: we should not provide, or be caterers for the flesh; and, by pampering it, stir up and satisfy its corrupt inclinations and desires.
(k) Pirke Abot, c. 2. sect. 7. (l) Bartenora in Pirke Abot, c. 2. sect. 7. Vid. Fagium in ib.
Next: Romans Chapter 14
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ -…
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ - Herein is contained the whole of our salvation. It is a strong and beautiful expression for the most intimate union with him, and being clothed with all the graces which were in him. The apostle does not say, Put on purity and sobriety, peacefulness and benevolence; but he says all this and a thousand times more at once, in saying, Put on Christ. And make not provision - To raise foolish desires, or, when they are raised already, to satisfy them.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 14. Put ye on the Lord Jesus] This…
Verse 14. Put ye on the Lord Jesus] This is in reference to what is said, Ro 13:13: Let us put on decent garments-let us make a different profession, unite with other company, and maintain that profession by a suitable conduct. Putting on, or being clothed with Jesus Christ, signifies receiving and believing the Gospel; and consequently taking its maxims for the government of life, having the mind that was in Christ. The ancient Jews frequently use the phrase putting on the shechinah, or Divine majesty, to signify the soul's being clothed with immortality, and rendered fit for glory.
To be clothed with a person is a Greek phrase, signifying to assume the interests of another - to enter into his views, to imitate him, and be wholly on his side. St. Chrysostom particularly mentions this as a common phrase, ὁ δεινα τον δεινα ενεδυσατο, such a one hath put on such a one; i.e. he closely follows and imitates him. So Dionysius Hal., Antiq., lib. xi., page 689, speaking of Appius and the rest of the Decemviri, says: ουκετι μετριαζοντες, αλλα τον Ταρκυνιον εκεινον ενδυομενοι, They were no longer the servants of Tarquin, but they CLOTHED THEMSELVES WITH HIM-they imitated and aped him in every thing. Eusebius, in his life of Constantine, says the same of his sons, they put on their father-they seemed to enter into his spirit and views, and to imitate him in all things. The mode of speech itself is taken from the custom of stage players: they assumed the name and garments of the person whose character they were to act, and endeavoured as closely as possible to imitate him in their spirit, words, and actions. See many pertinent examples in Kypke.
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And make not provision for the flesh] By flesh we are here to understand, not only the body, but all the irregular appetites and passions which led to the abominations already recited. No provision should be made for the encouragement and gratification of such a principle as this.
To fulfil the lusts thereof.] εις επιθυμιας, in reference to its lusts; such as the κωμοι, κοιται, μεθαι, and ασελγειαι, rioting, drunkenness, prostitutions, and uncleanness, mentioned, Ro 13:13, to make provision for which the Gentiles lived and laboured, and bought and sold, and schemed and planned; for it was the whole business of their life to gratify the sinful lusts of the flesh. Their philosophers taught them little else; and the whole circle of their deities, as well as the whole scheme of their religion, served only to excite and inflame such passions, and produce such practices.
I. IN these four last verses there is a fine metaphor, and it is continued and well sustained in every expression.
1. The apostle considers the state of the Gentiles under the notion of night, a time of darkness and a time of evil practices.
2. That this night is nearly at an end, the night is far spent.
3. He considers the Gospel as now visiting the Gentiles, and the light of a glorious day about to shine forth on them.
4. He calls those to awake who were in a stupid, senseless state concerning all spiritual and moral good; and those who were employed in the vilest practices that could debase and degrade mankind.
5. He orders them to cast off the works of darkness, and put on the armour οπλα, the habiliments of light-of righteousness: to cease to do evil; to learn to do well. Here is an allusion to laying aside their night clothes, and putting on their day clothes.
6. He exhorts them to this that they may walk honestly, decently habited; and not spend their time, waste their substance, destroy their lives, and ruin their souls in such iniquitous practices as those which he immediately specifies.
7. That they might not mistake his meaning concerning the decent clothing which he exhorts them to walk in, he immediately explains himself by the use of a common form of speech, and says, still following his metaphor, Put on the Lord Jesus Christ-receive his doctrine, copy his example, and seek the things which belong to another life; for the Gentiles thought of little else than making provision for the flesh or body, to gratify its animal desires and propensities.
II. These last verses have been rendered famous in the Christian Church for more than 1400 years, as being the instrument of the conversion of St. Augustine. It is well known that this man was at first a Manichean, in which doctrine he continued till the 32d year of his age. He had frequent conferences and controversies on the Christian religion with several friends who were Christians; and with his mother Monica, who was incessant in her prayers and tears for his conversion. She was greatly comforted by the assurance given her by St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan, where her son Augustine was then professor of rhetoric: that a child of so many prayers and fears could not perish. He frequently heard St. Ambrose preach, and was affected, not only by his eloquence, but by the important subjects which he discussed; but still could not abandon his Manicheanism. Walking one day in a garden with his friend Alypius, who it appears had been reading a copy of St. Paul's epistle to the Romans, and had left it on a bank near which they then were, (though some say that Augustine was then alone,) he thought he heard a musical voice calling out distinctly, TOLLE et LEGE! TOLLE et LEGE! take up and read! take up and read! He looked down, saw the book, took it up, and hastily opening it, the first words that met his eye were these - Μη κωμοις και μεθαις, c., Not in rioting and drunkenness, c., but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. He felt the import and power of the words, and immediately resolved to become a follower of Christ: he in consequence instantly embraced Christianity and afterwards boldly professed and wrote largely in its defence, and became one of the most eminent of all the Latin fathers. Such is the substance of the story handed down to us from antiquity concerning the conversion of St. Augustine. He was made bishop of Hippo in Africa, in the year 395, and died in that city, Aug. 28th, 430, at the very time that it was beseiged by the Vandals.
III. After what I have said in the notes, I need add nothing on the great political question of subordination to the civil powers and of the propriety and expediency of submitting to every ordinance of man for the Lords sake. I need only observe, that it is in things civil this obedience is enjoined; in things religious, God alone is to be obeyed. Should the civil power attempt to usurp the place of the Almighty, and forge a new creed, or prescribe rites and ceremonies not authorized by the word of God, no Christian is bound to obey. Yet even in this case, as I have already noted, no Christian is authorized to rebel against the civil power; he must bear the persecution, and, if needs be, seal the truth with his blood, and thus become a martyr of the Lord Jesus. This has been the invariable practice of the genuine Church of Christ. They committed their cause to him who judgeth righteously. See farther on this subject on Mt 22:20, &c.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Rom 13:14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus…
Rom 13:14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ — A strong and beautiful expression for the most intimate union with him, and the being clothed with all the graces which were in him; including the receiving, in faith and love, every part of his doctrine; obeying his precepts, imitating his example, and adorning ourselves therewith as with a splendid robe, not to be put off; because it is the garb intended for that eternal day, which is never to be followed by night. The apostle does not say, “Put on purity and sobriety, peacefulness and benevolence;” but he says all this, and a thousand times more, at once, in saying, Put on Christ. And make not provision for the flesh — To raise foolish and sinful desires in your hearts, or, when they are raised already, to devise means to gratify them.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain But put ye on - Compare Gal 3:17. The…
But put ye on - Compare Gal 3:17. The word rendered “put ye on” is the same used in Rom 13:12, and is commonly employed in reference to “clothing” or “apparel.” The phrase to “put on” a person, which seems a harsh expression in our language, was one not infrequently used by Greek writers, and means to imbibe his principles, to imitate his example, to copy his spirit, to become like him. Thus, in Dionysius Halicarnassus the expression occurs, “having put on or clothed themselves with Tarquin;” i. e., they imitated the example and morals of Tarquin. So Lucian says, “having put on Pythagoras;” having received him as a teacher and guide. So the Greek writers speak of putting on Plato, Socrates, etc. meaning to take them as instructors, to follow them as disciples. (See Schleusner.) Thus, to put on the Lord Jesus means to take him as a pattern and guide, to imitate his example, to obey his precepts, to become like him, etc. In “all” respects the Lord Jesus was unlike what had been specified in the previous verse. He was temperate, chaste, pure, peaceable, and meek; and to “put him on” was to imitate him in these respects; Heb 4:15; Heb 7:26; 1Pe 2:22; Isa 53:9; 1Jo 3:5.
And make not provision - The word “provision” here is what is used to denote “provident care,” or preparation for future needs. It means that we should not make it an object to gratify our lusts, or study to do this by laying up anything beforehand with reference to this design.
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For the flesh - The word “flesh” is used here evidently to denote the corrupt propensities of the body, or those which he had specified in Rom 13:13.
To fulfil the lusts thereof - With reference to its corrupt desires. The gratification of the flesh was the main object among the Romans. Living in luxury and licentiousness, they made it their great object of study to multiply and prolong the means of licentious indulgence. In respect to this, Christians were to be a separate people, and to show that they were influenced by a higher and purer desire than this grovelling propensity to minister to sensual gratification. It is right, it is a Christian duty, to labor to make provision for all the real needs of life. But the real wants are few; and with a heart disposed to be pure and temperate, the necessary wants of life are easily satisfied; and the mind may be devoted to higher and purer purposes.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. To…
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. To put on, is a metaphor used in the Scripture; as when it is said, put on the new man, &c. And make not provision for the flesh in its concupiscenses. That is, do not take care, nor pamper and indulge you appetite in eating and drinking, so as to increase your disorderly inclinations, but keep them in due subjection. (Witham) --- The apostle does not forbid all care of the body, since he himself says in the epistle to the Ephesians, v. "No one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it." But he forbids that care of the flesh, by which the desires and concupiscences of the flesh are strengthened and encouraged. This those are guilty of, who are always indulging in delights and voluptuousness. (Estius) --- Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, that is, enter into his sentiments, imitate his virtues, and indulge not the flesh in its inordinate desires.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain But--to sum up all in one word.
But--to sum up all in one word.
put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ--in such wise that Christ only may be seen in you (see Co2 3:3; Gal 3:27; Eph 4:24).
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and make no provision--"take no forethought."
for the flesh, to fulfil the lust thereof--"Direct none of your attention to the cravings of your corrupt nature, how you may provide for their gratification."
Note, (1) How gloriously adapted is Christianity for human society in all conditions! As it makes war directly against no specific forms of government, so it directly recommends none. While its holy and benign principles secure the ultimate abolition of all iniquitous government, the reverence which it teaches for magistracy, under whatever form, as a divine institution, secures the loyalty and peaceableness of its disciples, amid all the turbulence and distractions of civil society, and makes it the highest interest of all states to welcome it within their pale, as in this as well as every other sense--"the salt of the earth, the light of the world" (Rom 13:1-5). (2) Christianity is the grand specific for the purification and elevation of all the social relations; inspiring a readiness to discharge all obligations, and most of all, implanting in its disciples that love which secures all men against injury from them, inasmuch as it is the fulfilling of the law (Rom 13:6-10). (3) The rapid march of the kingdom of God, the advanced stage of it at which we have arrived, and the ever-nearing approach of the perfect day--nearer to every believer the longer he lives--should quicken all the children of light to redeem the time, and, seeing that they look for such things, to be diligent, that they may be found of Him in peace, without spot and blameless (Pe2 3:14). (4) In virtue of "the expulsive power of a new and more powerful affection," the great secret of persevering holiness in all manner of conversation will be found to be "Christ IN US, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27), and Christ ON US, as the character in which alone we shall be able to shine before men (Co2 3:8) (Rom 13:14).
Next: Romans Chapter 14
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 14. Put ye on… Christ—Let him be buckled on…
14. Put ye on… Christ—Let him be buckled on to your body and soul as all armour, Rom_13:12; let him be invested upon you as a dress instead of wanton attire, Rom_13:13. Put him on as your righteousness, as pardoning your sin and ruling your life. Put him on as your Redeemer and ultimate Glorifier. Put him on by an inward living faith, and by an external exemplary profession.
Provision—Forethought, purpose.
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Flesh—In so pure an attire as Christ, be infinitely removed from all the lusts of the fallen nature.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 14. But put ye on, &c.] For similar language…
14. But put ye on, &c.] For similar language see Gal_3:27; (where Baptism is to be viewed in its ideal, as involving and sealing the acceptance and confession of Christ.) Cp. also Eph_4:24; Col_3:10. Here again (see Rom_13:12, last note,) observe how the new effort of the life of grace is spoken of as if it were its beginning.
the Lord Jesus Christ] Here the Saviour is presented as the soul’s armour and arms. Cp. Rom_13:12. By means of Him, beheld by faith, adored, accepted, and welcomed as the Guest of the soul, sin is to be resisted and subdued. Grace is to come, above all other means, by means of personal dealings with Him.
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and make not provision, &c.] Lit. make not forethought of the flesh. The clause, of course, means (under a sort of euphemism) “positively deny the flesh;” but it specially suggests the sad thought of the elaborate pains with which so often sin is planned and sought.—See the close of 1 Corinthians 9 for St Paul’s own practical comment on this precept.
to fulfil the lusts thereof] Lit., simply, unto lusts; with a view to (evil) desires.
An instructive parallel is Col_2:23, where probably render, “not of any value with a view to [resisting the] gratification of the flesh.” Mere ascetic rules there stand contrasted with the living grace of the personal Saviour here.
This verse is memorable as the turning-point of St Augustine’s conversion. In his Confessions (VIII. 12) he records how, at a time of great moral conflict, he was strangely impelled by a voice, perhaps the cry of children at play, (“Take and read, take and read,”) to open again the Epistles of St Paul (codicem Apostoli) which he had recently been reading. “I read in silence the first place on which my eyes fell; Not in revelling and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying; but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in its lusts. I neither cared, nor needed, to read further. At the close of the sentence, as if a ray of certainty were poured into my heart, the clouds of hesitation all fled at once.”—The following words, But him that is weak in faith receive ye, were pointed out to him just after by his friend Alypius, to whom Augustine shewed the present verse. Augustine was at the time so slightly read in the Scriptures that he was not aware (he says) of this context till Alypius, with an application to himself, drew his attention to it.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (14) Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.—A continuation…
(14) Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.—A continuation of the metaphor introduced in Rom_13:12. So invest and identify yourselves with the spirit of Christ as to reproduce it in your outward walk and conduct.
Make not provision for the flesh.—Take no thought for the flesh, so as to supply a stimulus to its lusts. A life of luxury and self-indulgence is apt to excite those fleshly impulses which the Christian should try rather to mortify. He therefore warns his readers not to give their thoughts to such things.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.…
14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ. See Gal. 3:27, for the way to put on Christ. To put on Christ is to enter into fellowship with him. He who is in fellowship with Christ cannot fulfill the lusts of the flesh. “He walks after the Spirit, and not after the flesh.”
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ [Kypke's…
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ [Kypke's researches reveal the fact that this bold figure of speech, so little used by us, was very familiar to the writers who were read by those of Paul's day. If a man chose any hero or teacher as an example for his life, or as an object for his imitation, he was said to "put on" that hero or teacher. Chrysostom says it was a common figure. Thus Dionysius Halicarnassus says of Appius and the other decemvirs: "They were no longer the servants of Tarquin, but they clothed themselves with him." Lucian speaks of one "having put on Pythagoras," meaning that to the fullest extent he accepted the great mathematician as his teacher and guide. Some centuries after Paul, Eusebius says of the sons of Constantine, "They put on their father." "The mode of speech itself," says Clark, "is taken from the custom of stage players: they assumed the name and garments of the person whose character they were to act, and endeavored as closely as possible to imitate him in their spirit, words and actions." The initial step by which we put on Christ is by being baptized into him. This great truth Paul had revealed only a few months before he wrote to the Romans ( Gal_3:27 ). Only after the inward change wrought by being born of the water and of the Spirit ( Joh_3:5 ; Eph_5:26 ; Tit_3:5 ) are we capable of making the vesture of our outward conduct such that men may see Him and not ourselves in our daily life ( Rom_6:1-11 ; 2Co_3:2-3 ; Eph_4:24 ; Col_2:11-3:10 ). He becomes to us, then, the wedding garment which guarantees our acceptability to God ( Mat_22:11 ), and causes us to cast aside our garment of legal righteousness as a filthy rag-- Phi_3:6-11 ], and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof . [We are allowed to make reasonable provision for the just needs of the flesh ( Mat_6:33 ; Eph_5:29 ; 1Co_11:34 ; 1Ti_5:23 ), but our provision must, as it were, go on tiptoe, and be exercised with extreme caution, so as not to waken in us those slumbering dogs of lust which, if aroused, will tear our spiritual life to pieces. Pool aptly says of our fleshly life, "Sustain it we may, but pamper it we may not." Fulfilling the lusts of the flesh was the main object of life in pagan Rome.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.