Colossians 3:14
Translations
King James Version (KJV)
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfection.
American King James Version (AKJV)
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfection.
American Standard Version (ASV)
and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.
Basic English Translation (BBE)
And more than all, have love; the only way in which you may be completely joined together.
Webster's Revision
And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
World English Bible
Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection.
English Revised Version (ERV)
and above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfectness.
Clarke's Colossians 3:14 Bible Commentary
And above all these things - Επι πασι δε τουτοις· Upon all, over all; as the outer garment envelopes all the clothing, so let charity or love invest and encompass all the rest. Even bowels of mercy are to be set in motion by love; from love they derive all their feeling, and all their power and promptitude to action. Let this, therefore, be as the upper garment; the surtout that invests the whole man.
Which is the bond of perfectness - Love to God and man is not only to cover all, but also to unite and consolidate the whole. It is therefore represented here under the notion of a girdle, by which all the rest of the clothing is bound close about the body. To love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and one's neighbor as one's self, is the perfection which the new covenant requires, and which the grace and Spirit of Christ work in every sincerely obedient, humble believer; and that very love, which is the fulfilling of the law and the perfection itself which the Gospel requires, is also the bond of that perfection. It is by love to God and man that love is to be preserved. Love begets love; and the more a man loves God and his neighbor, the more he is enabled to do so. Love, while properly exercised, is ever increasing and reproducing itself.
Instead of τελειοτητος, perfection, several reputable MSS., with the Itala, read ἑνοτητος, unity; but the former is doubtless the genuine reading.
Barnes's Colossians 3:14 Bible Commentary
And above all these things - Over, or upon all these things; compare the notes at Ephesians 6:16.
Charity - Love. Notes, 1 Corinthians 13:1.
Which is the bond of perfectness - The bond of all perfection; the thing which will unite all other things, and make them complete; compare the parallel place in Ephesians 4:3. The idea seems to be that love will bind all the other graces fast together, and render the whole system complete. Without love, though there might be other graces and virtues, there would be a want of harmony and compactness in our Christian graces, and this was necessary to unite and complete the whole. There is great beauty in the expression, and it contains most important truth. If it were possible to conceive that the other graces could exist among a Christian people, yet there would be a sad incompleteness, a painful want of harmony and union, if love were not the reigning principle. Nor faith, nor zeal, nor prophecy, nor the power of speaking with the tongue of angels, would answer the purpose. See this sentiment expressed in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13, and the effect of love more fully explained in the notes at that chapter.
Wesley's Colossians 3:14 Bible Commentary
3:14 The love of God contains the whole of Christian perfection, and connects all the parts of it together.