Romans 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
Paul shifts to another metaphor, from the darkness/light in the previous verses not to clothing. He is trying to help the readers see the contrast between their old life, which should be abandoned, and their new life in Christ. Act like who you are becoming. You are new creations, so follow through and begin to live like it. To “put on” is an act of faith and consecration. We do not put new clothes over the old but we change our old clothes and throw them away completely. We are now “new creations.” The old clothes were characterized by the flesh and its desires. We used to live to please ourselves and the distorted desires that come from selfishness. With the old life, we put our own desires before God, just like Adam and Eve did in the garden of Eden. With the new life, we have submitted ourselves totally to God and allowed God to be at the center of our lives. This is like putting on new clothes: we have a whole new appearance. To make “no provision” means not allowing the flesh and sin to have any pull in our lives. We end the relationship of the control of the flesh. This image that Paul uses is easy for us to picture in our minds. The challenge is for us to be committed to actually do it. It will take a daily decision of what we will wear for the day. We must choose the clothes of Christ.
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