"And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
— Colossians 3:14 (NIV)
Colossians 3:14 is the short verse people mean when they search the reference for "put on love." This page is the passage and a plain reading. The longer reading of the wardrobe in Colossians 3 is Put on love in Colossians 3. The line-by-line study is Colossians 3:14 meaning. Paul's portrait of that love is 1 Corinthians 13. Patient, kind love in the same family is 1 Corinthians 13:4-7.
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The verse
Colossians 3:14 (NIV) reads: "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."
Paul has just named compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, then bearing with one another and forgiving. Verse 14 does not add love as one more item beside them. It says put love on over all of them. Older English says "charity" and "the bond of perfectness" for the same clause.
What the verse is saying
"Put on" is clothing. You dress yourself in love on purpose. The people told to put it on are already called chosen, holy, and dearly loved (Colossians 3:12). Love is the outer garment that keeps the other virtues from falling into separate performances.
Verse 13 is the hard part with real people: bear with each other and forgive. Forgiveness and love in Colossians stays with that line. Verse 15 follows with the peace of Christ ruling in one body. Love and unity follows that call past this verse.
How people use Colossians 3:14
People quote the reference when they want the Bible's short command to put on love as a bond. Weddings and churches often pair it with 1 Corinthians 13. It fits when kindness and patience are already named and something still has to hold them together.
Questions people ask
What does Colossians 3:14 say?
It says over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
What does put on love mean?
It means love is worn on purpose, over compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, and forgiveness — not a mood you wait to feel. See Colossians 3:14 meaning and Put on love in Colossians 3.
Is Colossians 3:14 only about marriage?
No. Paul wrote it to a church putting on the new self. Marriage needs that clothing, but the first audience is the whole body. See Love and marriage.
How does this relate to 1 Corinthians 13?
1 Corinthians 13 is the portrait of the love you put on. Colossians 3:14 is the command to wear it over the other virtues. Start with 1 Corinthians 13.
Where should I read next?
For the study, read Colossians 3:14 meaning. For the longer Colossians reading, read Put on love in Colossians 3. For the love chapter, read 1 Corinthians 13.
