Introduction
As we move along in our passage of Colossians 3:12-17, we
have so far learned what to wear, what to put on so that our clothing matches,
and what to be ruled by. Verse 16 teaches us what should be dwelling inside us
so that we can wear the right clothing and attain the rule of peace.
Text
Let
the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in
all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in
your hearts to God.
The opening of verse 16 parallels the opening of verse 15.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts” is matched by “Let the word of
Christ dwell in you.” Consider the phrase, “word of Christ.”
This is the only time that this phrase appears in Paul’s
writings and in the New Testament. Perhaps “the peace of Christ” caused him to
think of “word of Christ.” Whatever the case, it is clear what he means. He is
speaking of the gospel, which he has already spoken of in his letter.
In the first chapter he writes, “Of this you have heard before in the word of
the truth, the gospel” (v. 5). Then later in verse 23, “the hope of the gospel that you heard, which
has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became
a minister.” Paul’s calling was to take and proclaim the gospel into
regions where it was not known and particularly to the Gentiles. He speaks of
himself being a steward of the mystery that had been hidden. That mystery is
that the gospel is for everyone, even Gentiles. To them, he was committed to
making the word of God fully known, i.e. the gospel.
By “word of Christ,” Paul means both the
gospel in its simplest form and its fullest expression. He crystalizes it in
several places.
For
there is no distinction: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God, 24 and are justified by his
grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his
blood, to be received by faith (Romans 3:22-25).
…we
preach Christ crucified (1 Corinthians 1:23).
Christ
died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he
was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the
Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Christ has died; Christ has risen. He died
to save us from our sins by offering his life as a sacrifice. We know that he
achieved his mission because he rose from the dead, and so we too shall rise.
That is the simple gospel.
But the gospel is not a mere formula that
gets us into heaven. By using the term “word of Christ,” Paul is indicating
that the Word – the full Scriptures – points to and centers around the person
and work of Jesus Christ. From Genesis to Malachi, the revelation of God’s Word
foreshadows, looks to, explains, builds up to the appearance of Jesus Christ
and his work of redemption. The New Testament is a testament to how the Old
Testament has been fulfilled in and by Christ. And so the word of Christ is the
simple gospel, but it is also the full implication and the full explanation of
the gospel as expressed in all the scriptures.
It is this word of Christ that is to dwell
richly in the Colossians. The word of Christ is to make its home in their
hearts and minds. The word is not kept in a library to visit. It is not meant
to be a visitor in their homes, perhaps making a weekly or daily short visit.
It moves in. And it is not even satisfied with an in-law suite. It wants free
access to every room.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 gives an idea of the
place of Scripture:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You
shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all
your might. 6 And these words that I
command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You
shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you
sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and
when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as
a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your
house and on your gates.
Both passages express the same sentiment. Scripture is not
to be regarded as an interesting and maybe helpful book to refer to every now
and then. The Word of God is to be integrated into our lives. And Paul’s point
is that the Word of God is about the word of Christ. The gospel is not one of
several interesting topics in Scripture. All of Scripture is written to promote
the gospel.
The next phrase reminds us that we are still in the context
of the church. It is good to have private devotions and private studying of the
word of Christ, but as essential is the dwelling of the word of Christ among
the believers in the church.
teaching
and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
Simply put, we have responsibility to teach one another and
admonish one another with the word of Christ. Teach and admonish differ
slightly from each other. I am doing both as I preach. Presently I am teaching
what this verse means – what is meant by “word of Christ,” what is meant by the
word dwelling in us. After I complete teaching the meaning of the verse, I will
move to admonishing, which simply means to apply the teaching to you.
Hopefully, I will teach and admonish “in all wisdom.” I will accurately
interpret the meaning of the text, and I will appropriately apply the meaning
to your lives. That is the standard for a sermon well preached, and it is the
standard for all of us as we teach and admonish one another.
The second half of this verse is the most intriguing.
singing
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
We are to teach and admonish one another by singing! Was
Paul a choir director? He says the same thing in his letter to the Ephesians: “addressing one another in
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord
with your heart” (v. 19). And then that’s it. He makes a brief note in 1
Corinthians 14:26, that as part of their worship service they include hymns.
Our verse is the only verse that
specifically says what singing is supposed to accomplish in worship, which is
the most likely context here. The purpose is two-fold, or rather
two-directional – to teach and admonish one another and to express thankfulness
and praise to God.
In regard to one another, we are to teach
and admonish with the word of Christ. The psalms and hymns and spiritual songs
that we choose ought to increase our understanding of the gospel in particular,
and of all Scripture. They should admonish us, i.e. lead us to apply the
teachings of the gospel and of all Scripture to our lives. They should comfort
us with the gospel; they should warn us of going astray. They should biblically
encourage us and uplift our spirits. They should biblically guide us. They
should lead us to Jesus Christ and his work on the cross.
Songs can lift our spirits. They can
comfort us; they can motivate us and instruct us. They can do such things
effectively because of the power of music to move our hearts. All the more
critical, then, that it is the word of Christ that they are communicating. Done
rightly, they build up the body of Christ and aid the peace of Christ to rule;
done wrongly, they lead to false understanding of Christ and his work.
Then there is singing with “thankfulness to God.” The word
for thankfulness is not the same as used in verse 15 (be thankful). The NIV
indicates the subtle difference with the word “gratitude.” The singers are
singing out of awareness of God’s grace (xaris).
They are not merely thanking God for being good and making the weather nice.
They are expressing back the grace given to them who have received the peace,
the reconciliation that Christ achieved for them. They are giving thanks in and
through Christ. It is a thankfulness filled with praise for the riches that
they have received in Christ.
You may have noticed that I did not comment on the
differences among the three musical terms. What is a psalm, a hymn, a spiritual
song? I don’t know, at least not with confidence. Paul writes as though his
readers know, and I suppose they do. But I cannot find agreement among the
commentators, and I do not have new insight. All that I do know is that
whatever the distinctions may be, they are not germane to the point of the
verse, which is that we are to use the singing of such songs to teach and
admonish one another through the scriptures.
Lessons
There are many lessons that we can take from this one
sentence verse.
1. Let
the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Expose yourself daily to Scripture.
Some of you are avid Bible students. You love to read and
study. Others of you are not big readers and are intimidated to open up a Bible
and try to make sense of it. Whatever your ability, let Scripture, let the gospel
message dwell in you. Most of you wake up in the morning and either turn on the
TV or computer for news. Make it a habit to be exposed to Scripture. It could
be a brief devotional that you read on the computer, either by going to a site
or subscribing to a daily devotional.
Do you like to read positive quotes? Many of you have
inspirational quotes on your refrigerators or walls or as screensavers. Make
the quotes Bible quotes. Read, not about all the great stuff that is in you,
but that is in Christ and what he has done for you and continues to do.
Not a reader? Listen to Scripture on cds while riding in the
car. Watch videos of Christian teachers. Listen to recorded sermons.
Just as you take daily vitamins and pills, take daily dosages
of Scripture, even if a verse or two. The smallest amount goes a long way,
especially when taken daily, and especially when you give that verse a thought
or two throughout the day. Like vitamins, it will increase your spiritual
health even as you are unaware of it and keep you from spiritual illness, as
well.
Don’t fall for the line that Scripture reading or hearing is
only as valuable as you feel the moment you are receiving the word. You will
find over time that Scripture will come back to you at unexpected times, and
you are likely to find a growing hunger for God’s Word.
But you have got to let yourself be exposed to the Word.
Most of you will not let a day go by without exposing yourself to the news.
That is a major reason why you find yourself anxious and angry. Do not let a
day go by that you do not expose yourself to the good news of Christ’s
salvation and of God’s sovereignty.
2. teaching
and admonishing one another in all wisdom. Daily share Scripture with others.
This is easier than you think. Many of you
send an email every day. Add a Scripture verse. Add it after your name. You
have friends and family you talk to on the phone. Tell them a verse you read.
If you are married, make an agreement with your spouse to share one verse in
the morning or evening. It is always good to have devotions together, but the
main point is to do something regularly. We need to hear the Word, and everyone
we come in contact with needs to hear the Word.
Share a biblical teaching that you read or
pass on a sermon. In Facebook I am always seeing positive quotes. Post positive
biblical quotes. I read, “The
day is what you make it! So why not make it a great one?” It would be more
meaningful to me to read, “This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us
rejoice and be glad in it!” (Psalm 118:24). It is fine and good to read
inspiring quotes by coaches and teachers and rich and famous people. Let’s get
the words of Moses, David, Paul, and especially Jesus out to others.
A friend comes to you or family member.
They need counsel and encouragement. It is fine to share from your own
experience, but you can do even more for them by sharing Scripture. Where are
you going to get that kind of knowledge? From your daily exposure to Scripture.
It will pop in your mind when you need it.
3. singing
psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Look for Scripture in the music of
worship.
How did we do today? We opened with the Doxology, joining
our voices to praise the Triune God with the same words used by churches throughout
the world and the ages. Then we sang “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” that
calls upon us to extoll our great Redeemer who broke the power of canceled sin.
We are encouraged by the power of our Lord, which now reigns in us. We heard
the choir sing to us from Isaiah 43 the words of God not to be afraid of
whatever we face because he is with us. We followed that by singing “How Firm a
Foundation,” also based on Isaiah 43, also affirming for us that our God is for
us and with us, whatever fire or flood we must pass through. We will close the
worship service with “Wonderful Words of Life,” a hymn that asks for the very
thing this verse tells us to offer one another – to be told yet again the
wonderful words of the gospel that Jesus offers. It reinforces the message of
our verse.
We join our voices in worship. Our words encourage one
another. We sing songs that instruct and admonish one another. There are times
when the world shakes my faith. Is the gospel true? Am I holding on to outdated
beliefs? Then I come into the sanctuary and with my brothers and sisters sing
the hymns that have been sung throughout the ages, and my faith is made strong
again. The gospel is true. Here about me are faithful believers who are giving
praise to our God, who are exalting our Redeemer.
But you do not have to wait for Sunday worship. Listen at
home. Be lifted up and strengthened in your faith with the technology given you
to listen whenever and wherever you are. All the small groups of the church
include Scripture reading and prayer. Add a hymn. Sing the Doxology. It may
seem strange, but you will find that singing out loud has a way of setting the
right chord for your gathering. It is time to recapture the old tradition of
singing out loud before the advent of recorded music.
4. the word of Christ
Worth Singing About
The bottom line is this: the word of Christ is worth singing
about. We have been given the new song of the gospel. Rejoice in it; be
instructed by it; be admonished and exhorted by it. Desire that others join in
singing it. This world sings many songs with desperate desire. With beautiful,
moving tunes, they sing songs of impossible romance making impossible promises
of love for all eternity. A song sung just right feels like a religious
experience. And for a while, in the moment, all is right inside and with the
world. But the music ends, and we fall
back into the world. The only thing that feels eternal is eternal
disappointment. The songs are like drugs that temporarily make us feel good.
But songs of the word of Christ spring from the new song of
the gospel that declares Christ has won our victory forever, and that our place
with him is forever in the new earth when he returns. The word of Christ is
lasting truth; it is rock solid truth. It is truth worth believing and truth
worth singing. For this new song is filled with wonderful words of life.
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