Rooted in Christ- Part 29- The Word of Christ

Introduction

The last couple of weeks we have considered the love that we are to exhibit towards God and towards one another, we then considered the peace of God which should rule in our hearts and tonight we will consider the Word of Christ and its effects and influence in our lives.

Paul could just have easily here spoken of the Word of God but as we have seen, his entire emphasis throughout the book of Colossian is upon Christ and pointing the Colossian believers away from the false teachers and back unto Him.

Again at the beginning of this verse we find the word “let” which as we have before explained denotes a responsibility that is ours. What Paul is about to describe does not come by nature but by an intentional effort on the part of the believers in Colosse.

His first instruction is to let the Word of Christ...

Dwell in You

The word dwell here literally means to take up residence in or to inhabit, so what Paul is saying is that the believer has a responsibility to let the Word of Christ take up residence within us.

John 5:39 KJV 1900

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Our heart and life are literally to become a home where the Word of God dwells. This obviously is not something that shall naturally occur in the life of the believer.

In fact it is a sad reality that many believers possess very little knowledge of the Word of God.

In a recent poll only about 15% of American adults stated that they read the Bible every day and around 34% said that they never read the Bible at all.

About half of Americans (around 53%) have read very little or none of the Bible for themselves.

A recent LifeWay Research study found only 45 percent of those who regularly attend church read the Bible more than once a week. Over 40 percent of the people attending read their Bible occasionally, maybe once or twice a month. Almost 1 in 5 churchgoers say they never read the Bible—essentially the same number who read it every day.

It is plain to see that most believers could not honestly say that the Word of Christ dwells in them. This must change if we are to become the Christians that God would have us to be.

The importance of the Word of God cannot be overstated. It is a vital key to our spiritual growth and maturity.

Acts 6:7 KJV 1900

And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.

Hebrews 4:12 KJV 1900

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

When the Word of God dwells within us our hearts and lives will be transformed by its power. Paul states under the inspiration of the Spirit of God that the believer should let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly (abundantly, to a great degree).

How do we pursue this lofty goal? First we must read the Word, but we must do more than read it, we must study it and apply its principles to our lives.

We must meditate upon it and allow it to permeate all of our thinking. The believer who has the Word of Christ richly dwelling in himself will find that the Word of God speaks into every area of his life.

A strong relationship with the Word of Christ will produce a spiritual wisdom in the life of the believer, which will then serve to benefit others as what is dwelling in him, begins to flow out to others.

This brings us to the second half of the verse. When the Word of Christ dwells in you richly, it will naturally begin to...

Flow Out of You

Paul mentions two specific ways that the Word of God which dwells in the believer will begin to flow out of him. This is through teaching and admonishing and through the singing. of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.

By wisdom, the believer who has the Word of Christ dwelling in himself, will be able to then provide valuable instruction to others. As the Word of God permeates our heart and mind we are enabled to teach others and to help them to make progress in spiritual growth.

The believer who has the Word of Christ dwelling in him is also able to admonish others, which simply means to warn or to advise on the consequences of a wrong action.

When the Word of Christ dwells in us we can give good counsel and provide biblical instruction to others, but without the authority of the Word of God we only provide our own advice or opinions.

This teaching and admonition comes in various forms, but Paul connects it here with the singing of Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Singing in the early church was not a means of entertainment and was not intended simply to stir the emotions, but was one more means of communicating the deep truths of the Word of God as they worshipped Him together.

The greatest songs are those which are filled with the truth of scripture and help to reinforce the great doctrines of the Christian faith. The psalms would most certainly be referring to the wonderful psalms that we have in the Old Testament scriptures. The hymns were songs of praise to God and spiritual songs means literally songs pertaining to spiritual things so these would have been songs that contained spiritual truth.

The effect of having the Word of Christ dwelling in you will be seen in our instruction (teaching and admonition) of others as we become more effective at communicating spiritual truth to those we instruct.

The effect of having the Word of Christ dwelling in you will also be seen in our singing as we have a deeper knowledge of what we sing about. Our singing is then not only from the lips but is from the heart.

This is the final exhortation which Paul gives in this verse that we would not only sing with our lips, but also with our hearts singing unto the Lord with His grace in our hearts.

It is the grace of God that should energize and invigorate our song services in the house of God. There is a distinct difference that is felt by all who are present when we sing only from the lips and not from the heart.

The lifeless song service is the direct product of a lack of grace in our hearts and a tendency to forget who it is that we are singing to.

When the Word of Christ richly dwells in us and we realize all that we have in Christ and consider the grace and mercy which God has shown to us, there will be a renewed vigor and life to our singing.

Sadly so many again have such a shallow interaction with the Word that they do not fully comprehend the goodness of God and thus there is little excitement or life in their worship of Him.

Conclusion

Is the Word of Christ dwelling in you richly today, has it permeated all your thoughts and every area of your life?

This will not take place without some intention effort on your part. If your relationship to the Word of God is not what it should be, would you commit yourself to correcting this serious error?

If the Word of Christ dwells in you, then it should naturally flow out of you. The evidence will be seen as you instruct others, this may not mean that you teach a Sunday School Class, but that you instruct your family in the Word of God, that you are able to answer the spiritual questions of your coworkers, or that neighbor that you are intent on witnessing to.

The evidence will also be seen in your singing as you sing from a heart that is overflowing with the grace of God.

Let’s each determine to let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly!