Paul has been describing the priorities of the new
man, that is, the new humanity or the people of God redeemed by Jesus Christ.
They should be identified by their spiritual attire of love (vv. 12-14), by
their experience of peace as they submit to the rule of Jesus (v. 15), and by
an ongoing focus on the word of Christ (v. 16). We have considered in previous
readings the attire and the experience of peace, and we will now think about
the apostle’s instructions about the church as a word-centred community.
Paul’s requirement in our text is divided into four
clauses. First, the Colossians are to let the word of Christ dwell in them
richly; second, they are to teach and admonish one another in all wisdom;
third, they are to sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs; and fourth, they are
to do so with thankfulness in their hearts to God. Does this mean Paul is
describing a sequence of four stages? That is possible.
I would suggest, however, a three-part division: in
division one he is describing preparation for interaction (letting the word of
Christ dwell in them richly); in division two he describes practising
interaction (teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom), and gives an
example of such interaction (with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs); division
3 is then his description of the spirit of interaction (with thankfulness in
your hearts to God). Today we will think about the preparation.
What does Paul have in mind when he says, ‘Let the
word of Christ dwell in you richly’? The first detail concerns the term ‘let’,
and it suggests that the believers can hinder this indwelling from taking
place. Clearly it is sins of one kind or another that will prevent this from
occurring. And I suppose all the Colossians would need to do was to think about
the various sins Paul has mentioned already in this chapter, the various
attitudes and practices that marked the old humanity and which should not be
found in the people of God. It is obvious that Paul is reminding the Colossians
of their responsibility to ensure that personal sin does not prevent the word
of Christ dwelling in them richly.
Then we need to work out what Paul means by the phrase
‘the word of Christ’. There are two common suggestions regarding it. Some say
it is the message about Christ (the gospel) and others say it is the Old
Testament (most of the New Testament was not available when Paul wrote
Colossians). It is difficult to know how a message or several messages could
dwell in them richly unless these messages were very detailed about Christ. But
it is possible, so we cannot discount. However, it is more likely that Paul has
in mind the Old Testament, the Word of God, and in saying that it should dwell in
God’s people he is saying what several Old Testament writers also say about it
(for example, Psalms 1 and 19). Of course, we should extend the word of Christ
to include the New Testament as well.
The word of Christ is to ‘dwell’ in us, that is, we
are to make our inner lives its home. Home is where family members love one
another, where they are welcome, where they are relaxed, whether there is
mutual delight. Paul is saying that the living word of Christ should reside
easily, comfortably, enjoyably within us. The word of Christ is not to be like
a lodger, a person who is tolerated; nor is it like a guest, a person who comes
and goes. Instead the inner hearts of God’s people should be its home. Going
back to the illustration of a lodger or a guest – such a person is only allowed
into certain rooms. The Bible is not like that when it indwells us. Instead it
has access to every space within our lives.
Paul also says that the word of Christ should dwell in
us richly. By the term richly, he is indicating the copiousness of what
God’s Word contains. Imagine if a millionaire came to live in our house and
said to us that everything he has is now ours. Our homes would change for the
better – the furniture would be of higher quality, the food we eat would be
from the best stores. That is a very poor illustration of the effects of the
improvements that God’s Word will bring about in our hearts when it is in
residence.
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