Colossians 3:16-17 ESV 16 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. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
What does it mean to let Christ’s Word dwell in us richly? Adam Clarke’s commentary says that the word, “dwell” is a reference to the Shekinah glory of God that would fill the Old Testament Tabernacle and the first Temple that Israel built. God’s presence would literally infiltrate and penetrate and take up residence in those spaces. Here, the Apostle Paul is saying we need to let the Word of God have that kind of permeance and presence in our lives. It needs to fill us completely and supremely. Every area of our life should be informed by and shaped by the Word of God. That’s what it means for the Word to dwell in us richly.
In the Parable of the Sower in Luke 8, Jesus told a story about seed being scattered in several places. He said a farmer scattered seed along a path where it was trampled by people walking on it. He scattered seed along the rocks where there was no moisture for it to take root and grow. Some of the seed fell among thorns where it was choked out. And some seed fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.
The disciples often needed Jesus to explain the parables He told, so they asked Jesus what it meant. He explained in Luke 8:11 that the seed represented the Word of God. You want to experience a hundredfold harvest? Feed yourself the seed of the Word and be good soil. Don’t read the Word in doubt. Don’t read the Word while cherishing sin in your heart. Don’t read the Word with a casual, “so what” desire. Don’t read the Word without a desire to be changed by it. Instead, ingest it, and digest it. Don’t resist it and protest it. Let it rest in you and take root in you, and you won’t be able to stop what’s coming! That’s the power of the Word of God!
Feed on the Seed that leads to the Harvest! Let the Word of God dwell in your richly.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom
If you want wisdom for life, for decision-making, for next steps, wisdom on how to please God, get into the Word. We see here that a by-product of allowing God’s Word to dwell in you richly is that you gain wisdom. Wisdom is the supernatural capacity to understand life from God’s perspective. The Word is the way to wisdom.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom
You’re going to get your best advice from people who know and love the Word of God. You will find them to be people with the right character, people whose words can be trusted because their hearts and minds have been shaped by the principles of the Word.
When you receive the wisdom of the Word, you become someone who can wisely teach and admonish other people. If you want to be an awesome mentor to your children, if you want to be a great confident for your co-worker, if you want to be a help to people who are confused and who need answers for life, let the Word of God dwell in your richly!
16 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.
So, the Word is the way to wisdom. Second, I would say to you that the Word will lead you to worship.
The more you know about God and His ways, the more your heart will be grateful for His intervention and involvement in your life. You won’t be able to help yourself. Worship will just start spilling out of you. The thanksgiving in your heart for God’s activity in the world and in His people’s lives will start to overflow from your heart and out through your mouth. You’ll lift your hands in celebration. You’ll bow your knees in adoration. You’ll sing His praise. Your eyes might even leak! Anyone know what I’m talking about? The indwelling Word will lead you to worship.
Look at this passage from Psalm 106 that recounts the Exodus: “They believed his words (and) they sang His praise.” Psalm 106:12 When you believe what is revealed about God in Scripture, you won’t be able to keep from praising Him! You’ll start praising Him just for Who He is.
As you read the Word and let it dwell in you richly, start rejoicing that because He is all-powerful and keeps His promises and has your best interest at heart. He is doing something now to bless you in the future, and that should cause a shout to rise up from within you. He has either delivered you from something, is carrying you through something or is taking you somewhere that will bless your life.
Those who let the Word of God dwell in them richly are going to become people of passionate and sincere worship. The Word of God will lead you to worship. Have you ever considered that you honor the Word when you respond to it with glad and sincere worship? When you do, you are giving evidence that the Word is dwelling in your richly!
Colossians 3:16-17 again: 16 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. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
So, the Word of God will lead you to wisdom and to worship, and as you allow the Word to dwell in you richly God will use your words and works to glorify Him.
Let me tell you something, if you get Word-centered, your life will become centered on glorifying the name of Jesus. Your attitudes and your actions will become more and more consistent with the attitudes and actions of Jesus. In Galatians 4:19 Paul talked about Christ being formed in the believer. That happens as the Word dwells in us richly. We start to take on His character which happens as revelation comes to us through His Word.
The Word begins to drive us instead of our earthly nature driving us. Whatever we do, we are consciously aware that we carry the name of Jesus. Being a Christian means something to us. We don’t want to live in a way that tarnishes the name, but in a way that lifts up and honors the name of Jesus. The Word motivates us to make Jesus known. This is the whole gist of the book of Colossians.
When you take on the name of Jesus, you don’t have a church life and a work life and a home life and a friend life and a fun life. You simply have life. It isn’t segregated into sacred experiences and secular experiences. All of life becomes sacred as you seek to live faithful to the name of Jesus. Wherever you go, Jesus goes so, “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Finally, we see here that people who allow the Word of Christ to dwell in them richly will well up with thanksgiving. The Word helps us understand everything we have to be thankful for. The fact that God doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve ought to be enough, but the riches of God in Christ Jesus that is ours (Philippians 4:19) the inheritance that is being kept in Heaven for us (I Peter 1:4), well, I could go on. The Word gives me more reasons to be thankful than I can count.
Let the Word of Christ dwell in your richly.
- Gain wisdom.
- Be moved to worship.
- Let your words and works glorify God.
- Well up with thanksgiving.
It’s a very rich and satisfying way to live.
