6/23/19
Tom Lowe
Lesson VC4: LET THE WORD OF CHRIST DWELL IN YOU RICHLY (Colossians 3:16)
Scripture: Colossians 3:16 (NIV)
Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach{1] and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.
Introduction:
It is interesting to note that from the beginning the Church was a singing Church, and when it cannot sing, the marks of decay are on it. It inherited that from the Jews, for Philo tells us that often they would spend the whole night singing hymns and songs. One of the earliest descriptions of a church service we possess is reported by Pliny, the Roman governor of Bithynia, who sent a report of the activities of the Christians to Trajan, the Roman Emperor, in which he said, “They meet at dawn to sing a hymn to Christ as God.” The gratitude of the Church has always gone up to God in praise and song.
Some fragments of early Christian hymns have survived in the New Testament (See the canticles of Luke 1-2, the hypnotic chants of praise in Revelation (5:9-10, 12-13; 11:17-18; 15:3-4; 19:6-8) leap to mind. Ephesians 5:14 is a stanza of a baptismal hymn, and 1 Timothy 3:16 sounds like a fragment of an early Christian creed designed to be chanted. It may well be that Philippians 2:6-11 is also an early Christian hymn.
Lesson VC4
(Col. 3:16) Let the message about Christ, in all its richness (abundance), fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns (songs of Praise) and spiritual songs (an ode or song that is spiritual in nature) to God with thankful hearts.
The Word of Christ{2] is to be the central focus of the church. Is this the Word revealed by Christ or the word revealed about Christ? Probably both. Jesus is both author and subject of divine revelation: “But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe” (Heb. 1:2). God breathed out all of scripture, so that His Church may be “thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” (2 Tim. 3:17). It is all profitable, and it all points to Christ: “You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39). His life, His mission, His death and resurrection, His reign and His will are the foundation of the church (1 Tim. 3:16).
Paul exhorts us to make this message centered on Christ feel at home. God’s people, both individually and collectively, must give the word of Christ ample room and free reign in the homes of our hearts. The revelation of Jesus Christ must inhabit every square inch of our lives.
How does this take place in the life of a church? Pastors are to supply the church with an abundant supply of Christ-centered messages and teaching. The man called the “Prince of Preachers, Charles Spurgeon, stated it so well: “Let your sermons be full of Christ, from beginning to end crammed full of the Gospel.” Preaching Christ is totally sufficient for the spiritual growth of the church. Paul has given us an example of this Christ-exalting approach in the first two chapters of Colossians. As the Word of Christ is preeminent in the ministry of the church, it becomes a mutual source of joy for the church and the glue that holds the community together. By growing in the knowledge of Christ and being faithfully warned about false teaching, we will develop a spirit of discernment. God’s Word enables us to detect teaching that is infiltrating and disrupting the congregation: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ” (Col. 2:8).
Apart from the Word of God, there is no spiritual life, nor spiritual growth; apart from the Word of God it is impossible to fulfill the duties of a believer. That is why Paul said to the Colossians, “Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives.” Praise, like the word, must move the individual heart. But again the distinction of three types; sacred song, festal praise, solemn ode; and the setting of singing alongside mutual exhortation point unmistakably to worship meetings.
Surely, someone will ask, “What is the Word?” The Apostle John knew the answer to that very important question: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning . . . The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 2, 14).
The Word of God is actually Jesus, for Jesus was God in the flesh (2 Cor. 5:19{3]). He was the Word wrapped up in flesh, and brought down to man; He saved those who heard Him and received Him, and today He saves those who hear Him through the Word and exercise faith brought by the Word. Faith in the finished work of Christ and in His shed blood brings salvation through the grace of God. If we have experienced the grace and the peace of Christ, then the Word of Christ will feel at home in our hearts. We will discover how rich the Word is with spiritual treasures that give value to our lives. From this, the Word of Christ is to be constantly living in your heart, mind, and spirit along with His Spirit, along with His Wisdom, in an abundant wealthy manner. As it dwells richly in each member of the church, it will dwell richly in the church fellowship. From this, your life, your words, and your actions will be teaching folks and placing His Word, His peace, His wisdom, and His Spirit into the minds of one another. A spirit of creativity will bring forth psalms, hymns, poems, and spiritual songs within the grace He has give, and there will be a song in your heart which continuously sings to Him. This is not a religious activity, but a way of being, and it should characterize the entire community. Three words, teaching, admonishing, and singing, leave little doubt that Paul is thinking of the corporate worship of the church and of the Christian community.
This may be surprising to some but listen: “There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day” (John 12:48). We will never know this side of eternity the importance of God’s holy Word. No wonder the devil is trying so hard today to destroy the Word of God!
A Message to America!
America needs men today who will stand behind the pulpit, open God’s Holy Bible, and preach all the Word of God just as it is written, looking to the Holy Spirit as their teacher, studying diligently and faithfully to show themselves approved unto God, not unto their denomination nor people in the pew. Paul said to young Timothy, “In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with unsound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim. 4:1-3).
“Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts.” No person can teach, preach, or instruct another in the things of God unless he is himself literally saturated with the Word of God. America needs ministers who are saturated with the Word of God rather than teaching from denominational seminaries or the doctrines of man.
Special notes and Scripture
[1} “Teach”?Hold a discourse with others in order to instruct them; imparting instructions; instilling doctrine.
[2} The “Word of Christ” (the Word of God)?His is the Holy Spirit-inspired Scripture, the word of revelation He brought into the world, the Word he preached and was still doing so, the Gospel. It is to dwell, that is, make its home among them richly. And it will do so as they counsel one another in Christian wisdom and gratefully hymn God’s praise in “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.
[3} “that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Cor. 5:19).
