Be In the Bible (Colossians 3:16-17)

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. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. —Colossians 3:16-17

So you're getting into the Word of God, and that's great. But is the Word getting into you? When your friend is going through a challenging life experience, do you have an appropriate word from Christ to encourage him? Is the Word becoming so deeply intertwined into your heartbeat—the very essence of who you are—that you're experiencing God’s transforming grace pulsating through your veins? Are you dwelling in it so that when you get wounded by the things of this world you "bleed" the Word? I believe that Paul wants us to experience the Word of Christ in our lives this way when he says, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

In the days when Paul wrote to the church at Colossae, there were false teachers that wanted people to follow them and their puffed up words. These teachers had their man-made traditions, religious do’s and don’ts, and their own worldview that was out of line with the Word of Christ. False teachers in Paul’s time—and our time as well—tried to harmonize God’s Word with their teachings, but that cannot succeed. Paul is not telling us to just read the Word of Christ or to just hear it being read, but to allow it to get into us, to dwell in us richly. When we are being enriched by the Word of Christ it becomes a part of our lives and enriches our public and private worship of God.

As an outflow of the Word dwelling in us richly, it produces wisdom with which we can truly teach and admonish one another. The Word has a way of changing us and giving us insights for our good. Timothy shows us how the Scripture works in us:

• “…the scriptures make us wise to salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord..” (2 Timothy 3:15)

• They are “…good for teaching, reproof, correction and training in righteousness..” (2 Timothy 3:16)

• So that “…we may be made complete, equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:17)

As we dwell in, and then give out, the Word of Christ, it will affect our hearts and we will not be able to stop bursting out in song to the One who is worthy of all praise. This heart response will be a part of both our private worship and our public worship as well. Can you imagine a church filled with worshippers who are so in dwelt and changed by the Word of Christ that they can’t help but sing it out to the glory of God?

And whatever we do—in our speech or our actions—we are to do them in the name of our Lord Jesus, not in our name or power, but in Jesus! We do this with thankful hearts to our God who has made this all possible for us through Christ.

In one of his sermons on this passage, Charles Spurgeon said, “Therefore, beloved, be much with your Bibles and let your Bibles be much with you—for your own profit, for the profit of others and for the glory of God! So be it, for Christ’s sake! Amen.”

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For Reflection

1. What substitutes are robbing you from experiencing God’s Word dwelling in you this way?

2. Describe what you think a worship service would look like if all who came were richly dwelling in the Word of Christ.

3. How is the Holy Spirit speaking to you as you think about the Word of Christ dwelling in you richly?