When the Gospel Moves In (Colossians 3:16-17)
- Dan Weller
- May 18
- 3 min read
Updated: May 20
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
In most neighborhoods, it’s not uncommon to see extra cars at neighbors’ houses when a guest stops by to visit them. Most of the time, we barely notice—if we notice at all.
But when a moving truck backs into a driveway, that gets the neighborhood’s attention! Why? Because they’re not just visiting; they’re here to stay. A new neighbor has arrived to actually dwell among us. Instead of popping in every now and then, this resident will have an ongoing presence in our community and a shaping influence on their home.
In today’s verses, Paul encourages the Colossian church—and ours—to be a church where the gospel doesn’t just show up every now and then like an occasional guest, but one where the gospel moves in and dwells. Our churches should be places where the good news of Jesus puts down roots and makes itself at home. As it does, the gospel should fill our house and get into every nook and cranny of our life together. It should affect everything we are and everything we do.
These verses show us that when the gospel moves into local households of faith, it doesn’t come empty-handed. Instead, it unpacks its moving truck and furnishes the house with its own kind of belongings.
The first piece it unloads is growth. This gospel growth happens as we teach one another. Those words, “one another,” are crucial. When we leave the teaching to just a few, the church suffers. Every follower of Jesus has something to teach, and we all have lots to learn.
Then, as we admonish one another, the gospel carries in a guard. When we see a brother or sister getting tangled in sin or drifting from the truth, the gospel guards us through each other’s loving admonitions. Our fellow church members are God’s dashboard warning lights, alerting us to a problem and guarding us from the danger of our spiritual life breaking down or blowing up.
The next box is filled with glad songs as we respond to the good news of who God is and what He’s done for us. Singing is like the valve that lets out steam so it doesn’t burst the pipes. As we hear the Word of Christ, it should build up so much joy and wonder in us that we can’t contain it—we have to sing or we’ll burst!
As we live in this house where the gospel dwells, we do everything—every word and every deed—in the name and to the glory of the Lord Jesus. That’s why Christians and why churches exist—to display the glory of Jesus.
The last box the gospel brings into a church is gratitude. Our lives together are marked by a continual thankfulness in our hearts to God for the precious gift of the gospel and every other good and perfect gift he gives.
Don’t let the gospel be just a visitor to your church. If you want to get your neighborhood talking, show them the gospel has moved in with all its furnishings and is here to stay!
For Reflection
Does thinking of admonishing as a guard help you to see it as a good gift?
Do you regularly experience these benefits of membership in a gospel-oriented church? Pray for the Lord's help to practice the "one another" verses.
Use a Bible concordance to search for all of the one another verses. Ask the Lord to help you grow in "one anothering" with members of your church body.
Dan Weller is Lead Pastor of Chapelwood Baptist Church in Indianapolis, IN. Prior to Chapelwood, Dan served as a pastoral resident at College Park Church and graduated from Bethlehem Seminary. He also serves on the Board of Indianapolis Theological Seminary. Dan is married to Emily and they have two beautiful daughters.
