COLOSSIANS 3:16-17 PUTTING ON THE NEW MAN PART 2

Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

3:16 “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you” This is a PRESENT ACTIVE IMPERATIVE SECOND PERSON PLURAL. Notice that this dwelling is not automatic. Believers must co-operate in the Christian life as they do in salvation.

The outlines of Eph. and Col. are very similar. The parallel to this verse in Eph. is 5:18!

3:16–17 There is a theological and structural parallel between Eph. 5:18–21 and Col. 3:16–17. In Eph. there is a PRESENT PASSIVE IMPERATIVE with the passive imperative our responsibility lies in being open to God’s operation, the Spirit’s working, and Christ’s indwelling. Thus the passive imperative preserves in the grammar the most fundamental principle of God’s economy, that is, that God is the One who operates in us and yet we are responsible to open to His operation, to allow Him to operate, and to cooperate with His operation. God is sovereign and we are responsible go hand in hand.

“ever be filled,” while in Col. there is a Present Active Imperatives are commands that are expected to be followed not once, but as an ongoing process. “let the word of Christ dwell within you.” Also in Eph. the IMPERATIVE is followed by five PRESENT PARTICIPLES which describe the Spirit-filled life:

This means, of course, the Word of God. The false teachers came to Colossae with man-made traditions, religious rules, and human philosophies. They tried to harmonize God’s Word with their teachings, but they could not succeed. God’s Word always magnifies Jesus Christ.

It was not the word of false teachers that brought salvation to the Colossians; it was the Word of the truth of the Gospel (Col. 1:5). This same Word gives us life and sustains and strengthens us (1 Peter 1:22–2:3).

The Word will transform our lives if we will but permit it to “dwell” in us richly. The word dwell means “to feel at home.” 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.

However, we must not think that Paul wrote this only to individual Christians; for he directed it to the entire church body. “Let the Word of Christ dwell among you” is a possible translation. As it dwells richly in each member of the church, it will dwell richly in the church fellowship.

There is a danger today, as there was in Paul’s day, that local churches minimize the Word of God. There seems to be a lack of simple Bible teaching in Sunday School classes and pulpits. Far more interest is shown in movies, musical performances, and various entertainments than in God’s Word. Many saved people cannot honestly say that God’s Word dwells in their hearts richly because they do not take time to read, study, and memorize it.

There is (according to Paul) a definite relationship between our knowledge of the Bible and our expression of worship in song. One way we teach and encourage ourselves and others is through the singing of the Word of God. But if we do not know the Bible and understand it, we cannot honestly sing it from our hearts.

Perhaps this “poverty of Scripture” in our churches is one cause of the abundance of unbiblical songs that we have today. A singer has no more right to sing a lie than a preacher has to preach a lie. The great songs of the faith were, for the most part, written by believers who knew the doctrines of the Word of God. Many so-called “Christian songs” today are written by people with little or no knowledge of the Word of God. It is a dangerous thing to separate the praise of God from the Word of God.^[1]

“with all wisdom” This is a play on the false teachers’ overemphasis on human knowledge. The word of Christ (the Spirit-filled life) is true wisdom. Wisdom is a person (cf. Prov. 8:22–31) and a lifestyle, not isolated truth or creeds.

 “with psalms” The NKJV and NASB translations imply “teaching with songs,” but the NRSV and NJB imply “teachers with songs in their hearts.”

Psalms were, of course, the songs taken from the Old Testament. For centuries, the churches in the English-speaking world sang only musical versions of the Psalms. I am glad to see today a return to the singing of Scripture, especially the Psalms.

Hymns were songs of praise to God written by believers but not taken from the Psalms. The church today has a rich heritage of hymnody which, I fear, is being neglected.

Spiritual songs were expressions of Bible truth other than in psalms and hymns. When we sing a hymn, we address the Lord; when we sing a spiritual song, we address each other.

Paul described a local church worship service (1 Cor. 14:26; Col. 3:16). Note that the believer sings to himself as well as to the other believers and to the Lord. Our singing must be from our hearts and not just our lips. But if the Word of God is not in our hearts, we cannot sing from our hearts. This shows how important it is to know the Word of God, for it enriches our public and private worship of God.

Our singing must be with grace. This does not mean “singing in a gracious way,” but singing because we have God’s grace in our hearts. It takes grace to sing when we are in pain, or when circumstances seem to be against us. It certainly took grace for Paul and Silas to sing in that Philippian prison (Acts 16:22–25). Our singing must not be a display of fleshly talent; it must be a demonstration of the grace of God in our hearts.

Someone has said that a successful Christian life involves attention to three books: God’s Book, the Bible; the pocketbook; and the hymn book. As a believer grows in his knowledge of the Word, he will want to grow in his expression of praise. He will learn to appreciate the great hymns of the church, the Gospel songs, and the spiritual songs that teach spiritual truths. To sing only the elementary songs of the faith is to rob himself of spiritual enrichment.

Before we leave this section, we should notice an important parallel with Ephesians 5:18–6:9. In his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul emphasized being filled with the Spirit; in his Letter to the Colossians, he emphasized being filled with the Word. But the evidences of this spiritual fullness are the same! How can we tell if a believer is filled with the Spirit? He is joyful, thankful, and submissive (Eph. 5:19–21); all of this shows up in his relationships in the home and on the job (Eph. 5:22–6:9). How can we tell if a believer is filled with the Word of God? He is joyful, thankful, and submissive (Col. 3:16–4:1).^[1]

The Spirit-filled life is daily Christlikeness or allowing the word of Christ and the mind of Christ to guide in every area, especially interpersonal relationships.

The key is the heart of the worshiper, not the form of the music (cf. 3:17).

Col 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

THE SERVICE OF LOVE: The work of Christ must be done in the manner of Christ. Believers are to live and act as those who bear his name and must do nothing that would make them ashamed to say that they are Christians. This is a principle to live by: ‘whatever you do’ (v. 17), whether at home, at work, in the church, or out and about. This sense of duty must also be accompanied with a sense of gratitude and note of praise, ‘giving thanks to God the Father through him’. Giving thanks declares the gratitude of grace and the praise of peace.

3:17 “Whatever you do in word or deed” This is a major spiritual truth. Believers must relate all their motives and actions to God through Christ. Every aspect of our lives is “as unto the Lord.” Believers do not live for themselves (cf. v. 23; Rom. 14:7–9; 1 Cor. 10:31; 2 Cor. 5:15; Eph. 6:7; 1 Pet. 4:11). This truth could revolutionize the modern, western, individual-focused church^[1]

The Name of Christ (Col. 3:17)

In modern society, we pay little attention to names. But the ancient world held a man’s name to be of utmost importance. Often, during Old Testament days, God changed a person’s name because of some important experience or some new development.

As Christians, we bear the name of Christ. The word Christian is found only three times in the entire New Testament (Acts 11:26; 26:28; 1 Peter 4:16). The name was given originally as a term of contempt, but gradually it became a name of honor. The name of Christ, then, means identification: we belong to Jesus Christ.

But His name also means authority. A man’s name signed to a check authorizes the withdrawal of money from the bank. The President’s name signed to a bill makes it a law. In the same way, it is in the name of Jesus Christ that we have the authority to pray (John 14:13–14; 16:23–26). Because Jesus Christ is God, and He has died for us, we have authority in His name.

All that we say and do should be associated with the name of Jesus Christ. By our words and our works, we should glorify His name. If we permit anything into our lives that cannot be associated with the name of Jesus, then we are sinning. We must do and say everything on the authority of His name and for the honor of His name.

Bearing the name of Jesus is a great privilege, but it is also a tremendous responsibility. We suffer persecution because we bear His name (John 15:20–21). ^[1]

Note that Paul again mentioned thanksgiving in this Colossian letter. Whatever we do in the name of Christ ought to be joined with thanksgiving. If we cannot give thanks, then we had better not do it or say it! This is the fifth of six references in Colossians to thanksgiving (Col. 1:3, 12; 2:7; 3:15, 17; 4:2). When we remember that Paul was a Roman prisoner when he wrote this letter, it makes this emphasis on thanksgiving that much more wonderful.

As we review these four spiritual motivations for godly living, we are impressed with the centrality of Jesus Christ. We forgive because Christ forgave us (Col. 3:13). It is the peace of Christ that should rule in our hearts (Col. 3:15). The Word of Christ should dwell in us richly (Col. 3:16). The name of Christ should be our identification and our authority. “Christ is all, and in all” (Col. 3:11).

Since we are united with Christ through the indwelling Holy Spirit, we have all the resources we need for holy living. But we must be spiritually motivated. Because we have experienced the grace of Christ, we want to live for Him. Because we have enjoyed the peace of Christ, we want to obey Him. We have been enriched by the Word of Christ, and raised to the rank of nobility by the name of Christ; therefore, we want to honor and glorify Him.

Can we desire any higher motivation?^[1]

 

     Mark 8:36 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?

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