Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly

(Colossians 3:16)

There is a great message for all Christians in these few words. And they also point to several critical things that we must do as we walk in Christ.

There is encouragement in these words and there are some examples of how we are to walk the walk of Christianity.

So let us look into this verse. As we pull the words apart we will see there is much to learn and do as we learn to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

The word of Christ

Before going any further it would be useful to look at what this verse says.

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teach and admonish one another in all wisdom, and sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Colossians 3:16)

The first thing we should consider is the word, “word.”

If you look at the gospel of John, you find in the first couple of verses that Jesus IS the Word.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God; 3 all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. (John 1:1-3)

As you continue to read the first chapter of John, you will see that this spiritual being called the “Word” was/is actually Jesus. And when we understand that and look at the scriptures above, we see that NOTHING in the whole of Creation was made without Him. Jesus, as The Word, was the actual God of creation. It was the Father’s plan, but it was Jesus as the Word that brought it all into existence.

Think about the words of Genesis chapter 1. Words were spoken to bring into existence all of the Creation. ”Let there be light” and the rest of the things in the seven days of the Creation all began with the verbalising of the words that spoke these things into existence. It was The Word, who became Jesus, who spoke the words that caused all of the Creation to be formed.

I like to look at it in this way. God the Father was the architect who designed and designated all things, and Jesus was the builder who created according to the plans of the Father.

We again see the Lord spoken of as The Word in the book of Revelation.

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed which no one knows but himself. 13 He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. (Revelation 19:11-13)

Again we see the power of the Word of God, who is Jesus for He will lead the armies of God to triumph.

But you may be wondering why I have been looking at all of this stuff about Jesus being the word of God and how this relates to the scripture in Colossians 3.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly

The point of all of this is to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

Jesus is and was the Word of God. It was by His words that the Creation exists. And it is by His words that we have salvation.

If we are to live and walk as Christians, we need to know what Jesus had to say. As the Word of God, He is too important to ignore. His words ARE the words of life, and if we are to have life we must listen to Him and have His words permeate to the very core of our being.

Every action, every decision, every thought, and everything we do or say should be guided by the words of Jesus. His words, written in the Bible, need to be written on our hearts and minds so that they are no longer just words in a book, but they are part of the fabric of our being.

This is why we have to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

In fact, God the Father tells us to do this also. The Father, though greater than all, including Jesus, instructed us to listen to the Son. Recall these words from the transfiguration.

5 He [Peter] was still speaking, when lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5)

Look at these words. Peter was seeking to set up booths to make Elijah and Moses equals with Jesus. But God the Father stepped in and said, “Listen to him.” That is, listen to Jesus.

Why? Because Jesus IS the Word and His words are the words of salvation and life. Jesus said that He is the way, the truth and the life. There is no life except in and through Him

So it is imperative that we listen to what He had to say. It is essential that we fill ourselves with the words of Jesus so that we truly let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.

What does this mean for you and I

Simply put, we need to study the Bible. We need to extract every last piece of meaning from the scriptures and be certain that we are following Christ as He requires.

This is important too. We can’t choose to follow Christ according to the way we feel like. We can’t even follow Christ according to the way that the churches teach and preach, especially as there is so much error in the doctrine of some churches today.

No, instead we must follow Christ according to HIS words, doing exactly what He told us to do.

Anything else is insufficient. Indeed, anything else is pointless as it is only by following Christ according to the methods He established that we can truly come to the fullness of life in Him. And it is the only way you can let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.

So come to Christ and learn from Him. Take on His words. Check and test everything against the scripture to determine if it is truth or error. And fill yourself with His words so that when you hear strange and diverse teachings, you can recognise them for what they are.

I have not even scratched the surface of the depth of this verse in Colossians 3:16. There is still the second half of the verse to review. So I will finish here and look at the rest of this verse next time.

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