The end-goal of the Christian life is to live in such a way that we bring God glory at every turn. As we learned last time, part of this means having our hearts ruled by His peace. Paul laid this out for us in Colossians 3:14-15:
14 Above all, put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.
But in the next verse, He is going to show us a tactic that will undergird everything you do, whether it is in word or in deed, to live a life that brings Him glory. Look at verse 16:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
How to Be Filled With the Word
When Paul writes “richly,” he means in full measure. He gives us the idea of filling our cup so full that it bursts and overflows into every area of our lives. But to fully unpack what he means here, we need to look at some context. Notice what he wrote to this church in Colossians 2:6-8: 6 So then, just as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 being rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, and overflowing with gratitude. 8 Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elements of the world, rather than Christ. The concept of filling was so important for the Colossians and for all of the believers in the first century because they had a tendency to embrace worldly philosophies rather than godly ones. If we are going to live gospel-saturated, Christ-centered lives, we must evict godless philosophies and intentionally “set our minds on things above.” With the above passage in mind, see how Paul uses Colossians 3:16 to show us three things that we can focus on in order to fill our minds with His Word.-
Teaching
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Admonishing
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Singing
