Colossenses 3
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Colossenses 3
Wiersbe writes… "Since you are risen with Christ, set your mind (affection) on things above!" (Col 3:1) In other words, let your earthly practice be worthy of your heavenly position. Once you were dead in sin (Ep 2:1, 2+ Ep 2:3+), but now you are dead to sin. Christ is in you, the hope of glory (Col 1:27+), and someday soon that glory will be revealed (Col 3:4+). In brief, Paul says, "Live up to what Christ has done for you!" This simple principle of Christian living is more powerful than all the rules and regulations men can devise. "You are made full in Him" (Col 2:10+); now live out that fullness in daily life. Oriental, Greek, and Roman religions said little or nothing about personal holiness. A person could bring sacrifices, say prayers, and go away from the altar to commit terrible sins, and nobody would think he or she was inconsistent. Not so with Christianity! The new life within demands a new life without. Since we have died with Christ, we should put to death ("mortify," Col 3:5+) impure behavior (see Ro 6:10+, Ro 6:11+, Ro 6:12, 13+). "Don't live the way you used to live," Paul cautions, "the way the unsaved crowd lives. Christ is your life, and you died with Him. Now, let His life show through you day by day. (Borrow Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament) (Bolding added) Spurgeon declares… Oh! how often we need to be called to this, for the flesh is groveling, and it holds down the spirit; and very often we are seeking the things below as if we had not yet attained to the new life and did not know anything about the resurrection power of Christ within the soul. Now, if it is that you, believers, have risen with Christ, do not live as if you had never done so, but “seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.” Your Lord and Master has gone up to heaven. You profess that he represents you, and that you have gone up there in him and with him. Then do not seek the things that are down here below, the things of earth; but live where your life has gone. Where your treasure is, there let your heart be also. “Seek those things which are above.” (See Spurgeon's Expositions of Colossians 3) The NLT Study Bible (borrow) reminds us that Christians live on earth, but because they have been raised with Christ, their true being is oriented to the spiritual realm over which Christ rules. In contrast, the rules and regulations of the false teachers focused on the earthly realm (Col 2:22+). Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus has become a familiar hymn, that has been widely used in Christian circles to challenge believers musically, with the necessity of making Christ the paramount priority in their lives, and then living each day with eternity's values in view. Helen H. Lemmel (See Hymn Stories - Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus) the writer of the great hymn Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus (sung by Alan Jackson) wrote that one day in 1918 a missionary friend gave her a tract entitled "Focused." The pamphlet contained these words: "So then, turn your eyes upon Him, look full into His face and you will find that the things of earth will acquire a strange new dimness" These words so deeply impacted Helen Lemmel that she was unable to dismiss them from her mind. She goes on to explain… Suddenly, as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody. The verses (play the hymn below) were written the same week, after the usual manner of composition, but none the less dictated by the Holy Spirit. It is easy for those who profess to be faithful followers of Christ to get caught up in the "things of earth" so that our heavenly vision and values become dim and dull. This even when we are active in our Christian activities, because we become so involved in "doing" for God rather than "being" with Him. Perhaps you need to take a moment, to reread these opening verses of Colossians 3 and then as an act of worship sing the hymn below to your Lord… Turn Your Eyes upon Jesus O soul, are you weary and troubled? No light in the darkness you see? There’s a light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free! Refrain Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. Through death into life everlasting He passed, and we follow Him there; Over us sin no more hath dominion— For more than conquerors we are! His Word shall not fail you—He promised; Believe Him, and all will be well: Then go to a world that is dying, His perfect salvation to tell! Related Resource: 46 topics about fixing your eyes on Jesus in Anne Ortlund's Fix Your Eyes on Jesus Rich Cathers - There’s an old phrase, “Don’t be so heavenly-minded that you’re no earthly good”. I think that there can be a time when a person gets caught up in religiousness so much that this can be true. But I think that if we are going to be “heavenly-minded” in the way that Paul is talking about, we’ll be extremely good on earth. I think that too often we’re simply too “earthly-minded” to be of any “heavenly-good” Doud - "Seek" means to pursue, search for, endeavor to obtain, desire to possess. If a legalist were writing this he would write "Don't … " but Paul writes "Seek … Talk about a true "Seeker Service": not a bunch of lost, dead, sinners separated from God with no inclination towards God unless in His grace and mercy He sovereignly draws them to Himself …No we believers are here today in the true Seeker Service: those with the life of Christ within us seeking to lay hands in our experience on those precious spiritual truths and relationships that we have full rights to by virtue of our resurrection with Christ Lucas counters the contemporary idea of "seeking": It has been customary to speak of the concerned unbeliever as a ‘seeker’. But the normal biblical perspective is to see unbelievers, in relation to the things of God as characteristically seeking after either ‘wisdom’, or ‘signs’, as means of establishing their own righteousness before God. These searches are not likely to succeed! In biblical teaching there is no human ‘search for God’; the story is, from the beginning, that of a divine search for those who hide from their Maker. When men and women begin their search for God and his forgiveness, it is evidence of a prior work of God.” (Fullness & Freedom: The Message of Colossians & Philemon) The symbol of a Christian’s life ought to be a “thumbs up” and “eyes up.” The thumbs up says, “All is well,”—not because circumstances are perfect, but because our confidence rests in the One who reigns above all. And the eyes up reminds us of Christ our true Source of life is found. Faith looks up when fear looks around. Hope looks up when the world looks down. O the things of this world are a will-o'-the-wisp, Having values that tarnish and fade; But true treasures of joy with abundant reward, Are the ones which in Heaven are laid! —G.W. He weighs things well, and makes decisions wise, Who keeps eternity before his eyes! —Bosch Keep seeking (2212) (zeteo) means to seek after and strive for earnestly, to strive to find something, to devote serious effort to realize one’s desire or objective, to aim at, to try to obtain some state or condition (cf Re 9:6+) To “seek the things above” means to pursue what pleases Christ, Who reigns above, to think with a heavenly (Biblical) mindset—interpreting life from an eternal perspective, to detach from worldly values and self-centered ambitions, to frequently reflect Christ’s eternal reign in daily conduct. You can mark it down where your focus rests, your life follows. Lightfoot sums up Paul's commands to keep seeking and setting… You must not only SEEK heaven; you must also THINK heaven. Keep seeking is present tense calling for continual action or a lifestyle of seeking the things above. Active voice indicates that this seeking is a choice of our will and God will not force us to take this action. Imperative mood indicates we are commanded to exhibit this attitude of seeking, remembering that God never commands us to do that He does not also enable us to perform. And how are we enabled? The indwelling Holy Spirit is our ever present Source of power. We need to arise each morning and jettison all semblance of reliance on self-effort and throw ourselves on the supernatural power provided by the Spirit. There is no other way to obey the "imperatives" (see related discussion) in Scripture. Indeed, every imperative (specifically those directed to believers) is our "invitation" to trust in God's provision of the Spirit of His Son, Who alone can cause us to obey the commands. The road to the heavenly realm is through Christ, not through asceticism or mysticism. It is only because we have been actually raised with Christ that we can now seek those things which are above. Preoccupation with the eternal realities that are ours in Christ is to be the pattern of the believer’s life and implies it will not be "easy" or "automatic" but requires diligence and persevering effort. Practically to seek the things above involves giving your attention to Jesus, giving Him first place in everything, giving Him priority, desiring Him above anything on earth, continually making a deliberate choice to follow Him, to obey Him, to think about Him, to meditate on His life giving Word, in order to find Him. (Proverbs 8:17) The things of Christ and of heaven are to consume our life and mind. The new life in Christ requires a completely new mental orientation. Paul's command begs the question - Upon what are you setting your heart and mind beloved? The passing things of this world (1Jn 2:17-+)? A futile, empty, vapid, temporal, earthly focused way of life (1Pe 1:18-+)? For a believer to live like this amounts to "spiritual insanity" for as my wife so frequently reminds me when we break or lose something material - "It's all going to burn anyway!" None of us is immune to the deception of becoming so focused on earthly things that we begin to lose sight of heavenly things.
Colossenses 3:16
Wiersbe - 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. (Wiersbe, W: Bible Exposition Commentary. 1989. Victor) Tragically there is a serious paucity of Scripture in many American churches not only from the pulpits but in the music displayed on the overhead. One of the offshoots of this dearth of sound (healthy) doctrine is a increasing number of insipid, shallow, often times even overtly unbiblical songs. And the sad truth is that the elders are not addressing the failure to retain the standard of sound doctrine (2Ti 1:13-note) lest they offend the ears of seekers. Shall we forget that our Lord Jesus routinely "offended the ears" of seekers by confronting them with the Word of Truth, which the Spirit uses to convict of sin, righteousness and the judgment to come? The great hymns of the faith (although they do not all exhibit Scripturally sound doctrine) were for the most part written by believers who knew and loved the pure milk of the Word (whereby and only whereby saints grow in grace! - 1Pe 2:2-note). It is the height of irony to separate the praise of the Living Word from the "pure milk" of His precious Word. Many churches need to re-think their approach to acceptable music and guard through the Holy Spirit Who indwells them the treasure of Truth which has been entrusted to them and for which they will one day give a somber account. I know of one Bible church unapologetically which even posts links overtly non-Christian music favorites on their website. Such things ought not to be true of the spotless Bride of Christ for this world is passing away and even its lusts. Perhaps we need to remember the golden rule that only the God breathed Word is living and active and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. So let us sing out psalms and hymns and sound doctrine, the beautiful melodies of which not only touch our senses but which even more radically impact our innermost being, teaching, reproving, convicting and correcting us that we might go forth on Monday through Saturday as men and women who are fully equipped and ready for every good deed! Praise God that His Spirit has moved in some quarters to prompt a return to the singing of Scripture, especially the Psalms. This practice is laudatory for such music has the potential to edify and equip believers. Our singing must be with grace (thanksgiving) or because we have God’s grace in our hearts. What does this mean practically? Have you ever sung to the Lord when you were in pain, or when circumstances seemed to be against you? I'm sure you have had this experience, but without His grace, to enable you to sing in such difficult circumstances, worship and praise would not have been possible. Luke records such an instance in Acts where we read that the jailer… threw them into the inner prison, and fastened their feet in the stocks. but about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. (Acts 16:24-25) Singing is not to be a display of fleshly talent but be a demonstration of the grace of God in our hearts (cp Eph 5:19 " making melody with your heart to the Lord" - only the Lord could hear this melody and He is always to be our ultimate audience.) Grant Richison adds that… All Christian music must contain a message. Much Christian music is subjective if not sentimental. This music expresses only personal experience and not the truth of Scripture. Often these experiences do not correspond to reality… (ref) We do not truly sing until we sing with grace in our hearts. This is the song of the soul. The person may not be able to sing very well but a song breaks out in the heart. That is why the Bible says “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” Some can carry a tune and others cannot but the point is the expression of the heart. Maybe that is why God allows for “noise” sung unto him!! If we have no grace in our hearts we cannot sing unto the Lord. A non-Christian cannot sing with grace in their hearts to the Lord. A Christian with little understanding of God’s provisions cannot sing with grace in their hearts to the Lord (Eph 5:19-notes). Some Christians sound like crippled crows when they sing. God makes crows as well as canaries. Some of us sing best on the inside. It is not enough to sing true content. God wants us to sing with our hearts as well as our lips. “With grace” — we need the help of God’s grace to sing out of the heart. Principle: Grace is the basis of the Christian’s song. Application: We can tell much about an individual or a church by their singing. We can tell not only by what they sing but how they sing. We can tell by the singing whether the Bible is honored or whether the Savior is preached. If we want John Wesley’s preaching we must have Charles Wesley’s music. If we want D. L. Moody’s preaching we must have Ira Sankey’s music. If we want Billy Graham’s preaching we must have Cliff Barrow’s music. These things go together. Dead music goes with dead preaching. A recognition of the grace of God’s provisions is the basis of true singing. “But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth” (Jas 3:14). If we have a bitter, envious, striving attitude toward someone else we cannot sing with grace in our hearts. A heart full of animosity and criticism cannot sing. We have gone sour and our heart goes off key. (Colossians 3:16d) Someone has well said that a successful Christian life involves attention to three books… GOD'S BOOK THE POCKET BOOK THE HYMN BOOK Do you use a hymnal in your devotional time, to help express praise to God? As believers grow in the knowledge of the Word, they will usually also grow in their expression of praise. They will learn to appreciate the great hymns of the church, the Gospel songs, and the spiritual songs that teach spiritual truths. Grant Richison - Three words in verse 16 end in “ing:” “teaching,” “admonishing” and “singing.” Some of us would not know the difference between a participle from a pickle! However, these three participles are the by-products or side-effects of the previous part of the verse. If the Word of God finds lodgment in our souls, then we will teach, admonish and sing. These three characteristics will trend in our lives and will become a pattern. It will not be sporadic or intermittent. (Colossians 3:16c) Are you teaching, admonishing and singing, not just singing? If not could it be the Word of Christ is not RICHLY but minimally dwelling in your heart? CLEVER QUOTATIONS - SOUND WORDS - A PASTOR called my father one Saturday night and said, "I have my sermon prepared from a certain text, but I can't find it in the Bible." "What is the text?" my father asked. "Give me liberty or give me death," the pastor answered. Although the idea expressed in the quotation is noble, it is not Scriptural. Those words were spoken by American Revolutionary leader Patrick Henry, not by any biblical character. Many people, including that pastor, think they know the Bible, but don't. To assess your own biblical knowledge, deter-mine which of the following are biblical quotations. • Cleanliness is next to godliness. • God helps those who help themselves. • An honest confession is good for the soul. • We are as prone to sin as sparks fly upward. • Money is the root of all evil. • Honesty is the best policy. The answer? While some of these statements contain elements of truth, none of them are found in the Bible! A thorough knowledge of God's Word comes by diligent study. To grow in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord, we must "let the word of Christ dwell in [us] richly in all wisdom" (Colossians 3:16). When we search and study Scripture, we find out that clever quotations are no substitute for biblical truth. —P R Van Gorder ALLEN ROSS - Colossians 3:16 “Teach and counsel one another” Paul writes, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and counsel one another with wisdom, and as you sins psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.” The “word of Christ” probably refers first and foremost to the Gospel, that is the message about Christ; it may also refer to Christ’s teaching, the message from Christ that has been recorded in holy Scripture. We are to become so familiar with the word that it becomes a way of thinking for us, controlling all our actions. It is not to be held sparingly, but retained as a rich treasure. In other words, it is the prize we focus on in our life. With the word governing our lives, we are to teach and admonish one another. Every Christian has the responsibility to do this, somewhere, some way. Many Christians simply pass it off and say they are not teachers. And for many of them, they simply do not know because they have let their laziness and indifference govern their minds. If they get in the word and study and grow, and the word is buried deep in their heart, they will share it somewhere, some way, in teaching or giving counsel. And that is how the body is supposed to grow. So the instruction here does not begin with teaching, but treasuring the word. And every Christian is expected to be in the word, so that the word can be in them. "The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible."—D. L. Moody WARREN WIERSBE - It is not enough simply to walk wisely and carefully before unbelievers (Col 4:4-5). We must also talk with them and share the Gospel message with them. But we must take care that our speech is controlled by grace, so that it points to Christ and glorifies the Lord. This means we must have grace in our hearts (Col. 3:16) because it is from the heart that the mouth speaks. With grace in our hearts and on our lips, we will be faithful witnesses and not judges or prosecuting attorneys! SING ALONG - Psalms were the songs taken from the Old Testament. For centuries, the churches in the English-speaking world sang only metrical 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 biblical 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. Someone has said that a successful Christian life involves attention to three books: God's Book, the Bible; the pocketbook; and the hymnbook. I agree. I often use a hymnal in my devotional time, to help express my praise to God. 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. (Paul for Power) Galatians 5:15–18 WALK IN THE SPIRIT One of the biggest problems that a believer has to face is that of his or her fallen nature, and only the Holy Spirit can solve it. Every wrong action, reaction, word, idea, emotion, and attitude is from the flesh. There is a real battle going on between the flesh, ‘the old man’, Col. 3:9, and the Spirit because they have different appetites. Like the raven sent out of the ark, Gen. 8:6–7, the old nature likes to feed on that which is unclean, whereas the dove-like Spirit longs for a clean place to settle, Gen. 8:8–12. In the chapter that contains our reading today, Paul teaches us that the key to subduing the flesh and enjoying the Christian life is to be controlled by the Holy Spirit. The command is ‘Walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh’. The word translated ‘walk’ is in the present tense and could be translated ‘keep on continually walking’. That is to say, this should be the believer’s lifestyle. As the Spirit moves and leads, we are to respond step by step and day by day, relying on His power and direction. A study of the believer’s walk in the New Testament reveals that it should be in humility, purity, contentment, faith, good works, separation, love, light, wisdom, and truth. Walking in the Spirit necessitates studying the word of God in conscious fellowship with God in order to know His will. Paul exhorted the Ephesians, ‘be filled with the Spirit … singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’, Eph. 5:18–20. To the Colossians he writes, ‘Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly’, Col. 3:16. We need to appreciate the link between the two for being filled with the Spirit is linked with letting the word dwell in us richly. The scriptures should guide our thinking and affect our actions. It is as the word permeates the heart and mind that the Spirit of God will be able to direct the life. When we spend time reading the scriptures and in prayer, communing with the living God and building an intimate relationship with Him, we are in a position for the Spirit to move us down the pathway of God’s choosing. This is true Christian liberty and surely must be something worth going in for! (John Bennett - Day By Day - Bible Commands) Living With The Word "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God."—Colossians 3:16 As an infant Fanny Crosby was blinded through a ph 's negligence. Yet she is one of the church's most prolific hymn writers. Excellent theological content and wonderful rhyming meter characterize her hymns. In her autobiography Crosby tells this story: "Mrs. Hawley. a kind Christian lady, in whose house we resided, and who had no children of her own, became deeply interested in me, and under her supervision I acquired a thorough knowledge of the Bible. She gave me a number of chapters each week to learn... and so at the end of the first twelve months I could repeat a large portion of the first four books of the Old Testament and the four gospels. "At Sunday school the children would stand in the aisles and repeat some of the passages that they had committed during the previous week... I often hunted among the records of my memory for the longest and most involved verses with the idea of showing my elders what a little blind girl could do and they, in turn, flattered me with compliments and presented me with a fine Bible... Had my growing pride been unchecked by my friends at home, it might have proven a stumbling block in after years... " Where did Fanny Crosby receive her theological training? She learned it in part through memorizing scripture. You may never write two thousand hymns, but by memorizing scripture you will be able to recall the truth of the gospel. Today ask the Lord to give you a heart to memorize His Word. "Though troubles assail and dangers affright, though friends should all fail and foes all unite; Yet one thing assures us, whatever betide, the scripture assures us the Lord will provide."—Fanny Crosby (Peter Kennedy - From Generation to Generation) David Roper emphasizes the importance in spiritual warfare of letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly - I’m reminded of a Far Side cartoon I saw some years ago, depicting a woolly mammoth lying on its side, dropped by a tiny arrow that pierced its underside. Two awe-stricken cave men stand side-by-side with bows in their hands, gaping at what they had done. “We’ve got to remember that spot,” one says to the other. Satan has a soft, unprotected underbelly: he is vulnerable to God’s Word. To that end we must give ourselves to knowing it, hiding it in our hearts (Psalm 119:11), meditating on it day and night (Psalm 1:2), allowing it to “dwell in [us] richly” (Colossians 3:16). Satan’s power lies in deceit; our weapon is truth. “Our defense is sure.” According to Homer’s Odyssey, Odysseus was trying to get home to his family and was having a hard time doing it. Along the way he encountered the enchanting and dangerous Circe who, it was said, turned men into pigs. When Odysseus successfully avoided her attractions, she confided in him that sterner tests lay ahead—the Sirens, lusty, luscious maidens whose island lay along the straits and whose songs lured travelers away from hearth and home. Circe advised Odysseus to have his men plug their ears with wax and tie himself to the mast. Odysseus, however, had another, better idea. He did have his men plug their ears and he did tie himself to a mast, but he also had his friend, Orpheus, who was also an accomplished musician, sit on the deck and make a melody so sweet it would turn his heart away from the Sirens. In that way he “stood the test.” He stayed his narrow course and made it home to his beloved Penelope. So, when Satan begins to croon one of his alluring, fatal tunes, sing to yourself the lyrics of God’s Word, “sing and make music in your heart to the Lord” (Ephesians 5:19). And then submit yourself to that Word. This is Paul’s “way of escape” (1 Corinthians 10:13). It’s the only way to get through. (Growing Slowly Wise) A W Tozer - Religious Entertainment 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. —Colossians 3:16 Religious entertainment has so corrupted the Church of Christ that millions don’t know that it’s a heresy.… They don’t know that it’s as much a heresy as the counting of beads or the splashing of holy water or something else. To expose this, of course, raises a storm of angry protest among the people.… One man wrote an article as an exposé of me. He said that I claimed that religious entertainment was wrong and he said, “Don’t you know that every time you sing a hymn, it’s entertainment?” Every time you sing a hymn? I don’t know how that fellow ever finds his way home at night. He ought to have a seeing eye dog and a man with a white cane to take him home! When you raise your eyes to God and sing, “Break Thou the bread of life, dear Lord, to me,” is that entertainment—or is it worship? Isn’t there a difference between worship and entertainment? The church that can’t worship must be entertained. And men who can’t lead a church to worship must provide the entertainment. That is why we have the great evangelical heresy here today—the heresy of religious entertainment. Audience of One Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly … singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.—Colossians 3:16 LIKE THE WORLD AROUND US, many believers have developed an addiction to being entertained. Turn down the houselights, shine some spotlights on the stage, and let us sit back and watch the performance. Even at home, or in the car, we are so quick to turn on the music and listen to others sing their songs of praise. I’m not suggesting that it’s wrong to create an atmosphere to help us tune out distractions, or to listen to others sing songs of praise. But have we let that become a substitute for lifting our own voices to the Lord? Look around the congregation during worship in the average church and notice how many people are just standing there, barely mouthing the words, much less singing aloud. We are the product of a culture in which real corporate singing just isn’t done much anymore. We prefer other people to do it for us. But if any group of people should love to sing, it is those of us who’ve been redeemed. I recall spending the night in the home of a friend many years ago. A Nigerian pastor and his wife were also guests in the same house. In the middle of the night, long after we had all gone to bed, I was awakened by a sound unlike anything I’d ever heard. In the bedroom next to mine, that dear couple was singing the hymn “How Great Thou Art”—slowly, loudly, with a heavy accent and with all their hearts. For a moment, in my half-awake state, I wasn’t sure I hadn’t died and gone to heaven! My (lack of) vocal skill is such that I’ll never be asked to sing on a platform. But why are we content to stand by as spectators while the more polished singers and performers handle all the worshiping duties? We are active participants in the great eternal drama of praise, performing for a sacred audience of One. Have you forgotten how to use your own voice to express your heart of praise? “Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints, and give thanks to his holy name” (Ps. 30:4)! (Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth - The Quiet Place) THE BOOK ABOVE ALL BOOKS - George Muller Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Col 3:16 LIKE MANY BELIEVERS, I PRACTICALLY preferred, for the first four years of my divine life, the works of uninspired men to the oracles of the living God. The consequence was that I remained a babe, both in knowledge and grace. In knowledge I say; for all true knowledge must be derived by the Spirit, from the Word. And as I neglected the Word, I was for nearly four years so ignorant that I did not clearly know even the fundamental points of our holy faith. And this lack of knowledge most sadly kept me from walking steadily in the ways of God. For it is the truth that makes us free (John 8: 31-32), by delivering us from the slavery of the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The Word proves it. The experience of the saints proves it; and also my own experience most decidedly proves it. For when it pleased the Lord in August 1829 to bring me really to the Scriptures, my life and walk became very different. And though ever since that I have very much fallen short of what I might and ought to be, yet, by the grace of God, I have been enabled to live much nearer to Him than before. If any believers read this who prefer other books to the Holy Scriptures, and who enjoy the writings of men much more than the Word of God, may they be warned by my loss. I shall consider this book to have been the means of doing much good, should it please the Lord, through its instrumentality, to lead some of His people no longer to neglect the Holy Scriptures, but to give them the preference, which they have hitherto bestowed on the writings of men. My dislike to increase the number of books would have been sufficient to deter me from writing these pages had I not been convinced that this is the only way in which the brethren at large may be benefited through my mistakes and errors, and been influenced by the hope that, in answer to my prayers, the reading of my experience may be the means of leading them to value the Scriptures more highly and to make them the rule of all their actions. Jerry Bridges - THE DISCIPLINE OF SCRIPTURE MEMORY Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Col 3:16 To influence our minds with the Word of God, there’s simply no better way than through the discipline of Scripture memorization. I know it requires work and is sometimes discouraging when we can’t recall accurately a verse we’ve worked hard to memorize. The truth is, however, all forms of discipline require work and are often discouraging. But the person who perseveres in any discipline, despite the hard work and discouraging times, reaps the reward the discipline is intended to produce. The example of Jesus’ use of Scripture when He was tempted by the Devil in the wilderness is often used as a challenge to us to memorize Scripture. Three times He was tempted, and three times He answered Satan’s temptation by resorting to the Scriptures, saying, “It is written” (Matthew 4:1–11). It’s obvious He had memorized these Old Testament commands that He effectively used to thwart Satan’s assaults. But it should also be apparent to us that Jesus knew more than a few isolated verses of the Mosaic Law. Rather, His mind was steeped in the Scriptures. If you and I are going to be holy as He is holy, our minds must also be filled with Scripture. Christ’s use of specific Scriptures to thwart Satan’s temptations should be instructive to us. He brought particular passages from the Old Testament to bear on the particular temptations He faced. So I encourage you to memorize Scriptures that deal with the particular temptations to which you are especially vulnerable. (I again encourage you to identify specific temptations to which you are vulnerable, list them on a private prayer page, and make specific commitments regarding these areas of vulnerability.) Then ask the Holy Spirit to bring these passages to your mind at times of temptation. (Holiness Day by Day) A W Tozer - Let’s Eat Something 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. —Colossians 3:16 Times are bad in the kingdom and getting worse. The tendency is to settle into a rut, and we must get out of it.… When God sends some preacher to say this to a congregation and the congregation is even half ready to listen to him, they say to themselves, “I think the pastor is right about this. We are in a rut, aren’t we? No use fighting it. I think we ought to do something about this.” Then 99.99 percent of the time the remedy prescribed will be, “Let’s come together and eat something. I know we are in a rut. We don’t see each other often enough. We ought to get to know each other better, so let’s come together and eat something.” I have no objection to fellowship, but it is not the answer to what is wrong with us.… I am quite sure that when the man of God thundered, “You have stayed long enough in this place. You are going around in circles. Get you out and take what is given to you by the hand of your God,” nobody got up and said, “Mr. Chairman, let’s eat something.” Eating probably would not have helped. COL 3:16 This surely means something more than merely reading the word in a careless, formal manner. It is “to dwell in us,” that is, take up its firm and lasting abode in our heart, and that “richly;” not poorly and niggardly, but copiously and abundantly, unfolding to us and putting us into possession of the wealth of its treasures; and that in “all wisdom,” making us wise to salvation, opening up to us the manifold wisdom of God, and how it displays itself in the great mystery of godliness. Now we shall not attain to this rich and heavenly wisdom unless we search and study the Scriptures with prayer and supplication to understand what the Holy Ghost has revealed therein, and what He is pleased to unfold therefrom of the will and way of God for our own personal instruction and consolation. We very easily fall off from abiding in Christ; nor can we expect to keep up sensible union and communion with the Lord Jesus if we neglect those means of grace which the Holy Ghost has provided for the sustentation of the life of God in the soul. When we get cold, sluggish, and dead, to read the word of God is a task and a burden; but not so, when the life of God is warm and gushing in the soul. Then, to read His holy word with prayer and supplication, entering by faith into its hidden treasures, and drinking into the mind of Christ as revealed therein, is a blessed means of maintaining the life of God in the heart, and keeping up union and communion with Christ. - J.C. Philpot, Ears from Harvested Sheaves. A W Tozer - What Would Jesus Do? Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another. —Colossians 3:16 I have known people who seemed to be terrified by God’s loving desire that we should reflect His own holiness and goodness. As God’s faithful children, we should be attracted to holiness, for holiness is God-likeness—likeness to God! God encourages every Christian believer to follow after holiness. Holiness is to be our constant ambition—not as holy as God is holy, but holy because God is holy. We know who we are and God knows who He is. He does not ask us to be God, and He does not ask us to produce the holiness that only He Himself knows. Only God is holy absolutely; all other beings can be holy only in relative degrees. The angels in heaven do not possess God’s holiness. They are created beings and they are contented to reflect the glory of God. That is their holiness. Holiness is not terrifying. Actually, it is amazing and wonderful that God should promise us the privilege of sharing in His nature. A W Tozer - How Artistic and Musical God Is! … teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. —Colossians 3:16 I remember as a young Christian when I got my first awful, wonderful, entrancing vision of God. I was in West Virginia in the woods sitting on a log reading the Scriptures.…I got up and wandered away to have prayer by myself. I had been reading one of the driest passages imaginable from the Scriptures where Israel came out of Egypt and God arranged them into … a diamond-shaped moving city with a flame of fire in the middle giving light. Suddenly it broke over me; God is a geometrician, He’s an artist! When He laid out that city He laid it out skillfully … and it suddenly swept over me like a wave of the sea: how beautiful God is and how artistic and how poetic and how musical, and I worshiped God there under that tree all by myself. You know after that I began to love the old hymns and I have been a lover of the great hymns ever since. THE SPIRIT AND THE WORD 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. Ephesians points to our being filled with the Spirit, Colossians to our being filled with the Word of God, which dwells within us richly. Then, by psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, we partake in wisdom and teaching together. Combine the two passages and we see a melody and countermelody of being filled with God’s Word and God’s Spirit, responding with beautiful music in both cases. We need both of these, the Spirit and the Word, to be Christians. Subtract either and it’s simply not possible. One reshapes the heart and the other the mind, and together they make us whole persons molded to the image of Christ. The Word of God provides the content; the Spirit of God applies it. He impresses the teachings of the Scriptures upon us, applies them to us, and reminds us of them at need. Throughout time, many believers have been inspired to create hymns as they’ve read God’s Word. Very often, they’ve told us they were convinced that God gave them the melody as well. How could powerful songs like “Amazing Grace” and “Joy to the World” have any other source but God? (Sanctuary - David Jeremiah) Pulling Out the Weeds - Billy Graham Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. COLOSSIANS 3:16 Have you ever had a weed in your yard that you chopped down and thought was gone—only to have it spring up again? Its roots, you discovered, were still alive, and they might even have spread. Sinful thoughts can be like that. When we come to Christ, He begins to change our thinking, and new thoughts begin to take root in our mind—thoughts about God’s love for us and His will for our life. But those old thoughts haven’t been completely killed, and sometimes they suddenly spring to the surface. When they do, Satan will try to deceive us into thinking that we aren’t new creations in Jesus after all, because we have failed Him. Don’t be surprised when old ways of thinking crop up—but don’t let them linger. When they come, immediately turn to God and ask Him to help you get rid of them, just as you pull weeds out of your garden. Most of all, let the Word of God fill you and renew your mind every day. When our minds are on Christ, Satan has little room to maneuver. A W Tozer - Instruct—Then Exhort Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly … teaching and admonishing one another. (Colossians 3:16) The godly men of old through whom the Scriptures came to us were faithful in their exhortations to personal faith and godliness, characteristic of the early church. The apostolic method of teaching, instructing and encouraging was based on solid and fundamental Christian doctrine. This was Paul’s method in his New Testament letters. First he gives his readers the scriptural reasons for certain Christian actions and attributes. He provides the basis and reason—then he exhorts the readers to respond appropriately. We do not know if Paul was the human writer to the Hebrews, but the method of exhortation is like Paul’s. We are assured that Christ is greater than Moses and greater than the angels and that He purchased mankind’s salvation. Then the exhortation: if all of these things are true, then we should keep on loving one another, keep on praying for one another. It is a good and gracious argument: because we have reasons for doing something, we ought to do it without delay and without reservation! Today in the Word - Church music wars are a violation of Colossians 3:16. Judging a fellow believer’s spirituality by his or her musical preferences is not godly. We’re expressly commanded to “sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,” that is, a variety of styles of sacred music. Any of these can be worshipful. Any of these can be used to give thanks to the Lord. Choose some music today to either sing or listen to as a way to focus your heart on gratitude to the Lord. D L Moody quotes W Hay Aitken - Singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord Col. 3:16 Remember your life is to be a singing life. This world is God’s grand cathedral for you. You are to be one of God’s choristers, and there is to be a continual eucharistic sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving going up from your heart, with which God shall be continually well pleased. And there should be not only the offering of the lips, but the surrender of the life with joy. Yes, with joy, and not with constraint. Every faculty of our nature should be presented to Him in gladsome service, for the Lord Jehovah is my song as well as my strength. (Thoughts for the Quiet Hour) J C Philpot - Daily Portions - May 19 "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom." –Colossians 3:16 This surely means something more than merely reading the word in a careless, formal manner. It is "to dwell in us," that is, take up its firm and lasting abode in our heart, and that "richly;" not poorly and niggardly, but copiously and abundantly, unfolding to us and putting us into possession of the wealth of its treasures; and that in "all wisdom," making us wise to salvation, opening up to us the manifold wisdom of God, and how it displays itself in the great mystery of godliness. Now we shall not attain to this rich and heavenly wisdom unless we search and study the Scriptures with prayer and supplication to understand what the Holy Spirit has revealed therein, and what he is pleased to unfold therefrom of the will and way of God for our own personal instruction and consolation. We very easily fall off from abiding in Christ; nor can we expect to keep up sensible union and communion with the Lord Jesus if we neglect those means of grace which the Holy Spirit has provided for the sustentation of the life of God in the soul. When we get cold, sluggish, and dead, to read the word of God is a task and a burden; but not so, when the life of God is warm and gushing in the soul. Then, to read his holy word with prayer and supplication, entering by faith into its hidden treasures, and drinking into the mind of Christ as revealed therein, is a blessed means of maintaining the life of God in the heart, and keeping up union and communion with Christ. HEART MUSIC - We are encouraged in the Scriptures to sing. Whether songs of praise, worship, adoration, or dedication, they should emanate from the heart. They must never be mere hypocritical vocalizations of nice-sounding sentiments. Some good questions to ask yourself the next time you pick up a hymnbook in church are these: Do I really mean what I'm singing? Is this coming from my heart, or am I just going through the motions? On Wednesday evening we sing, "'Tis the Blessed Hour of Prayer" and then allow our thoughts to wander aimlessly while others pray. We plead with enthusiasm, "Bring Them In" and later gripe about the repeated call for Sunday school bus drivers. We sing, "For the Beauty of the Earth" and then litter it with garbage and debris. We raise our voices to ask, "Is it the Crowning Day?" and proceed to live as though we had never heard of the Savior's return. We love the hymn, "Holy Bible, Book Divine" but spend most of our time reading newspapers and periodicals. We declare in song, "I Love to Tell the Story" and can't remember the last time we spoke a word for Christ. Singing and praying and working, Zealously walking His way; Heart and hand active in service, Living for Jesus each day! — G. W. A SONG coupled with SERVICE will usually outlive a SERMON in the memory. —Giles Give us, O Lord, a strong desire To look within Your Word each day; Help us to hide it in our hearts, Lest from its truth our feet would stray. -J D Branon When the Word of God dwells in you, the love of Christ shines through you. J Oswald Sanders - Spiritual Wisdom Colossians 3:16 (ALL WISDOM) When men were to be selected for a subordinate leadership position within the church, one of the two prerequisite qualities specified was wisdom—an essential element for good leadership. “Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom” (Acts 6:3). True wisdom is more than knowledge, which is the basic accumulation of facts. It is more than mere intellectual ability. It is heavenly insight. Spiritual wisdom involves the knowledge of God and the intricacies of the human heart. It involves the right application of knowledge in moral and spiritual matters and in handling perplexing situations and complex human relationships. Wisdom is a quality that restrains leaders from rash or eccentric action, imparting a necessary balance in their approach. The high place Paul gave to spiritual wisdom is seen in the way he constantly contrasted it with the ostentatious wisdom of the world. “Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a ‘fool’ so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight” (1 Corinthians 3:18–19). The need for wisdom was a frequent petition Paul raised in prayer for his converts and churches. “We have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9). Wisdom characterized the intentional method of Paul’s preaching. “We proclaim [Christ], admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ” (Colossians 1:28). Wisdom inevitably characterizes the ministry of the Spirit-filled leader. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Colossians 3:16). To Paul we owe the revelation that “Christ Jesus . . . has become for us wisdom from God” (1 Corinthians 1:30). (Earthen Vessels-Devotional Thoughts) Robert Morgan lists Colossians 3:16 as one of the 100 verses everyone should memorize… Just as John 3:16 provides the core of the gospel, Colossians 3:16 provides the core of worship. As you memorize this verse, consider it as Paul’s notes for a sermon he might have preached about church worship services. Here are his points: 1. Worship includes biblical exposition. Paul was concerned the message of Christ be richly presented through teaching and admonition. The word richly means “abundantly, in great measure, in large amounts.” 2. Worship involves “one another.” Teaching and admonition aren’t just pulpit-to-pew affairs. We teach and admonish one another. I’m reminded of another 3:16: Malachi 3:16: “At that time those who feared the LORD spoke to one another. The LORD took notice and listened.” 3. Singing is a big part of worship, and… 4. Variety in musical styles is welcomed. We’re to sing out God’s Word in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Psalms are Bible-based praises that are solid, deep, echoing the words of Scripture (especially the book of Psalms). Hymns are rich and sturdy songs that stand the test of time. Spiritual songs are lighter, livelier expressions of our faith and worship. 5. Worship rises on the wings of thanksgiving. Even though Paul ended the previous verse with the words “Be thankful,” he came right back in this verse to repeat the thought with the phrase “with gratitude.” 6. Worship includes prayer. Notice the last two words of the verse: “to God.” 7. Worship should engage both mind and emotions. Colossians 3:16 tells us to admonish with all wisdom (our minds) and to sing with our hearts (our emotions). This recalls our Lord’s words in John 4, that God desires us to worship Him in spirit and in truth. As you memorize these verses, you may get them confused with the previous passage from Ephesians 5. Paul wrote Ephesians and Colossians at the same time and from the same cell, and he expressed similar sentiments in both. But there are significant differences. Ephesians 5 tells us that when we’re filled with the Spirit, we’ll be speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Colossians 3:16 says the same will be true when the Word of God dwells richly among us. Think of your automobile. Your engine needs both fuel and spark. For the engine of worship, the fuel is the Word of God, and the fullness of the Holy Spirit gives the spark. Biblical teaching without spiritual power produces cold orthodoxy. Spiritual excitement without the Word of God promotes religious fanaticism. Put both together, and you’ve got biblical worship. The rule is… that we turn each truth that we learn about God into a matter of mediation before God, leading to prayer and praise to God. —J. I. Packer (100 Bible Verses Everyone Should Know by Heart)