May 30, 2021. Colossians 3:16-17

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DIVINE DOMINANCE.  Colossians 3:16-17.  05/30/2021.  #10.

Colossians 3:16-17 [New King James Version]

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. 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.

  1. Primacy of the Word of God
    1. After Paul explains how believers are to behave, he gives them the mechanism to accomplish it: indwelling of Word
    1. Let the Word richly (plousios, plentifully, abundantly) dwell in you = to take all the Word in that can be taken
      1. The OT and part of the NT had been completed
      1. Enough of the Word was finished to understand the ways and will of God + a believer’s obligation
    1. Indwelling = what inhabits our souls
      1. Romans 7 sin dwells in us
      1. Ephesians 1:13-14 believers have the Holy Spirit dwell in them, sealing them for eternity
      1. Ephesians 3:17 Christ to dwell in our hearts via faith
    1. Everyone is indwelt with sin and all believers are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, but we must choose to be indwelt by Word
      1. We are admonished to have an abundance of the Word living in us (knowing and following it)
      1. The Word dwells sparsely in most believers
    1. The indwelling of the Word is the source of “all” wisdom
      1. II Timothy 3:16-17 God had chosen to use his Word as the source of gaining wisdom (Hebrews 4:12)
      1. The Word of God is prescriptive: telling what is right and wrong, true and false; worthy and unworthy
      1. The Word of God is corrective: warning against sin, and restoring the wayward to the right path
    1. The Word of God is instructive, building wisdom
      1. Psalm 1 the Word is to be meditated upon
      1. II Timothy 2:15 the Word is to be studied
      1. Psalm 119:11 the Word is to me memorized
      1. Revelation 1:3 the Word is to be read
      1. James 1:22 the Word is to be heeded
      1. I Peter 4:11 the Word is to be taught
  2. Melodious teaching
    1. We are to “teach” and “admonish” one another
      1. The body of Christ is used to serve, edify, comfort, and teach each other the ways of God
      1. Teaching deals with proper instruction that emphasizes what is true and useful
      1. Admonition (literally., “to put to mind”) deals with warning, earnestly persuading, and cautioning each other to avoid temptation and follow righteousness
        1. There is an urgency in battling sin nature
        1. Ephesians 4:11-12 casual Christianity loses the battle against the flesh and the world
    1. God gave us music to help teach us truth in a memorable way and to express our commitment to and worship of God
      1. Warning: not all hymns and spiritual songs are true to the Word of God (by ignorance, bias, or flesh)
      1. Christian music can enhance teaching, admonishing, and worship, but it can’t replace the Word of God
    1. Music from the heart = from core convictions, not emotions (many people like the music, but are not committed to Word)
  3. All for Jesus
    1. The Lord needs to be our motivation for all that we do
      1. I Corinthians 10:30 even our most mundane tasks
      1. Luke 6:46 he is Lord and is to be obeyed in all things
      1. Job 1 all belongs to him for his good pleasure
      1. II Corinthians 10:3-5 our thoughts are to be bound to Lord
    1. Even though spiritual warfare is a great struggle, it is a matter of great thanksgiving that we are empowered to serve, please, and worship him (Romans 8:18 struggles = minor)

Key verse: Psalm 1

1 Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so,

But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the ungodly shall perish.