“Letting the Word Dwell in Us” Colossians 3:15-17

The word “dwelling” can have many meanings. It can be impersonal, simply referring to a non-specific house or apartment or some other place where a person might reside.

But when we take the word and give it a more personal approach, it suddenly conveys an idea of home, of peace and of belonging.

As I was thinking over this sermon, it dawned on me that I can remember every house I’ve ever lived in except for the first one, and that’s because we moved from that home when I was two years old. I remember some things about that house, but not the floor plan or anything close to what I remember of every other house I’ve lived in.

The idea of dwelling to me speaks of closeness and family. Jesus told us that if we love Him, we’ll obey His commands, and He and the Father will come and make their home with us. They will dwell with us, abide with us, be at home with us.

When we tell someone to make themselves at home, we’re telling them to become comfortable, to be at ease and to relax. That’s what dwelling is all about.

Paul us in today’s passage that we need to let the Word dwell in us richly. He means we need to make it feel right at home, to make its home with us.

Central Truth: The Word dwelling in us transforms our fellowship with God and with others.

The indwelling Word enables:

1. Christ to rule in our hearts (15)

• The rule of Christ is the Lordship of Christ

There are so many ways to describe the attributes of Christ. He is known as the Prince of Peace, and it seems natural that we would also want to speak to the peace of Christ. It’s not used very often, but Paul uses it here to remind us that this element of Jesus must be a part of who we are in Him. These three verses come at the end of a really good passage we are to set ourselves in heaven with Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father. He reminds us to die to the old self and embrace the new self in Christ, and he calls us God’s chosen people.

And so Paul concludes this passage with calling us to come under the Lordship of the peace of Christ, that we are to let that peace rule in our hearts. Consider the meaning of such an idea. When the peace of Christ comes in to sit at the throne of our heart, it means that our heart rids itself of worry, of fear, of doubt, of insecurity—in short, all the things that hinder our walk with God are cast aside and is replaced with the peace of Christ.

• The Lordship of Christ leads to peace

with Him – We find peace with Christ as we let His peace rule in us, because as we yield ourselves to Him, we turn away from the sin that creates the chaos in our lives. We become friends with Him (cf. John 15:15) and are made joint heirs with Him. As such, we find ourselves falling into agreement with Him more and more as we come to see Him and understand Him as we grow in His grace and mercy. As we grow in our faith, we learn that Christ’s ways really do work best and that He is to be trusted in all things.

It’s always a nice thing to find ourselves at peace with someone. When we find peace, we are able to develop a deeper relationship. We find ourselves enjoying one another’s company and learning new things about each other. Years ago, when I was in high school, I came into conflict with one of my classmates. I don’t know why we had that conflict but we did. We had mutual friends and attended the same church, had classes together, but for some reason, we decided we didn’t like each other.

One day, it was decided that we needed to bury the hatchet, that it was time to make peace. And we did. Since that time, she has become one of Kim’s and my closest friends. When we stopped disliking each other, we discovered we had a lot in common. I learned she was quite a creative person, and I have come to see that she is one of the cleverest people I know. I have come to respect and appreciate her more as the years go by. And all because we had peace.

Letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts allows us to tap into the Spirit as He seeks to guide us each day. We become more in tune with His guidance and more aware of His leading.

with each other – Until we have peace with Christ, we really can’t have peace with other people. Oh, we can pretend and act as though we have peace. We can get along with people and be pleasant, even be friends and close friends. But always, in the back of our minds, there will be some conflict, because we will always be looking out for our own best interests.

Peace with Christ allows us to set aside the selfish ambitions and allows us to see people as Christ sees them. We are able to take into consideration the needs and ideas of each other and we find ourselves working toward common goals, since our peace with Christ always leads us to follow His will.

• This peace encourages gratitude toward God

It’s interesting that Paul adds the admonition to be thankful at the end of the verse. “You’re at peace; be grateful.”

And he has a point. Because of the peace of Christ that takes control of us, we learn to see the world through His eyes, and we become aware of all that Christ has done for us, what the Father is doing for us.

I had a lady in my church in Port O’Connor I enjoyed talking with. Every time I’d see her, I’d ask her how she was doing. Her response was always, “I could complain, but why should I?” She saw the world as it is. There are all sorts of things in our world that we could complain about—traffic, the cost of gasoline going up, people in general, person in specific. But, when we stop to think about it, there are so many other things we should be grateful for—I have a car that allows me to be in traffic, and I have the ability to pay for the gas that goes into my car. I have people in my life that make my life richer and specific people that fill my world with challenges and hopes and assurances and support. And I have a God who cared enough about me to send His Son to save me and bring me into a right relationship with Him. He gives me peace, and for that and all He does, we must be grateful.

1. us to assist fellow believers and worship the Father (16)

• Fellow believers

Letting the Word of Christ dwell in us allows us to learn from Him. The Spirit that inspires Scripture also interprets Scripture for us. Having that interpretation allows us to gain insights into the Word. How many times have you heard someone say that they learn something new from the Bible even though they may have read that passage numerous times? There are times we find a passage that speaks to us in a way that addresses a specific need in our life at that moment.

That same Spirit also brings to our remembrance passages that help us to minister to our brothers and sisters in Christ. It allows us to reach and admonish one another.

Now, the idea of teach and admonish is not telling other people what they should do. There’s really very little room for know-it-all bossy people in church. But there is a need for loving, caring people who realize that others around us sometimes can use encouragement from the Word of God, and that encouragement can take the form of teaching and admonitions. The answer to the question, “What should I do in this situation?” can be a teaching moment. It can also be an admonishing moment.

But admonishment doesn’t necessarily mean reading the riot act to someone. An admonishment can be a gentle reminder to someone of what the Bible teaches on a matter. Sometimes we need reminders of things we know we ought to do or not do.

Then again, there are some people that do need to be slapped up alongside the head with the Word. At such times, the Spirit will lead us. And that’s why we can be thankful that we are peace with Christ and with each other. Even when we have to speak sternly with others, we can do it in such a way that lets them know the words are coming out of the love of God within us.

And, finally, the idea of admonishing also means we need to first be sure that we are not the ones that need to be admonished. There’s nothing more annoying than thinking I’m right when in fact I’m wrong. Always be aware that God alone is the One who knows all sides of the argument and all sides of the story. We must always approach even moments of admonition with a humble heart.

The key to this teaching and admonition is that we have the wisdom of Christ richly dwelling in us. By having the Word within us, we know the wisdom of God, and we can use that wisdom to guide us in teaching and admonishing one another.

• Worship

Just as the Word indwelling us allows us to teach and admonish, it also allows us to enter into the Father’s presence through worship.

About the time worship began to change in the 80’s and 90’s, when we began to experience praise teams and praise choruses, I had a talk with Don Dilday, a director of missions in Lufkin. He mentioned that the hymns we have in our hymn books were written by people who had an educated knowledge of the Word. Men and women trained in theology and Scripture took their knowledge and applied it toward the hymns of praise they wrote. Look at “A Mighty Fortress” to see such a hymn. Written by Martin Luther, it conveys his understanding of biblical teaching about grace and godly protection. Or consider “Amazing Grace.” There are so many hymns that are inspired by the Word.

In fact, the book of Psalms can be considered the hymn book of the Old Testament, since the individual psalms were used in Temple worship. The indwelling Word enables us to approach the throne of God with an awareness and reverence that grows out of knowing the mind of Christ.

And, again, Paul points out that the thankfulness of v. 15 must be present in our worship as well, singing with gratitude in our hearts. The phrase, “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord” is valid. Granted, some of us are better at making the noise, but even the noise should be filled with joy. The heartfelt word of praise filled with joy and gratitude carries a lot of weight as we offer ourselves to the Lord in worship.

1. us to act in submission to the Lord (17)

Finally, Paul lets us know that the indwelling Word should have a profound impact on our daily living. “Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” That means that we need to have a conscience awareness of God’s presence with us each and every moment of each and every day. Such an awareness will transform the reasons we do and say what we do and say.

When we approach our family, our work and our world with an attitude that conveys the idea that we are doing it for Christ, it changes the way we see our world, our work and our family. We take on the servant’s heart, the compassion of Christ, and we transform our reasons for doing what we do. When we take on that attitude, then the reason for everything about us is to allow the grace and peace of Christ to be transferred through me to my family, my work and my world.

And, once again, Paul points out the need for gratitude in our actions and words. We should be grateful to God that He enables us to say and do the things He calls us to say and do. His Word guides us, and it teaches and admonishes us and further prepares us to act in His will and in His way.

Conclusion

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” is a recipe for transformation. In doing so, we find ourselves at peace in our world, filled with wisdom and understanding and with a new purpose for living life. Underneath it all, this transformation teaches us to have a heart of gratitude toward God as He works in our lives through His Word that lives within us.

But, one of the words we need to be aware of in these three verses is the word “let.” “Let the peace of Christ. . .” “Let the Word of Christ. . .” Both of these verses tell us that whether or not we have this peace and this Word within us is as much our determination as it is God’s grace. We have to want to have this peace and have this Word indwelling us.

And so the question we need to answer today is, “Do I want to have the peace of Christ ruling in my heart and do I want the word of Christ dwelling in me richly?”