Colossians 3:16
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
Truth: As the Word of Christ dwells richly in us, it can't help but come out gloriously from us
The reverse of the old computer adage might be best used to describe this verse in Paul's letter to the church in Colossians. The adage states: "Garbage in - Garbage out" when referring to what happens when bad code is entered. You get bad results out. In the above truth, stated by Paul, we read the opposite: God's Word in - Teaching, praise, worship and gratitude out. Paul, in the preceding verses, has just told the members of the church to "put away" their former way of life, now that they were in Christ, and to "put on" the new way of life. That new way included God's love and God's peace in their lives. He now, in the above passage, brings us to the point where the "how" might be understood in his teaching. In order to put away something and put something else on there has to be a way and the phrase above might give us that "way-power." As we allow the Word of Christ (both words from Christ and words about Christ ... the gospel) to dwell in us and we can begin to see changes in our lives. This might be one of the most mysterious, but blessed truths, in all the teachings of Paul: When we allow Christ's Words and the Words of Christ to "dwell" in us, something happens. It should be noted that Paul tells them to all the Word to dwell in us "richly." Although the following from Word Biblical Commentary is long, it is worth reading to better understand the word "richly."
Word Biblical Commentary: πλουσίως ("richly," "abundantly") describes the manner of the Word's indwelling. Elsewhere in the epistles this adverb is found in statements which describe God's gracious and rich bestowal of his gifts: at 1 Timothy 6:17 it is used of "God who richly (πλουσίως) furnishes us with everything to enjoy," in contrast to the "rich in this world"; while at Titus 3:6 the Holy Spirit is "poured out upon us richly (πλουσίως) through Jesus Christ our Savior," and in 2 Peter 1:11 an "entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be richly (πλουσίως) provided." Here in Colossians πλουσίως ("richly") appears within an exhortation: the gospel is to have its gracious and glorious way in their lives. If the double reference of ἐν ὑμῖν ("within you" and "among you") is in view then this rich indwelling would occur when they came together, listened to the Word of Christ as it was preached and expounded to them (see Schrage, Einzelgebote, 91, Ernst, 229, and Schweizer, 157) and bowed to its authority. By this means Christ's rule would be exercised in their lives. As the Spirit of God indwells believers (Rom 8:9, 11; 2 Tim 1:14; cf. 1 Cor 3:16) so the "Word of Christ" should reside among them in rich abundance, producing great blessing (cf. Ernst, 229, and Lohse, 150).
The result of the Word of Christ dwelling in us richly is what follows in our above verse. Teaching one another follows. One cannot take God's Word in and allow it to richly work without an utterance wanting to come out. Wisdom comes out of the one who allows the Word of Christ to richly dwell within. All manner of songs and praise will flow from those who allow the Word of Christ to richly control within (true worship is not about the band leader or song writer ... it is about having the Word of Christ dwell in you and that must and will come out in great praise). One further result of Christ word in us is thankfulness flowing out. You can only be thankful if you know Christ died for you and indwells in you. So, how do you "let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly?" You, by faith, read it and study it and allow it to control all aspects of your being. It is a faith act, not a flesh act. It is listening to God's Word in faith and allowing it to have full authority in your life. That is when the Spirit can take the Word and produce fruit we never would produce on our own. God's Word in - God's fruit out!!
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