FULLNESS OF THE WORD

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

The practical experience of the Fullness of God hinges on the FULLNESS of HIS WORD in us. Paul admonished believers: “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” (Col.3:16). This talks about expressing the Indwelling Word of Christ, richly and profusely. In Colossians 3, Paul described the manner in which a Christian should live. The qualities expected are impracticable to carry out unless there is a radical, supernatural change in the individual. We who have placed our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His atonement for the forgiveness of our sins are radically changed by God. Therefore, we can live fully according to these virtues.

We are redeemed and reconciled with God though the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus. Our old self died with Christ and a new self is raised to newness of life. The old man needs to be put off, and the new man put on. The new man occupies the same old physical body of the old man and has to contend with a mind that has been trained to think in wrong patterns and view the world wrongly, but those things will change as we are conformed into the image of Christ. The attitudes and deeds of the old man must be put to death – immorality, impurity, evil desire, greed, anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive speech. In their place the attitudes and deeds of the new man are being developed through the cleansing of God’s word, the renewing of our minds, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The believer’s character is transformed so that he is marked by compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forbearance, forgiveness and agape love, not only towards loved ones, but to all people.

Colossians 3:16 is the only place that the phrase “the word of Christ” occurs, apart from “the word of God” and “the word of the Lord.”  All three refer to our means of knowing Him and His will: the Scriptures, the Holy Bible, and specifically, the teachings of Jesus. The term parallels “the peace of Christ” in verse 15. Throughout this letter Paul accentuated the superiority of Jesus Christ in correcting the false teachings that were advocating religious rituals, keeping holy days, worship of angels, self-abasement and ascetic practices as the way to God. Paul reiterated that it is Jesus Christ alone that shows us the way to live for God and have life in Him. The idea of “dwell” is for the teachings of Christ to reside within in us in such a way that we can live them out in how we think, what we say, and our disposition. The Lord had underscored this same point in John 15 when described Himself as the Vine, and we the branches. We are to abide in Him and His Word is to abide in us if we are to prove to be His disciples.

The adverb “richly” describes the degree to which the indwelling Word must abide in our lives – in abundance, FULLY! The Word of Christ should direct all of our thoughts and decisions. We should endeavour to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2Cor.10:15). Only then can we make and live out decisions that will glorify Him. We would be handicapped in obeying Christ’s commands in the Great Commission, if we do not know His teachings and commands (Mt.28:20). Our Christian faith must be grounded in a knowledge base that is full and abundant. Like Timothy, you need to know God’s Word richly: “And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2Tim.3:15). Every other manifestation of the Fullness of God in your life depends on this!