Let the word of Christ make its home in you.
Good morning. Today’s Bible verse is Colossians 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.”
Colossians 3 has been building toward something.
Paul has told us to put off the old man.
He has told us to put on the new man.
And now he shows us how that life actually takes shape.
It happens as the word of Christ dwells in us.
The “word of Christ” here is not the earthly teaching of Jesus during His earthly ministry. It is the message the risen, glorified Christ revealed to Paul — the mystery of the Body of Christ (Ephesians 3:1–7). It is the gospel of grace entrusted to Paul as the apostle of the Gentiles: the message of forgiveness, life, and righteousness by faith alone in the finished work of Christ.
This is the word that tells us:
• we already have God’s favor through Christ (Ephesians 1:6)
• we are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10)
• we are new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17)
• we walk in the freedom of grace (Galatians 5:1)
• we are members of one Body, joined to one another (1 Corinthians 12:12–13)
This is the message Paul taught Timothy, who was to entrust it to faithful men (2 Timothy 2:2). This is the message that forms the foundation for living by grace in this dispensation.
Dear brothers and sisters, when Paul says, “Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you,” he is calling us to let this message — this truth, this identity, this grace — make its home in us. The word dwell carries the idea of being at home, not just present. It is not a visitor. It is a resident.
We live with one another as members of the Body of Christ by remembering who we are.
The old man cannot teach us this life.
The world cannot teach us this life.
Even the earthly ministry of Jesus was not given to form this life.
Only the word of Christ — the message revealed to Paul — tells us who we are and how we walk together in grace.
As this word dwells in us:
• Wisdom grows
• Unity deepens
• Peace settles
• Love flows
• Thankfulness rises
This is how we live with one another in the Body of Christ.
Not by striving.
Not by self-effort.
But by letting the word of Christ — the message given to Paul — dwell richly in us.
When it does, we teach and admonish one another in grace.
We encourage one another with truth.
We sing with thankful hearts to God our Father for all He has done.
This is the life of the new man.
This is the life of grace.
This is the life Paul calls us to live.
The New King James Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1982), Col 3:16.
Meditation:
The word of Christ makes its home in me, shaping how I think, respond, and live as a member of His Body.
Reflection Question:
Where do you need the word of Christ to dwell more richly in your thinking today?