Col 3:15 And let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts, to which also you were called in one Body; and be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.
[Part 2 of 2] I appreciate Paul’s skill as a writer. He emphasizes, on the one hand, the peace of Christ and, on the other hand, the word of Christ. Some of us may think that as long as our spirit is living, everything is all right. Perhaps you have not realized the need for the peace of Christ to arbitrate within you and for the word of Christ to make home in your heart. If we let the peace of Christ work in us and the word of Christ dwell in us, we shall be proper Christians.
Instead of our preference, we shall have Christ’s arbitration. Instead of our opinion, concept, thought, and estimation, we shall have Christ’s word. We cannot separate the word of Christ from His arbitration. The arbitrator settles a dispute by speaking a word. We need to bring our case to the arbitrator and listen to his word. This means that we need to allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts and the word of Christ to dwell in us. Then we shall be filled with singing and giving of thanks.
According to verse 16, when the word of Christ dwells in us richly, we shall teach and admonish one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to God. Teaching, admonishing, and singing are all related to the verb dwell. This indicates that the way to let the Lord’s word dwell in us richly is by teaching, admonishing, and singing. We should teach and admonish not only in words, but also in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Prayer Confession Heavenly father thank you for this word. Your word is the foundation of my life and everything that concerns me. I give time to your word daily so that it makes a home in my heart and that the peace of Christ arbitrates within me. I launch deeper in your word to receive deeper revelations and knowledge of your word, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
