Listen for God’s word to you from Colossians 3:15-17…
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:1 marks the transition in this letter from theology to practical application. Paul follows this same pattern in each of his letters. First, he gives us theology, and then he fleshes out the practical application of that theology. In the verses we have read this morning, Paul gives us five guidelines for a fulfilling life.
PEACE
The first guideline is peace. Paul says, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.”
We must remember that behind the Greek word for peace, Paul has in mind the Hebrew word, Shalom. Shalom has to do not just with peace as in the absence of war. Shalom means full health, or wholeness, in all the dimensions of life: physical, emotional, mental, spiritual.
And this peace, Paul told us in Galatians 5, is part of the fruit of the Spirit. That is to say, the peace of God comes to us as a gift through the Holy Spirit. God’s peace is something that God produces in us.
In Romans 5, Paul says we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The moment we put our trust in Christ, we have peace as a result of justification.
Now, Paul is saying, let that peace of Christ, which is already in you, rule in your hearts. The Greek word for rule is an interesting one. It literally means “to act as an umpire”.
Barclay explains that the verb Paul uses…
… is a verb from the athletic arena; it is the word that is used of the umpire who settles things with his decision in any matter of dispute. If the peace of Jesus Christ is the umpire in any man’s heart, then, when feelings clash, and when we are pulled in two directions at the same time, when Christian charity conflicts in our hearts with unchristian irritation and annoyance, the decision of Christ will keep us in the way of love, and the Church will remain the one body it was meant to be. The way to right action is to appoint Jesus Christ as the arbiter between the conflicting emotions in our hearts; and if we accept His decisions, we cannot go wrong.
How does this work out in practice? When I am considering a major decision in life and I am trying to decide what direction to go, I find that a sense of God’s peace will guide me. If I have peace about going in a certain direction, that is good, and it leads me to believe that I can proceed with God’s blessing. But if I don’t have a sense of peace about a certain course of action, that is a sure sign that I need to stop and reconsider things and continue to pray for God’s leading, and wait upon him until I have a sense of peace about the direction I should go.
Furthermore, if individual Christians allow God’s peace to rule in their hearts, then that will lead to a greater peace between individuals within the church. In other words, if we are all following Jesus, then we will all be moving in the same direction together, and there won’t be friction. When there is friction in the church, it is a sure sign that something is off somewhere. We need to stop what we are doing, pray over the matter, and seek Jesus’ direction.
GRATITUDE
A second guideline Paul gives us for finding a fulfilling life in Christ is gratitude. Paul says simply at the end of verse 15, “And be thankful.”
This is apparently such an important guideline in the Christian life that he mentions it three times in these three verses. In verse 16 he talks about having “gratitude in your hearts”. And then in verse 17 Paul talks about “… giving thanks to God the Father through him [Christ].”
Of course, when things are going well in life, it is relatively easy to be grateful. But even then, we sometimes forget to say thanks. And some people don’t even know who to thank.
I think of our annual American holiday of Thanksgiving. I know of few if any Americans who do not celebrate Thanksgiving in some way. But if one does not believe in God, then who does one thank for one’s blessings? Sure, it is easy to trace the source of some blessings to other human beings. But then there are the things that happen to us in life, seemingly by chance. Who are we to thank then? The Christian sees even in the happenstances of life the hand of God. And if we are mindful, then we give thanks to our Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer.
But what about when life is not going well? What do we do when we don’t feel like giving thanks?
Perhaps, the first step is to remember our marching orders. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
If God calls us to give thanks in all circumstances, then this implies that we will sometimes need to give thanks when we don’t feel very thankful.
In this regard, I often think of the story told by Corrie ten Boom in her book, The Hiding Place. She writes of her sister Betsy thanking God for the fleas in their barracks at Ravensbruck concentration camp. Corrie could not understand why they should thank God for the horrible fleas. But she followed her sister’s lead and Paul’s instruction to thank God for all things, in all circumstances.
Not long after giving thanks for the fleas, Corrie and Betsy realized the guards never came into their barracks anymore. So, the women were never assaulted, and they were free to have Bible studies where many of the women came to know Christ. It was only later that they found out why the guards left them alone; it was because of the fleas.
You never know when the Lord may be using some unpleasant thing in your life to protect you or to prepare you for his blessing. Developing an attitude of gratitude is key to unlocking a fulfilling life in Christ.
WORD
The third guideline Paul offers us here I summarize with the term “Word”. Paul writes, “Let the message of Christ dwell in you richly.”
The word for “message” in Greek is “logos” and may, more simply, be translated as “word”. John tells us in the prologue to his Gospel that Jesus is the Logos, the reasoning power behind the universe, through whom everything has been created. Jesus is the living Word.
What does it mean to have the word of Christ dwelling in us? The word for dwelling more literally means to be living in a house. So, one could translate Paul’s command as: “Let the word of Christ be at home in you.”
Robert Boyd Munger wrote a little booklet many years ago entitled, My Heart, Christ’s Home. In that booklet, Munger invites us to envision our lives like a house. When we first invite Jesus to come and live inside of us, it is like he comes in through the front door and he is standing there in the hall. But then the question comes… “Have we allowed Jesus into every room in our lives?” How about…
- The attic where we keep our memories?
- The kitchen where we prepare our food?
- And the dining room where we eat?
- The living room where we socialize and entertain ourselves?
- The library where we read?
- The bedroom where we sleep?
- The bathroom where we wash up
So, how do we let this word of Christ dwell in us richly? One way, certainly, is be reading the written words of Jesus in the Gospels which point us to the living word who is Christ.
Of course, when Paul wrote these words, the Colossians did not have the written words of Jesus in the Gospels. All they had, if they knew of the words of Christ at all, were the memories of the apostles as they passed their memories of Jesus’ teaching on to others. So, in a sense, we have a benefit that the Colossians did not have. We can read Jesus’ words in Scripture. What a blessing!
Also, in the middle part of verse 16, Paul tells us how to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. He says, “…as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom…” It is through the teaching ministry of the church that the word of Christ dwells in us richly. This is one reason why gathering together as a church for worship is so important. It gives us a chance every week to hear from our commander in chief, the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is important to keep in mind the threefold form of the word of God. There is the living word—Jesus. There is the word in Scripture. And there is the word preached. We need all three. Scripture and preaching are helpful in so far as they point us to Jesus. And it is the living word, Jesus, whom we need most of all.
WORSHIP
The fourth guideline Paul gives us for finding a fulfilling life in Christ is worship. Paul writes, "Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts."
If the word of Christ dwells in us richly, especially through the teaching ministry of the church, then that word will naturally overflow into worship.
Human beings simply must express what is impressed.
For example, when someone is in love, they cannot help but talk about their beloved. In the same way, when the message of Christ gets into our hearts, we cannot help but express that message in worship and gratitude.
From the beginning, the Church of Jesus Christ has been a singing movement. The gospel of grace must be echoed in songs of gratitude for that same grace.
Furthermore, Paul’s words here, simple as they are, suggest to me that the message of Christ, the word of God in Scripture, ought to inform all our worship in the church. A cursory examination of the hymns and songs of the church through history reveals that this has not always been the case. But the more God’s word in Scripture informs the words we express in worship, in song and in spoken word, the richer that worship will be.
Specifically, Paul mentions three different types of music: psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Exactly what these are has been debated for centuries. But I think we do have some idea of what Paul had in mind…
We have many examples of psalms in the Bible. We also have examples of hymns, as in Philippians 2. Examples of spiritual songs in the Bible are, perhaps, harder to identify. But it seems to me that we need both hymns where we sing about our Triune God and we need spiritual songs where we sing to him. That’s how I would define the difference. And the Psalms themselves contain examples of both hymns (singing about God) and spiritual songs (singing to God).
It is amazing to contemplate, but we really don’t know anything of what worship in the early church sounded like. Nor do we know what worship in the Jewish temple sounded like. Some instruments are mentioned in the Psalms, and this gives us some idea of sound. But we don’t know any of the tunes that were sung.
This suggests to me that we are not limited in terms of the types of music that might be used in church to express praise to God.
Martin Luther was criticized for taking tunes from the pub and writing different words for these tunes to be used in church. His response when criticized was to say, “The devil should not be allowed to keep all the best tunes for himself.”
In my travels around the world, I have experienced many different types of music being used to praise God. In some churches I have seen people dancing in praise of our Lord. And for many years, I used drama in worship.
I have had people assume that my favorite style of worship is the one used in the church I serve as pastor. I have had people assume this when I was leading contemporary style worship and traditional style! The truth is, I am very eclectic in terms of my own preferences. And I don’t think God cares about worship style, so long as his word is preached, and people are enabled to offer their heartfelt worship without limitation. I believe God can use all different styles of worship to his glory if we let him.
JESUS-FOCUSED
Finally, the fifth guideline Paul offers for finding a fulfilling life in Christ is to be Jesus-focused. "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."
This verse suggests to me that there is no separation between secular and sacred in the Christian life. All, literally everything in life, is to be done in the name of Jesus and with a sense of gratitude toward him.
G. K. Chesterton once wrote… "You say grace before meals. All right. But I say grace before the concert and the opera, and grace before the play and pantomime, and grace before I open a book, and grace before sketching, painting, swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing, and grace before I dip the pen in the ink."
To me, that sums up how we ought to approach all of life. There is not a religious compartment separate from everything else we do. Jesus wants to be a part of every aspect of our lives. He wants us to find him everywhere and in everything we do. And if there is something we are doing in life, which we can’t imagine thanking Jesus for, then maybe we ought not to be doing it.
This verse reminds me of something else Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” That is saying essentially the same thing in slightly different words. As I have often mentioned, the first question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is, “What is the chief end of man?” And the answer is: “To glorify God and to enjoy him forever.” That really sums up what a fulfilling life in Christ is all about.
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