Seeking for the help of the Lord,
I direct your prayer for attention to the portion that we read for
the epistle to the Colossians chapter 3 and reading for our
text verses 15 and 16. and let the peace of God rule
in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body,
and be ye thankful. 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 chapter 3 and verses
15 and 16. The Apostle Paul is writing to
the Colossian church and as he writes to them he writes to them
as the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colossae
and in the chapter where our text is We have him speaking
to them as being those that, in verse 1, are risen with Christ. That is, when the Lord Jesus
Christ offered His sacrifice at Calvary, and with His own
precious blood made atonement for the sins of the Church of
God. And that sacrifice was accepted,
and our Lord rose from the dead. The Apostle teaches that the
Church of God rose with Him. that the blessing that our Lord
had of rising from the dead and that seal that was given to him
was as a first fruit from the dead he wouldn't be the only
one that rose from the dead and the fact that he rose from the
dead was an assurance that the sacrifice that he had offered
had been accepted and so we find then the Apostle writing to the
Colossians here, chapter 3, he says to them that they are those
that are risen with Christ, a believer, one that is being called by God,
one that has been brought from death unto life, dead in trespasses
and sins, to be made alive unto God, has been risen with Christ,
and also in verse 3 we have a description that their life is hid with Christ
in God, that the life of the people of God is bound up with
the Lord Jesus Christ. He says, because I live, ye shall
live also. The people of God are part of
the body which Christ is the head of, and the Church of God
is the Bride of Christ and so they are hid with Christ as it
were bound up with Him we think of the beautiful type of the
Ark of Noah where when Noah and all that was with him was in
the Ark if you looked at it from the outside all you would have
seen was the Ark those that were in Him were sheltering in Him,
hidden in Him. If we think of the type of the
Passover night in Egypt, when the children of Israel were to
be let go from Egypt, and God commanded that the angel was
to pass through Egypt that night, the destroying angel, and destroy
all the firstborn. It would have been the firstborn
of the Egyptians and the Israelites, but the Israelites were given
another command, that they were to shelter in their houses, that
they were to slay a lamb, that the blood of that lamb was to
be put on the doorposts and the lintel of the houses that they
were, and they were to hide in those houses. And if we look
then over Egypt that night as the destroying angel passed through,
you wouldn't have seen the people, you would have seen the houses
and outside the houses you would have seen the blood upon the
doorposts and lentils and God gave the promise when I see the
blood I will pass over you and so the lives of the people of
God depended on that blood their life was hid in that type of
Christ and so the Colossians, and every believer, is hidden
in Christ, they are found in Him, not having their own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is of faith, of the Lord
Jesus Christ. And so Paul describes the Colossians
as well in verse 4, as those that have Christ as their life,
when Christ, who is our life, shall appear, and He joins Himself
with them. And truly we may say, all of
the people of God, that the Lord Jesus Christ is their life. They live upon Him, they live
because He lives, their spiritual life is maintained by Him, He
is their meat and their drink, They live upon the Word of God,
they feed upon the Word of God, they feed upon by faith, upon
the precious truths of the redemption in the Lord Jesus Christ, and
their whole expectancy of heaven is bound up in the Lord Jesus
Christ. With the people of God, their
lives are transformed, and why we are by nature, We live to
ourselves, we live to the world, we live in sin, but when the
Lord makes that change in our hearts, when we are born again
of His Spirit, when He puts His Spirit within us and brings us
to believe on the name of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ, then
our lives will be very different, and our lives will be not governed
by self, but by the Lord. And by His word and by His will,
our desire will be, what will Thou have me to do? What is the
way that Thou wouldst have me to go? And this is one way that
the people of God are clearly known and seen, and the work
of God shown to be a real work in their hearts, because of the
way that it profoundly affects their lives. They don't just
continue on their lives, as if this world was their rest, and
all of the worldly pleasures that those that do not know God
enjoy and revel in, they still enjoy and revel in all of those,
but just cast in Christ's name into the scale. No, it will be
a new life, a renewed life, and the Apostle says to the Hebrews
that those that are walking by faith, that they are walking
as pilgrims, and that they say and they agree with the Word
that this is not our rest, it is polluted, we look for a heavenly
city, a city that is to come where Christ is now, where He
dwells and has sent forth His Spirit into our hearts to draw
us unto Himself. And so He then describes in verse
10 Another aspect of these Colossians, in that they had put on the new
man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created
him. Putting it on, it gives the idea
of an illustration of a garment, a jacket, a covering, a cloak
that is put on. that changes the appearance and
not that we'd suggest in any way that Christ's righteousness
it just covers over all of our black sins and then we we appear
holy before God no the blood of Christ has cleansed us from
our sin, He has blotted out the sins of believers, the sins of
His people, and it is His righteousness that is our robe. But here it
is speaking of in a different way, in that our whole lives
are being put on as to be a different man, instead of the old man that
we once were, instead of being walking hostile to God as openly
sinning and hating God and his people, his ways and his word. Now we are walking in newness
of life, or it may be the old life was a religious life, a
life like the Pharisees, a life like the Apostle Paul was himself,
a Pharisee of the Pharisees, hating the Lord Jesus, persecuting
the people of God that called on his name, but living a religious
life as the Pharisees and Scribes did, and yet they were enemies
to true godliness and to the true righteousness, which is
by faith. And so the Apostle Paul, when
the Lord met with him on the Damascus Road, his life was greatly
changed. The old man was before that time,
the new man after. The conversion experience on
that road had been a real turning point, a real change in his life. But one thing we must bear in
mind that we still have, every believer still has, an old nature. We are still sinners. We still
have our flesh that loves sin, that goes out after it, that
is inclined to evil and evil things, that still loves iniquity,
that will take up with Satan, that will take up with the world,
that will take up with ungodly men, and that is still with us
by nature. The Apostle Paul says in Romans
7, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? But the apostle says of these
Colossians, they have put on the new man, which is renewed
in knowledge after the image of Him that created Him. God,
Christ, created in His people that new man. It is not formed
from anything in us by nature. It's not a reforming of our old
nature. it is a creation, it is a new
creation, it is a new man of God's grace, and we must be very
clear of that. Well, the apostle then, as he
describes these Colossians, he exhorts them, he exhorts them
in the words of our text that there are things that are to
be let happen in the lives of the people of God. Let the peace
of God rule in your hearts. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly. Now, even if we are God's dear
people, it doesn't automatically follow that everything we do
will be right and we don't need to be exhorted to anything. The
scriptures are very clear that where the Lord makes a believer,
one thing he does is to open his ear and he listens to the
Word of God and his heart is made willing to obey the Word
of God and part of that is the exhortations where we are exhorted
to a course of action or how we should live, what we should
do, how we should think and so that our characters, our lives
are molded on the Word of God. And we must make this point,
because if there are those of you who are feeling, how can
I be a child of God? I feel my old nature, I feel
so different than the people of God, I don't automatically
walk in the ways of the Lord, or automatically think and do
right things. Well, just the very fact that
we have the exhortations here is telling us and showing us
that God's dear children, they need this. They need to be taught. They need to be exhorted. So don't be discouraged or put
off. But if the Lord has given you
a willing heart to learn and an ear to hear, then may you
be really encouraged in that. that it is God's gift and blessing
to give that, and that is one of the things that accompanies
the new birth, and when the Spirit of God begins to work with a
sinner, He opens the ear and makes them willing. But I would
say another thing here, the Apostle here is exhorting believers,
he is exhorting those that are really very evidently converted,
they are God's people, and He's exhorting them to things that
they are to do and to walk in. Now, we must put things in the
right order. It must be that the new birth
is first, that the ear is opened, that the heart is opened to receive
the Word, that that soul has grace, has faith in Christ, that
their trust is truly on Christ first. And there's two reasons
for this. One is because the old nature
really cannot be exhorted to anything. It hears and interprets
everything according to its knowledge in the old nature. And to give
an example of that, when the Lord Jesus Christ in John chapter
6 was exhorting that except ye eat the flesh and drink the blood
of the Son of Man, you have no life in you. Those that were
hearing with a natural ear, unconverted, untouched, not a spiritual mind
or spiritual ear, they said, how can this man give us his
flesh to eat? They're interpreting it in a
literal way. Not only was that the case, they
weren't interested in staying around and asking, what do you
mean? by this and they didn't have
a need in themselves of eternal life and so many went back they
walked no more with him and the lord asked the disciples will
you also go away and peter he says to whom can we go thou has
the words of eternal life and we are believed and are sure
that thou art the christ the son of a living god and so the
Apostles may not have understood any much more than the others,
but they needed the words of eternal life. And we may ask
ourselves, do we need the words of eternal life? Do we feel that
need? Do we feel ourselves as sinners? Do we have a need of Christ to
save us from our sins? Has the Lord awakened us to our
danger as sinners of the eternal wrath of God against sin? the soul that sinneth it shall
die, and the punishment that Christ endured at Calvary, if
we have not an interest in that, then we shall bear that ourselves. But the Lord is lifted up as
one that has borne the punishment in the place of his people, and
it is we brought to trust solely in what Christ has done for our
acceptance before God, and that is vital first, so that we have
a spiritual ear, so that we can be exhorted and by God's grace
walk in those ways that we are exhorted to. The other reason
is that if one would take any exhortation of the Word of God
in a natural state and walk in that way, and then look at their
works and think, well, I'm doing pretty well, aren't I? I'm obeying
the Word, I've done as I've exhorted, and what they're doing, because
they don't really know their own sin, they're actually trusting
in their own works and own righteousness. The order of works is very important. If we make our souls eternal
salvation based upon what we do or don't do, we are resting
upon works. If we make our souls salvation
upon what Christ has done, what He has done alone, we are resting
by faith on Christ. If we are resting on Christ,
Our faith will then lead us to walk in good works, and walk
in ways that the Lord has exhorted us to do, not to merit heaven,
but because we love the Lord, because we want to obey Him,
we want to be like Him. That's why we do these things,
and the exhortations here is not to make us so that we of
ourselves are accepted on our own merits but that we are made
like Christ and really the fact that we hear the exhortations
and obey them and walk in those ways and yet not trusting in
those ways is a real token for good. If one says well I believe
in Christ, I am saved, I am born again, it doesn't matter how
I live What I do, what I speak, how I act, I would say that person
is not born again at all. They show no evidence of it whatsoever. If we are born again of the Spirit
and that's a holy birth, a new birth, then we will desire to
walk in holy and right ways and to give glory and honour to God. And so we have the exhortations
here. May we, if we feel this morning,
well, how do I know that I am really one of the Lord's people? How do I know that I'm like these
Colossians in this church here? How do I know that that is the
case? Well, may you listen as the Colossians. If the Lord has
given you an ear, may you hear what the Spirit says unto the
churches. and that in even hearing and
walking and the desire to walk in that way prove that you are
born of God and are taught of God and so these exhortations
here may we take note whether we are the people of God or not,
know that we are or not May we take note of what God exhorts
His people to, and if there's any doubt in our mind, may we
cry to the Lord, Lord, may I truly know that I am one of Thine,
and make me willing to walk in Thy ways. And to receive this
word this morning, not to make myself holy and acceptable to
God in my own righteousness, but as a desire to follow the
Lord, obey Him, love Him, serve him and worship him. And so let
us hear the words of our text. Our text in Colossians chapter
3 and verses 15 and 16. I'll read the text again. And let the peace of God rule
in your hearts to the which also ye are called in one body and
be ye thankful 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. We have then in this text, there
are two exhortations. But I want to look at three points
firstly the exhortation the first word that comes in both of these
verses which is the little word let the exhortation let or allow
and then we have secondly the two exhortations and we'll look
at them separately that regard the peace of God and the word
of Christ so firstly it is the exhortation the exhortation let
let or allow why does the apostle say this in verse 15 and let
the peace of God Verse 16, let the Word of Christ. Could it
be that a child of God, one that is born again of the Spirit,
does not let, does not allow, the peace of God into their heart? That does not allow the Word
of Christ to dwell richly in them? They resist it. Let me
think of a case of Jonah. Jonah's a very interesting case. But Jonah got very angry, because
God was blessing the Assyrians, who was the enemy of the children
of Israel, and passing by Israel themselves. That's why Jonah
ran away from the Lord, because he knew if God sent a preacher
to the Ninevites, then he would give them repentance, and he
would turn away the wrath of God from them, and they were
enemies to the children of Israel. He didn't like that. The Jews
in Christ's time didn't like the idea that he would bless
the Gentiles, that he would bless those of Tyre and Sidon. They
rose up against that idea. But Jonah, he wanted the Lord
to reverse his blessing upon the Ninevites, and he wanted
him to destroy them, and he was angry. And the Lord said to him
again and again, doest thou well to be angry? The Lord showed
him lessons as to teach him why he shouldn't be angry, and he
was still angry, and he wouldn't let it go. And some of the Lord's
dear people are like that. The Word of God speaks to them
for peace, to let things go, to be quiet, be of Christ nature,
not listen to their old nature, but they don't let it, they don't
want it, they don't allow it. They say, no, I do well to be
angry, this is not coming under the new man of grace at all,
I'm going to be angry, I'm going to have a go at this person,
I'm going to continue on in this way. And so there's the idea
here, we have the new man of grace, but we also have the old
nature, and the old nature is saying one thing, or the world
is saying one thing, and Satan is saying one thing, but the
new nature, the still small voice that God speaks to His children,
the inclining of their heart to that which is right, the opening
of their ear to the Word of God, is telling them, is it with you
this morning? That still small voice, is that
that little voice that says, listen, You should be walking
in the Lord's ways. You should be doing this. You
should be following the people of God. You should be reading
the Word of God. You should have the peace that
comes through the Word of God and through Christ's sacrifice.
But there's something else. I don't want to be part of the
people of God. I don't want to join with them.
I don't want my life changed, I like my sins, I like to walk
in this way, and there's a resisting, there's a not letting it happen.
When the Lord converted the Apostle Paul and met with him on the
Damascus road, he said to him, it is hard for thee to kick against
the pricks. He was having pricks of conscience,
already the Lord was he'd got those doubts in his mind maybe
the Lord Jesus, maybe Jesus of Nazareth was really the Christ but then the Lord stopped him
and it may be with you as well that there are those things that
are speaking to you in a still small voice that which you can't
get away from, you're trying to shake it away, you're trying
to push it away, and you don't want that to be in your life,
you don't want it to take over your life, you don't want to
walk in that way, but the word says let, allow it to be so. The Lord says in reproof to those
in his day, how long they do resist the Holy Spirit, teaching
for doctrines the commandments of men. He reproved those religious
leaders who just did away with the law of God in the Ten Commandments
and they made 638 or so commandments of men washing of cups and pots and
saucers not just for hygiene but as a religious thing adding
things if you do this you can be saved if you don't do it you're
damned and it's all works it's all ceremony and many many people
are involved in that all sorts of rituals and things and superstitions
that they will do and they're not listening to the word of
God and this is what the Lord said to those in his day and where the Lord will speak to
his people and have they have such an opposition from all of
these other things the word is let allow where it is in accordance
to the word of God where the Spirit is moving you where the
Word of God is come to you. Don't resist it. Allow it. Follow along with it. Learn of
the things of God. Take notice on it. I say to all
of you that truly know the Lord. Do you not know those times?
that you have quenched that still small voice. The old nature has
been too strong and you've pushed it aside. Has
it led to peace? Has it led to comfort and blessing? Or has it brought that the way
of transgressors is hard? We can be like that. We can not
be watchful. and let in other things, and
that we do not let those blessings that the Lord has blessed us
with and given us in the Word of God rule and govern our lives. So the first point, the exhortation
in this, that still small voice, be mindful of the conflict between
the new nature, the work of God in your heart, and all that opposes
it. all those other voices, voices
of your own nature, the world, and Satan, and your friends,
and those in the world, those that are saying, no, no, no,
don't let that happen, don't follow that course. May we obey
this word here, let, and it is in both of these verses here,
let the peace of God rule in your heart. Let the word of Christ
dwell in you richly. We want to look then secondly
at the actual exhortations. It's divided into two, one in
each of these verses. The first exhortation then is
let the peace of God rule in your hearts. does he mean by
the peace of God? Well there's several ways and
I deal with one way first which is not the immediate context
here but the way first is that peace which comes through our
Lord Jesus Christ And I bring you straight to the word of God,
what he says in John chapter 14 and verse 27. He says, Peace I leave with you. My peace I give unto you. Not as the world giveth, give
I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. What a gift the Lord has given. to his people a peace than we
have in chapter 16. Also in verse 33, these things
I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In
the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have
overcome the world. And maybe this morning you've
got tribulation and trouble and affliction and trial. and you've
forgotten that the Lord has said that in Him is peace to calm
those troubled waters and those anxious thoughts and those many,
many fears and as that peace of the Lord has come to your
mind you've maybe pushed it away and these troubles just overwhelm
it the Lord says no, let this peace the peace that I give you,
let that rule not all these anxious troubles and trials and the things
you're passing through. Then in John chapter 20 we have
our Lord speaking when he rose from the dead and comes to his
disciples And He comes speaking peace in every time. In chapter
20 and verse 19, He says, Peace be unto you. And then in verse
21, Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you. As my Father
hath sent me, even so send I you. And then in verse 26, after eight
days, again his disciples were within, Thomas with them, he
wasn't on the first occasion. Then came Jesus, the doors being
shut, and stood in the midst and said, Peace be unto you. Especially when the Lord rose
from the dead. The Lord's sacrifice is a sacrifice
of a peace offering. When our Lord came upon earth
and the angels proclaimed His birth and presence, it was that
there should be on earth peace, goodwill toward men. There won't
be peace on earth, but on earth there will be peace. And that
peace rules in the hearts of the people of God. The peace
that God has given to His dear children, the Lord has given
to them. And he says to them, Paul says,
to these Colossians, in whatever troubles and place and way that
they're walking, and whatever troubles and sorrows and place
you're in, let the peace, this peace of the Lord Jesus Christ
in your tribulation let that rule in your hearts and let the
peace of God rule in your hearts when the apostle writes to the
Ephesians in the second chapter he says that Christ is our peace
but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made
nigh by the blood of Christ For He is our peace, who hath made
both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of petition between
us. There is no peace to the wicked,
but there is peace to those that Christ has put away their sins,
endured the wrath of God, and then gives peace to His dear
people. And a knowledge of that, a knowledge
of what the Lord has done, as revealed by the Spirit, as shown
us in the Scriptures, that that sacrifice at Calvary does truly
bring about peace between God and man, peace between God and
His dear blood-bought people. And that is a blessed thing to
know, not a peace based upon our works, but upon Christ's
work, a peace upon His sacrifice. And the empty tomb proves it,
that peace is made between God and man. Those that believe in
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord gives his peace to them. That
they believe is a token of it, that they believe in this testimony,
that he gives peace to his children. And so then where sin is felt
especially, if you and I are labouring under a sense of our
sinnership, the working of sin and the evil in our nature, may
we especially remember this. Sometimes this is where we do
really stop up the words of the Gospel. We think, how can I have
peace? How can I be a child of God? How can the Lord bless me? Because
of my sins, and you'd say to others that try and speak to
you, you might say to me, preacher, if you knew my sin, if you knew
the evil of my heart, you'd never say there's peace for my soul.
And yet it is for sinners that the Lord has brought peace. And
so he'd say this, let the peace of God, that peace that the Lord
has wrought at Calvary, let that rule in your hearts, not sin,
and not the accuser of the brethren, Satan, who would say that there's
no hope for you, and that you are not one of his children,
and the wrath of God abides on you. No, let the peace of God
rule. Then there is the aspect of the
blessings of peace. In the lives of the people of
God, there are some times the Lord especially blesses them
with the peace of God. He bids the waves, the winds
be still, and the peace of God is felt in the heart. It fills
the heart. The love of God is there, and
the peace is there, and those are sacred times. We may not
have many of them through our lives, but we remember them,
and they're most sacred, most blessed times. and we are to
remember how we were at that time, how that so affected us,
how it profoundly affected us, and as if the Lord would say
to us through Paul to the Colossians, let this be the rule of your
life, how you were under that blessing, in that peace, and
in that sweet frame. The hymn writer says, in this
posture let me live, in this posture let me die. We often
remove from those postures of peace and then become so troubled
and tried again. But the Lord would say to us
in this verse, no, let that peace rule. You might not be enjoying
it, might not be in the sweet savour of it now, but the spirit
that you enjoyed then and what you experienced then, let that
be the rule of your life. The third way in this verse,
this 15th verse is seen especially in the context which is in the
Church of God and that is let the peace of God rule in your
hearts in the Church and we see this especially when we have
in verse 12 put on therefore as the elect of God holy and
beloved, bows of mercies, kindness, humbleness, meekness, long-suffering. If you have the members in the
church that are walking in that way, there will be peace. It's
very different than anger and malice and envy and jealousy. If those things are ruling in
the hearts of the people of God, then the church is all in turmoil
and trouble. But Then we have in verse 13,
forbearing one another, and forgiving one another. If any man have
a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, even so also
do ye. And then, above all these things,
put on charity or love, which is the bond of perfectness. And
this is what comes before our text, where let the peace of
God rule in your hearts. Now, you might have had things
that have stirred you up, things and troubles in the church, and
things people have done to you, and you won't let it go. It keeps
rising up, keeps stirring up, and that's what's ruling in your
heart. That's what's taking away every
blessing, every enjoyment, every comfort. That's got the rule
of you. Be honest. Is that what's ruling
your life, or is it the peace of God? And when it comes then
into the Church of God, when it comes as speaking and walking
and acting one another, what is it that is ruling how we speak
and how we act and what we do? Is it our old nature? Is it what we're just not going
to let go? Or is it the peace of God? And so it is in this way. that
where the Lord would put his still small voice in his people
and bring about peace, there is that which is the counter,
the whisperer that separates the chief friends and our old
nature. But the Lord says, no, let the
peace of God rule. Let there be peace. And where
there is peace, there'll be prosperity. The Lord give peace and prosperity. And there's another thing he
adds. in this verse, this 15th verse, and that is, and be ye
thankful. It is one thing to be really
thankful for, it is peace in the church of God. Pray for the
peace of Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love
thee. And when we say Jerusalem, we
don't mean literally Jerusalem, though we may pray for that,
but the church of God, the people of God, the city of the living
King, pray that there might be peace amongst the brethren, peace
where the people of God are. Satan very often will sow discord,
may we never be the one that takes that discord and divides
brethren and be the voice of those that separate and destroy
the peace that once there was. So if you have peace, if we have
it in our church, our congregation, If those of you are listening,
maybe with another church, maybe you truly have peace. If you have that peace, bless
the Lord for it, be really thankful for it, and seek that it might
be maintained, and that if anything comes in that shall destroy it,
and there's still a small voice that says, no, let peace rule. May you remember this exhortation. Let the peace of God rule in
your hearts. He says, To which also ye are
called in one body, and be ye thankful. The very text, it speaks
of one body, one church. By this shall all men know that
ye are my disciples indeed, in that ye love one another. The
people of God are to have peace one with another, and walk together
in unity and in love. And so this is the first exhortation. Let the peace of God rule in
your hearts. The second one is concerning
the Word of Christ. Our text reads in verse 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. There's several things to notice
here. It is whose word it is, let the
word of Christ and what is understood and by the original it points
to this it is the whole of the scriptures there's a real danger
amongst some sections even of the professing church that would
just look at the words of Christ as those that he literally spake
upon the earth in some Bibles it is put in red in the Gospels
but this is why the Trinitarian Bible Society doesn't like to
highlight that in red sometimes it is not clear who is speaking
we think of the song of solomon and we have the bride and the
church the bridegroom which is christ and it's hard to know
which one is speaking there but christ is speaking in all the
scriptures he is the word in the beginning was the word and
the word was with god The Holy Spirit is the author of the Word
of God, but Christ speaks to us through the Word of God, which
is His Word. Heaven and earth shall pass away. My Word shall not pass away. And we have both in Deuteronomy
and in the last book of the Bible, in Revelation 22, the forbidding
to add unto the Word of God or to subtract from it. for those
who subtract their names taken from the Lamb's Book of Life
those that add the curses and the abominations that are in
the Word of God shall be put upon them and so we understand
here the what is to dwell in our hearts it is the whole Word
of God all the Word every Word of God is pure In the beginning
was the Word. Every Word of God is pure. And
so all Scripture given by inspiration of God and is profitable. And
so may we be clear on that and then also how that it is not
just to be heard but it's to dwell in you richly. In this pandemic it has been
very important, hasn't it? In the lockdown, where do we
dwell? If we dwell in our houses, we
can't go and meet with those that dwell in another house. It's one thing just to go and
visit somewhere and then go away, but if you do that, it doesn't
say you actually dwell in that place. The dwelling is where
you abide there for some period of time, and that definition
has been very clear in this pandemic. each household to remain with
each other, where they dwell, and so here it is, let the word
of Christ dwell in you richly, not just here one day and gone
the next, but live with us, abide with us, stay with us, and not
just stay with us as a continuing way, but also richly in all wisdom,
It is described in a way that exalts the Word of God. It has
preeminence, like we have in the previous verse with the peace
of God ruling, we have with the Word of God also having preeminence
in the heart and in our souls. And it then is in all wisdom
as well. Not just having a word and not
understanding it, when our Lord rose from the dead, then opened
he their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. And it is to have the Word of
God, understandest thou what thou readest, when that Word
dwells in our heart, and we're actually feeding upon it, we
know what it means, we're walking by it, we're instructed by it,
is a lamp to our feet, a light unto our path. In all wisdom,
not just in ignorance. Some will just take words out
of context, a word here or a word there, and might not know what
it means or why they can base their life on it, or why it is
a comfort or help or strength to them. But if there is that
which the Lord has shown us, and we have opened to us and
explained to us in the Word of God, let that dwell in the heart. You know, when the Lord gave
light and opening of the eyes to the man that had been born
blind, there were those that tried to take it from him, made
out that he wasn't even born blind, or questioned the miracle
that had been done. But he said, one thing I know,
whereas I was blind, now I see. Those things that the Lord had
done for him, he held close. And those things the Lord has
shown us and opened to us in the Scriptures, think of the
sermon on the way to Emmaus, in all the Scriptures, the things
concerning himself, how precious that was to them. And where the
Word has been precious and opened up, let that dwell in us richly,
those things that the Lord has opened to us in the Scriptures.
Well, how is that word to dwell in us? We're told in the latter
part of this verse 16, teaching and admonishing one another.
And we said before the context was really the church and the
peace in the church. Well, here we are, the members
of the church, where there is peace there, then actually edifying
one another, they're teaching each other. they're admonishing
or warning each other when they see each other going astray when
they see worldliness when they see those things are not right
they're gently admonishing them the apostle paul did this to
peter peter knew that god had called the gentiles as well as
the jews in fact he had been the means of that being so through
his visit to Cornelius's household. And yet there came a time when
Peter was eating with the Gentiles, and then there came some Jews
visiting, and Peter was afraid of those Jews. And so he separated,
and he didn't eat with the Gentiles when they were there. And the
apostle Paul reproved him. He said to him, you're really
giving a lie to what you're teaching. You're teaching that Jew and
Gentile are together in Christ. But now, through the fear of
man, you are undoing that, you're separating. So Paul was able
to admonish, to warn, to reprove even, Peter. And we should do
the same in love, and be able to receive it, be able to give
it in love as well. and teaching one another, imparting
to one another the things of God that the Lord has shown us
and instructed us in, whether it be a Sunday school teacher,
a young persons group leader, whether it be a pastor or a minister,
whether it be a parent, whether it be a member of the church,
an old one, All men to teach the younger men, the older women
to teach and instruct the younger women, is the path, is the way
of the Scriptures. And it is through the Word of
God. And so it is, let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly. and it is through not just word,
but also in song. In this verse it refers to the
several different titles of the Psalms, Psalms and Hymns, and
spiritual songs, but also New Testament hymns as well. Singing
with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And we need to be mindful
of that. I remember One of the Lord's
dear servants, when I went to preach at his church, I said,
would you give out the tunes? Is there a tune book in the pulpit? No, he said. So he said, I discourage
the use of the tune book. And I said, well, why? He said,
because I see the people, he said, they're looking from the
words to the tunes and the words to the tunes. And he said, they're
not taking any notice of what they're singing. He said, they're
not understanding what they're singing. And you know, my heart
said, yes. That's happened to me before
now. I've been so concerned about singing a new part or learning
a new tune that I haven't really taken in the words. If someone
stopped me at the end of that hymn and said, what was that
hymn speaking about? What were the words of it? I
wouldn't know. And maybe delivered from snares like that, not just
singing. It's a lovely thing to sing,
a lovely thing to make a musical and lovely sound. But may it
be with that understanding and with grace in our hearts, actually
loving the words we sing, loving those precious truths that are
set forth before us. So here are two exhortations. I need them. I'm sure that you
will need them as well. All the people of God need these,
otherwise they wouldn't be in the Word of God, would it? And
so we have the exhortations, let the peace of God rule in
your hearts to the which also ye are called in one body and
be ye thankful. 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. May we do it indeed to the Lord. and not to ourselves. May the
Lord add his blessing. Amen.