“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” -Colossians 3:16

I love this verse because it lays out for us two ways in which the Word of God can be firmly rooted in our hearts.

The first is through teaching and admonishment. The word admonishment in our culture carries a negative connotation. The actual meaning of the word though includes to advise or urge and in the Greek this word we translate “admonishing” translates as “exhort” as well. So as I read this text I see strong support for preaching & or group Bible Study. This is one of the ways in which the Word of God begins to dwell in us that we are taught and learn from others.

A second method by which the Word of God is planted in our hearts is through singing, “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” This may not be the method we normally equate understanding the Word of God with, but none-the-less just as teaching is vital to individuals growing in the truth of scripture, so too is singing.

So this week seek out opportunities to learn the Bible from others (do not neglect your private study in the meantime) and sing songs that lead you to deeper truth in God’s Word…oh and I by way this means we should use discernment both in the teachers we follow and in the songs we sing; a song and a teacher can claim to be Christian yet still teach error, so learn and sing, but do so by the direction of the Holy Spirit.

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.” -Colossians 3:16