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 3:16, NKJV)
The word of Christ is not merely the word about Christ, but the word that belongs to Christ. It is the message of the cross, the word of truth, and the gospel of our salvation (1 Cor. 1:18; Eph. 1:13). We are called to let His word be at home in us, not as an infrequent guest, but as a constant resident. With the word of God abiding in us, we can overcome the wicked one (1 Jno. 2:14). But, Christ’s word must dwell in us richly along with “all wisdom.” Doing so equips us to “walk worthy of the Lord” (Col. 1:9-10). We must do more than know the word of Christ. We must use His word correctly and wisely. With the word of Christ and wisdom combined in our hearts, we can teach and warn one other with the music of praise Christ approves. Singing songs of praise reveals our thankful hearts while also teaching God’s word to each other. We do not need to add another kind of music (instrumental) to accomplish the teaching and admonition singing achieves. Indeed, the word of Christ does not teach us to add playing music to singing music as a form of worship. Adding instrumental music to our singing worship adds another kind of music to what the word of Christ says. Doing so does not “let the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom.” When we add to the word of Christ, we act foolishly.
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