Wenstrom Bible Ministries Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom Sunday October 23, 2016 www.wenstrom.org Colossians: Colossians 3:16c-The Colossians Must Sing with Gratitude to the Father and With Their Entire Being Lesson # 91 Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (NASB95) Singing is the verb adō (ᾄδω), which pertains to producing musical tones by means of the voice and speaks of uttering words in musical tones and with musical inflections and modulations. The verb adō is functioning as a nominative in simple apposition meaning it is serving to define how the teaching originating from and about Christ was to continue to exist in a state of dwelling richly among each of the Colossians. The participle form of this verb adō is a participle of means which expresses the means by which the teaching originating from and about Christ was to dwell richly among the Colossians. The present tense of this verb is a customary present used to signal a regularly occurring action which would indicate that the Colossians were to continue making it their habit of singing with thankfulness in their hearts to God the Father. With thankfulness is composed of the following: (1) preposition en (ἐν), with (2) noun charis (χάρις), grace. The noun charis means thanks, thanksgiving, gratitude since the word pertains to expressing thanks to God the Father through singing for receiving unmerited blessings from God as a result of exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Savior resulting in their being declared justified by the Father. 2016 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 1
This word is the object of the preposition en which functions as a marker of manner meaning that it is indicates the manner in which the action of the verb adō is accomplished and defines the action of this verb. Therefore, it defines how the Colossians were to make it their habit of singing in their hearts to God the Father. In your hearts is composed of the following: (1) preposition en (ἐν), in (5) noun kardia (καρδία), hearts (6) personal pronoun su (σύ) (see), your. The noun kardia means heart referring specifically to the hearts of the faithful Christians in Colossae, Laodicea and all those who had never met Paul personally. The word denotes that aspect of the soul, which circulates thought or mental activity and is where one s frame of reference and memory center resides. It is also the place where one s vocabulary and the classification of thoughts reside as well as the conscience where the norms and standards reside. A person s entire mental attitude circulates in the kardia as well as the subconscious where various categories of things that shock or impress from adversity, sin, failure or disappointment are located. Also, it contains the volition, which enables a person to make decisions. The noun kardia is the object of the preposition en which can be interpreted as a marker of location indicating the location in which Paul wants the Colossians to sing to God with thanksgiving expressing the idea that they were to do so within their hearts. It can also be interpreted as a marker of means indicating the means by which Paul wants the Colossians to sing with gratitude expressing the idea that they were to sing with gratitude with all their hearts or in other words, with their entire being. The latter appears to be the better choice because it is unlikely that Paul would be thinking of an inward, non-vocal praise to God since he is addressing in context the relationship the Colossians must have in regards to their corporate worship and interaction with each other in this worship of God. 2016 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 2
To God is the noun theos (θεός), which is referring to the Father which is indicated by the word s articular construction which in the New Testament commonly signifies the first member of the Trinity unless otherwise indicated by the context. This word is in the dative case and functions specifically as a dative of advantage indicating that the Colossians were to sing in their hearts with thanksgiving for the benefit of the Father. Colossians 3:16 The teaching originating from and about the one and only Christ must continue to exist in a state of dwelling abundantly among each and every one of you. Each of you must execute this command by continuing to make it your habit of providing instruction, specifically by providing instruction for one another with regards to proper conduct. Each of you must provide this instruction by means of a wisdom which is absolute, by means of psalms, hymns, spiritual songs. Each of you must execute the command by continuing to make it your habit of singing with gratitude with your entire being for the benefit of God the Father. (My translation) Paul identifies for the Colossians another means by which the teaching of Christ was to continue to exist in a state of dwelling richly among the Colossians which is that of making it their habit of singing with gratitude with their entire being for the benefit of the Father. He is not telling the Colossians to sing within their hearts but rather with their entire being. It is unlikely that Paul would be thinking of an inward, non-vocal praise to God since he is addressing in context the relationship the Colossians must have in regards to their corporate worship and interaction with each other in this worship of God. This singing pertains to producing musical tones by means of the voice and speaks of uttering words in musical tones and with musical inflections and modulations. It refers to delivering songs as an untrained, trained or professional singer and speaks of making melody with one s vocal chords. Therefore, the Colossians were to continue to make it their habit of singing with gratitude in their hearts for the benefit of the Father. 2016 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 3
This means that they were to express thanks to God the Father through singing for receiving unmerited blessings from God as a result of exercising faith in Jesus Christ as Savior resulting in their being declared justified by the Father. Melick has the following excellent comment, he writes The passage instructed the Colossians on the proper use of music in the church. Music is a vehicle through which a message is delivered. Interestingly enough, the New Testament says little about musicians assisting in worship, even though they appeared frequently in Israel s worship, as described in the Old Testament. Paul did not identify music as a spiritual gift, but he omitted other talents as well. This passage teaches that the spiritual gift is not music, but music may become an effective vehicle for the exercise of a gift. The gifts are teaching and admonishing. The medium of music, therefore, must remain secondary to the message it conveys. Music is legitimate only when it is a medium pointing beyond itself to the exhorting and encouraging of other believers and the evangelization of unbelievers. Christian musicians must give primary attention to what is communicated and secondary attention to how it is communicated. Singing effectively teaches and encourages. In 3:16, the pastoral function Paul claimed for himself in 1:28 is broadened to include the entire congregation and the medium of music. Few activities have such ability to teach, prompt recall, and encourage, and they have always been a vital part of Christianity. 1 Wiersbe writes There is (according to Paul) a definite relationship between our knowledge of the Bible and our expression of worship in song. One way we teach and encourage ourselves and others is through the singing of the Word of God. But if we do not know the Bible and understand it, we cannot honestly sing it from our hearts. Perhaps this poverty of Scripture in our churches is one cause of the abundance of unbiblical songs that we have today. A singer has no more right to sing a lie than a preacher has to preach a lie. The great songs of the faith were, for the most part, written by believers who knew the doctrines of the Word of God. Many so-called Christian songs today are written by people with little or no knowledge of the Word of God. It is a dangerous thing to separate the praise of God from the Word of God. 2 If one compares the command in Colossians 3:16 and its results with the command in Ephesians 5:18 to be filled with the Spirit or more actually influenced by means of the Spirit s power and its results, one can see that both bear the same results. 1 Melick, R. R. (1991). Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 32, p. 305). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. 2 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 140). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. 2016 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 4
Ephesians 5:18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; 20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father. (NASB95) Ephesians 5:18 And do not permit yourselves to get into the habit of being drunk with wine because that is non-sensical behavior, but rather permit yourselves on a habitual basis to be influenced by means of the Spirit. (Author s translation) The command in Ephesians 5:18 to be influenced by means of the Spirit and one in Colossians 3:16 requiring that the teaching of the one and only Christ must continue to exist in a state of dwelling abundantly among each and every one of the Colossians are synonymous. The reason this is the case is that the Holy Spirit speaks to the believer through the communication of the Word of God regarding the Father s character and nature, will, provision for doing His will, and consequences for not doing His will (Rev 2:7, 11, 17, 29). The Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures, (2 Ti 3:16) makes them understandable to the believer, (John 16:13-16) guides the believer in the correct application of the Word of God, and reproduces the character of Christ in the believer who obeys the Word of God (Gal 5:22-23). Therefore, by obeying the Word of God, you are obeying the voice of the Spirit. S.L. Johnson writes It has often been noticed that the Colossian passage is parallel with Ephesians 5:18 20. In the latter passage the hymns and songs are the outgrowth of the filling of the Spirit, while in Colossians they are the result of the deep assimilation of the Word of God. In other words, the Word-filled Christian is a Spirit-filled Christian, and the examination of the two passages would save us from a great deal of error on this subject. Undisciplined emphasis on the Holy Spirit is accompanied too frequently by shallow grounding in the Word of God. 3 3 Johnson, S. L., Jr. (1964). Christian Apparel. Bibliotheca Sacra, 121, 32. 2016 William E. Wenstrom, Jr. Bible Ministries 5