Psalm 118: 1								Rev. S. de Marie
Psalm 19: 2, 3					Reading:	Deut. 6: 4-9; 
Psalm 119: 35, 37, 40					Col. 3: 1-17
Psalm 118: 2, 3						John 15: 5-8
Psalm 149: 1, 2						2 Tim. 3: 14-17
							Text		Col. 3: 11b and 16

Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
How much time do you spend reading and studying God's Word? Is that a minor issue in your life? Something that you also easily forget? Or is that a major issue in your life?
And how often do you have a good conversation about faith with other members of the Church. A conversation where you really discuss the things that are related to faith. In order to sharpen and build up one an other?
The Lord places before us Col. 3: 2:
Set your mind on things above, not on things on t he earth,
For you died and your life is hidden with Christ, in G od
He sits in heaven at the right hand of God. Is not your life now connected to Him?
Congregation, I may proclaim to you God's Word from Col. 3: 11b and 16 under the theme:

Christ is all and in all
1. Therefore let His Word abound in you.
2. Build up one another with His Word.
3. Respond to His Word with your song.

1. We are disciples of the Lord Jesus. At least if we want to follow Him. If we want to obey Him and love Him. Not only with our words, but also in deeds.
That is not always easy in this world. Other sounds also come to us through TV and the Internet, or through other people. And how we are busy with all kinds of things that we find important on earth, but that does not always fit with what the Lord asks of us.
How was that with the Colossians? They too lived just like us now, in a world that did not take God into account. In an idolatrous world, with all kinds of idolatrous practices of fornication, uncleanness, evil desires and greed (verse 5). Their old man, that is their sinful nature, felt at home in that world. Paul compares that old man to a robe that you have to take off as a Christian. (v. 9) Now that you know and love Christ, you must put on a different garment, namely the new man, that is the man who resembles Christ. The man who follows Christ and does what Christ teaches. That new person must be in charge in your life. Not the old one.
You change your course, from now on you will follow Christ, obey and serve Him in love. Thus no longer seeking the world with wrong desires and sinful practices, but Christ, who is above in heaven at the right hand of God. The LORD wants you to be conformed to Him, to resemble Him, to be an image of Him who created you.
In verse 12 Paul makes that concrete again with the comparison of putting on a robe. He says there: you belong to God as chosen and sanctified and beloved of Him. And that's why you now have to change your clothing.
Not dressing with a pure outer garment, but with a garment that also concerns your inner life.
A garment of the new man that shows that Christ is in you, but just as well in your brother and sister, without distinction.
Whether you are Greek or Jew, slave or free, Christ is all and in all, verse 11. That means: if you are renewed as a believer, Christ fills you in all respects, whoever you are: He is your life, with Him you hide, He is your salvation, you focus on Him. For Him and with Him you live from now on. He controls your life. He is your hope for the future.
You show this with a new garment of deep feelings of compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Toward all who are also Christ's. Toward all who also share in his grace. Therefore bearing with one another and forgiving one another.(verse 13) Because Christ also forgives you.
Be His disciple not only in appearance, but in reality, therefore also inwardly. Even if it costs self-denial, humility. In this connection Paul mentions a garment of the new man that surpasses everything, namely the garment of love. You are perfectly connected with that garment. Verse 15 still says:
 And let the peace of God rule in your heart,
to which you have been called into one body.
If Christ is wholly in you, let the peace of God rule in your heart, and so put away all discontent. Don't separate if you don't agree with something in church.
But congregation, how can you do all this? To be humble, to sacrifice, to be of service, to be content, and to serve peace? Now the Lord Jesus himself has used the image of the vine and the branches of John. 15:5, He says there: 
He who abides in me and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing.
In other words, if you try to bear fruit on your own, wear the garment of the new man on your own, then it will fail completely. The Lord Jesus says: You need Me. I am everything.
But how can Christ be and work in you? The answer to this is also from John 15, verse 7:
If you abide in Me and My words abide in you,
ask for whatever you desire and it shall be done for you.
So Christ remains in us as well as His words remain in us. If we keep, think and act his words. If we want to obey His Word wholeheartedly, God the Father will also give us everything we need to continue as new people.
Now Paul actually says the same thing in our text verse 16:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.
Knowing, loving Christ cannot be without His Word. The indwelling of Christ cannot exist without the indwelling of His Word.
God asked Israel to love Him with all their heart, soul and mind, and with all their strength, but they had to show it by keeping His Word, by keeping His commandments. They even had to engrave God's Word in their children so that they too would love and serve God.
So we cannot automatically assume that Christ is entirely in us if we neglect His Word, which is the Bible. Maybe not consciously but because of negligence, because we are so busy with many other things. If Christ is everything to us, then His Word must abound in us too. Then we come to know more and more fully the breadth, length, depth and height of the love of Christ, which surpasses knowledge. Ephesians 3. Just as the Israelites, we want to get to know God and Christ better from His Word. Not by our own reflections or musings, but from His Word. Out of His Word, from His promises and His will. The Word of His grace and His worship. Of His gifts and tasks. The indwelling of the Word of Christ here means that it is nestled within you, has a permanent place in your thinking, speaking and acting. Living here is an active matter of interaction and togetherness. That the Word of Christ, by its indwelling, takes possession of you, controls you.
Thus Paul exhorts us: Let the word of Christ dwell in you, in liberal measure, richly, abundantly. An assignment that you will be working on, all your life.
In concrete terms, this means that as parents you teach your children from a very young age through the nursery bible and children's bible about God and the Lord Jesus Christ. So that they love God and Jesus. Did you not as parents also promise that, at baptism? And even when they get older, will we not, as parents, first of all tell our children about the great deeds of God? Yes, they also get to hear that in church, in the sermon, at catechism, at society meetings. But it remains an expensive duty for parents to guide their children.
You should also see the purpose of the Reformed school and the importance of genuine Reformed education. Its use is your responsibility. When parents no longer see all this and no longer act on it, things go wrong in the families and in the church. Biblical history and church history teach us this. 
So we are instructed to see the importance of regular, good and thorough Bible study, for all of us. For in the Bible God makes Himself known to you as your Creator and Saviour. In the Bible, Christ comes to you. He does not want to be a supporting role in your life. He wants to be everything in you!
Compare that to a marriage: the woman of your life does not want a supporting role, but is your other half. But Christ is even everything. He is your Owner and wants His Word to take possession of you, in order to form the new man in you through the working of His Spirit. Then you go from glory to glory, as a disciple following Christ. No, not in a daze, but sober, with all the gifts and powers that the LORD wants to give you on your prayer.
Faith in Christ is not a matter of feeling alone. There is a lot of emphasis on feeling these days. In the past, they say, everything was far too rational, and therefore distant. But with emphasis on feeling it will be more real and go deeper. But the LORD Himself does not want you to sail on your own feeling alone. Then things go amiss. No, you will use everything He gives you in mind, will power and also feeling, to know and serve Him. This is how His Word wants to be read and thought about. Studied, preserved and observed. Not sparsely but with abundance. In great measure. Not every now and then, but persistently. Only then will you recognize who Christ is to you and how much you love Him.
Then your faith grows and flourishes. Then your hope becomes solid and the love in you increases. That is not your own work, but the work of the Holy Spirit, who works and strengthens with that Word. This is how Christ wants to bring you to eternal salvation.
Brothers and sisters, boys and girls, do you see it, do you see the great importance of paying attention to God's Word daily. 2 Tim. 3:15 points to the great blessing of knowing the Holy Scriptures from an early age, which can make you wise to salvation through the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

2. The theme is: Christ is all and in all. We saw first: 1. Therefore let His Word abound in you. We now see: 2. Build one another up with His Word
Christ does not want us to deal with God's Word by ourselves alone. No, the Lord has a body, his church. He has given himself on the cross for his church as his bride. He pours out His Spirit on His church. Precisely for the purpose of serving Him, as a whole. Together, with one mind, according to His Word.
Hold on to the truth of His Word. Grow together in love for each other, to Christ, as the Head of His church. As the Savior of His Church, as the Bridegroom. We love Him and that is why we love one another. Because Christ is everything, but also in all. Not only without distinction, but also in unity.
We read about this extensively in this scripture passage. That is given great emphasis here. The feelings that belong to the new person are focused on the other in the church. Verse 12 speaks of heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience towards our brothers and sisters. Bear with one another and forgive one another if someone has a complaint against another. In this we must follow Christ. With the bond of love to each other. And with the peace of God in the one body of Christ.
We only achieve that attitude towards the other with the Word of Christ, with God's Word. Not only by focusing ourselves in this, but also by sharing God's Word with others. To teach and correct one another with God's Word. Not to crush, to write off, to cut off the other with God's Word, but to build up in love.
Congregation, realize that the old man in us does not want this. Just as difficult as it is by nature to engage in the study and meditation of God's Word, so it is to address the other brother or sister with God's Word. For that you really need the attitude of the new man, who seeks the other as a loved one in the LORD. But if Christ is in you, you will want to do it, with meekness, patience, and forbearance. Where God's Word determines what you say. That is really building each other up through teaching or, if necessary, admonition.
That is very different from ignoring each other for the sake of peace, whereby everyone goes their own way and has their own ideas about God and His will, and adjusts their life accordingly. Such a sweet peace seems nice, because then you make no confrontation. There seems to be freedom and joy. Yet this is only an appearance. Because it is not about our sweet peace, it's about the peace of God. That is the peace, where God is served in a pleasing way to Him. To His Word. That is the peace that Christ has earned through the sacrifice of His life to pay for our sins.
If God's Word lives and reigns in the church, this is also shown in our mutual contacts. That is not only a matter for the consistory. We all have a task in that. It is also about our salvation and the glory of God. We will always have to destroy and discard our old man in order to put on the new one. That is why the LORD gives us to each other in the church. To build one another up with His Word.
Let this determine our mutual contacts, our Bible societies, our visits. Then we are not talking about each other, but then we are talking with each other. If necessary privately. With God's Word.
But that speaking must be done in 'all wisdom'. "In all wisdom" is mentioned in the first part of the sentence, thus, with the indwelling of the Word, but it is seems to be more logical to place it with the second part. Then you get: Teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom and correcting one another.
That wisdom indicates that you address the other not only intelligently, but above all sensibly, sensitive, with compassion. Yes, telling the truth of God's Word also requires sensitivity and discernment. The right word at the right time. Wisdom also often means patience, not short-tempered, not hurtful, but calm and deliberate. For the purpose of winning the other with God's Word, saving the other from a wrong way. Congregation, what a blessing it is when the Word dwells richly in us and we can share it with other members. That also is to our salvation. Then we are equipped for every good work. Like 2 Tim. 3 says:
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,  thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Congregation, this is about teaching and correcting each other, in order to serve the LORD together. One must be ready to let himself be taught by the other and be ready to be corrected, even, by the other.
That is not easy, it goes against your ambition. You have to be able to accept criticism. You must let a brother or sister address you. Without feeling offended. For the LORD asks this.
And the other is expected to teach and correct his brother or sister where necessary. For this, too, hesitation must be overcome. That requires wisdom from Above.
Congregation, do we dare to do that? And if we do it, how do we do it? Do we understand that we also need it ourselves, in order to be taught and corrected by others? Do we realize that the Lord Christ wants it to be that way in His body, where His Word and Spirit dwell? So that it becomes visible that He really is everything and in all?
Let us take these words of our text to heart, to ponder and act on them. The Lord Himself wants to work this out in you. When it happens in our societies and our visits, what a blessing it is to the communion of the saints. Everything with God's Word. Everything to God's glory.
And everything in love to God and to each other.

3. Christ is all and in all. 1. Therefore let His Word abound in you; 2. Build one another up with His Word. Our third and final point is: Respond to His Word in your song.
Paul now also links that teaching and admonishing one another towards our singing to God. Paul thus indicates that if the Word dwells in you richly, it will not only lead you to building up your fellow brothers and sisters, but also to singing to God and praising Him.
That we should read it like this is also apparent from verse 17. That whatever you do with words or deeds should be for the glory of God. Sing to the LORD with thanks in your heart. That does not mean just sing in your mind, quietly in secret. No, sing with your heart, with a grateful heart. Not dutiful because everyone sings in church, for example. Not just outwardly but sing with heart and mouth. And that may be done best with all your heart, so long as it does not become a demonstration how well you can sing.
Congregation, we also need this exhortation from Paul to see why Christ now dwells in our hearts with His Word and Spirit. He wants to get us stirred towards God and our neighbour. Whereby our thanks and praise are the highest we can do for the LORD. That is, if we do it out of heartfelt thanksgiving.
We sing the Psalms in church which the LORD has given us and with hymns that the church has established. But what about our singing at home and at society meetings?
Do we realize that God created us for that very purpose? To sing to Him? He says that through Isaiah, in Isaiah 43: 21:
This people have I formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise.
And we know those joyful exhortations from the Psalms. I will mention two, but there are many more:
Psalm 95: 1, 2:
Oh come, let us sing to the LORD,
let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving,
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

Psalm 105: 1-3:
Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His Name; make known his deeds among the peoples.
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him,
Talk of all His wondrous works.
Glory in His holy Name;
Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the LORD.
Congregation, that too is the effect of the indwelling of the Word of Christ. Where the heart is full, the mouth overflows. That is why it is so good and pleasant to God to sing regularly as families at home. But also at meetings, at catechism classes, at school and in societies. When we do that wholeheartedly, as the LORD urges us here, it is a matter of great joy. Then we rejoice in the LORD with all our heart.
Yes, then there is also variation, our text speaks of psalms, hymns, spiritual songs. There are different views of whether this refers to the variations within the book of the Psalms or also includes the hymns that were sung in the early Christian church. In any case, it is singing with all kinds of content that is in accordance with God's Word and pleasing to the LORD, it should come straight from our hearts, so long as the LORD himself is central. Not in a Remonstrant way, from ourselves as human beings.
Congregation, as we enter another year with Bible Study Societies, the Catechism classes, and Reformed education, it is good to see the utility and purpose of these up-building activities in the light of the words of our text.
Everything has a high purpose, namely that the Word of Christ abounds in us so that we can help build the church and give God the glory that is due to Him.
May the LORD grant that we may thereby show that we are a disciple of Christ, whereby He is all and in all.
Amen.