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Persevering in prayer for the one new man is related to the peace of Christ, to the word of Christ, and to living in union with Christ—Col. 3:15-17:
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The peace of Christ, which is Christ Himself, has made the Jews and the Gentiles one new man, and now we should let this peace arbitrate in our hearts for the Body life and for the practical existence of the one new man—v. 15.
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The way for Christ to exercise His headship and to minister His riches to us is through His word—2:19; 3:16:
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We should not be closed but should open our being to the Lord and to His word and be willing to be filled with the word of Christ.
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We need to allow the word of Christ to move, act, and have its being within us, letting our whole being be permeated and saturated with the word of Christ.
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In order for the word of Christ to dwell in us richly for the one new man, we need to let the peace of Christ arbitrate in our hearts.
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To live in union with Christ means that in our living we are not apart from Christ; rather, we are one with Him and do everything in His name by acting in the Spirit—v. 17.
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We need to be ruled by the peace of Christ, to be inhabited by the word of Christ, and to live in union with Christ.
Morning Nourishment
Col. 3:15-16 And let the peace of Christ arbitrate in your hearts, to which also you were called in one Body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.Within us we all have something called the peace of Christ. This is the peace about which Paul speaks in Ephesians 2:15, where we are told that in Himself Christ created one new man out of two peoples. By creating the Jews and the Gentiles into one new man, Christ has made peace. This is the very peace in Colossians 3:15. Believers with different cultural backgrounds and nationalities have been created into one new man. The oneness of the new man produces genuine peace. Apart from Christ and the church, those of different races and nationalities cannot be truly one. We in the Lord's recovery are one because we are in Christ and in the church…. [In the new man] there is oneness because Christ is all and in all. This oneness is our peace. The peace of Christ in Colossians 3:15 is simply the peaceful oneness in the new man.
In verse 16 Paul goes on to say, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to God.” The word of Christ is the word spoken by Christ. In His New Testament economy God speaks in the Son, and the Son speaks not only directly in the Gospels, but also through His members, the apostles and prophets, in Acts, in the Epistles, and in Revelation. All these may be considered as His word. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 243-245)
Today's Reading
Colossians is focused on Christ as our Head and our life. The way for Him to exercise His headship and to minister His riches to us is through His word. Hence, the emphasis is on the word of Christ.The word of Christ includes the entire New Testament. We need to be filled with this word. This means that we should allow the word of Christ to dwell in us, to inhabit us, to make home in us. The Greek word rendered “dwell” [in Colossians 3:16] means “to be in a house, to inhabit.” The word of the Lord must have adequate room within us so that it may operate and minister the riches of Christ into our inner being. Furthermore, the word of Christ must dwell in us richly. The riches of Christ (Eph. 3:8) are in His word. When such a rich word inhabits us, it must inhabit us richly. The word of Christ should have free course within us. We should not simply receive it and then confine it to a small area of our being. On the contrary, it should be given a free course to operate within us. In this way the word will inhabit us and make home in us.
Certain saints love the Bible and read it daily. But in their living it is their concept, opinion, and philosophy that move within them, not the word of Christ. They may study the Bible, but they do not allow the word of Christ to dwell in them. Neither do they permit it to move, act, and have its being in them. As a result, what prevails in their being is their philosophy, not the word of Christ.
In Colossians 3:12-15 Paul speaks of the necessity of being ruled by the peace of Christ, and in verses 16 and 17, of the word of Christ dwelling in us richly. To live in union with Christ means that in our living we are not apart from Christ. In John 15 the Lord tells us to abide in Him, for apart from Him we can do nothing. In the eyes of God, whatever we do apart from Christ has no value. Therefore, if we are separated from the all-inclusive Christ revealed in Colossians, we cannot do anything. The living of the saints must be in union with Christ. This means that in our living we need to be one with Him.
The word let in verses 15 and 16…indicates that both the peace of Christ and the word of Christ are already present. However, we need to allow them to operate within us. We need to let the peace of Christ arbitrate in us, and we must let the word of Christ dwell in us. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 245-247, 239-241)
Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 29, 63-64