I do not know what kind of response the brothers and sisters have had to the previous two messages concerning the matter of speaking for the Lord. We ought to speak for the Lord to the extent that we speak everywhere: at home, at school, in the office, and even the more in the meetings.
If what we speak is merely doctrine, eventually we will run out of words. That is, there will be nothing left to say it will all have been said and exhausted. However, God’s word can never be exhausted by speaking. Our teaching can never be exhausted. Heaven and earth are on our side. The more we speak, the more teaching we have. But although we do have the teaching, I am afraid that we do not have words to express it. Without the proper vocabulary, we cannot adequately expound it. We will speak and speak, stammering, unable to fully express it.
The Bible is complete. In Colossians Paul says that Christ is the Head (2:19), the portion of the saints in the light (1:12), the image of the invisible God (1:15), the Firstborn of all creation (1:15), the Firstborn of the new creation (1:18), the Head of the church (1:18), the mystery of God (2:2), and the embodiment of God (2:9). Then, in chapter three Paul says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, in all wisdom” (v. 16). The word “let” is very significant, and the word “dwell” is also very meaningful. You cannot let a table dwell in you. You cannot even say that you let a dog dwell in your house. The word “dwell” is a verb of dignity, proving that Paul regarded the Lord’s word as a living person.
“Let” implies that this living word is waiting outside your heart, knocking on the door of your heart as a guest would knock on the door of your house. When you hear the knocking, you let him in. To let the word of Christ dwell in us richly means that this word is living, waiting outside the door of our heart for us to welcome Him and to let Him in. If we let Him in, the word of Christ will make home in us.
The Chinese version of the Bible translates this verse, “Store the doctrine of Christ in your heart richly.” In this translation the word is something dead; it is fully under the control of man. If the word is something lifeless, it is like money that you can either put in your pocket or save in the bank. However, you cannot treat a living person in this way. You must let him come in and let him settle down in your house.
Paul says that we should let the word of Christ dwell in us richly. This is consistent with the Bible’s teaching that the word of the Lord is the Lord Himself (John 1:1). Strictly speaking, to believe in the Lord is to directly receive the word of the Lord. To believe in the Lord is to believe in the word of the Lord. The word of the Lord is the Lord Himself, and it is the Spirit (Eph. 6:17). Therefore, the word of the Lord is spirit and life (John 6:63).
This living word is an entity of life; it is a person with life. He is waiting for us to let Him in. He is waiting for us to open the door. His living in us richly depends on whether or not we exercise wisdom. If we use wisdom, then He can dwell in us richly; if we do not use wisdom, then He will dwell in us poorly. During the past number of years, I have been like a wandering sojourner on the earth, like a leaf floating on the water. I have traveled through many places in the world. I have had much experience in being a guest, and I have stayed with virtually every kind of family. No home, whether it is the home of a high and famous official or the home of a poor and lowly man, can compare with my own home. This is because I cannot dwell in another person’s home; I can only dwell there in a restricted way. As a guest, I cannot bring too many things with me. Even if I do bring many things, sometimes it is not convenient to use them. At other times I do not even have space to put my things. How can this compare with dwelling in my own home?
To dwell richly is a matter of being able to display everything. In my home all my books are displayed. All my reference books are valuable books that I have accumulated over several decades. I have over fifty English translations of the Bible and eight Chinese translations, as well as many dictionaries of various sizes. In my home it is very convenient for me to use them. Therefore, I dwell in my home richly. I use this illustration to show you that the Lord does not dwell in us richly because we have given Him too little space.