The believers, by being filled in spirit by the processed Triune God and letting the word of Christ dwell in them richly (Eph. 5:18; Col. 3:16), experience and enjoy the dispensing of the Divine Trinity in the divine transformation for the divine conformation. When we are filled in our spirit by the Spirit and let the word of Christ make home in us, we spontaneously live a life that matches the new man in grace and truth and the wife of Christ in love and light. When we are filled in our spirit by the Spirit and saturated with the word of Christ, we will also speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ to live a proper human life.
When we are filled in spirit by the processed Triune God and let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, we will speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with our heart to the Lord, giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father. After charging us to be filled in spirit (Eph. 5:18), Paul continues, saying, “Speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and psalming with your heart to the Lord” (v. 19). Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs are not only for singing and psalming but also for speaking to one another. Such speaking, singing, and psalming are not only the outflow of being filled in spirit but also the way to be filled in spirit. Psalms are long poems, hymns are shorter poems, and spiritual songs are poems that are still shorter. All are needed in order for us to be filled with the Lord and to overflow with Him in our Christian life.
Singing may be short. Psalming is always long. Sometimes by only singing we cannot express what is within us to praise the Lord; we need psalming to pour out our praise to the Lord adequately.
Verse 20 says, “Giving thanks at all times for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to our God and Father.” We should give thanks to God the Father not only in good times but at all times, and not only for good things but for all things. Even in bad times we should give thanks to God our Father for all things. Furthermore, we should give thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The reality of the name of the Lord is His person. To be in the Lord’s name is to be in His person, in Himself. This implies that we should be one with the Lord in giving thanks to God.
Colossians 3:16 says, “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.” Here, the infilling of spiritual life that outflows in praising and singing is related to the word, but in Ephesians 5:18-20 the infilling of spiritual life is related to the Spirit. This indicates that the word is the Spirit (John 6:63). A normal Christian life should be one that is filled with the word so that the Spirit may bubble over with praise and lauding melodies from within the believers.
According to Colossians 3:16, when the word of Christ dwells in us richly, we will teach and admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in our hearts to God. Teaching, admonishing, and singing are related to the verb dwell. This indicates that the way to let the Lord’s word dwell in us richly is by teaching, admonishing, and singing. We should teach and admonish not only in words but also in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.
Verse 16 also indicates that when we are filled with the word of Christ, we should be filled with joy. If we receive the Lord’s word yet have no joy, something must be wrong. When we receive the word of Christ, we actually receive the Spirit. Receiving the Spirit should stir us up and cause us to be joyful and to sing.
Verse 17 says, “Whatever you do in word or in deed, do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” This is the result of letting the word of Christ dwell in us. To do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus is related to letting the word of Christ saturate and fill us. The word of Christ is actually the embodiment of Christ. Hence, when the word as the embodiment of Christ is mingled with our inner being, we are one with Christ, and spontaneously we are able to act in the name of the Lord. Because the Lord has saturated us and filled us, and because He has mingled Himself with us, making us one with Him, we can do all things in His name. Doing things in the Lord’s name is to do things in Him. The name denotes the person. The Lord’s person is the Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). Therefore, to do things in the Lord’s name is to act in the Spirit.
When we come to the word of the Lord, many of us use only our mind to search the Scriptures. We do not sufficiently exercise our emotion to love the word of the Lord, nor do we strongly exercise our will to receive the word of the Lord. But if we exercise our whole being to take in the Lord’s word, ultimately we will be filled, occupied, and saturated by the living word. Since the word is the embodiment of the Spirit and since the Spirit is the reality of Christ, we are automatically filled with Christ when we are filled with the word. Then whatever we do or say will be in the name of Christ. This is to live Christ. When we are saturated with the word of Christ through the Spirit, we automatically live Christ.