Colossians 3:16 NKJV
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”
During the last and grand day of a feast that Jesus once attended in Jerusalem, He said with a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him” (Joh 7:37-38 NIV). The Holy Spirit used John to shed light on what that meant: “By this he [Jesus] meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive…” (Joh 7:39 NIV), John said. Thus, God’s design is that “streams of living water”—the manifest operations of the Holy Spirit—are to flow “from within” us who believe in Christ Jesus.
Elsewhere, Jesus spoke of an insightful thing, saying, “The WORDS I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life” (Joh 6:63 NIV). Notice, the Lord Jesus—who was anointed by the Holy Spirit—spoke words that were “full of the Spirit and life”. To a great extent, that implies that the power, glory, and virtues of the Holy Spirit are manifested through words. Whether they are spoken, sung, or prophesied, words release the divine power of the Spirit into motion. Put differently, through words, the Holy Spirit’s streams of the living water flow out from within us to impact our lives, and the things around us. No wonder, at His grand descent on the Day of Pentecost, the “…Spirit enabled them [the disciples] to speak” (Act 2:4 GNT).
Yes, the Spirit of God went for the mouths of the disciples, and great exploits happened through their words thenceforth! Now, the Bible says, “No spring of water pours out sweet water and bitter water from the same opening” (Jam 3:11 GNT). In Christ Jesus, “bitter water” (toxic words) is not our portion. Rather, the Spirit of God in us is the Source of the streams of living, refreshing, and sweet water: graceful words that build us and others up. How then can that be done? Well, our reference text has part of the answer: “Let the WORD OF CHRIST dwell in you richly”; so that your speaking and “…singing [will be] with GRACE in your hearts.” Once it is in the heart, it will definitely surface on the tongue, to the glory of God. Hallelujah!
Pst. Emmanuel