Colossians 3:16 (LSB)

Passage

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God.

Nearby Context

Colossians 3:14 Above all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity.

Colossians 3:15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful.

Colossians 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with gratefulness in your hearts to God.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Colossians 3:18 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "Spirit", "word", "christ", "dwell", "richly", "wisdom", "teaching", and "admonishing". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "Spirit" and "word", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 15's "And let the peace of Christ rule..." into verse 17's "And whatever you do in word or...", so "Spirit" and "word" belong inside that flow. In Colossians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "Spirit" and "word" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.