Note 19 at Col. 3:16: This is more than instruction to memorize scripture. God's Word has to be in us "richly" in "all wisdom." This only happens as the Holy Spirit directs and inspires our understanding and application of God's Word. One of the major ways the Holy Spirit does this is through "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" that we sing in our hearts (see note 20 at this verse).

Note 20 at Col. 3:16: Notice that "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs" are one of the ways we teach and admonish. Many people view the praise and worship service at a church gathering as just part of the preliminaries. This is not so. Anointed praise and worship is just as much ministry of God's Word as anointed teaching and preaching. To receive that benefit, we need to change our attitude towards praise and worship by opening our hearts with expectancy to receive fresh revelation from God's Word as we worship God from our hearts.

Note 21 at Col. 3:16: The early church was a singing church and that tradition has persisted throughout history to the present day. Certainly, the Holy Spirit has been instrumental in keeping that practice alive. In fact, EVERY great move of God has produced a proliferation of new praise and worship songs. The music has not just been a result of God's grace but an integral part of the move of God.

Before the New Testament scriptures were put into written form, psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs were a primary source of Christian education. It is still one of the church's most effective ways of communication. Music helps us recall and meditate on scriptural truth. Many people respond to music who would never listen to a sermon.

"Philo tells us that often they (1st century Christians) would spend the whole night in hymns and songs. One of the earliest descriptions of a Church service we possess is that of Pliny, the Roman governor of Bithynia, who sent a report of the activities of the Christians to Trajan, the Roman Emperor, in which he said, 'They meet at dawn to sing a hymn to Christ as God'" (Colossians, by William Barclay, p.159).