Col. 3:15-17
“Giving Thanks to
God”
As you examine these commands (and this section is a section
of commands), two things stand out. We will deal with each in its order.
The first thing that stands out in our passage is the
Christ-centered nature of the commands: “And let the peace of Christ
rule in your hearts…” (v. 15); “Let the word of Christ dwell in you
richly…” (v. 16); “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in
the name of the Lord Jesus…” (v. 17)!
It is no accident that the disciples were called Christians
early on (Acts
The disciples were called Christians because Jesus Christ
was what defined them. Yes, they were fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, husbands
and wives, Jews and Greeks, barbarians and Scythians, masters and slaves, etc.
And they were called to be faithful in these responsibilities and roles because
these were their callings from God Himself. But, once they became Christians, their
sense of self-worth no longer depended on them. They were called to be
Christians first and foremost. Everything that they were and they did was, and
had to be, prefixed by their Christian identity. They were Christian fathers
and mothers, Christian husbands and wives, Christian Jews and Greeks and
Christian masters and slaves.
To be a Christian means that Jesus Christ is everything to the
Christian. To him Jesus Christ is the reason for his existence, the goal and
purpose of his labors and efforts, the fountain of his joy and happiness, his ever-present
help in times of trouble, the hope for his future, even beyond the grave. Jesus
Christ is his reason to wake up each morning; He is his last thought when we lays down his weary body on the bed at night. Jesus is the beginning
of his new life in God’s kingdom and He is the last and the only thing he holds
onto when he breathes our last.
So we are told in v. 17 in a way of conclusion: “And
whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus….”
What does it mean to do something, or anything, in someone else’s name? To do
something in the name of the Lord is similar to what an ambassador does on
behalf of his government. An ambassador is someone who goes on a diplomatic mission
to another country in the name of his government, so to speak. He understands
that his mission is to represent his government. He is not there to promote his
own ideas or carry out his own agendas. He is there to seek the best interest
of his government and carry out its will according to its direction. He must
conduct himself, therefore, in a manner worthy of his government so as not to
bring shame or embarrassment to his country. He cannot commit a crime as a
private individual. He cannot humiliate himself without dragging down the honor
and cause of his government. Therefore, he must take care that every word he
utters and every movement he makes--both in private and public--is worthy of
his government and conducive to its cause.
So it is to do things in the name of the Lord
Jesus. We are Christ’s ambassadors, the emissaries of the kingdom of heaven.
Our life on this earth is like being on a diplomatic mission. We have taken a
temporary residence in a foreign country to represent Christ and His kingdom there.
We are not here in this world to promote our own agendas and take care of our
personal business. We are here to carry out the will of our King and to further
His cause. So we must conduct ourselves in ways that do not bring shame or
embarrassment to the name and honor of our King. We must take care that every
word we utter and every movement we make is to the best interest of His
Majesty. For we bear the name of Jesus Christ. We cannot separate ourselves
from that name, or the mission that is entrusted to us by our King. We may
forget to do things in the name of the Lord. We may forget about our identity
as Christ’s ambassadors. But the world does not. We cannot sin as private
individuals. When we sin, we sin as Christians. We cannot commit sin without
bringing shame and dishonor to our Savior and King.
That is why we must do everything in the name of
the Lord, whatever we do in word of deed. Paul is quite forceful and emphatic
about the all-inclusive scope of our identification with Christ: whatever we
do, we are to do it in the name of the Lord; whether in word or deed,
we are to do it in the name of the Lord Jesus; we are to do everything
in the name of the Lord Jesus. For we have been crucified with Christ and it is
no longer we who live but Christ in us (Gal. 2:20); “and he died for all, that
those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their
sake died and was raised” (2 Cor. 5:17). He purchased
us with His own blood (Acts
We belong to Christ, fully, completely and totally.
This is not some kind of romantic notion. It is an undeniable fact that we
belong to Him body, soul, mind and strength. Even every thought of ours is to
be taken captive to obey Christ (2 Cor. 10:5). Our
time belongs to Him. Our possessions belong to Him. Our families and
relationships belong to Him. If God has granted these things to us, it is so
that with those things, and through those things, we may accomplish our
ultimate mission in life--that is, to glorify our Lord and to enjoy Him
forever. Imagine hiring a plumber to do at 70 dollars an hour a job in your
house. How furious would you be if he charges you by the hour and yet during
his hours of work he talks on his cell phone and takes care of his personal
business?
Does this mean that we should spend all our time at
church and pay no attention to our responsibilities at home and work? Of course
not! He, who called us to love Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and
strength, has also called us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Remember: we
are not called to do just some things in the name of the Lord Jesus; we
are called to do everything in His name. Of course, when we try to do
everything in His name, there are certain things we just would not, and could
not, do. We cannot indulge, for example, in sexual immorality, impurity,
passion, evil desire and covetousness (which is idolatry); anger, wrath,
malice, slander, obscene talk and lies, etc. But everything that we are called
to do, we are to do it in the name of the Lord Jesus! Our
God is the sovereign Lord of the whole world and He has not called us to a life
within the high walls of monastery but to a fuller, abundant life in the world,
though not of the world. From our Lord’s Day worship to our recreations, from
our offerings in the worship service to shopping, from our prayer to what we
eat, drink and wear, we must do everything in the name of the Lord, for His
glory.
We are called to reflect what the name of Jesus
Christ represents--His glory, honor, majesty and worthiness; His nobility,
beauty and excellence; His love and compassion as well as His righteousness and
purity; His strength and integrity as well as His humility and gentleness, etc.
We are to reflect His sovereign lordship over us in everything we do.
How are you taking this heavy dose of commands and
imperatives? Is your heart heavy with burden? I hope not. Yes, everything we do
is to be driven by a deepest desire that says, “He must increase, but I must
decrease” (John
In fact, who is more fortunate than a person who
found a cause or a person worthy of his absolute loyalty and unreserved
devotion? How fortunate we are that Jesus Christ is worthy, more than
worthy, of our love and devotion! A Swiss octogenarian
looked back on his life and calculated where he spent his 80 years of life: 26
years on sleeping; 21 years on working; 6 years on eating; 5 years on
daydreaming; 1 year on smoking; 228 days on washing up; 26 days on playing with
his children; 5 years on waiting for others (which turns out to be 1.5 hours a
day); and only 46 hours of being happy. Some summary of a life, isn’t it? We
cannot stop time. Our life is being spent and expended every moment. Whether we
do anything or not, time just keeps ticking away. Doing nothing does not stop
time. If so, what is more important than spending our time wisely, expending
our life on things that matter, things that have eternal consequences? And how
blessed is he who has found something or someone worthy of his time, his
efforts, his devotion and his life!
And who is more worthy of our life than our glorious triune
God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? Just by virtue of His divine being, just
by virtue of His creation and ownership of us, He deserves our full devotion
and loyalty. All He needs to do is simply speak from His high throne in heaven
and we would owe all our joyful obedience and sacrificial service to Him. Yet
the High King of heaven, whose wish is the command of all the angelic hosts in
heaven, came into this world, not to be served but to serve, to serve you and
me! The Son of God stooped down low to wash our feet, nay, to lay down His precious
life to save us from our misery and sin. He, who calls us to love Him with all
of our heart, soul, mind and strength, loved us first with all of His heart, with
all of His soul, with all of His mind and with all of His strength, with His
own dear life, and He continues to love us so. Jesus Christ, in whose name we
are to do everything, has done everything for our redemption and continues to
do so to bring our salvation to its glorious completion! Every suffering He suffered, every pain He bore, every insult He endured; every
work He did, every word He uttered and every thought He thought, He did for our
redemption! And He continues to intercede for us, to protect us and guide us
and lead us, with His infinite wisdom and powerful love. And as if that were
not enough, He promises with His unbreakable promise, “And whoever gives one of
these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I
say to you, he will by no means lose his reward…. And your Father who sees in
secret will reward you” (Matt.
This leads us to the second thing that stands us in these
commands. The first was the Christ-centered nature of the commands. The second
is the ubiquitous presence of thankfulness. Did you notice Paul’s pervasive
exhortation to give thanks to the Lord in this set of commands? His command to
let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts is followed by the command to be
thankful (v 15). The command to let the word of Christ dwell richly in us ends
with the phrase, “with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (v. 16). The command
to do all things in the name of the Lord, too, concludes with the phrase,
“giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (v. 17). Paul makes it clear that
thankfulness must color everything we do in the name of Jesus Christ. In other
words, everything we do must be with thankfulness because we do it in the name
of the Lord Jesus. How can we do anything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
without thankfulness, when we think about what that name represents?
This makes a perfect sense, doesn’t it? We can say that
there is a sense in which the reputation and honor of a master depends on the
manner in which his servants serve him. If the servants always have a long face
and a grumbling spirit, how will it reflect on their master? But when the
servants go about doing their work with a bright countenance and cheerful spirit, does it not their master? When our life and service
to the Lord are devoid of thanksgiving, when our lips are filled with grumbling
and our faces clouded with discontentment, what are we saying about our Savior
and Lord? Are we not communicating to the world that our Master is a
hard man, reaping where He did not sow, and gathering where He scattered no
seed, someone we dread to serve, someone we serve only
because we are afraid of punishment? Are we not saying in effect that whatever
He has given, and gives, us is not enough to make us happy and content?
Surely, that is not an accurate description of our
Lord and His dealings with us? Does He not deserve from us a confession from
the deepest depth of our hearts, “Lord, Your grace is sufficient for me, more
than sufficient!” I humbly put this before all of us: we cannot complain and
grumble without belittling, without spitting on, the cross of Jesus Christ. For
He gave us His greatest gift, He showed us the greatest demonstration of His
love, in laying down His life for us. Do we deserve more? If our life should
end now, are we to be pitied when we have Jesus Christ? Can we complain without
diminishing and cheapening the value of Christ’s salvation? What is it that we
want so badly at this time that clouds our face? What makes you complain and
grumble? What is that we must have to be happy? Whatever it is, can it be
compared to what Christ has already done on your behalf on the cross? Does it
have the power to make you happy that the cross does not have?
With these commands, Paul is showing us that
everything we do in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ should be accompanied by
the sweet fragrance of thanksgiving. Our service to the Lord--and I hope you
understand that everything we do must be viewed as our service to Him--must be
motivated by our gratitude to Him--our gratitude to Him for our salvation from
sin and death, first and foremost; but also our gratitude to Him for the
privilege to serve Him. It is indeed a great blessing and privilege to serve
Him because our labor in the Lord is not in vain. All other works will be
burned up in the fire of judgment, even the noblest work in this world, which
earns all kinds of accolades and applause. Not our service. Not our labor in
the Lord. Nothing we do, if we do it in the name of the Lord. As He Himself promised, not even the simple act of giving a cup of
water will not be forgotten by our heavenly Father, who sees in secret.
If so, how can we do anything in the Lord and not be thankful? For everything
we do in the name of our Lord lays up our treasures in heaven.
That we are to do everything with thankfulness,
that everything we do must be done in thankfulness, shows the blessedness of
our new life in Jesus Christ. Our life can be a continuous offering of
thanksgiving because we have been found in the name of Jesus Christ--that
blessed Name that is the power of God and the wisdom of God; that blessed Name
that is able to impart salvation and life to sinners that are dead in
trespasses and sins; that blessed Name that removes the wrath of God from us
once for all; that blessed Name that has obtained and guarantees for us every
spiritual blessing in the heavenly places! These commands tell us that we have
been raised together with Christ, that we are seated in the heavenly places, in
the realm of eternal blessing and joy and thanksgiving.
Here is a challenge for you: spend a day, today, in
thankfulness; resolve in your heart to be thankful for everything that happens today--every
person you meet, every situation you are in, every thing that happens to you
today. Use your mind and faith to find something to be thankful. Do it again
the next day and again, until giving thanks becomes your second nature. Even
the people of the world see the difference between seeing the cup half empty
and half full. But on what basis? Why should they try
to see the cup as half full rather than half empty? Isn’t it nothing more than
a psychological manipulation without any real basis? But what
about you? Do you not have the reason to see your cup as half full--nay,
to see your cup as overflowing because of Jesus Christ and what you possess in
Him? If anybody, do you not have the reason to be thankful for all things in
your life because, by looking at the cross of Jesus Christ, you know that God’s
sovereign will toward you is good and gracious in all things? We may not see it
all the time because we are short-sighted. But doesn’t the cross of Jesus
Christ guarantee you that whatever happens in your life happens because God
loves you. Then, do we not have the reason to be thankful in all things at all
times?
Oh, people of God, we are destined for that day when we will
experience and enjoy the full power and glory of the name of Jesus Christ. We
will be clothed with Christ and we will enjoy all the benefits of His work of
redemption. We are predestined for that glory. If so, should we not do all
things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ? Should we not see our life as a
temporary diplomatic mission to represent Christ in this world; to seek as our
primary and ultimate goal the glory of Christ and His cause; to do everything,
whether in word or deed, in the name of Jesus Christ in a manner worthy of His
name, in a manner that Christ Himself will approve and delight in? Isn’t that
the greatest privilege we can ever hope for? Should we not do everything with
thankfulness in our hearts to our God as we do everything in the name of Jesus
Christ? May we live a life that is full of purpose and meaning and glory and
blessing and nobility and excellence of Christ as our mind is filled with
Christ! Amen
© Copyright 2007 by Jeong Woo "James" Lee
All Rights Reserved.