Do Everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus

(Colossians 3:17)

Being a Christian is not something we do just on Sundays, or whenever we happen to meet together with other Christians.

That is half of the message in this one verse I am looking at today.

The second half of the message is that we should give thanks to God the Father through the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. So let’s have a look at what this verse is telling us and what we can learn from it.

Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus

There is so much that the Lord Jesus has done for us, not to mention the greatest of all that He died so that we may have the opportunity to live through Him.

So is it not a valid point that if He has done so much for us, we should return the favour to Him? Let us look at the words of this verse to see what it says about this matter.

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

The first few words of this verse set the scene for us quite succinctly.

”Whatever you do.” Not just some of the things you do, but EVERYTHING! Whatever you do encompasses all of the things that you do. Do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus.

And Paul goes on to show just what “whatever” means. He says that whatever you do in “word or deed.”

Word or deed includes everything you say and everything you do. Let me just emphasise and repeat that…he is talking about EVERYTHING you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus.

A sacrifice of praise

This reminds me also of the words of the writer of Hebrews who had this to say.

15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Hebrews 13:15-16)

If you carefully read these words, they are saying the same thing. We should CONTINUALLY offer up a sacrifice of praise to God through Jesus Christ. And, we should do good, sharing our abundance with others who need it.

To “continually” do something is the same as saying in “everything” you should do and say what is good.

So there are frequent reminders in the Bible helping us to keep our hearts and minds in Jesus Christ under all circumstances. Focus your heart and mind on the Lord at all times and consider whether what you are about to do or say would please Him or not.

Give thanks to God

This brings me to the second half of this verse, which tells us to give thanks to God through Jesus Christ.

This is why we utter the “Amen” to all of our prayers in the name of Jesus Christ. All things in this world, and indeed in the universe , exist and are upheld by the word of the power of God. All things were created by God through Jesus Christ.

And we exist as Christians who have the hope of salvation in and through Jesus Christ. He is our salvation and hope, and without Him we have no hope.

The whole plan of God for man was designed by the Father, but it was brought to fruition by the Son who came and gave us the gospel of salvation, and who died to set us free and establish the pathway to life and salvation by faith.

Both Father and Son are deserving of all of our thanks and so much more. There is no way we could ever hope to repay them for the gift that they have given to us…not in a million years.

But they do not seek our repayment. They only seek our thanks and devotion to the Lord, which we express through love for the people of God and the things that we do.

That is why we give thanks to God for all He has done for us, and we give thanks in the name of Jesus who made these things possible.

No Sunday Christians

And here is the end of the matter. We are not “Sunday Christians” because Jesus gave His whole life for us. We cannot just expect Him to give us the promises when we are not living the life of Christ 24/7.

No, in everything we do or say we ought to give Him thanks, and everything means “EVERYTHING.”

Just consider the early apostles, disciples, and the prophets of old. They were not half-hearted in their walk with God. They were not Sunday Christians, or Saturday (Sabbath) followers of the Lord.

God was at the centre of their lives and He was everything to them. Just so we should speak and act as though Jesus is everything to us. This is the thrust of this verse today.

So consider how you behave, act and speak. Is God everything to you and are you blessing the Lord by everything that you say and do? If not, consider how you can change your life so that Jesus is at the centre.

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