AM Bible Study Group; May 15, 2013
Colossians 3:17
Theme: Our guiding principle is this: “Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus.”
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
Throughout recorded history, navigators and those who sailed the seas have relied upon a fixed point in the evening sky—a point by which they charted their routes and determine their positions. They’ve looked to the north star—a conspicuous star in the northern hemisphere; sometimes called the “polestar” because it roughly marks the location of the north celestial pole. This morning, we look at one verse in Colossians that gives us a “northern star” of a different kind; one that guides us through our course in everyday life; one by which we can determine what our conduct should be in the various circumstances we meet with in this fallen world.
In our weakness, there’s something in us that craves a “list” that spells out to us the dos and don’ts of life in detail. Perhaps we’re drawn to such lists of dos and don’ts because we feel a sense of pride whenever we score high points on the ones we make (Luke 18:11-12). Or perhaps it’s because of the self-importance we would feel when other people feel obligated to the lists we make for them (Galatians 6:12-13). That was a challenge that the Colossian believers were facing (see Colossians 2:16-17, 20-23). God could have given us a long, detailed list of dos and don’ts; but He didn’t. Instead, He has wonderfully capsulated what He wants us to do into a simple, basic statement of a universally applicable principle:
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.
I. THE SUFFICIENCY OF THIS PRINCIPLE: “THROUGH HIM”.
A. This simple ‘rule of thumb’ for Christian conduct may appear at first to be inadequate to guide us through all the twists and turns of life. But it’s very sufficient; and it’s sufficiency is based on an all-sufficient Person.
1. He’s called “Jesus”, which is a name that points to His humanity—having felt the infirmities and temptations we feel, and having tasted death on our behalf.
2. He’s called “Lord”, which points to His deity. He is one with God the Father; the eternally pre-existent Son of God, possessing all authority and power and majesty (Colossians 1:14-20)..
3. He is the Mediator between God and man; because, as the latter part of the verse says, it’s through Him that we are to give our thanks to God the Father.
B. We are invited to do all things in His “name”. This means much more than merely tacking-on a phrase at the end of our prayers. We are welcomed to work, walk, speak and live in the “name” of this glorious all-sufficient Person, Jesus Christ. Someone’s “name” was often a way of expressing the totality of someone’s full identity—the whole compass of who they are and what they do. And so, to do all that we do “in the name of the Lord Jesus” means to do all that we do in vital union with the totality of all that He is and that He has done. That is the greatest honor we could ever be given; and it explains why this principle is more than sufficient to guide us. This would mean:
1. Doing all things with a sense of our vital union and relationship with Him—seeking to live our daily life with a sense of our union with Jesus Christ, and encountering everyday situations and circumstances as if His presence was with us always (Matthew 28:20).
2. Doing all things as if under His authority. Jesus is our example in this; because He said that He came to the earth and worked in His Father’s “name” (John 5:43; 10:25)—that is, under the authority of His Father. And Jesus likewise calls us to do all that we do under His own authority (John 14:13-14; 15:16; 16:23-24). We’re to live and move and walk about in full submission to Jesus’ authority—doing what He commands; doing it with the confidence of being under the greatest possible authority; seeking to understand what He wants us to do and doing so quickly and faithfully.
3. Doing all things as His representatives on this earth. He told His disciples that they would be persecuted in this world and hated “for My name’s sake” (John 15:21; Matthew 24:9); because He was leaving them to be His ambassadors on the earth.
4. Seeking the advancement of His cause on the earth. We’re to suffer “for His name” and in total commitment to His agenda (Acts 5:41; 9:16)—even being ready to leave “houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My names sake” (Matthew 19:29). We’re to ask what it is that Jesus wants to see happen in the various situations of life.
5. Doing all that we do in dependency upon His power. When the disciples performed acts of healing, they attributed all they did to “His name” and “through faith in His name” (Acts 3:16; 4:7-10). Even salvation and the complete forgiveness of our sins—the greatest miracle of all—is accomplished “through His name” (Acts 10:43).
II. THE PRACTICE OF THIS PRINCIPLE: “WHATEVER YOU DO”.
A. First, notice that it tells us that we’re to do it completely. We’re literally to do everything in Jesus’ “name”; “. . . whatever you do in word or deed”. This fundamental principle of conduct in the Christian life—this ‘northern star’—is universally applicable in life. There are to be no areas that we keep for the Lord, and separate areas that we keep for ourselves.
1. “In word”. We are to speak as His representatives with respect to whatever comes out of our mouth. Paul wrote, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt [that is, as if seasoned with a preserving and healing agent], that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:6; see also Ephesians 4:29). Certainly, this involves not just our spoken words, but also written words, our whispers, our gestures, our expressions, and even our thoughts. All that we “speak”, in any of these ways, is to be spoken “in the name of the Lord Jesus”. This, of course, would make us very careful about the things we say.
2. “In deed”. We’re to make sure that we represent our Lord in all of our actions. “. . . Whether you eat or drink,” Paul wrote, “or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”
(1 Corinthians 10:31); and “do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men. . .” (Colossians 3:23). This would make us very careful about the things we do.
B. Second, notice that we’re to do all this for Jesus gratefully, and with glad-hearted joy. We’re to do everything in Jesus’ name, “giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
1. Thanksgiving is to be a vital part of all we do in Christ. The writer of Hebrews said, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name” (Hebrews 13:15). We’re told, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). Since we’re to do all that we do “in the name of the Lord Jesus”, then we have good reason to be always in “thankful” mode—continually giving our thanks to the Father through His Son.
2. Thanksgiving thus becomes a vital part of the principle that guides us through the moral decisions of life. We’re to always be doing all that we do with a spirit of thanks to the Father through Christ; and so, we’re to be continually asking ourselves, “Can I do this, or that, with a spirit of genuine, sincere ‘thanks’ to the Father in the name of His Son?” Frankly, we’ll find, when we think about it, that there’s many things in life that we certainly could not do, and still be saying “thanks” to the Father while we’re doing it. But Paul spoke of the things in life that “God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For every creature [that is, every created thing that God made to be enjoyed] is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer” (1 Timothy 4:3-5). If we understand what it means to truly do all things “in the name of the Lord Jesus”, then we’ll certainly know what it is that we can or cannot genuinely thank the Father for. And whatever we can give sincere thanks to the Father for through Jesus His Son, we may certainly feel safe in doing with a clear conscience.
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This principle, then, teaches us to ask, “What does Jesus want in this situation? What would He Himself do? How would He have me advance His cause in this? What would He wish to do through me? How can I represent Him and be a witness for Him in this? That’s what it means to do all things in Jesus “name”. The Bible’s trustworthy record of the thoughts, words, actions and agenda of our Lord give us an objective answer to those questions, and thus make this principle a trustworthy “northern star” in our lives.