Colossians 3:17

Colossians 3:17. And whatsoever ye do, etc. This verse may be regarded as summing up all the preceding exhortations, or as a third manifestation of the indwelling of the word of Christ, or, better still, as an advance in thought: not only let His word dwell in you, but let your whole conduct find in Him its sphere and motive.

In the name of the Lord Jesus. Not by invoking Him at all times, but by making Him the centre of our lives, so that His name stands for the source of our strength, the guide in our duty, the keynote of our words, the end of our effort.

Giving thanks to God the Father through hint. This is the manner in which all is done in the name of the Lord Jesus, namely, by living a life of constant gratitude to God the Father. Augustine: ‘Both in His gifts and in His chastisements, praise Him, who either wins thee by giving, that thou mayest not want, or punishes thee when wandering that thou mayest not perish.' Such gratitude is ‘through Him,' since what He is and has done as our Redeemer not only makes us grateful, but gives us a Mediator for the expression of our thanksgiving. The first human motive in the Christian life is gratitude for redemption, and it does not lose its power as we feel more and more bow great a Redeemer the Lord Jesus is.