“And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.” — Colossians 3:17 (HCSB)
Paul has already laid out in the earlier part of this chapter what Christians are supposed to put off, the old identity, the old patterns, the old way of living. Now he gets to the other side of that. If you’ve taken off the old stuff, here’s what you put on instead: Compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness, and over all of it, love. Love is the thing that holds everything else together and gives it direction, as Paul also makes clear in 1 Corinthians 13.
The opening phrase, “God’s chosen ones,” is one that theologians have argued about for centuries, and honestly it’s easy for me to get stuck in that loop. Calvinist predestination on one side, Arminian free will on the other, and a lot of very smart people who land in very different places. But I think that debate, as interesting as it is, misses the actual point of what Paul is saying here. However these people ended up belonging to God, they do. They are his. They are ingrafted into his family and heirs of the Kingdom. That’s the starting point, and then from that identity, the list of qualities Paul describes should flow naturally.
Which brings everything to verse 17. “Whatever you do, in word or in deed, do it in the name of the Lord, Jesus…” It’s not just the obviously spiritual stuff. Not just Sunday morning or the moments when I’m consciously trying to be a good person. Everything, which includes the conversation at work, the way I drive, how I treat the person who is taking too long in line, or the email I’m a little tempted to send with an edge to it. All of it is supposed to be filtered through the same question, “Is this in the name of Jesus? Would I do this the same way if I was doing it as his representative?”
I’ll fail at this constantly. That’s just honest. But the goal isn’t perfection, it’s direction. Keep pointing toward Christ in every single encounter, ask the Holy Spirit to do what I can’t do on my own, and when I fall short, get back up and keep going. Everything in the name of Jesus. Not just the big moments. Everything.