Keys To Thankful Living

Colossians 3:15-17

One of the chief characteristics of Christian living is thanksgiving. We, as Christians, of all people ought to be the most thankful people in the world. After all, we know Christ. We have a living relationship with the living Son of God. What could be more wonderful than that?

In addition, we have received all of the benefits that come with knowing Christ. Think about what he has given us. We have received forgiveness through him. Every sin that we have ever committed has been completely forgiven. Our record has been expunged. We no longer have to face the penalty for our sin. We are the recipients of God’s amazing grace.

Furthermore, God blesses us in so many ways every day. God gives us everything we need for this life. We have realized his provision in a multitude of ways. He has blessed us physically, financially, emotionally, and spiritually. He has blessed us with a family, friends, employment, and a thousand other things.

We certainly should be living in thanksgiving, considering all God has done for us. As Christians, we should be displaying an attitude of gratitude. Unfortunately, all too often, we do not. I must confess that, far too often, I find myself focusing on things that make me want to criticize and complain. And it is so easy to do. If we want to find things about which to complain, they are certainly everywhere. But to focus on those things tends to make us negative people, and nobody wants to be around negative people. And as Christians, we should desire to show people that there is a better way, the way of thanksgiving.

In our text today, we find an emphasis on thanksgiving. Our text instructs us on three essentials of the new life in Christ. The three verses of our focus today cover the peace of Christ, the word of Christ, and the name of Christ. But in each verse we also find an emphasis on giving thanks. It seems that as we apply the truth concerning his peace, word, and name, we will also find ourselves manifesting the fruit of a thankful heart.

The first key to thankful living concerns our relationship to the peace of Christ. You are exhorted to allow his peace to regulate you. Just how does this happen? How is it that the peace of Christ can regulate our lives?

The Scriptures speak of two kinds of peace. The first is peace with God. Peace with God is the result of the atoning work of Christ on the Cross. When Jesus Christ died on the Cross, by paying the penalty for our sin, he restored our relationship with God. Before that, our lives were in direct conflict with God. Our sin had separated us from God. But through Christ’s death we have been put right with God. The conflict has ended. The war is over.

Because we have made peace with God, we can now experience the peace of God. The peace of God is a fruit of the Spirit. It is an outgrowth of Christ’s presence in our lives. His presence enables us to experience peace that is not dependent upon the circumstances. This is the kind of peace that transcends the circumstances.

We are told to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. The word "rule" but also be translated "act as arbiter." This is the only place in the New Testament that this word is used. Another alternate translation is "act as umpire." The connotation is that the peace of Christ should regulate our lives in terms of our relationships with God and with one another.

God uses his peace to guide us. The presence of his peace in our lives indicates that we are traveling in the right direction. When we make the wrong turn, we experience the loss of his peace. This is a sign that something is wrong. We need to stop what we’re doing and get back on track.

God also uses his peace to harmonize us with him and with his body, the church. Our text says that as members of one body you were called to peace. For healthy relationships to thrive, we must dwell with one another in peace. Because God desires that we come together in Christian community, peace is essential. In fact, we read in Ephesians 4:3: Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Another important passage of Scripture, Philippians 4:4-7, speaks of the role of peace in guarding our hearts and minds.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵ Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. ⁶ Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

The peace of Christ is a gift to us. We must allow it to rule in our hearts, to regulate our behavior, to guide us. When strife prevails, peace is lost. This is a sign. In fact, it is a stop sign. It tells us to stop what we’re doing immediately and seek the Lord. We need to stop and back off. We need to calm down and pray. We need to ask ourselves what Jesus would be doing in this situation. And then we need to focus on him and what he wants us to do. As we do this, his peace will return and we will be back on track.

As Christians, we are committed to walk in God’s word. The word of God, the Bible, is what gives us the knowledge of his will. And so you are exhorted to let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. This means that you must allow his word to saturate you.

Of course, this assumes something. It assumes that we know his word in the first place. His word certainly cannot dwell in us richly if we do not know that word in the first place. Assuming that people know the word of God is a dubious assumption indeed, especially in our day. We live in a day when more people have access to the Bible than ever before in history, but having access does not mean that they read it.

Having a Bible on your bookshelf or bedside table does not mean that you have any of it in your mind or heart. We need more than a casual acquaintance with the Bible. God’s word is to dwell in us richly–– it is to saturate us. It must become part of our very being, transforming the way we think and act. To use an illustration from the area of computer technology, it must be the program always running that controls everything else. Everything depends on it.

But in order for God’s word to saturate us, we must begin to deal with it on several levels. First we must read it. Everyone should have a daily time of reading God’s word. But then we must also study it. This is where we dig deeper by utilizing study guides and commentaries to assist us in understanding. Further, we must then meditate upon what God is saying to us through that word. We must spend some quality time thinking about how to apply the truth of God’s word to our lives. We should also spend time memorizing the word of God. As we commit passages to memory, we will find that they began to fill our minds. We need to spend time discussing God’s word with others in Bible studies. And finally, but most importantly, we need to step out in faith and obey God’s word. We need to put it into practice in our lives.

Our text tells us that we should be able to teach others. Indeed, it assumes that we will be teaching when it says, "as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom." This is why we must read and study. If we are going to be able to teach, we must be more knowledgeable than our students. We must at least be one step ahead.

We also see here that to be filled with God’s word is to be filled with joy. We are portrayed as singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude. We are singing in celebration. It is a joyful song of praise to God. Psalms refer to the book of the Bible by that name. This book was the first songbook in the church. Hymns refer to human compositions of praise to God. Remember, however, none of the hymns we have in our modern hymnal today were being sung when Paul wrote these words. The hymns like Amazing Grace, and A Mighty Fortress had not been written. Spiritual songs may refer to spontaneous songs of praise sung by various members of the congregation during worship.

There is an interesting parallel found in Ephesians 5:18-20. There we are told of the importance of being filled with the Spirit. This filling, it seems, produces the same kind of joy filled singing that being filled with God’s word produces.

18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. ¹⁹ Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ²⁰ always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Could it be that to be filled with God’s word means that we will be filled with God’s Spirit? Undoubtedly so!

You must allow his peace to regulate you. You must allow his word to saturate you. And you must also allow his name to dominate you. But what does this mean?

It simply means this–– all we do we put to a simple test–– "What would Jesus say?" Notice that it says that whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus. This covers everything. Everything that we do or say should be done or said according to his character and will. That’s what it means to do something in his name. It means it reflects Jesus.

So we must evaluate everything we do and say by that standard. Is this something that I can do in his name? Is this something that I would say in his name? Would I be doing this if Jesus were here standing right beside me? Would I be saying this if Jesus were standing here listening to me?

His name should dominate or control our behavior as Christians. You see, we bear his name. We are called Christ-ians. Our lives should reflect the name we bear. What we do in deed should bring praise to his name. What we say in word should reflect his nature and character. It is quite a challenge, especially in the area of controlling our words. Often, we will find that it is far easier to avoid sins of behavior than sins of speech.

The Bible teaches us that the tongue is a very sharp and deadly instrument. It can do a great deal of damage when used to criticize and complain against, slander and impugn other people. You may have successfully avoided committing murder, but if you have engaged in speaking evil of your brothers and sisters in Christ, you may have committed an equally horrific sin.

I remember reading of an episode in the life of a truly great man of God. His name was John Hyde. He was a man of prayer and because of that received the nickname "Praying Hyde." He was a man whose life was dedicated to prayer, and when he prayed, God listened.

On one occasion he was praying concerning a certain minister who was not living up to his calling. This situation was not pleasing to John Hyde and he found himself praying against what this minister was doing and failing to do. It was a rather negative prayer. As he was praying, John Hyde sensed God rebuking him for the way he was praying. God began to speak to John Hyde that he should not pray this way concerning this minister. This man, for all his faults, was still God’s child and still dearly loved by God. Having been thoroughly corrected, John Hyde began to pray that God would bless this minister, not blast him. He began to pray that God would fill this man with his Spirit, put his words in his mouth, and make him useful in his service. And God began to answer his prayers, as he prayed for, not against this man.

God does not want us complaining about his children, even to him! If we are concerned about someone, we certainly shouldn’t speak against them, or pray against them, but rather we should pray for them. God is well able to deal with his children. We must be careful not to sin in deed or in word.

We must live our lives in light of who we represent. We bear that holy name. And our words and deeds reflect upon the God we claim to serve. Our words and deeds should speak to people about the mercy, grace, love, forgiveness, and goodness of God. When people see how we live, they should be encouraged to seek the God we serve. They should see in our behavior evidence of his existence.

And they will see it, if we begin to evaluate our behavior by the standard of his name. As we live in light of who he is, we will also discover who we are in him.

Let his name dominate your behavior. Remember, there is power in that name. At the name of Jesus, every knee shall bow. At the name of Jesus, demons tremble. The Bible teaches that there is no other name under heaven by which we can be saved. There is power in that name. There is grace in that name. That name opens the gates of Heaven. We live by that name. And in that name we find eternal life and abundant life.

So, as you allow his peace to regulate you by harmonizing you with God and with one another, as you allow his word to saturate you by filling you with his wisdom and knowledge, and as you allow his name to dominate you by controlling what you do and what you say, you will find yourself living in thanksgiving. Your life will reflect Jesus, as he lives his life in and through you. May his peace, word, and name rule and reign in our lives! 

Copyright © 2002 J. David Hoke. This data file is the sole property of the copyright holder and may be copied only in its entirety for circulation freely without charge. All copies of this data file must contain the above copyright notice.

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