Colossians 3:17 — Everything, in Word or in Act

17 And everything, whatsoever you may be doing, in word or in act, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to God, the Father, through Him.

Twice we hear the word “everything.” Nothing in life falls outside the scope of what Paul writes. Not only what we say, but also what we do. Not only the spiritual, but the whole of daily life. And throughout it all resounds thanksgiving to Father God.

This is also the foundation for what immediately follows. Beginning with verse 18, Paul addresses women and men, then children and fathers, slaves and masters. A new section is often begun there, as though the household rules now follow after grace. But Paul himself draws no dividing line. He has just written: “everything, whatsoever you may be doing.” He then shows how that “everything” takes shape in the concrete position in which each person has been placed.

Therefore, taking one’s place as a woman or man, as a child or father, as a slave or master, does not begin with a list of obligations. The keynote is thanksgiving. Anyone who realizes what he receives and thanks Father God for it through the Lord Jesus approaches life differently. It is precisely from grace that each person can take their place. The rules do not now come after grace; rather, what follows is the outworking of a life sustained by grace and thanksgiving.

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