Jesus Is Sufficient for Our Holy Christan Lives
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Believers whose hearts are filled to overflowing with love and its fruits will know the Savior’s peace. Indeed, that peace will rule in their hearts. “The peace of Christ” is the rest and contentment that fills the hearts of those who know Jesus and his forgiving love. It is the serene feeling that comes from knowing that our sins are forgiven and that we are God’s children, that God is our friend and all is well with us. It is the confidence that now and in the unknown future, our Savior, who loves us, will work all things for the good of his forgiven children. This peace passes all understanding. It is bestowed upon believers by the Spirit through the gospel. As it fills believers’ hearts, it enables them to be at peace, not just with God but also with themselves and with one another.
The word picture in Paul’s encouragement to let peace “rule” in believers’ hearts is that of an umpire or a referee at an athletic contest. What confusion there would be at such events without officials who understand the rules of the game and make their judgments and decisions on the basis of those rules. With peace as the referee in their hearts, Christians will make decisions and carry out actions that promote peace. When divergent claims are made on them, they will let peace be the referee and choose those things which reflect and promote peace among their fellow men. In hearts ruled by peace, there will be no room for greed or discontent or jealousy or strife. This will be true among Christians above all, since, when they were called to be believers, they were united with Christ in the fellowship of faith and were called to live together in peace.
In the light of what the apostle says here, don’t the quarrels, resentments, and jealousies that often disrupt peace in our individual and congregational lives seem petty and foolish and totally unnecessary? Are we allowing hatred and discontent over anything to fester in our hearts right now? If we are, let peace be the referee to resolve these conflicts. Let us enjoy to the fullest and reflect to the utmost upon the peace that is ours because Jesus won our peace and called us to peace.
Christians whose hearts are filled with Christ’s love and are ruled by his peace will naturally be thankful. Five times in this relatively brief epistle Paul encourages Christians to “be thankful.” As believers’ knowledge of Christ and the spiritual blessings they have in him grow and mature, so will their gratitude, and that gratitude will become evident in their whole manner of living. Love and peace always result in gratitude, and gratitude, in turn, promotes love and peace.
All human beings should give thanks. Christians can be expected to do so. Ingratitude is a mark of paganism.
Perhaps it also marked the false teachers who were trying to worm their way into the Colossian congregation. Believers, however, who find their fullness and sufficiency in Christ, ought not to be marked by ingratitude or gloominess but by joyful thanksgiving. Such a spirit reflects their blessedness and makes them a blessing to others. Does our manner of living reflect the joyful gratitude we have in our Savior?
The new nature in believers and the virtues it produces are the products of the Holy Spirit’s work in believers’ hearts through the gospel. In order to stand firm and grow in these virtues, Christians need to maintain continual contact with the gospel of Christ. That is why the apostle goes on to urge the Colossian Christians to let the Word of Christ dwell in them richly in all wisdom. For the Colossians, “the word of Christ” included the Old Testament Scriptures as well as those inspired New Testament Scriptures that had been written already. For us it includes the entire Old and New Testaments.
The Scriptures, Paul teaches, should be more than something believers hear periodically or invite as an occasional guest into their homes. The Word of Christ should inhabit Christians continually, filling every corner of their lives with its blessed spiritual wisdom. Daily Bible study ought to be part of every Christian’s life, the hub around which Christian family life revolves.
The Scriptures should also be the focal point of congregational worship and all of the church’s other activities. On the basis of the Word of Christ and the divine wisdom it imparts, Christians are to teach and admonish one another in public and in private. When the Word inhabits them, Christians will grow in faith and knowledge and Christian living, and they will be able to encourage one another. When Christians ignore the Scriptures or use the Scriptures infrequently and carelessly, they deprive themselves and their fellow believers of blessings the Lord would gladly shower upon them.
Lives inhabited by the Word of Christ will also be lives that overflow with his praise. Paul recognizes the value of singing that glorifies Christ when he encourages believers to sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in their hearts to the Lord. Martin Luther obviously caught the spirit that the apostle intends to convey here when he spoke of music as “a lovely gift . . . which is a precious, worthy and costly treasure given mankind by God.”
It is not easy to distinguish clearly among the three terms for believers’ songs that the apostle employs here. There may well be some overlapping in meaning. “Psalms” probably refers to the Old Testament book of Psalms, which has served as a hymnbook for both Old and New Testament believers. “Hymns” could possibly be New Testament songs of praise, including inspired hymns like the Magnificat (Luke 1) and songs of praise penned by men and women of faith in that early New Testament age. Some Bible scholars think that there may be quotations from early Christian hymns interspersed throughout Paul’s epistles, especially in the sections where he bursts forth in jubilant praise to God. “Spiritual songs” are thought to be uninspired sacred songs that are somewhat more subjective in nature. We cannot determine whether these are precisely the distinctions Paul intended or not. It is clear, however, that Paul is reminding believers that we have a rich store of worship resources at our disposal and that we should use those resources to give expression to our gratitude for the blessings of God’s grace in our lives.
Nor should believers’ singing or any part of their worship be a matter of the lips only. It should be a matter of the heart, offered in cheerful spirit to the thanks and praise of God. Scripture does not tell us how many of the things we enjoy here on earth will be present in heaven. It does tell us, though, that there will be singing in heaven. Our homes and churches become forecourts of heaven when we believers raise our voices in Christ-glorifying, man-edifying songs of praise and thanks to God.
Finally, Paul summarizes and concludes this whole priceless section by stating the fundamental principle that ought to govern every Christian’s life. “Whatever you do,” he says, “do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” The name of Jesus includes his whole revelation of himself in his Word. To do something in the name of Jesus means to do it in vital relationship to him, in harmony with his will, in dependence upon his power. Christians do everything in the name of Jesus when they allow their relationship to Christ to control their relationship with everyone and everything else.
Paul fittingly brings this inspiring section to a close with one more reminder to the Colossians, and to all of us, of the great theme of the entire epistle: Jesus, the all-sufficient Savior. May that Savior, and that Savior only, be all-sufficient for our Christian lives.