Colossians 3:15-17
Whatever You Do, Do In the Name Of Jesus Christ
3:15 The second command called the church to harmony. The peace of Christ was to rule in the believers’ hearts. Peace is a common expression in the Pauline literature. It occurs regularly in prayers and the opening salutations of Paul’s epistles. When employed, it carries with it all of the meaning of the Hebrew shalom, a general sense of well-being and prosperity. It is the quiet disposition which arises when people are committed to the lordship of Christ in their midst. Although the peace is generally an individual matter, in this case the church was addressed. Paul advocated that peace guide all its collective activities. Thus, rather than a command for personal peace, this one stresses harmony in the group, as the rest of the verse demands. The basis of this peace was the work of Christ, as Paul made clear in Eph 2:1–10.
Significantly, Paul urged the Colossians to let the peace “of Christ” rule in their midst. Perhaps recalling the words of Jesus (John 14:27), Paul extended the meaning to its social dimensions. Normally when Paul discussed peace, he prayed for peace in the believers’ experience. Most of the time, the prayer for peace occurred in the Pauline salutations. All the letters contain it. In all but two of the salutations, Paul stated that peace came jointly from God and the Lord Jesus Christ. Four other times he spoke of peace coming from God without a reference to Christ.38 This is the only place that Paul spoke of the granting of peace as an activity of Christ alone. The usage clearly reveals that Paul conceived of God the Father and Jesus as having the same level of authority. It reveals his high estimation of Christ, who does what God does. Even though he is not present physically on this earth, faith in him continues to be the answer to a troubled disposition as it was when he was on earth (John 14:1). Though Paul did not begin this epistle by stating that Jesus gives peace, this is the only time it occurs apart from identifying God with it.
The peace is to “rule” in the congregation. The term for “rule” is often translated “umpire.” That was its original use and may well be the meaning here. However, the term became associated more broadly with any judgment to be made. The fact is, the congregation was to do nothing without the peace of Christ as the environment which overshadowed the action. Such peace also gave a sense of validation to the activities of the church. The specific place of rule was in the believers’ “hearts.” In typical fashion for the Old Testament and often for the New, the term signifies the general core of one’s being. It is the decision-making and valuing aspect of persons.41 Since the term is plural and distributive, the heart of each member is implied. The individual hearts had to be at peace for the congregation to be at peace.
The reason for such peace is that the believers were called into one body. The corporate interpretation, therefore, makes sense. The spiritual environment of each believer is the one body which they all share. Paul’s rationale for peace was “since as members of one body you were called to peace.” Apparently the body is the body of Christ (1:18) in which each believer is placed at conversion. Often Paul spoke of the centrality of love in the congregation (Phil 1:9–11; Eph 3:12–17), now he spoke of peace. Apparently the work of the false teachers posed a threat to the thinking and the harmony of the congregation itself. Paul believed that the peace of Christ would keep them on the proper path in their quest for the truth.
Paul ended this exhortation with the command to become thankful. Colossians contains many references to thankfulness. This particular word, however, does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament. The Colossians were to become thankful persons. The combination of thankfulness and peace is a logical one. Generally a lack of peace results from self-seeking or dissatisfaction with things as they are. Thankfulness points one to the realization that all things are provided in Christ. There is no room for ill will or bitterness if thankfulness prevails. The epistle provides ample reasons for thankfulness.
Freedom of the Word of God (3:16–17)
The structure of this final command of the section parallels the previous verse advocating harmony in the church. Each verse has a primary verb. The conjunction “and,” which seems to be more of a connective than a conjunctive idea, joins the two verbs. The rich indwelling of the word of Christ is parallel to the statement that everything should be done in the name of Christ. The rather lengthy explanation of the word of Christ indwelling parallels Ephesians and may be subdivided into two groups. The prepositional phrases “with all wisdom” and “in grace” (“with gratitude,” NIV) introduce these two groups.
3:16 The word of Christ was the focus of the congregation. Some understand the phrase “word of Christ” to refer to the word that comes from Christ. The parallel with 3:15 suggests that possibility. Since peace comes from Christ, the word that comes should also be from him. There are, however, few parallels to the word of Christ as a continuing dynamic force in the church. The Colossians were to look back to the words of Christ, not within or ahead to the words Christ would speak. This phrase is best understood as the word about Christ. The community was constantly to recognize the reason for its existence by a continual concern for the gospel message and its implications in the congregation. While some understand this to refer to the indwelling of the word in the individual life, the text moves to a corporate expression in the modifying statements. This most likely refers to the words “in you,” although individuals certainly had to make sure it was in them as well.
Colossians and Ephesians differ in this context. Because of the close parallels between Col 3:16–17 and Eph 5:18–21, the two passages speak to the same general concern. Colossians says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you,” whereas Ephesians has, “Be filled with the Spirit.” Both of these result in the same or similar activities which follow in both texts. Therefore, Colossians should be interpreted in similar fashion with Ephesians, even though the terminology differs. If these are two sides of a coin, so to speak, the focus on the gospel message equals the importance of the filling of the Spirit, and they both result in the same things. The entire context points to the freedom of the word to determine the actions, motivations, and decisions of the group. It, like the peace of God, becomes a measure of church life. Before every activity, the church should answer two questions: Is the peace of Christ present in the congregation at this point? and Is this consistent with, and will it promote knowledge of, the word of Christ?
Certain activities encourage the freedom of the word of Christ. These occur in two descriptive statements introduced by the prepositional phrases discussed above. First, “teaching and admonishing one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.…” The statement naturally divides into three parts: the importance of wisdom, the activity of teaching and admonishing, and the matter of the songs themselves.
The concept of wisdom occurs frequently in this epistle. Obviously the church expressed some concern over it; it was, without doubt, the subject of the false teachers. In 1:9 Paul told the believers to pray for the wisdom of God. In 2:3 he stated that the wisdom was in Christ. Now he urged them to be wise in the employment of the various exhortations to each other. Wisdom in this epistle always has a spiritual dimension and is related ultimately to the mind of God. Paul encouraged them to express their corporate worship in real wisdom, which centers in and promotes Christ. Thus as they grew in their understanding of spiritual truth, they were to encourage others in the context of real wisdom. Among other aspects, wisdom means that there are proper means to an end, and those means will be employed.
The word of Christ became prominent by the exercise of spiritual gifts. The spiritual gifts identified here are teaching and exhortation. Paul was particularly fond of these terms in Colossians, using them of himself and his ministry in 1:28. Teaching is the orderly arrangement of truth and effective communication of it. Teaching is mentioned as a spiritual gift in Paul’s writings (Rom 12:7) and is closely associated with the role of the pastor (Eph 4:11). Here, however, the church members teach each other in the ways of God. Similarly, admonishing frequently became the task of the Christian leader (Rom 15:14; 1 Thess 5:12; Col 1:28), although on occasion it refers to various members encouraging others (here and 1 Thess 5:14).
Admonishing differs from teaching. Admonishing has the element of strong encouragement. It is generally practical and moral, rather than abstract or theological. It is the way teaching is reinforced in the lives of the hearers. Such orderly arrangement of truth and strong practical encouragement are to be done in wisdom. Among other things, that means the person exercising these gifts will understand, in the will of God, how to exercise them appropriately. It also means that their exercise will be distinctly Christian in motivation and method.
The specific vehicle for teaching and admonition is song. Christians have always sung their faith, and here is a biblical basis for it. Three terms provide insight into the nature of early Christian singing. Although there is a consensus that the terms have significant overlap and cannot be distinguished sharply, there is some help in seeing where they most differ. “Psalms” are, no doubt, the psalms of the Old Testament.51 The word “hymn” occurs only twice in the New Testament, here and Eph 5:19. It may describe a “festive hymn of praise.” Recent studies have addressed the presence of hymns in the New Testament and found them in many places, such as Col 1:15–20 and Phil 2:5–11. In Scripture, however, they are never called hymns, and the use of the term reflects modern church worship more than is necessarily true of the first century. “Spiritual” songs seems to describe other musical compositions, perhaps like gospel songs. Whatever they were, Paul cautioned that they must be spiritual, not secular. Together, these three terms address the entire scope of musical expression in early church worship.
The passage instructed the Colossians on the proper use of music in the church. Music is a vehicle through which a message is delivered. Interestingly enough, the New Testament says little about musicians assisting in worship, even though they appeared frequently in Israel’s worship, as described in the Old Testament. Paul did not identify music as a spiritual gift, but he omitted other talents as well. This passage teaches that the spiritual gift is not music, but music may become an effective vehicle for the exercise of a gift. The gifts are teaching and admonishing. The medium of music, therefore, must remain secondary to the message it conveys. Music is legitimate only when it is a medium pointing beyond itself to the exhorting and encouraging of other believers and the evangelization of unbelievers. Christian musicians must give primary attention to what is communicated and secondary attention to how it is communicated. Singing effectively teaches and encourages. In 3:16, the pastoral function Paul claimed for himself in 1:28 is broadened to include the entire congregation and the medium of music. Few activities have such ability to teach, prompt recall, and encourage, and they have always been a vital part of Christianity.
The second descriptive statement modifying teaching and admonishing is “with gratitude in your hearts to God.” The expression may parallel the previous one, or it may be subordinate to it. Commentators are divided at this point. On the whole, the parallelism is probably better.
Christian singing is to be in the realm of grace. Some have interpreted the construction to mean something like “singing gratefully” unto the Lord. However, in light of Paul’s insistence on the realm of grace as the believer’s hope of salvation, a better interpretation is that the phrase refers to hearty Christian singing, singing with an understanding of grace because of the working of grace in the life. Grace reminds singers that the message and not the singers bring salvation. It further reminds them that everything good about which they sing comes because of God’s grace. There is no room for self-praise, ambition, or high-mindedness in the realm of grace. Those who sing do so because they have felt the transforming power of God in their own lives, and they sing with an awareness of that grace.
The location of the song is the heart. Paul’s point does not contrast the heart and the mouth, as if to say that there should be silent singing rather than vocal. Consistent with the previous uses of “heart,” it carries the Old Testament idea of the totality of the motivating and valuing aspect of persons. Paul urged the Colossian believers to have their entire beings involved in the song. The song should come from a thorough and consistent commitment of life to the Lord. Nothing else pleases God. Nothing else teaches and admonishes others as well as the heartfelt, enthusiastic singing that comes from those who know personally what grace means.
These two modifiers explain how the word of Christ is able to dwell richly in the congregation. They were to teach and admonish each other with a mutual involvement in the lives of others. They were to accomplish this through songs of various kinds. These songs, in turn, were energized by the freedom of the word of Christ so that an ever new song of grace appears.
3:17 Paul summarized the paragraph in v. 17. It fittingly complements v. 16, but its implications extend back to v. 12. All of life is addressed with the words “whatever you do” and “in word or deed.” The division parallels both the rabbinic concern about behavior matching confession and the Pauline concern of consistency of commitment. The two realms of speech and action encompass every area of life. A truly Christian commitment incorporates them both.
The “name of the Lord Jesus” provides the proper atmosphere for life. The Colossian believers were not only to come to God through Jesus and to worship Jesus but also to live their lives conscious of his authority and reputation. To invoke his name at this point no doubt called to mind their baptism, which was done in the name of Jesus (Matt 28:16ff.). Further, it reminded them of the blessings of salvation which come in the name of Jesus (John 14:26) and the power available for service (Luke 10:17). The person of Jesus was everything to them, and, because of grace, all of life was to be a contribution to him. His authority and reputation concerned them. They were to do nothing apart from his direction, approval, and purposes. Living in accord with his name means “in harmony with his revealed will, in subjection to his authority, in dependence on his power.”58
This section ends with a return to the idea of thanksgiving. “Giving thanks to the Father” occurs in 1:12, which introduced the many reasons thanksgiving is appropriate. They relate to salvation. Now, after the lengthy theological and practical discussion since that passage, Paul characterized a Christian’s thanksgiving as going through Jesus to the Father. Thus God is to be thanked for delivering believers from darkness and placing them in the kingdom of his Son through the work of the Son. Paul made explicit in this epistle the fact that God comes to the world through Jesus and the world comes to God through him as well. The believers had access to God because of the work of the Son of God. Their thanks was to rise to the ears of God through his Son.
