And everything, whatever ye may do in word or in deed, [do] all things in [the] name of [the] Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father by him.
This verse closes a long run of instructions about daily Christian life. It gathers them into one rule: every word and every action carries the name of the Lord Jesus, and ends in thanks.
Acting as His Representative
To do something "in the name" of another is to act on that person's behalf. One writer draws out what this means for a believer standing before the world:
Here is what it means to act in the name of Christ, or, as in this scripture, in the name of the Lord Jesus. It is to act on His behalf, and under His authority. The Christian stands to Christ as an ambassador stands to the ruler who sent him. His Lord's will is to govern everything he does.
That authority is not something we assume for ourselves.
I can only use His name if He authorises me.
Why the Title "Lord Jesus"
The exact wording matters. Paul does not simply write "Christ" here, and one commentator notes both what the name gives and what it demands:
Doing everything in the name of the Lord Jesus is more than the thought that we belong to Him. It carries the thought of perfect grace. Yet the title is "the Lord Jesus," not "Christ" alone, and that brings in our relation to His authority. Grace never weakens that authority, and the result is that we give thanks to God and the Father through Him.
A Test for Doubtful Things
The verse also gives a test for the questions people actually ask:
Young believers, when their hearts are drifting from God, often ask questions like these. What harm is there in going to such a place? Can I not go to a concert? To a flower show? I answer, Yes; if you can do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. This test applies to every department of life. Christ is now to be everything in my life. Lip and life are the only two channels by which we can express anything, and Christ is to come out in my words and my ways.
Nothing Left Over as "Secular"
"Whatever you do" leaves no part of the week outside. One writer refuses the familiar split between religious work and ordinary work:
If a thing cannot be done as service to Christ, it should not be done at all. That makes the matter much simpler. It is our sweet privilege to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, and to the glory of God. We sometimes hear people speak of "a secular calling," as contrasted with what is "sacred." We doubt that this distinction is right. Paul made tents and planted churches, but in both he served the Lord Christ.
The Hundred Small Things
The verse meets us in ordinary moments, and it uncovers a divided life:
Verse 17 is a very simple direction, but how it sweeps things away. If you are going to buy a house — are you doing that in the name of the Lord Jesus? It is the motive that governs us. My life is not made up of heroisms, but of a hundred different little things; do them all in the name of Christ: it is everyday life. Suppose I am living three-quarters of my day without Christ, I then have to make an effort to get back. Christ at the bottom of my heart, and blameless conduct at the top — no one can reproach me, but in between the two there is just a man. When I look back over today, has it been for Christ?
Thanks Rising Through Him
The verse ends where the doing leads — thanksgiving. It is not reserved for easy days:
The verse closes with "giving thanks to God the Father through Him." We are to give thanks in every circumstance. The Lord, when rejected by Israel, could say, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth". Paul could sing in the inner prison, with his feet locked in the stocks. These instructions show how tightly two things are tied together: the character of Christ in believers, and the way they live day by day.
That thanks goes up through a name the Father Himself values:
We learn to appreciate it as being dear to the Father. We ask of the Father in that name because it is the centre around which all the Father's glory circles. The day is coming when every knee will have to bow to that name. Before that day dawns, if we understand the Father's thoughts about that name, it will be our joy and privilege to let our words and actions show, in some small measure, that the Father has taught us to value it.
Summary
- The name given. Kelly points to the exact title: not "Christ" alone, but "the Lord Jesus." It carries perfect grace, and it never loosens His authority over us.
- The name authorised. No one takes this name at will. Darby says I can only use it if He authorises me, and I then stand like an ambassador, governed by my Lord's will.
- The name over everything. The verse reaches speech and action alike. Mackintosh leaves no "secular" corner: Paul made tents and planted churches, and both were service to Christ.
- The name tested. The question is not "what harm is there?" but "can I do this in the name of the Lord Jesus?" Darby says life is made up of a hundred small things, and this settles them one by one.
- The name returning thanks. Hamilton Smith points to Paul singing in prison: thanks in every circumstance. The same name that governs the doing carries the thanks up to God the Father.