Colossians 3:17

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed,....

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed - Whatever ye say or do - whether relating to temporal affairs or to religion. The command here extends to all that we do. Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus - Do it all because he requires and commands it, and with a desire to honor him. His authority should be the warrant; his glory the aim of all our actions and words. See the general sentiment here expressed, fully illustrated in the notes at 1Co 10:

God and the Father--The oldest manuscripts omit "and," which seems to have crept in from Eph 5:20. by him--Greek, "through Him" as the channel of His grace to us, and of our thanksgiving to Him (Joh 14:6, end).

IT is always an advantage to have the laws of a kingdom as concise as possible. No one will ever be able to tell how much of litigation and consequent calamity has been caused in this country by the confused condition of our laws. When Napoleon issued his celebrated "Code Napoleon," which is an admirable summary of French Law, he conferred upon the empire one of the greatest gifts and proved himself a wise ruler.

IT is always an advantage to have the laws of a kingdom as concise as possible. No one will ever be able to tell how much of litigation and consequent calamity has been caused in this country by the confused condition of our laws. When Napoleon issued his celebrated "Code Napoleon," which is an admirable summary of French Law, he conferred upon the empire one of the greatest gifts and proved himself a wise ruler. We want law to be put into such a form that it can be understood, and that its application to many cases can be discovered at once. In the great moral government of God we have no room to complain in this matter—the precepts of holiness are few and comprehensive. First of all, the whole of morality was summed up in the Ten Commandments, and written upon two tablets. Then, as if this were not concise enough, we have the whole Law summarized in two commands, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself." And even this is brought into shorter compass still, for that one word, "love," is the essence of all Divine Law. We, as Christians, find in the text an instance of the terseness, brevity, and clearness of Divine precepts. We have here a Law applicable to every Believer—to every action, word and thought—in every place, under all circumstances. And yet this comprehensive command is expressed in very few words. It is a great advantage to the mechanic to be able to carry with him in a small compass his square or rule by which he can adjust his materials, discover his errors, design correctly, and estimate his work when finished. Without such a rule he would be quite at a loss—with it he is ready for work. We have before us a compendious rule of life, a standard of morals, a guide to holiness which we may carry in our memories without the slightest difficulty.

Whatsoever ye do in word or deed - Let your words be right, and your actions upright. Do all in the name of the Lord Jesus - Begin with him, and end with him; invoke his name, and pray for his direction and support, in all that ye do; and thus every work will be crowned with all requisite success. Doing every thing in the name of God, and referring every thing to his glory, is as rational as it is pious. Could it be ever supposed that any person would begin a bad work in God’s name? However, it is so. No people in the universe more strictly adhere to the letter of this advice than the Mohammedans; for they never undertake a work, eat meat, nor write a book, without prefacing all with: - Bismillahi, Arrahmani, Arraheemi; “In the name of the most merciful and compassionate God.” Not only books of devotion, but books on all arts and sciences, books of tales and romances, books of poetry, and those on the elements of reading, etc., begin thus; nay, it is prefixed to the Lizit un Nissa, one of the most abominable productions that ever came from the pen of man, and is precisely the same among the Mohammedans, as the infamous work of Nicholas Chorier, called Elegantiae Latini Sermonis, falsely attributed to John Meursius, has been among some called Christians. Of both, with a trifling hyperbole, it may be said: “Surely these books were written in hell, and the author of them must certainly be the devil.” Giving thanks to God - Even praises, as well as prayers, must ascend to God through this Mediator. We have no authority to say that God will accept even our thanksgiving, unless it ascend to him through Christ Jesus.

It means that I do it in behalf of him. I do it in place of him.