“And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”
“giving thanks to God the Father through Him”
God asks us to give thanks three times in three verses (Co 3:15, 16, 17).
The added thought here is that we give thanks “through Him” (John 14:6; Romans 1:8; 1 Timothy 2:5). There is no way to relate to God except through his Son. People cannot connect to God if they have never accepted Christ as their Savior. We fellowship with God based on what Christ has done for us. We pray “in Jesus’ name.”
The capacity to give thanks depends upon our recognition of God’s grace provided through His Son in the Word and His activity in our lives. If, for example, we do not recognize God’s amazing love for us, we obviously cannot give thanks for that kind of love. We can emotionally gush from a void of knowledge, but that is not genuine thanksgiving.
The gift is not the important thing but the Giver. Thanksgiving is a genuine love response to someone who loves us. God can provide anything for us. He gives more than we can ever receive. God never runs out of money, ideas, and the capacity to intervene for us. The problem is that we focus on the gift rather than the Giver. A believer adequately oriented to the Son never loses track of the Giver. The gift is almost inconsequential.
Principle:
God wants us to give thanks based on the Giver rather than the gift.
Application:
Here is the difference between a person who recognizes the gift rather than the giver. Suppose a girl receives two presents from two different men. One man gives her a better gift than the other. If she orients to the gift rather than the giver, she makes a great mistake. She will fall for a man who may have less capacity of the soul to love her. True biblical thanksgiving always focuses on the Giver rather than the gift. If we focus on the Giver, the Son who provided everything we need, we will have the capacity to enjoy the gift no matter what it may be.
The application here is so true and can further be appreciated when you consider the author is Paul. His persecutions and trials were numerous. In addition, he had some sort of thorn that was so intense he asked the Lord to remove it from his life. Since we never see evidence of him asking for persecutions and other trials to be removed from his life, I am guessing that this thorn he apparently dealt with his entire life was extremely difficult. And yet throughout all of this, he remains focus on the worthy goal of Christ and continues to give thanks! He truly was focused on the giver! – absolutely amazing.
What is the proper way to give thanks for rain? My understanding is all thanks for everything is to God or would it also be ok to say thank-you Jesus for the rain?
Mark, go to this study, then advance to the next study from there: https://versebyversecommentary.com/1999/08/23/1-thessalonians-518/
So Grant my conclusion is we Thank God the Father in everything through Jesus Christ but i have fellow Christians telling me its ok to give thanks to Jesus or the Holy Spirit because they are all one God in nature. For me i want to make sure i am doing it right
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So Grant my conclusion is we Thank God the Father in everything through Jesus Christ but i have fellow Christians telling me its ok to give thanks to Jesus or the Holy Spirit because they are all one God in nature. For me i want to make sure i am doing it right
Mark, the precedent of Scripture is that we pray to the Father in Jesus’ name and in the power of the Holy Spirit. There is no precedent for praying as your friends do, however, it is no unpardonable sin to pray otherwise.