28 February 2024
When I was studying at a seminary in Chicago, I got to know an overseas student who I seemed to cross paths with regularly while walking across campus to and from classes. As we passed by or stopped to chat, I’d ask him how he was doing. And his answer was always the same every day for three to four years: “I’m very thankful.”
At the time I thought it was a bit odd that this was always his answer, but I’ve been reflecting on that again lately. In particular, I’ve been wondering, how essential is being thankful to our continuation in the Christian faith?
We often think of thankfulness as something that is an incidental, even if reasonably important, additional detail to our faith. It’s one of those character traits that we sometimes wish we expressed more often, but seldom reflect on why that should be the case.
Furthermore, when we do think about it, it’s often something we separate from the core of our faith. We may think of it in terms of emotional stability, self care, learning to have a more positive outlook on life. None of these things are wrong of course. But is there more to thankfulness? Where could we go in the Bible to learn more about thankfulness?
Of course most people have heard of 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “give thanks in all circumstances” (perhaps said to us at an inappropriate time of pain by a well-meaning fellow Christian).[1] But is there anywhere that has some more instruction than just a verse?
Surprisingly, Paul’s little letter to the Colossians has a concentration of references to thanksgiving—with six specific references across these four short chapters (the verb “give thanks” in 1:3, 12; 3:17; the noun “thanksgiving” in 2:7; 4:2; and the adjective “thankful” in 3:15).
I’ll list them all here, and highlight the “thanksgiving” words to assist us in reflecting on this.[2]
Why does thankfulness feature so prominently in this letter? Does Paul expect us to always be on the lookout for various things to be thankful for? As is often the case, the context helps us here.
Paul’s expressed hope for the Colossian believers especially helps us unpack this. The key verses are 2:6–7: “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” This is the first explicit command in the letter and it highlights Paul’s concern for the Colossian believers to continue in their trust in the Lord Jesus.
The second exhortation in the letter comes in the very next verse where Paul exhorts them to “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (NIV84).
In other words, Paul urges the Colossians to continue to trust in Christ because there appears to be some who are seeking to distract them from the sufficiency of Christ. This alternative teaching insists on a set of rules and regulations that do not come from Christ and that will do the believers more harm than good because they will be led to rely on these extras rather than on Christ.
Where does thanksgiving fit into all this? Notice that thankfulness comes up right here in this central exhortation in these key verses: “continue … in him, rooted … built up … strengthened in faith … and overflowing with thankfulness.” In other words, thankfulness is a core ingredient for remaining in the faith and continuing to trust the Lord Jesus!
The following warning not to be enamored with some new sophisticated-sounding teaching that promises much with new techniques, serious and devoted spirituality, and steps to spiritual success also helps us understand Paul’s rationale here. Thankfulness is the antidote to being taken captive by teaching that has the appearance of wisdom but ultimately leads us away from Christ.
But how does it do that? In the opening verses of the letter Paul gives reasons for this thankfulness in anticipation of the central concern of the letter. In 1:3–4 before he transitions to the heart of his concerns for the Colossians, Paul begins by saying that he always thanks God when he prays for the Colossian believers.
In 1:4–5 Paul specifies two reasons for his thanksgiving to God (1:4) and indicates the basis for both (1:5a). The two reasons for Paul’s thankfulness are their faith in Christ Jesus and their love for all of God’s people. The basis for these was the secure heavenly hope that they heard about in the gospel. Although it is their faith and love that they exercise, God must be the source and initiator of these since Paul gives thanks to God for their presence in the Colossians’ lives.
In doing this, Paul already anticipates themes that he will bring up later in the letter. By highlighting God’s gracious initiative in salvation, Paul points them away from the inadequacy of the new rules of the false teachers and towards the sufficiency of God’s provision in the gospel of Christ.
Just as Paul began his prayer with thankfulness to the Father because he is the source of their faith and love, so also he concludes his opening prayer with the declaration that thankfulness is the characteristic not just of his own prayer but of all believers.
In 1:9–14, Paul includes “giving joyful thanks to the Father” as part of what it means to “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way” (1:10). Following this, Paul lists a series of blessings that the Father has done for the believer as the basis for this thankfulness: the Father has “qualified” us to share in the inheritance; he has “rescued” us from the dominion of darkness; he has “brought” us into the kingdom of his Son. Then Paul adds that in this Son we have “redemption” and “forgiveness” (of all sins, see Col 2:13).
Then Paul continues with an amazing description of the Son’s supremacy over creation and the new creation (1:15–20). So, working backwards: knowing the greatness of the Son (1:15–20) increases our grasp of the significance of being brought into his kingdom (1:13), which in turn fuels our joyful thanksgiving to the Father (1:12). In all of this Paul points to the gracious provision of the Father as expressed in the gospel about the sufficiency and sovereignty of the Son.
These opening references to thanksgiving, therefore, help to deepen our grasp of why Paul views thanksgiving as essential to our continuing perseverance in faith, and why it is an essential element in a life of continued trust in the Son.
Paul reminds believers that ultimately it is God’s work for us, not what we do, that defines who we are. Thankfulness arises from a recognition of Christ’s lordship as the Creator and Sustainer of all things (1:16–17). Thankfulness is also the antidote to the false teachings since the reminder of God’s gracious work in Christ and the sovereignty and sufficiency of Christ for believers helps to put the claims of others as to what our own accomplishments or activity might achieve into perspective. How could these rules and techniques improve on what the Father graciously provides in his magnificent Son?
These opening explanations of the basis for thankfulness then help explain the apparently passing references to thanksgiving later in the letter. In his summary statement of what it means to live out the new life we have in Christ, Paul concludes: “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” (3:17). Again, showing that “giving thanks” is intimately connected to all we do (in 3:15 Paul just simply adds, “And be thankful!”).
The final reference to thankfulness in Colossians is again linked with prayer: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (4:2). By concluding with prayer, Paul again reminds believers of our own weakness and inadequacy and of Christ’s sufficiency and sovereignty.
The accompanying ‘watchfulness’ is due to our tendency to be taken in by substitutes for Christ, especially the tendency to rely on ourselves and our susceptibility to teaching that encourages us to do so. Like Paul’s own prayer at the beginning of the letter, this concluding exhortation to pray is also accompanied “with thanksgiving” (CSB, ESV, NRSV).
The two, prayer and thankfulness, are inseparable in this letter. Prayer, as an acknowledgement of our own weakness, expresses dependence on Christ, with an eye on potential distractions from him and with thankfulness for his sufficiency and sovereignty.
The reasons for thankfulness in Colossians, therefore, are not abstract or random things that we notice around us (as good as it is to notice those things). In Colossians the reasons for thankfulness are the amazing gracious provision from the Father of deliverance, redemption, forgiveness, new life, and more, that we have in the sufficiency and sovereignty of the Son—all of which is found in the gospel message of grace (1:6).
Additional human-invented rules and techniques can’t compete with that! Thankfulness, therefore, for all we have in Christ is an antidote to distractions and departure from the gospel and an essential element in our perseverance in the faith; that is, our continuing trust in the Lord Jesus.
Alan Thompson
SMBC Head of New Testament
[1] Unless otherwise noted, translations are from the NIV 2011 edition.
[2] The following discussion draws from Alan J. Thompson, Colossians and Philemon: An Introduction and Commentary. TNTC. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2022.
Like to go deeper into the theological riches of Colossians? Alan Thompson has a TNTC Commentary – Colossians and Philemon: An Introduction and Commentary that will leave you with a thorough understanding of the content and structure of Paul’s writing, as well as its meaning and continued relevance for Christians today.
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