III. The unvarying spirit in which Christian duty is to be done.—“Giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.” They who do all things in Christ’s name will never want matter of thanksgiving to God. The apostle has frequently referred to this duty of gratitude, and he evidently regarded it as a very important element of the Christian character. It was Christianity that first taught the duty of being thankful even in trial and suffering. We are to thank God for the privilege of acting so that we may honour Him. A thankful spirit has a blessedness and a power of blessing which those only realise who cherish it. All thanksgiving is to be offered to God the Father by Jesus Christ, as He is our only mediator, and it is through Him we obtain whatever good the Father bestows upon us. The giving of thanks to God is one of the highest duties of religious worship; and if this be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, then all subordinate duties must be done in the same manner.

Lessons.—1. The name of Christ is the greatest power in the universe. 2. All duty gathers its significance and blessedness from its relation to Christ. 3. A thankful spirit is happy in enterprise, brave in difficulties, and patient in reverses.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSE.

Ver. 17 (compared with 1 Cor. xi. 24). The Lord’s Supper the Sample of the Christian Life.

  1. All the objects around us are to be regarded by us as being symbols and memorials of our Lord.
  2. Every act of our life is to be done from the same motive as that holy communion.
  3. All life, like the communion of the Lord’s Supper, may be and ought to be a showing forth of Christ’s death.
  4. This communion is in itself one of the mightiest means for making the whole of life like itself.—A. Maclaren.

Doing all in the Name of Christ.

  1. Doing it as His agent.
  2. We are not our own, but His.
  3. Whatever it is right to do is His work.—T. G. Crippen.

Christ in the Practical Life.

  1. Here we find a rule of life.
  2. Here we find a motive.
  3. Here we find our life redeemed.—Preacher’s Magazine.

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Verses 18, 19.