As we move into a new year, it is popular to make resolutions regarding how we will do things differently next year. A new year encourages us to think about having a fresh start, live different, and purpose to make some important changes in our lives. But we more importantly need to use this time think about the spiritual changes that we need to make so that we can present ourselves to God as instruments of righteousness and faithful servants. In Colossians 3 we read the apostle Paul teaching how to live as God’s chosen people (cf. Colossians 3:12). For our lesson today, I want to focus on three instructions Paul gives and use these as encouraging spiritual resolutions for 2026.
Let the Peace of Christ Rule Your Hearts (Colossians 3:15)
One of the descriptions of God’s people is that we are people who are peaceable and are peacemakers. In Colossians 3:15 we are provided a strong picture of how this is our identity. The peace of Christ is to rule in our hearts. Before we talk about this, I want us to simply think about if this is how you would describe yourself and if others would say this about you. What I also want us to think about is that this is something we are being commanded to do. This is not about if we have a calm or peaceful personality. This is about letting Christ change our lives so that we are letting the peace of Christ rule our hearts so that our words and actions show this. We have recently been studying Romans 6 where we learn that sin is not to rule over us. But in this scripture we see that the peace of Christ is to rule over us. The peace of Christ ruling our lives is in contrast to have jealousy, envy, angst, anger, malice, strife, rivalry, dissensions, or divisions ruling our hearts. We need to think about how we are acting as people of peace in the relationships that we have. Are we peaceable in our relationships in the home, regarding our marriages, children, and parents? Are we peaceable in the workplace toward those we work with and those who are in charge of us? Are we peaceable in our neighborhood? Are we peaceable with the people we interact with in the community? The peace of Christ is to rule our hearts. Christ brought peace and reconciliation to us and we are to be instruments of peace and reconciliation with others in our lives.
Further, the apostle Paul says that the peace of Christ is to rule our hearts because we have been called into one body. This is an important image. Can you imagine your physical body being at war with itself? Can you imagine your body parts not being at peace with each other? We are to look at each other as if we are one family, as one body working together. Therefore, peace must rule our hearts if we are going to be the body of Christ. This means we are going to be thoughtful and careful about how we speak to each other. We are going to quick to hear each other, slow to speak back, and slow to anger. We are going to have controlled spirits so that we are not reactionary to each other but are calculating what needs to be said and what needs to be done to make peace. We are taking every thought captive and making it obey Christ. We are going to live circumspectly and carefully, redeeming the time that is given to us. The place we practice the peace of Christ ruling us is within the body of Christ. If we struggle with speaking and acting peaceably with each other, how will we ever show the peace of Christ to the world?
So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. (Romans 14:19 ESV)
What is going to help us get there? Look at the end of verse 15. “And be thankful.” The peace of Christ cannot rule our hearts if we lack an attitude of gratitude toward God and toward each other. Be thankful. Be thankful for this person in your life rather than being upset about them. Be thankful for the good this person is in your life rather than only focusing on the bad things. All of us will fall short but we can still be thankful for each other. Be at peace and be people of peace in 2026.
Let the Message of Christ Richly Live In You (Colossians 3:16)
Second, let the teaching of Christ dwell in you richly. I want us to think about how the apostle Paul pictures this for our lives. The message of Christ needs to live in you. The word translated “dwell” in most translations is a word that is used for living in a house. The picture is that your mind and your body are the house and what needs to live there is the message of Christ. But Paul said more than this. He said that the message of Christ is to live in you richly. It is supposed to live in us abundantly. The message of Christ is not supposed to have a small closet in the heart of your life. The word of the Lord is dominant in our lives, taking up residence in every space. The word of Christ is pictured as saturating every area within us. We must look at our lives and honestly answer if we are allowing the word of Christ live abundantly in our hearts and minds.
You will notice that the apostle Paul provides some tools for the message of Christ to live richly in us. He says that we are going to teach and admonish each other in all wisdom. Paul does not say that word richly living in you is merely an individual effort. He does not tell us to stay home and study the scriptures alone. You will notice that there is a responsibility to each other. In verse 15 the apostle Paul reminded us that we are one body. So we are not staying home, using technology to learn about Christ. We are committed to teaching each other in all wisdom. We are going to counsel and guide each other in all wisdom with the word of Christ. The word of Christ will richly live in us and we will speak the word of Christ to each other in all wisdom with the purpose of teaching and directing.
Not only this, but another tool we are to use is to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to each other. Song is another means for the word of Christ to live richly in us. Song has the amazing ability to stick into our minds. Sometimes that is for the bad where you notice a song stuck in your head that you want to get rid of but cannot do it. But this trait has a spiritual positive to us as we put songs of the word of Christ into our heads, they will stick with us and live richly in us. We have many songs that teach to remain faithful and obey the Lord. We have many songs that remind us of God’s faithfulness to us and the great salvation we have received. These are important words that we are to sing to each other. I would like to make the point that this is the purpose of our singing. Many churches today have move to performance and entertainment music. The point of worship is not for you to listen to people sing songs to you that move your spirit. The point of worship is that every person sing to each other so that, not only may your spirit be moved, but more so that the word of Christ will richly live in your hearts and minds.
But what if we do not feel like singing? Look at the end of verse 16. Singing will generate from within us when we have thankfulness to the Lord in our hearts. If we are thankful to the Lord, then as difficult as our day may be and as broken we may feel, we will have words and songs to say. There is always something to be thankful for, even in our deepest pain. Even Job, when he lost everything, could say, “Blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21). Make this new year a time when you will let the word of Christ live richly in you. Make this new year a time when you will be with other Christians so that you can teach and admonish with all wisdom and sing with thankfulness to the Lord to each other.
Let the Name of Christ Determine Your Course (Colossians 3:17)
The third point Paul gives to us is that we will let the name of Christ determine our course. Listen to how the apostle Paul describes what are lives are to look like in verse 17. He tells us that whatever we do in your words or in your actions, everything is to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus. In the Old Testament if someone came “in the name of the Lord,” then this meant that you were coming by the Lord’s authority and as the Lord’s representative. For example, when David encounters Goliath, he proclaims:
Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.” (1 Samuel 17:45 ESV)
The prophet Micah makes this proclamation:
For all the peoples walk each in the name of its god, but we will walk in the name of the LORD our God forever and ever. (Micah 4:5 ESV)
What I want us to see that to do something in the name of the Lord means that you are doing this action by God’s authority. You are doing this for God. This is what the apostle Paul is teaching us. Everything we say is to be by the authority of Christ. Everything we do is to be by the authority of Christ. Our Lord and Savior is not a Sunday only concern. Everything we say and do is for the glory of Christ in our lives and to the world. In this new year we need to double down on our efforts to do everything for Jesus. We must consider if the words we are about to say are the words Jesus wants us to say. We must consider if the actions we are doing are the acts that Jesus wants us to do. This is an amazing standard. God does not tell us to do 80% of our lives in the name of the Lord Jesus. It is to be 100% for Jesus.
How can we possibly live 100% for Jesus? Look at the rest of verse 17. “Giving thanks to God the Father through him.” How are we going to change our words and our actions so that they are by the authority of Christ? We will do this because we are so thankful to God through Christ. We are so thankful for what he has done for us. We are so thankful that we are in relationship with him and that we have been set free from our sins to live lives of holiness to him. Let the name of Christ control the totality of your life and determine your course. Bear the name of Christ in everything you say and do. Let your conduct always represent Jesus. Let Christ reshape your speech. Let Jesus be represented in every relationship you have. Let Jesus determine every decision, whether big or small.
Conclusion
Did you notice a common thread in each of the three teachings that Paul gives us to us in this section. In verse 15 we are to let the peace of Christ rule our lives and be thankful. In verse 16 we are to let the message Christ live richly in us with thankfulness in our heart to God. In verse 17 we are let the authority of Christ rule our actions and words, giving thanks to God the Father. Thanksgiving is the thread that weaves through these three commands. Thankfulness is the fuel to ignite these changes in our lives. Thankfulness to God will move us to let the peace of Christ be the rule of our lives. Thankfulness to God will move us to want more of Christ’s message living in our hearts, spilling over in teaching and singing to each other. Thankfulness to God will move us to run all of our decisions, words, and actions through the name of Jesus before we say or do it. The strength for change in the new year will come from thankfulness to our God.