The phrase "Thanks be to God" is commonly used in Christian worship services as a liturgical response used to acknowledge and give thanks for the reading or proclamation of God's Word, typically after a passage from the Bible is read during a church service. It's a way for the congregation to express gratitude for the message and teachings found in the scriptures.
We say 'Thanks be to God' to express gratitude and acknowledge God's role and blessings in our lives. This phrase is a way of giving thanks and recognizing God as the source of all goodness and blessings.
Where is 'Thanks Be To God' to Scripture?
For Apostle Paul, giving thanks to God was an action, not an emotion. As he states in 1 Corinthians 15, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (1 Corinthians 15:55-58)
Throughout the Bible, God commands that we be thankful in action, for by your fruits He shall know you. Here are related scripture quotes to "thanks be to God":
Psalm 35:18 - "I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you."
1 Chronicles 16:34 - "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever."
1 Thessalonians 5:18 - "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus."
2 Corinthians 2:14: "But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere."
2 Corinthians 9:15: "Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
Romans 7:25 (NIV): "Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!"
How to Give Our Thanks to God
Obviously, we can give thanks to God by saying a prayer of gratitude from our hearts. We have gathered a number of powerful Prayers of Thanksgiving to guide you in declaring your appreciation to God.
Furthermore, we can give thanks to God in how we treat others! How can we say we love God and are thankful for Him if we treat our neighbor with contempt and judgment? If we truly love God, we have love for all people, as we are all icons of God, made in His image.
As written in 1 John 4:7-8, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." Christ himself instructed us in the Greatest Commandments, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." (Matthew 22:39)
In loving others as ourselves, we give thanks to God by treating them well. Through helping others in need as we are able, by almsgiving and prayer, we give thanks to God for His love and blessings.
To help you in thanking God, we created a 30 Days of Gratitude Prayer Guide HERE. Download and print this guide to keep with you as a reminder of God's love and promises.
Importance of Gratitude
The importance of 1 Corinthians 15:57 saying "thanks be to God" is that which apostle Paul is giving thanks for. That is, the victory Christ has won, triumphing over death and releasing us from the bonds of sin and death.
Therefore let us say earnestly, "thanks be to God!" Let us live our lives in this victory of Christ. May we truly know and embody His victory by our repentance, love for God, and sincere gratitude to Christ, our Lord and savior!
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
Saint Basil the Great advised us to do this as early as the 4th century:
”When you sit down to eat‚ pray. When you eat bread‚ do so thanking Him for being so generous to you. If you drink wine‚ be mindful of Him who has given it to you for your pleasure and as a relief in sickness. When you dress‚ thank Him for His kindness in providing you with clothes. When you look at the sky and the beauty of the stars‚ throw yourself at God’s feet and adore Him who in His wisdom has arranged things in this way. Similarly‚ when the sun goes down and when it rises‚ when you are asleep or awake‚ give thanks to God‚ who created and arranged all things for your benefit‚ to have you know‚ love and praise their Creator.”
To help you in thanking God, we created a 30 Days of Gratitude Prayer Guide HERE. Download and print this guide to keep with you as a reminder of God's love and promises.
Bible Commentary on 1 Corinthians 15
If this triumph of the saints over death should issue in thanksgiving to God: "Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through Christ Jesus, our Lord." The way to sanctify all our joy is to make it tributary to the praise of God. Then only do we enjoy our blessings and honors in a holy manner when God has his revenue of glory out of it, and we are free to pay it to him. And this really improves and exalts our satisfaction. We are conscious at once of having done our duty and enjoyed our pleasure.
Those who remain under the power of death can have no heart to praise; but such conquests and triumphs will certainly tune the tongues of the saints to thankfulness and praise—praise for the victory (it is great and glorious in itself), and for the means whereby it is obtained (it is given of God through Christ Jesus), a victory obtained not by our power, but the power of God; not given because we are worthy, but because Christ is so, and has by dying obtained this conquest for us.
Must not this circumstance endear the victory to us, and heighten our praise to God? Note, How many springs of joy to the saints and thanksgiving to God are opened by the death and resurrection, the sufferings and conquests, of our Redeemer! With what acclamations will saints rising from the dead applaud him! How will the heaven of heavens resound his praises forever! Thanks be to God will be the burden of their song; and angels will join the chorus, and declare their consent with a loud Amen, Hallelujah. (Matthew Henry Commentary)
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