If you missed the introductory post to this series you can catch it here.
In his letter to the church at Colossae (to the Colossians), the Apostle Paul begins by expressing his thanks for these believers of Jesus, who he calls saints, because of their faith in Jesus and love for each other. Paul reminds them that all of this is the result of the work of the gospel, the good news about Jesus, that was recently brought to them. He then tells these saints that he has prayed for them that their faith in this Jesus they had embraced through the gospel would lead to changed lives; lives filled with the knowledge of God and producing the fruit of good works and increased knowledge of God.
Then he writes these encouraging words:
[11] May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, [12] giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. [13] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, [14] in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
What amazing prayer! It’s one that we would do well to make our own. To setup the rest of this series of reflections on the verses to follow, I want to highlight one profound truth Paul points the Colossians attention to. This is something true for them because of their conversion through faith in Jesus and it’s true for every Christian believer since:
We are quite literally moved from one manner of existence to another.
“He has delivered us from…and transferred us to…” We are rescued from the darkness that defines every man and women from all time that is the result of our sin. In some real way, we are plucked out of that life and transferred to Jesus Kingdom. We are quite literally moved from one manner of existence to another. The rest of our lives is a working out of our new reality and with a new King and inclusion in a new Kingdom. Jesus changes everything. How has he changed you? How is your life as someone he has redeemed and forgiven bearing fruit that reflects your new reality?
If you want to dig a little deeper into this theologically-packed passage, here are some worthwhile questions to ask about these verses:
- Why do we need the endurance and patience Paul prays for?
- What does he mean the Father has “qualified” you to share in an inheritance?
- What is this inheritance?
- Where, or what are we delivered from?
- Redemption is..?
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