Three Great Fatherly Actions (Colossians 1:12-14)

These verses are connected to Paul’s prayer for the Colossians. He is giving thanks to the Father for what he has done for his people. In particular, Paul says that the Father has done three things for them: he has qualified them, he has delivered them, and he has transferred them. Of course, these are not the only blessings that the Father has provided. But the three that Paul mentions are remarkable displays of the Father’s amazing grace.

 

We are qualified

One question that arises from this statement is to ask if Paul is describing something future or present when he mentions the inheritance of the saints in light. It is not a way that we are accustomed to speak, so we can break it down a bit in order to help us understand what he means by this description.

 

First, what does it mean to be ‘in the light’? Obviously, it is the opposite of being in darkness. The state of spiritual darkness is the condition of every unconverted person. Therefore someone who is in the light is a converted person. The light is where he now finds himself as opposed to being in darkness as he used to be. In contrast, the unconverted are darkened in their understanding and cannot see the goodness of God revealed in the gospel.

 

The apostle John says to his readers that ‘if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin’ (1 John 1:7). John tells us that to be in the light is to be in the presence of God, which is not a reference to his omnipresence, but to his gracious presence. They also have fellowship with God and they also experience ongoing cleansing from their sins. Clearly, John uses the illustration to describe the way that a Christian lives now, and not the way that he will live in heaven, because in heaven he will not be guilty of sin and need cleansing.

 

Second, we can ask what the inheritance of the saints is. The inheritance is what they receive from the Father. Since he has given it, it is an eternal inheritance, one that will never end. But when did they become heirs? They became heirs at conversion when they believed in Jesus. So their enjoyment of the inheritance commenced when they first believed. It will be enjoyed in greater measure in the future, but they experience it already.

 

In another letter, Paul explains how this happens. When he writes to the Ephesians, he reminds them that the Holy Spirit who indwells them is the earnest or the down payment of the inheritance, which means that he gives to them foretastes of heaven. The inheritance in this life is not so much geographical space but experiences given to us by the Holy Spirit. Similar to how the children of Israel had their God-given inheritance in Canaan after being redeemed from Egypt, so believers have their inheritance blessings conveyed to them by the Spirit after they have been redeemed from the slavery of sin. 

 

Those blessings include assurance of salvation, access to God in prayer, communion with Jesus, sanctification by the Spirit, changed gradually into the likeness of Christ, anticipation of glory, joy in the Holy Spirit, peace of God in their hearts as a guard against the devil’s attacks, and a sense of the love of God poured into their hearts.

 

Third, how does the Father qualify us? Qualification is not something that we achieve through our efforts at pleasing God. Rather, the qualification is like what happens when a person becomes a citizen of another country, which happens when he or she applies for citizenship. The terms for heavenly citizenship are that we have faith in Jesus and repent of our sins. When we do that, the Father justifies us and adopts us into his family. It is very important that we continually remind ourselves of this divine qualification because otherwise we will turn to some form of legalism as a means of being recognised by God, which is not only a sinful response, but a sad response.

 

No doubt we know what happens in justification and adoption. One refers to our standing in God’s sight and the other refers to our status. Our standing is sure because the perfect righteousness of Jesus is reckoned as ours before the courts of God’s justice; our status is the highest relationship we could be given, as sons of God. Sometimes, our understanding of sons and children causes us to miss what adoption means. When Paul speaks of sons, he means firstborn sons, those who are the heirs. In an earthly family, there could only be one firstborn son; in the heavenly family, all the sons are firstborn sons, who each have a right to all the privileges of the sons of God.

 

We should not be surprised that Paul gave thanks to the Father for those wonderful expressions of his grace. When we think of expressing thankfulness to the Father, how should we say it? For example, is there a difference between when a man says thanks to a waiter for a meal and says thanks to his wife for a meal? The meal presented in the restaurant may be very good, but it is not the product of love or based on information of what the eater needs or appreciates. It is always a meal at a distance, even if your table is nearest to the kitchen. The meal provided by his wife is an expression of love, of interest, of knowledge, and it is never a meal from a distance. In a far higher sense, how should we express gratitude to God? From the heart, with great delight and constant appreciation.

 

Deliverance (v. 13)

What is needed in order for deliverance to occur? There must be captives or prisoners, there must be a plan, and there must be an occasion of the deliverance happening. All people by nature are captives in the domain of darkness. Earlier we saw that darkness was the opposite of light. Light means that we are reconciled to God, so darkness means that we are estranged from God.

 

When did this estrangement occur? It happened when Adam fell in the Garden of Eden. People find it strange that the Bible speaks in this way and that is because they forget that the Bible is basically the account of how God deals with two representatives, one being Adam and the other being Jesus. The Bible sees all of us as either being linked to being Adam or Jesus. There is nothing unfair about being linked to either of them. In the Garden of Eden, Adam was an ideal representative. All he had to do was please God and avoid eating of a particular tree. Why did he fall? Curiosity perhaps. Suspicion that God was keeping something from him, which we now know God was doing for Adam’s good because he was keeping him from evil when he told him how to avoid it. One lesson for us is to avoid the first link in a wrong chain of reactions. Adam started the chain with a small link, but it led to disastrous results. He failed himself and he failed those he represented. 

 

Jesus in contrast to Adam never started a chain that led to sin. We can see his responses to the temptations offered to him by the devil in the desert. On each occasion, Jesus dismissed them immediately. Jesus could not fail, which means that he is a much better representative. But how did he become our representative? By God the Father having a plan. He saw us led into captivity to the devil by our sin. We were slaves in a dark empire, and one of the sad features of this domain is that we could not see what had happened to us.

 

The Father’s plan involved his Son becoming a man in order to die on the cross and pay the penalty for our sins. This method of deliverance was an expression of divine love and it required Jesus to experience darkness when he was forsaken by the Father. But more had to be done in order for deliverance to be experienced by the captives. They had to be informed about it, they had to be invited to receive it, and they had to be given life in order to understand it and embrace it. This was arranged by the Father in his providence, and this arranging takes place every day as sinners are drawn by the Father to Jesus.

 

Transferred (v. 13)

Earlier, we mentioned the circumstance of a person becoming a qualified citizen of another country. Here, those from the land of night are transferred to the kingdom of light. How are they transferred, because a transfer implies movement? The answer is that the Father does this by the power of the Spirit. Although there is a huge gulf between the domain of darkness and the kingdom of light, the transfer is immediate on a person believing the gospel.

 

What is meant by Paul when he refers to the kingdom of Jesus? Jesus is a king in several ways, and we should identify which way is intended. For example, because he is God, Jesus is an eternal king, but that is not what is meant here. Moreover, Jesus is the ruler over his enemies, including the devil, but that is not what is meant here. Instead, Jesus is the head or king of his spiritual kingdom, or his mediatorial kingdom. When he ascended to heaven, he took his place on the throne of God as the Mediator to govern his kingdom.

 

Since it is a kingdom, it means that we are the subjects of Jesus. We recognise that he is Lord, that we are his servants, and we show our allegiance to him by ongoing obedience. This obedience is a glad submission because we know that Jesus rules for the benefit of his people. One reason why it is a glad obedience is because the atmosphere of the kingdom of Jesus is that of love, love which flows out from the love that exists between the Father and the Son. In his kingdom, the rules are connected to loving God and loving one another. It is a wonderful kingdom to belong to, a kingdom of sinners who have become sons and saints.

 

How can we summarise our response to those three Fatherly blessings? Here are three suggestions. First, we must realise that we must have them personally. In order to be in the kingdom, we need to be qualified to enter, delivered from the enemy’s domain,  and been transferred into the realm of Jesus by the Father. As far as our experience is concerned, it begins when we trust in Jesus. At that time, we experience the power of divine grace which always changes those it touches. 

 

Second, once a person has received those blessings of qualification, deliverance and transfer, they cannot be lost. They are permanent descriptions of a Christian. He is qualified to live in the presence of God, he is delivered from the domain of sin, and he is a member of the kingdom of Jesus. While a Christian’s enjoyment of his new status will increase and decrease, the status remains the same.

 

Third, each of the Fatherly blessings has practical effects in the lives of true believers. Those who dwell in the light live holy lives despite their remaining sin, those who have been delivered from the domain of darkness are delivered more and more from the power of sin in their lives, and those who are subjects of the Saviour’s kingdom serve him according to his rules. Each of these blessings will bring change into a sinner’s heart, change that will be obvious. We are obliged to make sure that we are in the kingdom of Jesus.