THE SALVATION OF THE COLOSSIANS

Col. 1:12-14

Morning Meditation 3/17/17

Verses 12-14 say, "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."

There are four great truths that suggest themselves to us in these verses. First,

THE AUTHOR OF SALVATION IS IDENTIFIED

Paul speaks of , "Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet . . ." The word "Father" translates "pater" and means, " the generator or male ancestor." God reveals Himself as the Father of Christ. John 3:16 brings this out: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

The words "only begotten" translate "monogenes" which is made up of two words, "monos" which means, "alone (without a companion), forsaken, destitute of help, alone, only," and "ginomai" which means, "to become, i.e. to come into existence, begin to be, receive being." This is speaking of God acting in the Virgin Birth to bring Jesus into the world as His Saviour for mankind. Jesus is one of a kind. There will be no others. When Jesus explained to His mother the reason He was in the temple talking with the doctors, He identified God as His Father: Luke 2:49 says, "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?" Jesus uses the phrase "my Father" thirty-five times in John's gospel alone.

Jesus taught His disciples to pray, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name" (Matthew 6:9). God is the believer's Father. Salvation brings us into a new relationship with God. It is a relationship established by birth not works. If God is your Father, you have been born into that relationship. This is something to praise Him for.

Next we see,

THE QUALIFYING EFFECTS OF SALVATION

Paul says, "which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."

The words "hath made us meet" translate "hikanoo" and mean, "to make sufficient, render fit, to equip one with adequate power to perform duties of one." It is an aorist active participle. The meaning with the aorist tense is that He qualified us, rendered us fit, equipped us with adequate power to preform the duties of a child, and He did it in a once for all act. That once for all act was at the point of salvation, i.e., the new birth. My worthiness is not an earned quality it is a given quality. I have been given His righteousness (Rom. 5:17) and this is my qualification before the throne.

This is a qualification of grace. It is not earned after salvation. Salvation is the qualifying act. The word "inheritance" translates "kleros" and means, "what is obtained by lot, an allotted portion." The saints have been given an "allotted portion" (Eph. 1:3) and salvation qualifies us to partake of that allotted portion. Hallelujah! The words "in light" probably refer to the Shekinah glory or the manifest presence of God in the Shekinah. The saints have been given an inheritance in the very manifest presence of God. Amen!

Then next we see,

THE ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM OF CHRIST

Paul says, "Who that delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." There are two important acts in this verse:

1. The first act is brought out in the word "delivered." This word translates "rhoumai" and means, "to draw to one's self, to rescue, to deliver." The word is referring to a daring rescue. It is Jesus going after one who is about to go over the edge when any possibility of rescue has been ruled out. It is like those who watch this scene have given up and stand there to watch the inevitable when suddenly just before he goes over the edge, Jesus comes on the scene and does the impossible, i.e., delivers him from certain death. The verb is aorist middle indicative. The aorist tense means that the deliverance of which Paul speaks has already taken place in a once for all act. The middle voice means that the Father acted in His own behalf in the deliverance. God is not passive in salvation. We are delivered by Him in a hands-on act. The words "from the power of darkness" describe where we were before we were saved. The word "power" translates "exousia" and means, "power of choice, liberty of doing as one pleases." This is Satan's realm. It is the realm where all unsaved people are and from which there is no escape without the intervention of God.

Just a note at this point. The power of darkness is where men do what they want. They have the liberty to make choices without God in mind. It is described as "darkness." Darkness is the absence of light, and God is Light. Satan is the god of the world of darkness. This is where the liberty to do what you want apart from God takes you. This whole realm is going to be eternally separated from God. People who escape this realm have to make a choice to allow God to rescue them. This is the deliverance of which this verse speaks.

2. The second act is brought out in the words, "hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." The words "hath translated" translate "methistemi" and mean, "transfer, remove from one place to another, of change of situation or place." It is an aorist active indicative verb. This means that it happened at a point of time. It was not a progressive thing. This translation has already occurred to those to whom Paul writes.. It is as Jesus said, "If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15:19). John 17:14 says, "I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world." We as believers have been taken out of one kingdom and put into another. We are right now in the kingdom of God. The word that is used to describe this transfer is "translated."

Then last of all, lets look at,

TWO GREAT DOCTRINES OF SALVATION

Paul says, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."

1. The word "redemption" identifies the first great doctrine. This word translates "apolutrosis" and means, "a releasing effected by payment of ransom." Man is a slave of sin and Satan. Escape from this situation is not only by "translation" but it is also by a legal purchase. The price of redemption is seen in the words, "through his blood." Peter confirms this as the price of redemption: 1 Pet. 1:18-19, "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot." The words "we have" translate "echo" and mean, "To have or to hold in the hand." It is a present active indicative verb which means we continue to have in the present tense of our lives the redemption of which this verse speaks.

2. The word "forgiveness" identifies the second great doctrine. The word translates "aphesis" and means, "forgiveness or pardon, of sins (letting them go as if they had never been committed), remission of the penalty." You will notice that the word "sins" is in the plural. It is not just original sin for which Jesus forgives. He forgives all sins.

Conclusion: We see in these verses the Author of salvation identified, the qualifying effects of our salvation, the way we enter the kingdom, and the two great doctrines associated with salvation. We can address God as our Father, we have the assurance that our experience of salvation qualifies us to partake of the inheritance of the saints by entering into the holiest for fellowship, and to have the awareness that we are in the world but not of the world, i.e., we belong to a different kingdom while still here, that we have been redeemed by the blood and set free and forgiven of all sins. Amen and amen!

May the Lord bless these word to our hearts.

In Christ,

Bro. Earl White