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Colossians 1:12-14
The Holy Spirit had enlightened Paul to the underlying reason as to why there were those in the
assembly in Colosse who were being beguiled by false teaching. Although many had believed
into Christ, to be saved, not all had continued to become established in the faith.
Without understanding the will of the Father for them, as His sons, they lacked the ability to live
their righteousness; the righteousness that Christ had died to give them.
This lack of sanctification gave them a sense of separation from God. They began to perceive
God as afar off, at a distance; when in reality, they had distanced themselves, through continuing
in sin. And now, they were seeking a solution elsewhere from the cultural environment in
which they lived, in the world the very world that the Lord had called them out of.
Paul knew it is through understanding the Fathers will His good purposes for His sons that
His sons come to know how much the Father loves them. They come to know God, who is Love.
And His love cultivates in their hearts the desire to reciprocate; to love God, back.
Enlightened to the will of God for them, as sons, they now have the desire to please Him. And
that motivates their obedience to God; their love for the Lord provides them with the strength to
carry out His will, in their lives; the power, to walk worthy of Him. In this way, the light
becomes the power to walk.
Turn to Ephesians chapter 3. Having written this letter at the same time as Colossians, we find
many parallel passages in it. This particular passage corresponds to Pauls prayer in Colossians.
This was Pauls request for believers, as sons of their Father, God.
[Ephesians 3:14-19]
v. 14-16 In this letter also, the prayer is for strength; power, for the living of their lives as the
Holy Spirit enlightens them. Now Paul describes how this comes to pass.
v. 17-19 When they first believed, they received the Incorruptible Seed, Christ; they received
His life; Eternal Life. Thats what their life is now rooted in, and grounded upon in what,
specifically, according to Paul? It is rooted and grounded in . love; the love of God. Thats
what their life on earth now grows out of; what it is now built upon; a love-life.
Paul says that as they grow in their understanding of God, through the Spirit, they will really
come to know the love of Christ; not know about it, but experience it. By this, they will be filled
with all the fullness of God filled with what? Love. The love of God. The love, by which
their life in Christ is lived.
This fullness is the very thing that so many in the assembly in Colosse were lacking; and had
begun to look for, in other places.
[Return to Colossians 1]

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As we continue in our passage, Paul transitions from his prayer into his teaching, of the
Colossian assembly. Well read the prayer one more time, along with the next two verses.
[Colossians 1: 9-14]
In verse 12, Paul is relating what the Father has planned, for His sons. In verse 13, he shows the
specific action that the Father has taken, to accomplish His plan. And finally, in verse 14, Paul
reveals the means by which the Father could execute that action; the means was His Son.
Now last week, we noted that a person cannot be thankful for what he doesnt know he has. Paul
intends to enlighten the Colossian believers to what they have, so they really understand what the
Father has done for them.
Paul says that the Father has qualified us Paul is speaking of all believers here to share
together in an inheritance. Hes both conferred this privilege upon us, as well as rendering us fit
for it; and thats past tense; the Father has already done it.
This is the inheritance of the saints in the light; thats what Paul is calling those who believe.
What do we remember it is to be a saint? It is a sanctified one; set apart to God, for His
purposes. Believers are set apart to the Father, in the realm of light. This is where they partake
of their inheritance.
Now, an inheritance is something that is conferred upon an individual; no one earns an
inheritance; they simply receive it. What is the basis, for receiving it? Relationship.
In Pauls day, according to Roman law, all of the children in a household shared in the
inheritance of their father. That is to say that inheritance is based on birth; being born into the
family.
The moment you believed, you were born again into whose family? The family of God the
Father. We became His children, and as such, we became His heirs.
But what exactly is our inheritance? Do you remember the passage we looked at last week,
where Peter speaks of our living hope as an inheritance? It is incorruptible, and undefiled, and
does not fade away; and its reserved in heaven for you (1 Pet 1:3-4).
What was he describing? The glorified body, which Paul said in this letter is laid up for believers
in heaven (Col 1:5). So is that the inheritance Paul is speaking of here, in verse 12? Only in
part.
The glorified body is what enables the believer to fully experience his inheritance. But the
inheritance is greater than his glorified body; the inheritance is a glorious kingdom.
Paul speaks of it in verse 13 it is the kingdom of the Son; of Christ. We share that inheritance
with Him.

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Turn to Romans chapter 8. Paul was writing to the assemblies in Rome about living by the
Spirit. Those who are the Fathers true sons are manifest by their willingness to be led by the
Spirit; to walk in accordance with Him. You could say they live up to the family name!
The Holy Spirit is training the sons of God through this life, on earth training them in
righteousness to prepare them for their life in heaven, with God.
[Romans 8:16-17] So through the righteousness that the Holy Spirit is working in, we are
assured in the very spirit of our being that we are indeed children of our Father, because we bear
the family resemblance righteousness. Since we are genuinely children of God, this means that
we are also heirs.
Now, Christ is the begotten Son of God, whom the Father has appointed heir of all things (Heb
1:2). With His ascension back into heaven in glory, the Son obtained His inheritance and was
anointed as King (Ps 2:6-8, Heb 1:4, 8-9).
Now the Lord Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father, waiting for His enemies to be made His
footstool (Ps 110:1). His rule over the heavens and the earth has already secured in eternity by
His work on the cross. As the Fathers heir, His is the kingdom of God in heaven, and on earth
by divine right.
Paul indicates we are joint heirs, with Christ. Remember, all the children of the Father inherit.
We are not THE Son of God, but as Gods adopted sons, we share with THE Son of God the
kingdom not by divine right, but by divine grace.
And even the sufferings that we endure in this life are serving to prepare us for the time when
this is realized, in all its fullness. As Paul wrote to Timothy, if we endure, we shall also reign
with Him (2 Tim 2:12) in the kingdom.
When do we receive this inheritance? Were inclined to think that it is future; that it is when we
receive our glorified bodies. But lets look at what Paul wrote in Ephesians about it. Turn to
Ephesians chapter 1. Paul has been writing of all of the blessings that the Father has showered
upon those who have believed into Christ.
[Ephesians 1:11-14]
v. 11-12 Notice Paul is writing of the inheritance of believers in the past tense; we have already
obtained our inheritance. How does he qualify this, next? As being predestined.
God has purposed this destiny for believers beforehand, to be His sons, heirs of His kingdom.
And in that God has planned it, Paul indicates it is as good as done. With God, what is true in
eternity is also good, in time; we already possess our inheritance of the kingdom.

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v. 13-14 Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit Himself, who dwells in each believer, is the
guarantee of our inheritance. Thats security! He is our assurance that the promise will be
realized, and in fact, He enables us to live as residents of the kingdom, while still here on earth,
while still under time. How do we do that? By faith. Our citizenship is in heaven, is it not (Phil
3:20)?
That is how we live until the redemption of the purchased possession. What does that mean?
Paul is not speaking of the redemption of the soul from sin, but instead the redemption of the
body from death. They have been purchased with the blood of Christ.
Paul is saying, until our bodies are glorified, the Father has done no less than give us His Spirit
to guarantee that we have a share in His kingdom.
[Return to Colossians 1]
This is what the Father has purposed for His sons, through His grace. And He has already
qualified us for it a one-time action on His part, in the past. How has He done so? He has
done so, in Christ, the moment we believed into Him.
Through Christ, the Father has imputed His righteousness to our account. Righteousness fits us
for our inheritance, on the inside. And through Christ, the Father has given us His life; Eternal
Life, which will one day bring forth a body of glory which fits us for our inheritance, on the
outside. It is in this way that the Fathers purpose to have a kingdom of sons has been realized.
And the Colossian believers had been qualified, too. There was no need for any of them to be
seeking their share of the inheritance of the kingdom of God because they already had it in
their possession. Their Father had given it to them.
Now lets refresh our memories of the specific action that the Father took to accomplish His
purpose, for sons.
v. 13 So the Father accomplished His purpose by delivering us. The tense again denotes a onetime action in the past; the Father delivered us, the moment we believed. There is no
progression, in this deliverance; it is done.
Deliverance has the meaning of rescuing. The Father conducted a rescue operation! This
implies danger; there was something we were being rescued from. What was it, according to
Paul? The power of darkness.
What does Paul mean by the power of darkness? Lets start with what he doesnt mean. He
doesnt mean the kingdom of Satan. People are inclined to think that, because Paul next writes
about the kingdom of the Son; so they ignore the fact that Paul is using different words here, and
instead take power to mean kingdom, and darkness to mean Satan.
But as always, Paul chooses his words very carefully. He is not intending a parallel here, to the
Kingdom of the Son; after all, there is no parallel to that!

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Does Satan have a kingdom? As we discussed a few weeks ago, Satan does not have a kingdom;
his kingdom is only a virtual reality. He has built a world system on the face of Gods earth. It
has no foundation, and is strictly temporary, as it is composed of men in the flesh, dust men, who
are perishing. And it will exist only as long as it serves Gods purposes.
Paul really isnt considering here Satan or his world system. Hes creating a contrast with what
he said in verse 12.
The inheritance that the Father has conferred upon His sons is in the realm of light. And in order
to bring them into their inheritance, the Father had to deliver them out of the power of darkness.
Power here means dominion or realm. They had to be rescued out of the realm of darkness.
This is not a contrast of kings; there is only one King. This is a contrast between realms the
realm of darkness, and the realm of light.
So what exactly does Paul mean by darkness? He means darkness not literally, but a place
where men are in the dark in the dark to God. And where is that? In the creation, in Adam.
That is the realm of darkness. And the new creation, in Christ Jesus? That is the realm of light.
We can understand more about these realms if we first consider literal darkness and light. Were
going back to the beginning to Genesis chapter 1, verse 1.
[Genesis 1:1-5]
v. 1-3 God brought the entire universe into being, out of nothing, in the beginning the
beginning of time. Then He began to form what He had created, and fill the universe with His
created things.
But before He did that, verse 2 says that darkness was on the face of the deep. There was no
light. So what is darkness, then? Absence of light.
Then God spoke light into existence, by His word; it was the first thing He formed, out of what
He had already created. The darkness was there first, and then God spoke, to make light. Light
required specific action, on the part of God; and that action was accomplished by His word.
v. 4 The light was good; so what does that make darkness, which is absence of light? Not good.
And God divided the light from the darkness. Light and darkness cannot exist in the presence of
each other. If it is truly dark, there is no light. If there is light, it is not completely dark. Its one
or the other. Light and dark are separate; separate realms, we might say.
v. 5 When God names something, it shows His authority over it. God has authority over the
realms of light, and darkness. And finally, we see evening and morning again we see darkness
first, and then the light.
We see these patterns in the spiritual realm, as well. Turn to Ephesians chapter 4. Paul was
describing the conduct of those Gentiles who were still in the dark to God.

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[Ephesians 4:17-18]
v. 17 Remember that this letter is an encyclical to the assemblies in the province of Asia, which
were predominately Gentile. They were surrounded by a pagan Gentile culture.
Paul is describing how these pagan Gentiles conduct themselves. He begins with how they
think, and then goes on to describe how they live.
Although Paul is writing about pagan Gentiles, his description of their mind is true for any son of
Adam; theyre all born of the same seed.
The pagan Gentiles conduct themselves in the futility of their mind. Paul is not saying their
minds are empty; he is saying that their thoughts are worthless. Their minds accomplished no
good purpose.
v. 18 So their minds were worthless, because their understanding was darkened. Its not that
they couldnt think, or that they were devoid of knowledge; its that they were in the dark to God.
Without the light of God, to enlighten their understanding, they were in the dark to the truth; to
what was good, and what was evil; to the real meaning, of what they took in; to the true value, of
things they perceived.
And why did they have no understanding? Because they were alienated from the life of God.
God was a stranger to them. They had never received Him, and so had no light. And why hadnt
they received Him? Paul indicates a two-fold reason: ignorance, and blindness or better,
hardness of heart. This is to say that they had shut God out; they had closed their eyes, tightly,
the light of truth.
As Paul continues, he is showing that this is the reason why the pagan Gentiles and all men in
the flesh conduct themselves as they do. It is because they live out of that dark realm of their
mind. As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.
And that is where all men begin in the dark to God. Theyre born into that dark realm. And in
that realm of darkness, they cant see. Like blind men, they must live by their other senses,
which gives them a skewed view of reality. Their lives are marked by constant changes of
course, reckless movement, stumbling, and a lack of direction. And they have no idea no idea
where they are going or why.
It begins with darkness. But then God spoke, and there was Light.
Turn to Second Corinthians chapter 4. Paul was writing of himself and others who minister the
word of God to men, preaching the gospel of Christ.
[Second Corinthians 4:6] Paul uses the thought we visited in Genesis to show how God
enlightens the heart of a man. It is the action of God, and Him alone; only God can give light.

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How does He do this? By His Word God enlightens mens hearts by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is in a face-to-face, personal encounter with Jesus that the unseen God is seen by men. This is
how God makes Himself known; how men see His glory. And by that light, they can then walk
out of the realm of darkness, into the light of Life.
Now they are a saint, in the light. Are they in the realm of darkness, any longer? Darkness and
light are completely separate. They are no longer in the darkness; so they must not conduct
themselves that way.
Now turn to Ephesians chapter 5. Paul had described what a life of righteousness looks like,
then stressed the essential separation which holiness entails.
[Ephesians 5:8-10]
v. 8 Notice how Paul says, you were darkness; you are light. If they are light, is it possible for
them to any longer be darkness? No; light and darkness are exclusive of each other. So Paul is
encouraging them to be what they are; to live by the light, that is in them.
v. 9-10 the oldest manuscripts say the fruit of the light; Paul is showing what characterizes the
life of the children of light goodness, righteousness, truth, obedience.
[Return to Colossians 1]
In verse 13, we see the authority of God, over the darkness and the light. The Father rescues
men from the dark realm into which theyre born, shining the beacon of the gospel into them. We
were drawn to that light, and by it, the Father drew us right to Himself, out of the darkness, and
into His marvelous light (1 Pet 2:9).
But He did more than save us out of the darkness; He placed us in a whole new realm; and this
realm is a kingdom. Who is the king? The Son of the Fathers love. The Son, in whom the
Father is well-pleased.
In the Sons kingdom, grace reigns through righteousness (Rm 5:21); its the governance of Love,
and the subjects of the kingdom willingly submit themselves to the King, delighting to do His
will, out of love. They live their lives in the light of understanding, which He gives them. These
are the sanctified ones, in the light.
Some of the believers in Colosse had come to imagine that a mystical vision and journey was
required, in order for them to reach God. They were conducting themselves as if they were still
in the dark darkness from which their Father had already delivered them!
Through his teaching, Paul is encouraging them to recognize who it is that they really are; they
are children of light; and where they are theyre in the kingdom of the Son; a kingdom ruled
over by love. And it was their heavenly Father who had brought them there.

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In the final verse, we see the means by which the Father was enabled to perform His rescue
operation.
v. 14 The means of the rescue was through the Son of the Fathers love. Jesus said, Therefore
My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life, that I may take it up again (Jn 10:17).
Redemption is liberation by the payment of a ransom. The emphasis is on the actual deliverance
the setting of captives free.
We have already mentioned the redemption of the body when it is freed from death, through its
glorification. But here, Paul is speaking of the redemption of the soul, being freed from sin.
Both of these aspects of redemption were accomplished through the blood of Jesus.
The author to the Hebrews wrote, Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin
(Heb 9:22). Blood must be shed, in order for the sinner to be released from his sin. Why is that?
The shedding of blood testifies that death has taken place; and death is the penalty for sin (Rm
5:16).
The ceremonial Law painted the portrait of the One who would come and put away sin, through
the sacrifice of Himself once and for all. The blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit
offered Himself without spot to God (Heb 9:14), was the only sacrifice for sin which the Father
could ever accept, on behalf of men but it was fully acceptable to the Father, and completely
efficacious for us.
That was the ransom price that had to be paid, in order to set the captives free. The precious
blood of Christ was of infinite cost to God but that is the measure of His love isnt it? for
His creation of mankind.
Forgiveness of sins is part of redemption. Being freed from sin enables God to forgive the
sinner, but we must understand what is meant by forgive and specifically what it means for
God to forgive.
The term forgiveness here in the Greek means remission; it is the loosing of a person from that
which binds. Now, when you, a human being, think of forgiving someone, it is based on an
offense they committed against you; and you make the decision not to hold the offense against
them; you choose to let it go.
But Gods forgiveness is very different. God cannot simply let sin go, because God is holy and
righteous. God forgives based on the penalty for the offense having been paid.
You can see, then, that it is because Jesus paid the penalty for our sins with His own life, that
God can now forgive us. God is not letting our sin go; our sin was taken away by Jesus. God
can loose us from our sins, because Jesus bound our sins to Himself, on the cross.
Thats how our sins have been forgiven; Jesus loved us, and He loosed us from our sins, in His
own blood (Rev 1:5). And having been forgiven, we can now be reconciled to God.

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Many Colossian believers did not have their understanding enlightened to the fullness of the
redemption, that is in Christ Jesus. They had been redeemed through the blood of Christ, by
believing in Him as their Savior, but they didnt fully comprehend the ramifications of that
redemption that it meant the Father had fully forgiven their sins. How fully? According to the
riches of His grace (Eph 1:7).
Perhaps the problem was that they believed redemption only took care of their past sin, for as
they continued to sin in the present, they lived with a sense of separation from God.
And their tendency to embrace a religious system that involved legalistic works and self-denying
asceticism suggests that they felt guilty; that they needed to work off their sin, or relieve their
guilt, by punishing themselves.
Now their odd choice of religion doesnt sound quite so strange to us, does it? For there are
many believers who are doing today just what they had done. But guilt and separation have no
place in the kingdom of love; they only exist in the mind of a believer who lacks understanding.
One final thought concerning the redemption. The shed blood of Jesus brings us back full circle
to the inheritance of the saints in the light.
As born-again children of God, believers are the heirs of God. Now, if someone appoints you as
their heir theyre called the testator when do you actually come into your inheritance? Does
the testator draw up his last will and testament, and then just hand the inheritance over to you?
No.
You receive the inheritance when the testator dies. Death is necessary, to inherit. Gods last will
and testament is His Eternal Covenant; and you have been written into it, to inherit His kingdom.
The necessary death has taken place. Christ has died, ratifying the covenant in His own blood.
Therefore through His death, you have already received your eternal inheritance in the kingdom
(Heb 9:15-22).
Reading: John 1:1-18; Heb 1:1-4; Eph 1:8-10, 15-23.