In reading the Pauline epistles, one can’t help but be drawn to the heart of the apostle and the loving care he displays for the believers. This love pulsates in the prayers interwoven throughout his epistles. The concern he has for the saints is imbued in the very language that he uses to deliver truth to his audience, teaching us that truth firmly grasped must be delivered in a loving way.
Just as you might tell a fellow Christian that you are praying for them, the apostle does the same here, but describes the very substance of that prayer. A careful analysis of its components shows Paul praying for: the knowledge of His will, a worthy walk, fruitfulness, an increasing knowledge of God, and patience, longsuffering and joy produced in their walk.
Verses 12-14 provide a capstone to this prayer with thanks to the Father – an example worth emulating. Examining these verses, there is much we can appreciate about the work of the Father in our salvation; there are truths that we were not even aware of the moment we trusted Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Let’s consider four aspects presented about our salvation.
Qualified
Paul is describing remarkable blessing and position bestowed upon believers by the Father. And just as it is fitting for parents to grant an inheritance to their children, our heavenly Father has promised us an “inheritance of the saints.”
However, we are reminded that there was a time prior to our salvation when we were not fit to obtain the inheritance, because it was not appropriate. Individuals outside of the family don’t typically have an interest in the inheritance of the parents. As unsaved sinners, we had no claim upon the inheritance of the saints because we didn’t belong to Christ and were never part of the family of God. And so, the Father, in His infinite grace, was able to make us fit (meet), or “qualified,” to partake in that inheritance. As we meditate on this truth, it is fascinating to ponder that we, who once were “enemies of God,” should now have a place in the family of God and be qualified to partake of the inheritance of the saints.
In many estate inheritance cases, there is often inter-sibling rivalry. But usually, the claim to some part of the inheritance is not up for debate, as each sibling belongs in the family. Similarly, as believers, we belong to the family of God and enjoy all the rich spiritual blessings of the inheritance we share. This inheritance is infinite in its quantity and eternal in its duration.
If you inherit a beautiful black Bugatti Veyron automobile, and it stays in the garage behind a mountain of boxes for years, are you appreciating your inheritance? The Colossian believers may have been tempted by gnostic influences to think that other means of inheritance were possible by the pursuit of special, mystical knowledge apart from the truth that Paul had delivered to them. But here they were reminded that the true inheritance for saints lies in the fact that the Father qualified us for it, and has given us the light to appreciate our shared inheritance.
Delivered
Paul has just reminded the believers about their present standing in the inheritance (v12). But now he takes them to their position prior to conversion. They are reminded of the power of darkness in which they once lived. Darby’s translation of verse 13 is as follows: “Who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated [us] into the kingdom of the Son of his love.” This implies the thought that prior to our salvation we were controlled by the power and authority of darkness over us. In this natural state, as it is with every unbeliever, we were held captive to our sins and experienced the lack of spiritual capacity. But Paul reminds us, “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2Co 4:6 KJV). The authority of darkness administered by Satan and his emissaries no longer has a grip on us. God’s light has shined into our hearts, and we have obtained the knowledge of God’s glory through the light that is reflected by our Savior, Jesus Christ. This is something we couldn’t appreciate in our unsaved state; we were gripped by darkness. How much are you enjoying the light that has been shined into your heart to know God and walk with Him?
Translated
This third aspect tells us that our allegiance has now turned from the power and authority of darkness to the kingdom of “the Son of his love,” as the Revised Version puts it. This is truly a wonderful position that we have been brought into. As believers, we are now willing subjects in a kingdom composed of liberated souls that have been translated, or transferred, to a dominion under God’s Son. In His earthly ministry, the Lord Jesus perfectly displayed the Father’s love, but He also declared Himself the object of that love (Joh 15:9). That we as believers should ever come into this divine love – love that was so perfectly proven by the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus – will be a theme that will occupy us eternally. We are subjects now of a new kingdom. Is our heart flying that flag of allegiance to Him?
Redeemed
This final aspect is most interesting in its position. We often think that redemption is the first step of God in His program of blessing us. However, in these verses, “redemption” is placed last. This emphasizes to us the ongoing and ultimate work of redemption. How beautiful to consider that the God who qualified, delivered and translated us will one day bring us to that bright morning of complete redemption. As Paul expressed to the Roman believers, “And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body” (8:23 KJV).
Conclusion
Paul’s prayers for the Colossian believers are not unique to this epistle. His apostolic prayers were for all saints, and they demonstrate how much Paul cared for each believer. His prayers were full of thanksgiving. Surely, when we think of our inheritance, our liberation from the power of darkness, and the new allegiance we have in the kingdom of God’s Son, we can join Paul in giving thanks to the Father who has made us fit to partake of the inheritance of the saints in light.
