COLOSSIANS: STABILITY BY CHRIST'S ALL-SUFFICIENCY AND SUPREMACY

Part V: God's Stable Union Of The Believer With Himself

(Colossians 1:13-14)

I. Introduction

A. Today's unsettling, insecure world has led many believers to become unsettled and insecure, so in contrast to today's world, we believers need to focus on the stability and security we have in the Lord.

B. The Colossian epistle presents Christ's all-sufficiency and supremacy in ways that settle and provide security, and one way it does so is by teaching us God's provision for the believer's stable spiritual union with Himself.

C. Colossians 1:13-14 teaches this provision, and we view it for our insight and stability in living (as follows):

II. God's Stable Union Of The Believer With Himself, Colossians 1:13-14.

A. God has given believers positionally stable deliverance from Satan's dominion of darkness, Col. 1:13a, b:

1. The verb translated "delivered" (KJV) translates the Greek verb hruomai, "save, rescue, deliver" (Arndt & Gingrich, A Grk.-Eng. Lex. of the N. T., 1967, p. 744-745), but it uses the middle voice (erhrusato, The Analytical Grk. Lex. (Zon.), 1972, p. 167; U. B. S. Grk. N. T., 1966, p. 694) to show that God the Father has saved, rescued, delivered the believer for His own interests, as explained in the context!

2. The Father has rescued the believer for His own interests from the exousias, the "power, authority" of darkness, from Satan's spiritual dominion, Col. 1:13b; Bible Know. Com., N. T., p. 672.

3. Accordingly, the believer in Christ has been delivered by God the Father from the spiritual dominion of Satan, including Satan's power and authority, for the express personal interests of God, an incredibly stable transition simply since the Father's own interests are at stake in preserving this deliverance of the believer!

B. God has given believers positionally stable transition into the Kingdom of His Son Whom He loves, 1:13c, d:

1. The KJV verb " translated" is from the root methistemi, meaning to "remove from one place to another; transfer" (Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 500). God has taken the believer completely out of the realm of Satan's spiritual domain and transferred him into an entirely different spiritual realm! (Colossians 1:13c)

2. The realm to which the Father has moved the believer is the kingdom of "the Son of His love," Ibid.; Col. 1:13d. H. C. G. Moule "says" this "signifies the Son who is 'the blessed Object of the Father's love . . . the supremely Beloved One' (The Eps. of Paul the Apostle to the Colossians and to Philemon, p. 75)," Ibid.

3. In other words, the Father has transferred the believer into the spiritual realm of the kingdom of God the Son Who is the blessed Object of the Father's love, the Supremely Beloved One, what leaves the believer an object of the Father's infinite love in concert with His love for His own Beloved Son, Jesus Christ!

C. In addition, through Christ, God's infinitely Beloved Son, the believer also has redemption, apolytrosin, "rescue by ransom" (Ibid.) or "a buying back, a setting free by paying a ransom price" (Ibid., p. 153), Col. 1:14a. The emphasis here is on one's being "purchased out of the bond slave market and set free with that liberty which is the rightful portion of the sons of God (Gal. 5:1)," Lewis Sperry Chafer, Systematic Theology: Volume III - Soteriology, 1973, p. 237. The believer is thus freed from bondage to sin and legalism of man-made religion to live a life that is holy and acceptable to God the Father Who infinitely loves him! [Note: some manuscripts (as seen in the KJV) add the phrase "through His blood" here, a phrase that is added in the parallel passage of Ephesians 1:7, but the preferred reading here is to omit it at Colossians 1:14a; Ibid.]

D. Besides, through Christ, God's infinitely Beloved Son, the believer also has the forgiveness of sins, Col. 1:14b:

1. The noun "forgiveness" is from aphesin, "a pardon" (Ibid.; Ibid., Arndt & Gingrich, p. 124)

2. Through "the tremendous cost Christ paid on the cross (cf. Rom. 3:24-26)," the believer positionally enjoys a complete release from past obligations to God for all sins he has committed!

Lesson: For the believer's stable union with Himself, God the Father has delivered him out of Satan's dominion for Himself and transferred him into the Kingdom of His Supremely Beloved Son to be an object of the Father's infinite love, He has paid the huge price to release him from bondage to sin and man-made legalism and cancelled all debts he owed due to past sins by forgiving him! The believer is thus infinitely stable in his union with God!

Application: (1) May we rejoice in our spiritual stability in our spiritual union with the Father and relax in Him! (2) May we be confident that we can never again come under Satan's dominion as God the Father has a personal interest in having transferred us over into the Kingdom of His infinitely Beloved Son, making us infinitely loved! (3) May we relax in the great deliverance we have from bondage to sin and false legalism, and (4) may we relax and rejoice in God's cancellation of our past sins, knowing He relates to us as positionally fully forgiven sons!