Of all the recent stories of people held captive, the one of U.S. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, has been the most controversial. He told military doctors that his Taliban captors tortured him and kept him locked in a metal cage in total darkness for weeks at a time after he tried to escape. Bergdahl, now 28, was captured in June 2009 after he apparently deserted his infantry unit. He was held for nearly five years by Taliban militants. Some of Bergdahl’s fellow soldiers maintain that Americans died during efforts to find and save him. Also, there is great concern that the high-level Taliban officials who were exchanged for his release, will resume activities with the Taliban and threaten members of the U.S. military in Afghanistan. In all of this, Bergdahl expressed gratitude for his release from captivity. (http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/06/09/bowe-bergdahl-tells-officials-he-was-tortured-and-held-in-shark-cage-after-he-tried-to-flee-his-taliban-captors/)
In Colossians, the Apostle Paul gives them three good reasons for gratitude. Tied to a release from captivity, these reasons for gratitude (vv. 12–14, 15–20, 21–23) depend closely upon each other. Genuine Christian theology is the exploration of God’s character and actions, not in a spirit of mere speculation and curiosity, but out of gratitude and love, and with the intention of, and desire for, obedience. Paul’s prayer for the church reaches its climax in thanksgiving, and this thanksgiving is to be based on knowledge (Wright, N. T. (1986). Colossians and Philemon: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 12, p. 64). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).
There are a lot of things in our life that we should be grateful for. If we are most thankful for something that can be lost, like employment, heath or wealth, then we put our trust in things that are fleeting. If our ultimate hope and faith is in God Himself, then we trust one who is faithful and true. In understanding what is in store for us, the harm that He prevents for us, and what He has done in order to achieve it, then our confidence can be secure
What should make Christians most thankful is the work of Christ in securing their freedom. In Colossians 1:12–14. Paul sums up the doctrine of salvation in three great truths: 1) Inheritance (Colossians 1:12), 2) Deliverance (Colossians 1:13a), and 3) Transference (Colossians 1:13b-14). They are both a description of salvation and a cause for thanksgiving.
Inheritance (Colossians 1:12)
Colossians 1:12 [12]giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. (ESV)
Due to strength imparted by God, believers are able, even in the midst of tribulation, to give thanks with joy and to rejoice with thanksgiving (cf. Matt. 5:10–12; Luke 6:22, 23; Acts 5:41; 2 Cor. 4:7–17; Phil. 1:12–21). It is to the Father that this thanks is given, for it is he who through “the Son of his love” (verse 13) freely gives us all things (Rom. 8:32). Paul stresses the necessity of thanksgiving again and again (2 Cor. 1:11; Eph. 5:20; Phil. 4:6; Col. 3:17; 1 Thess. 5:18) (Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of Colossians and Philemon (Vol. 6, pp. 59–60). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.).
•Failing to give thanks characterizes the wicked. One indictment of unbelievers is that “even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks” (Rom. 1:21). Evil people are marked by ungratefulness (Luke 6:35; 2 Tim. 3:2).
Father emphasizes the personal, relational aspect of our union with God. Before our salvation, God was our Judge. We stood condemned before Him for violating His holy, just laws. But when, through the grace of God, we placed our faith in Christ, God ceased being our sentencing Judge and became our gracious Father.
Not only has God adopted us as His sons, but He has also qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. Qualified is from hikanoō, a word used only here and in 2 Corinthians 3:6 in the New Testament. It means “to make sufficient, to empower, to authorize, to make fit.” This involves making competent, with a sense of empowering or authorizing. From its use in this passage we may conclude that in themselves believers have no fitness for sharing in the heritage of God’s people. They can experience this only as God qualifies them for such a privilege. The tense of the word is aorist, pointing to the time of the Colossians’ conversion. The suggestion is that the qualifying is not a process but an instantaneous act. We are not qualified through our own efforts. God has qualified us through the finished work of Christ (Vaughan, C. (1981). Colossians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Ephesians through Philemon (Vol. 11, p. 179). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.).
•How tasks are before youthat you fear you are not qualified to attempt? Is there someone suffering, someone with questions or even just the presentation of the gospel that you are putting off because you believe someone else is better able to handle it? God has put this before you for you to act. He will give you the knowledge, strength and power from His Spirit in order to accomplish His objectives. We just have to have faith that He will use us and act in faithfulness.
Before God saved us by His grace we were truly unqualified for our inheritance. A follower of Jesus is not one who figured things out or attained a higher awareness, or religious experience. Faith itself is a gift from God and we require God Himself to open our eyes and believe (Eph. 2:1-3, 2:12, 4:17-19) The inheritance (see v. 5) that believers receive is not one that they have earned but is based on being qualified by God. The Father “qualifies” us for eternal life with Him...( Radmacher, E. D., Allen, R. B., & House, H. W. (1997). The Nelson Study Bible: New King James Version (Col1:12). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.)
God has by grace qualified the unqualified to share in the inheritance. The Greek text literally reads, “for the portion of the lot” (eis tēn merida tou klērou). The partitive genitive (tou klērou) means that we each receive our own individual allotment or portion of the total inheritance. This can be illustrated by the experience of the children of Israel, as recorded in Exodus. They had been living in Egypt, groaning under the lashes of the taskmasters there. By a marvelous act of divine intervention, God delivered them out of that fearful bondage and led them through the wilderness to the promised land (cf. Num. 26:52–56; 33:51–54; Josh. 14:1–2).. Similarly, as sinners we were in bondage to Satan, but through Christ we have been delivered from his clutches and now we are subjects of Christ’s kingdom. Satan’s kingdom is one of darkness—an absence of light, warmth, and joy; while the kingdom of Christ is one of love, which implies the presence of all three (MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments. (A. Farstad, Ed.) (p. 1992). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.).
Our inheritance consists first of eternal life. Jesus said in Matthew 19:29, “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life.” Eternal life is far more than endless existence. It is a quality of life; Christ’s life lived in the believer (Gal. 2:20; cf. 1 John 5:20). Second, our inheritance includes the earth. In the Sermon on the Mount, our Lord said that believers would inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5). That focuses on the future aspect of our inheritance, when we will rule with Christ (Rev. 20:6). The knowledge that we will inherit the restored earth should free us from the present pursuit of material possessions. Someday we will receive far more than we could ever gain in this life. Third, we inherit all the promises of God. The writer of Hebrews exhorts us to be “imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Heb. 6:12).
Please turn to Romans 8 (p.944)
When do we receive our inheritance? The aorist tenses point to an eschatology that is truly realized (i.e. God had already qualified [ἱκανώσαντι] the Colossians to share in the inheritance, he had already delivered [ἐρρύσατο] them from this alien power and had already transferred [μετέστησεν] them to his Son’s kingdom) (O’Brien, P. T. (1998). Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 44, p. 26). Dallas: Word, Incorporated.)
Believers are already fellow heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:16–17).
Romans 8:16-17 [16]The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, [17]and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (ESV)
•God has graciously given us a guarantee for our inheritance. That guarantee is the indwelling Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 1:13–14, Paul writes, “You were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance.” “Pledge” translates arrabōn, which is similar to the modern Greek word for engagement ring. Arrabōn could also be translated “guarantee,” or “down payment.” God has given us the Holy Spirit as the first installment on our future inheritance. That is an objective fact, not dependent on our feelings.
The full possession of our inheritance, however, is yet future. Peter refers to it as “an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Pet. 1:4). It will be ours forever. Hebrews 9:15 depicts it as an eternal inheritance. Studying “the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32) results in a greater richness and understanding of our glorious inheritance.
Paul further defines our inheritance as that of the saints in light. Hagiōn (saints) refers to those who have been separated from the world and set apart to God. The inheritance belongs to that group alone. First Corinthians 6:9–10 asks the rhetorical question, “Do you not know that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” (cf. Eph. 5:5; Gal. 5:21) The saints are those who have turned from sinful darkness to righteous light (cf. Eph. 5:8; 1 John 1:7).
The saints’ inheritance is in light. Light represents two things biblically. Intellectually, it represents truth (Ps. 119:130). Morally, it represents purity (Eph. 5:8–14). In contrast to Israel’s earthly inheritance, the saints’ inheritance is in light—the spiritual realm of truth and purity where God Himself dwells (1 Tim. 6:16). “Light” here presumably denotes the light of heaven, that transcendent illumination that alone gives clarity of vision, including clarity of selfperception (e.g., John 1:4–5; 3:19–21; 2 Cor. 4:6; Eph. 5:13–14; 1 John 1:5, 7; 2:8). Those who have received this inheritance in the light and live accordingly can be called “sons/children of the light” (as in Luke 16:8; John 12:36; 1 Thes. 5:15) (Dunn, J. D. G. (1996). The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon: a commentary on the Greek text (p. 76). Grand Rapids, MI; Carlisle: William B. Eerdmans Publishing; Paternoster Press.);
In his defense before King Agrippa inActs 26, Paul spoke of the Lord’s commissioning him to preach to the Gentiles. The Lord told Paul that He was sending him “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (v. 18).
So He has given us the Spirit and the Word to give us confidence and understanding of that inheritance. No wonder Paul prayed “that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints” (Eph 1:18).
Poem: Gratefulness for the inheritance that we have as saints of God should result in the activity of praise through good works. One writer expressed it like this: " Grateful feelings stir within; When God’s grace we see. He, in Christ, removed our sin; Now in him we’re free. Thanks to Christ the Lord we give, For his strength we know. Now that unto him we live, Praise to him must flow. Yet our gratitude will show; By the way we live.Daily we should seek to grow; In the thanks we live. (Martin, E. D. (1993). Colossians, Philemon (p. 58). Scottdale, PA: Herald Press.)
2) Deliverance (Colossians 1:13a)
Colossians 1:13a [13]He has delivered us from the domain of darkness (and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son), (ESV)
A second cause for thanksgiving is our spiritual liberation. Delivered is from ruomai, which means “to draw to oneself,” or “to rescue.” God drew us out of Satan’s kingdom to Himself. That event was the new birth. We are not gradually, progressively delivered from Satan’s power.
Please turn to Romans 6 (p.942)
When we placed our faith in Christ, we were instantly delivered. “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17). Believers do not need deliverance from the dominion of sin and Satan; they need to act as those who have been delivered (cf. Rom. 6:2, 7, 11).
Romans 6:1-11 [6:1]What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? [2]By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? [3]Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? [4]We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. [5]For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. [6]We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. [7]For one who has died has been set free from sin. [8]Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. [9]We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. [10]For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. [11]So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
Those who receive the Lord Jesus Christ have been rescued from the domain of darkness. Exousias (domain) could be translated “power,” “jurisdiction,” or “authority.” Our Lord used the phrase domain of darkness (exousias tou skotous) to refer to the supernatural forces of Satan marshalled against Him at His arrest (Luke 22:53). The triumph of the domain of darkness was short-lived, however. A few hours later, Jesus forever shattered Satan’s power by His death on the cross.
•You need not fear that power, for “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world“ (1 John 4:4). Through His death, Jesus crushed Satan and delivered us from his dark kingdom.
Hymn: He brought us out of the dark and dismal realm of false ideas into the sun-bathed land of clear knowledge and realistic expectation; out of the bewildering sphere of perverted cravings and selfish hankerings into the blissful realm of holy yearnings and glorious self-denials; out of the miserable dungeon of intolerable bonds and heart-rending cries into the magnificent palace of glorious liberty and joyful songs. W. T. Sleeper expressed it: “Out of my bondage, sorrow and night, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come; Into Thy freedom, gladness and light, Jesus, I come to Thee; Out of my sickness into Thy health, Out of my want and into Thy wealth, Out of my sin and into Thyself, Jesus, I come to Thee. “Out of the fear and dread of the tomb, Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come; Into the joy and light of Thy home, Jesus, I come to Thee; Out of the depths of ruin untold, Into the peace of Thy sheltering fold, Ever Thy glorious face to behold, Jesus, I come to Thee.” (W. T. Sleeper as recorded in Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of Colossians and Philemon (Vol. 6, p. 63). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.)
3)Transference (Colossians 1:13b-14)
Colossians 1:13b-14 [13] (He has delivered us from the domain of darknessand) transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, [14]in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (ESV)
Paul continues the litany of blessings that draw out his gratitude by describing our new domain. Methistēmi (transferred) means to remove or change. The verb speaks here of our total removal from the domain of satanic darkness to the glorious light of the kingdom of Christ.
The kingdom is a spiritual reality right now. Paul gives us a definition of it in Romans 14:17:“The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” The kingdom is the special relationship people in this age have with God through Jesus Christ. A kingdom in its most basic sense is a group of people ruled by a king. Christians have acknowledged Christ as their King and are subjects in His kingdom.
•We must take a hard and fast look at our lives. Which elements do we consider Christ's and which do we consider that we control. Is our prayer life, Sunday worship, and spiritual discussions ruled by Christ, but the use of our money, our employment and our entertainment our own to live as we choose?
Believers have been transferred… to the kingdom of His beloved Son. The Greek text literally reads, “the Son of His love” (tou huiou tēs agapēs autou). The Father gives the kingdom to the Son He loves, then to everyone who loves the Son (Luke 12:32).
Although Christ does not yet rule on earth, He is no less a king. In response to Pilate’s question, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus replied, “It is as you say” (Matt. 27:11). He reigns in eternity, rules now over His church, and one day will return to rule the earth as King of kings.
Please turn to Hebrews 12 (p.1009)
There is a tremendous responsibility that accompanies being part of Christ’s kingdom. As subjects of that kingdom, we must properly represent the King. There has been a very dangerous modern phenomenon to portray coming to God as merely relational. Through the work of Christ we can come into the presence of God, but we must understand who we are approaching:
Hebrews 12:18-29 [18]For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest [19]and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. [20]For they could not endure the order that was given, "If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned." [21]Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I tremble with fear." [22]But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, [23]and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, [24]and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. [25]See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. [26]At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." [27]This phrase, "Yet once more," indicates the removal of things that are shaken--that is, things that have been made--in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. [28]Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, [29]for our God is a consuming fire. (ESV)
Before we could be fit subjects for Christ’s kingdom, verse 14 concludes with the fact that we needed redemption, the forgiveness of sins. It is expressed here that "we have" this now. This is a PRESENT ACTIVE INDICATIVE. In Christ believers have and continue to have the family blessings of God (Utley, R. J. (1997). Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians) (Vol. Volume 8, p. 16). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.).
First, we have redemption. Apolutrōsis (redemption) is expressed in our English word emancipation. The Septuagint uses a related word to speak of Israel’s deliverance from bondage in Egypt. The word “redemption” belongs to the slave market. It involves the payment of a (ransom) price to secure freedom (from the slavery to sin). Paul clearly identified that price as the death of Christ. In Ephesians 1:7, Paul writes, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace.” Paul stressed the facts that God initiated redemption and that Jesus’ death was the necessary price of salvation (Melick, R. R. (1991). Philippians, Colossians, Philemon (Vol. 32, p. 208). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.)
Finally, redemption results in the forgiveness of sins. Aphesin (forgiveness) refers to pardon, or remission of penalty. “Forgiveness.” (aphesis) means “to send away,” which was an allusion to the ritual of the Day of Atonement (cf. Lev. 16). The scapegoat symbolically carried away the sins of the people (Utley, R. J. (1997). Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, then later, Philippians) (Vol. Volume 8, p. 17). Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International.).
Because Christ redeemed us, God has sent away our sins; they will never be found again. “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12). “He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:19). Forgiveness parallels redemption. Through the death of Jesus, God has canceled the debt of our sin. It was a debt we could never repay; but since Jesus paid the debt for us, God has forgiven the debt (Anders, M. (1999). Galatians-Colossians (Vol. 8, p. 282). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).
So Christ’s death on our behalf paid the price to redeem us. On that basis, God forgave our sins, granted us an inheritance, delivered us from the power of darkness, and made us subjects of Christ’s kingdom. Those wonderful truths should cause us to give thanks to God continually, as did Paul in his prayer. And when we contemplate all He has done for us, how can we do any less than pray to be filled with the knowledge of His will?
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1992). Colossians (pp. 32–41). Chicago: Moody Press.)
