THE ‘PROTECTIVE POWER’ OF ‘THANKS’ – Colossians 1:12-14

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on January 30, 2013 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group; January 30, 2013

Colossians 1:12-14

Theme: Our thanks to God for the sufficiency of Christ to save us ‘protects’ us from false doctrine.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)

“Thankfulness” is basic to godly living. The Bible tells us that the opposite of godliness—an attitude of sinful rebelliousness against God—manifests itself in a refusal to give glory to Him through our thanks (Romans 1:21). When Paul warned Timothy that, in the last days, “perilous times will come”, he included “unthankfulness” as one of the things that would characterize the terrible evil of those days (2 Timothy 3:1-2). But by contrast, a sincere attitude of thankfulness to God is presented to us in Scripture as an expression of genuine godliness (see Psalm 92:1-4; 100:4-5; Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18; Hebrews 13:15). Giving thanks to God, then, is the simplest way—and perhaps the purest way—of rendering worship and praise to Him.

As a key part of the beginning of Paul’s letter to the Colossian believers—a letter in which he encourages them to resist false teachers and rest completely in the sufficiency of Jesus Christ—he highlights his own prayer of thankfulness for what God has done for them. In doing so, he combats false teaching by giving us the reasons why we should thank God for the fullness of our salvation. Note that Paul gives thanks for a future aspect (v. 12), a present aspect (v. 13), and a past aspect (v. 14) of our salvation in Christ. And thus, by his example, the apostle teaches us to combat false teaching by giving thanks to God for the salvation that is completely ours already in Christ.

I. OUR INHERITANCE FOR THE FUTURE (v. 12).

A. Paul declares that, in his prayers for the Colossian believers, he is “giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light” (v. 12). An “inheritance” is something that someone can legitimately say that they “own” in the present; but that they, at the same time, will not fully enjoy in experience until some future date. We who have been saved by Christ have an “inheritance” in much the same way. Peter wrote, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice . . .” (1 Peter 1:3-6a).

B. God has graciously “qualified” us to be partakers of this inheritance with “the saints in the light”. A “saint” is anyone that God has set apart for Himself as His holy possession. It’s another name for anyone that is truly saved by God’s grace. Paul called the Colossian believers “saints” at the beginning of his letter (1:2). And to refer to such persons as “saints in the light” is simply to stress the fact that they are already set apart in God’s favor, and are already in the complete purity of fellowship with God in the light of His holiness and truth.

C. The “inheritance of the saints in light”, then, is the glorious expectation of eternal riches in heaven that already belong to all who are in God’s favor. But how could we—as sinners—ever dare to claim a share in such an inheritance? In and of ourselves, our sins make us worthy of nothing from God but His just wrath and His righteous judgment. Paul is careful to thank God—not that we’ve earned a share in the inheritance of the saints in light—but that God Himself has “qualified” us—or ‘made us sufficient’, or ‘authorized us’—for it. He, by His grace through Christ, has qualified us for a share in the eternal inheritance that belongs to all who are in His favor (See Ephesians 5:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:5; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 John 1:5-7). By God’s grace, all this is completely true of us right now in Christ. We need nothing more that anyone else could offer us. How long has it been since we’ve thanked God for this?

II. OUR CITIZENSHIP IN THE PRESENT (v. 13).

A. Paul next goes on to affirm, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love” (v. 13). When Paul speaks of the “power” of darkness, he uses a word that literally means “authority”. Because of the sin of our first father Adam, every man and woman born into this world is born under the authority of the evil forces of darkness (or the “dominion of darkness”, as it’s translated in the NIV). Indeed, as the Bible says, “the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one” (1 John 5:19); and we were included in that number. Everyone is in need of being “delivered” or “rescued” from their power (see Ephesians 2:1-3, 12; 4:17-19). Our first “citizenship” is that which placed us under the rule of a wicked and ruthless despot from whom we could not liberate ourselves. And every one of us would have remained in that helpless condition unless someone greater than that “power” came to our rescue and “delivers” us from it. Praise be to God! “He has delivered us from the power of darkness” through Jesus Christ!

B. But notice that God has not only delivered us from the power of darkness. He has also “conveyed us” or “transferred us” into “the kingdom of the Son of His love”. The “Son of His love” is none other than Jesus Himself—the very Person of whom God the Father declared, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). God has transferred us into a new kingdom—the kingdom of His beloved Son; and He has not merely made us temporary refugees within His realm, but has graciously granted us full citizenship in His kingdom (Philippians 3:20). What a debt of thanks we owe to Him for making us the citizens of the kingdom of His Son Jesus Christ! How we should celebrate it with our thanks!

III. OUR FORGIVENESS FOR THE PAST (v. 14).

A. Finally, note that Paul thanked God for the salvation of the Colossian believers in Christ; “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” Our sins had placed us in a terrible condition of condemnation before God. The Bible tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23); and because we have sinned against God, we cannot be released from our spiritual debt to Him in any way but as a result of the proper payment of the price for sin—and that price is death.

B. But we have a Redeemer. Paul says that we have “redemption” through Jesus Christ; and the word he uses means a ‘complete release on the bases of the payment of a price’. Jesus Himself has paid the debt of our sins for us by dying in our place on His cross—fully paying the required price, and setting us free. Paul wrote that Jesus “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14; see also Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:7; Revelation 5:9).

C. There is a sense in which “redemption” has a distinctively God-ward focus. Jesus is our “Redeemer” because He Himself paid the price of our sins, releasing us from the debt we owe to our holy Creator. In that respect, “redemption” means that God is satisfied with Jesus’ full payment of the debt we owe. But we ourselves also experience the direct impact of Jesus’ work as our Redeemer. Because of His sacrifice for us, we are released from our dreadful burden of guilt before God; and so, “redemption” also means that we directly experience the joy that comes from a complete forgiveness of our sins. As King David wrote, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Psalm 32:1-2; see also Psalm 103:10-12). When was the last time we opened our mouth and gave thanks to God for what Jesus has done for us?

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Whatever we’re not in the regular habit of thanking God for, we’re inclined to ignore; and whatever we ignore, we’re in danger of having stolen from us. A regular, deliberate effort toward giving thanks to God for the realities of our salvation in Christ, then, is the spiritual “tether-line” that binds our wandering, sin-prone attitude to the unchanging realities of our salvation. We need to cultivate this kind of thankfulness. It is a great defense against any false philosophy, or false religiosity, or false spirituality, that would be used by the enemy to “cheat” us of our “reward” in Christ (Colossians 2:18).