Colossians 1:12b-14

"Giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified and made us fit to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God's holy people) in the Light" Colossians 1:12b.

In verse 12, Paul switches from listing the things reflective of a deeper knowledge of God that he has prayed for (for those whom have exhibited Gods' love (agape), to reminding us again of "the hope"... the promises of God. Paul reminds us that at some point in our life, God took us from an unqualified position and made us qualified. Because we were unfit (up until that moment that God did something) to receive the blessing that He promises as a result of being In Christ.

In fact, being "in Christ" is the only thing that does qualify us. We still struggle with sin, rebellion, and the natural bend to do evil, but because of our change of heart... our decision to accept Christ as Our Savior... we are covered by Christ. We really are, "in Christ". And so, now, when God looks at us, instead of seeing that we are "still" unfit, still not quite qualified, He only sees Christ, whom IS QUALIFIED.

Paul says we are qualified, "to share the portion which is the inheritance of the saints (God's holy people) in the Light. Light is capitalized because he is referring to Christ, The Light Of The World... The Radiance Of God.

13. [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

Here, in verse 13, we should notice that when we are delivered into one thing, (in this case, "unto God, Himself) that we are delivered FROM something else (In this case, out of the control and the dominion of darkness).

This is good news, my friends. If you are "in Christ" today, you have been delivered unto God and out of the control of the enemy. You know, there is a trend today "resurfacing", as it has often in history, that promotes the casting and rebuking of these demonic forces.

We find ourselves in a world, today, where, we get the wrong size shoes because they match our outfit... we wreck the car going to fast... we marry our heroes or princesses and find they are sleeping around... we made a bad choice, in other words, And someone comes along and tells you to rebuke the devil and save a marriage that God never thought was right for you anyway. Now, I know the scriptures about dealing with the enemy in this way are true, because it is the Word of God, but it's not the whole truth. The bible says more about "Standing" than is does about rebuking... more about "resisting"... and many such references like this one in verse 13 that tell us we have been delivered out of the control and the dominion of darkness. We need to worry more about decisions we make than we do the devil controlling us, IF WE ARE TRULY "IN CHRIST".

14. In Whom we have our redemption through His blood, [which means] the forgiveness of our sins.

Again, in verse 14, we see the wonder of being "in Christ" through the forgiveness of sin. Amen? I think we better stop here for today, because we move, in verse 15, into a foundational truth to our belief.

I love you.