Day 4 - On Earth as it is in Heaven (Col 1:12-14)

¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Colossians 1:12-14

The words that really stuck out to me in this passage were the concept of being “transferred into the kingdom” of Jesus. But before we go there, Paul reinforces some previous messages…

·         Giving thanks – it can’t be overlooked that again Paul gives thanks to God. It is such a consistent part of his prayer life.

·         God qualifies - Our position as children, heirs with an eternal inheritance, saints is all because God qualified us. Paul reinforces the concept of grace and what that means for us and our identity. It has nothing to do with us or our efforts. We are qualified as children, heirs, and saints all – and only – because of God. I’m reminded of the famous Henry Blackaby quote, “The reality is that the Lord never calls the qualified; He qualifies the called.”

Darkness to Light

God qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He delivers us from the domain of darkness. The juxtaposition of light and darkness is one frequently seen, rich with meaning. It is a contrast of good and evil. God and the devil. Holy versus sin-filled. Submission versus selfishness. Freedom versus bondage and striving. Peace versus anxiety. God’s way versus our way.

We are either walking in light or in darkness. And the darkness is often so appealing. We can’t be seen as clearly. We can hide. We can blend in. We can go our own way. But darkness makes our eyes unable to see, our hearts hardened.

Two passages always give me pause when it relates to our choice to life in darkness or in the light and how the two can’t co-exist…

You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4

No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Matthew 6:24a

How in the world do we do this?

We don’t. God does.

Domain of Darkness to Kingdom of God

Paul tells us that God has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to (other translations say “brought us into”) the kingdom of His beloved Son.

It is past tense, meaning it has already occurred. We HAVE BEEN deliverED and we HAVE BEEN transferrED to this new kingdom.

Do you remember what John the Baptist says as he begins his ministry? It is the same words Jesus says when he begins His public ministry…after being baptized by John, fasting 40 days and nights, resisting temptation from the devil and emerging from the wilderness?

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 3:2, Matthew 4:17

We tend to think delivery is all about eternity – and that is true – but it is also for NOW.  So we have to reshape our thinking about the kingdom – what, when and where it is.

This kingdom is what Jesus talks about frequently. He teaches what this kingdom of heaven is like, often through parables... So valuable you would trade anything for it. Like a mustard seed and yeast, small, but powerful and life changing…taking time to do its work. We should seek first the kingdom, and everything else will follow. The humble are called great in the kingdom. We should seek the kingdom as children…full of trust and obedience. In the present the good and bad grow up together in the kingdom like wheat and weeds, but will eventually be separated for eternity. Workers in the kingdom must be single minded in devotion to the things of God. We must be born again to be in the kingdom – shed the old earthly ways, and put on the ways of God. It is hard for the rich – the self-reliant – to enter the kingdom…we must recognize complete dependence on God.

THIS is what we were transferred in to.

• What – the kingdom of God. A new kingdom. A new way of living, with Jesus as the head.
• When – now and forever. Begins when Jesus ushered it in ty His death and resurrection.
• Where – here and there. ON earth as it is in heaven.

We have been delivered from darkness and transferred into a kingdom of light. The kingdom is here and now.

So, what we believe matters, what we spend our time doing matters, what we prioritize matters, how we are transforming matters, how we are treating other people matters, how we are spending our time matters, how we are spending our money matters, what we are teaching our kids matters.

This new kingdom comes with redemption and forgiveness. There is freedom. Any debts past, present and future have been paid in full. The slate is wiped clean. Now we need to live like we are children, saints, heirs of the kingdom...seeking God first.