Paul has reminded the Colossian believers that they
now share in the inheritance of the saints in light. We noted yesterday that this is a
description of their current status as Christians rather than their future
existence in heaven. And we observed that this shared possession is only one of
many ways by which the Bible describes the experience of conversion. In our verses Paul mentions other aspects of what occurs when a person becomes a
believer. Yet all these ways of describing salvation have one thing in common –
they each stress that salvation involves a great change. Paul continues with
his imagery of light, except he also uses its opposite (darkness) to describe those
outside the inheritance of the saints in light.
Paul by this description reminds the Colossians that
they had been born into a particular spiritual realm. They were Colossians by
race, but they also belonged to another relationship, that of sinners in a
wasteland ruled by the powers of darkness. Of course, they could not see that
they were in a world of no hope because sin had blinded them to the reality of
their situation.
What is life like in the domain of darkness? There each
person has a built-in bias against God and his commandments. They do not want
to submit to his requirements, they show no interest in his promises, and they
pay no attention to his warnings. They are guided along in this outlook by the
ruler of the dark world, the devil himself. He does not have to compel them to
do anything, because they are not neutral with regard to things. They prefer
his kingdom to God’s kingdom.
The Christians in Colosse had
been taken out of that domain and
brought into the kingdom of God’s Son (another name for the inheritance of the
saints in light). What is life like in this kingdom and how is it different
from existence in the domain of darkness? We will think about that in tomorrow’s
reading, but for now, if we are Christians, we should thank God for taking us
out of the kingdom of darkness.
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