HE HAS DELIVERED US FROM THE DOMAIN OF DARKNESS…
And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil—In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.—The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple—…since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God
…AND TRANSFERRED US TO THE KINGDOM OF HIS BELOVED SON
the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.—This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.—for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light—But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.—But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble…
Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.—Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Col.1:13 ESV; Jn.3:19 ESV; II Cor.4:4 ESV; Ps. 119:130 NKJV; I Pet.1:23 ESV; Col.1:13ESV; I Tim. 6:15-16 ESV; I Jn. 1:5 ESV; Eph 5:8 ESV; I Jn. 1:7 ESV; . Prov. 4:18-19 ESV; Col.1:12 ESV; Jude 1:24-25 ESV
I sat this morning for a little while and meditated on the implications of this phrase in Colossians: He has delivered us from the domain of DARKNESS. I took it one word at a time.
HE–God has done this, giving me no reason to gloat over those who yet stumble in darkness as though I had delivered myself from its grip
HAS–It is done. We who have been delivered no longer need dwell in darkness.
DELIVERED–I’ve been rescued, again, not of my own devising!
US–This is not an exclusive deliverance. We who’ve been brought into the Kingdom of God’s beloved Son share a kinship, a common cause for worship and for humble gratitude.
FROM–Out of one system of rule into another glorious Kingdom; what are the implications of this transfer?
THE DOMAIN–I was stuck under the tyranny of sin and Satan, but no more!
OF DARKNESS–Darkness is blinding, confusing, a place for evil to proliferate, a place of groping and confusion, of tripping and falling without hope or help. This is no longer descriptive of my life trajectory…
I work in a Thrift store affiliated with one of our local churches. My job is to sift through the enormous quantity of books that come in for those that are best suited for our shelves… This has launched me on a course of reading/sampling many more authors than I would normally have a taste for. We receive a significant quantity of books in the Health & Wellness category and correspondingly, in what would be the ‘Spirituality’ shelf, if we had one. People are searching, wanting to be healthy and whole, looking for meaning, open to whatever guru uses nice words and promises them peace, harmony and freedom from stress and tyrannical habits. But in all the nice words and assurances (and the bizarre claims!) there is no power to implement the needed changes. Some writers really do seem to have a vision for what God intended to be man’s experience as portrayed in the Garden of Eden…but they bypass the reality of the Fall and pretend we can get back to the Garden on our own steam…
My reading only confirms in my mind this great salvation in which I stand, this dynamic transfer God has done on my behalf, delivering me from a realm of darkness where stumbling, falling and death are inevitable, and into the bright and holy Kingdom of His Son where I can live as was intended from before time began! I have been made a child of the Light and as I walk in that light, move towards the One who is Light, and revel in His greatness I am made to shine in a dark world. Such a mystery. Such a wonder. Such a cause for awe!
–LS