Well, let's turn to the portion
of Scripture that we've just read, Colossians 1, and reading
again verses 12 and 13. Paul writes, giving thanks unto
the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
Son. Colossians 1 and considering
these verses 12 and 13 giving thanks unto the Father which
hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
in light who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and
hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. In part of the chapter, as is
customary with the Apostle, he sends his greetings to the church
at Colossae. Praise be unto you, he says,
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And
again, here in the words of our text, he would return thanks
unto the Father. And especially in relation to
that great work that has been rendered by God the Son. And as we look at these words
then in verses 12 and 13, I want to say something with regards
to the deliverance from darkness that is being spoken of. This
is what Paul would give thanks unto the Father for, that there
is a deliverance from darkness, a translation, into the kingdom
of light, the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. And first
of all to say something with regards to the power of darkness,
as he speaks of it here in the 13th verse. Thanking God you
have delivered us from the power of darkness, he says. What are
we to understand by this reference to the power of darkness? I mentioned some four things.
First of all, clearly, what we have here is the kingdom of Satan. It's not just darkness that these
believers of Colossae have been delivered from, it's the power,
literally the authority, the authority of of darkness and
remember in this world who the prince of the power of the air
is the apostle speaks of him there in the second chapter of
his epistle to the Ephesians the prince, he says, of the power
of the air. This is that fallen angel, Satan
himself. And John tells us how the whole
world lies in wickedness, or the whole world lies in the wicked
one. And again, Paul reminds the Ephesians
that their conflict, their warfare, is not to do with the powers that are so familiar amongst
the nations of the earth. No, he says, we wrestle not with
flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, with the rulers of
the darkness of this world, with spiritual wickedness in high
places. And this then is that kingdom
that seems to pertain throughout the fallen world. And it is at
that the Lord Jesus Christ was manifested to destroy all the
powers of darkness. Remember when the Lord comes
to the end of his earthly ministry with the cross before him and
all that that would entail of his sufferings. And he says there
in Luke 22, 53, this is your hour and the power of darkness. With regards to those who would
arrest him and arraign him and ultimately crucify him, this
is your hour, he says, and the power of darkness. And of course,
by that death upon the cross, he has destroyed all the works
of the devil. But isn't what we're reading
of then, it's the kingdom of Satan that is being spoken of
in this 13th verse. The power, the authority of darkness. And in contrast, when we think
of the Lord Jesus Christ, when he declares himself as the Great
I Am and says, I am the light of the world, He that followeth
me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. God is light and in Him is no
darkness at all. There's a contrast in being drawn
here. Satan's kingdom is certainly being spoken of. And Satan's
kingdom, in the second place we might say, is also what we
associate with sin. It's the domain of sin, the domain
of rebellion against God and disobedience of God and all his
commandments. And sin so often committed under
the cover of darkness. Again, remember those familiar
words in John 3.19, men love darkness rather than light, it
says. Why do men love darkness rather
than light? Because their deeds were evil. Their deeds were evil. And how
the wise man speaks of these things, those sins that are committed
in the dark, in the night season. Many imagine, you see, that the
dark will hide their sins, but of course there's no hiding from
that all-seeing eye of God. But look at the language of the
wise man there in Proverbs chapter 7. verse 6 following, he's speaking
of the strange woman, the whore, and he says this, at the windows
of my house I looked through my casement and beheld among
the simple ones I discerned among the youths a young man void of
understanding passing through the street near her corner and
he went away to her house in the twilight, in the evening,
in the black and dark night And behold, there met him a woman
with the attire of an harlot, and subtle of heart. She is loud
and stubborn, and her feet abide not in her house, nor is she
without them in the streets, and lieth in wait at every corner. So she caught him, and kissed
him, and with an impudent face said unto him, I have peace-offerings
with me, this day I have paid my vows. And so, all the works
of Sinful men are committed, are they not, there in the night
season, when all is darkness, all is darkness. Again, Paul
can say to the Thessalonians, they that be drunken are drunk
in the night. It's in the night, it's the night
season. And again, the difference with those who are the people
of God, Paul says, you are all the children of light and the
children of the day. We are not of the night, nor
of darkness. This kingdom of darkness, it
is the domain of the sinful actions of men. And believers are to
turn from all these wicked ways, have no fellowship, with the
unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them," says
the apostle. Now he has to give exhortation
time and again as he writes to these infant churches. As you
know, in the epistles we often see how after dealing with the
great doctrines of the faith, in the second part of the epistles
we come to the practical outworking of those doctrines, when there
is that true faith, there will be that separation from all the
powers of darkness. And so, writing for example to
the church at Rome, he says at the end of chapter 13, the night
is far spent, the day is at hand, let us therefore cast off the
works of darkness. and let us put on the armor of
light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day, not in rioting
and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife
and envying, but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not
provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. Oh, it's Satan's
kingdom, and that kingdom is clearly the domain of sinful
ways and sinful practices. But then, thirdly, with regards
to the power of darkness, do we not see in Scripture that
it is associated with ignorance? Ignorance of God? Ignorance of
the ways of God? The psalmist in Psalm 82 and
verse 5, he says, they know not, neither will they understand,
they walk on in darkness. Those who have no understanding
of God, or God's Word, or God's ways, they walk on in darkness. And what we have in the Psalm,
there in the Old Testament, we have the same when we come to
the New Testament. Paul reminds those believers
in the church at Ephesus what they were when they were Gentiles
in all their native ignorance, strangers to the covenants of
promise. Without God, without Christ in
the world, he says, having the understanding darkened, alienated
from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them
because of the blindness of their heart. Oh, that is the darkness that
covers a fallen world. The world that lies in the wicked
one is a world that is ignorant. Ignorant of God, ignorant of
God's words. And we're told quite clearly
that that is the case. Behold, the darkness shall cover
the earth. The darkness shall cover the
earth. great darkness, and that darkness
associated with ignorance, and no knowledge of the Lord God
Himself. But then we have the promise,
the great promise of the Gospel. There in Isaiah 9 too, the people
that walked in darkness, it says, have seen a great light. They
that dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath
the light shined. or where there is that darkness,
that ignorance. So the light of the gospel is
to come into that wicked world. The light shineth in the darkness,
we're taught. And the darkness comprehended
it not. The darkness cannot overcome
it. And that's really the theme that runs through this text.
giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be
partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light, who hath
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated
us into the kingdom of his dear Son." What is the power of darkness? Well, we've said it's the kingdom
of Satan, it's the domain of sin, it's that place where there
is gross ignorance and no knowledge of God And ultimately that's
not hell itself. Hell is that place of darkness.
And with regards to those fallen angels Jude speaks of that that
God has appointed for them. They are reserved in the blackness
of darkness. awaiting their right and final
judgment. How is that dark about, where
there is no saving knowledge of God? Though there be no unbelief
there, no saving faith there, and yet that awareness that God
is, and eternally shut off from any communion with God. The blackness of darkness forever,
it says. Here then we have the power of
darkness, but what I want to concentrate on is deliverance. It's deliverance that we read
of in the text. And that deliverance involves
something positive. There's a translation. And the
translation into the kingdom of the Lord Jesus
Christ. have translated us, it says,
into the kingdom of his dear Son, partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light. Now, let us observe just whose
kingdom it is that is being spoken of. It is the kingdom of the
Lord Jesus Christ. And that must surely remind us
of a number of things. First of all, does he not remind
us of the truth of the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ? His
sovereignty. He is the King. In fact, He is
the King of kings. He is the Lord of lords. He is
the one to whom all power, all authority has been committed. Christ's sovereignty. And I wanted
to think of that sovereignty in two ways for a while. First
of all, sovereignty we recognize to be absolute in terms of the
doctrine of the Godhead, in terms of the doctrine of God. It's
an absolute authority. But then secondly, I want us
to think about also there's that sense in which it is an appointed
sovereignty in terms of the covenant of grace and the outworking of
that great covenant. First of all, Christ's sovereignty
is to be understood surely in terms of the truth of his deity,
that he is God. He is God. What do we read here
at the end of verse 13? It's the kingdom of his dear
son. Or as the margin says, it's the
kingdom of the son of his love. The kingdom of the son of his
love. And that reminds us of what John says concerning the
sonship of the Lord Jesus there in verse 3 of his second epistle. The second epistle of John, in
verse 3, we read of the son of the father in truth and in love. He is truly the son of the father. He is the only begotten of the
father. He is that one who was ever always
the delight of the father. And remember what John goes on
to say in that second epistle, "...whosoever transgresseth,"
he says, "...and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath
not God." Neither abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath
both the Father and the Son. Or the Father and the Son. He is that One who is equal then
to the Father, the Son of the Father. the Son of His love,
His Son in truth and in love. And now, of course here, Paul
goes on to speak of these things. Verse 15, he refers to Him who
is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature,
always before all creation, for by Him were all things created.
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers,
all things were created by Him, and for Him, and He is before
all things, and by Him all things consist." His sovereignty then,
is the sovereignty that belongs to that One who is truly God,
His deity. Thy throne, O God, is for ever
and ever. The scepter of Thy kingdom is
a righteous scepter, says the psalmist. And we can think of
the language that we have there in the second psalm. Yet have
I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion, I will declare the decree. The Lord hath said unto me, this
day have I begotten thee this day or not yesterday or tomorrow
but this present time as Luther says so rightly he is that one
who is ever being born the eternal son the eternal son of the eternal
father and he is stronger than the strong man of If that kingdom
of darkness has to do with the realm of Satan, well, what is
Paul doing? He's reminding the Colossians
that there is one who is greater than Satan. Satan is a strong
man, but there is one mightier than he. One who is able to overcome
all those powers of darkness, who have delivered us from the
power of darkness. And that translated us into the
kingdom of his dear son. But as he is one who has absolute
sovereignty in terms of his deity, in terms of the doctrine of God,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three persons in one Godhead,
co-equal, as well as co-eternal, but then in the covenant of grace,
in the covenant of grace he has an appointed sovereignty. How
he has willingly entered into that covenant, that great covenant
of redemption from before the foundation of the world in which
he willingly agrees to become the servant of God. And how the
Lord speaks of his kingdom is that that has been appointed
to him. It's what was appointed to him. Look at the language
that we have in that 22nd chapter of Luke's Gospel. How the Lord
speaks here to his own disciples. And what does he say? Verse 29,
I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my father hath appointed unto
me, that ye may eat and drink at my table, in my kingdom, and
sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. The Lord speaking
to his own disciples. I appoint unto you a kingdom,
as my father hath appointed unto me. You see, in that covenant,
the Father gave Christ a kingdom and gave Christ an inheritance. And that kingdom, that inheritance
belongs to all those who are chosen in the Lord Jesus Christ.
They have an interest in these things. Isn't this what he is
saying here in verse 12? He speaks of giving thanks unto
the Father which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light. All these are given unto the
Son and so they must be translated, have translated us into the kingdom
of His dear Son. And when the Lord Jesus comes
to the end of his earthly ministry, when he comes to the end of all
of that humiliation, oh how he had humbled himself, how he became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, wherefore
God also highly exalted him, says Paul, giving him a name
which is above every name. And so we see Christ after his
death raised again from the dead and ultimately ascending to heaven.
But what does he say at the end of the Gospel of Matthew? All
power, all authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever
I have commanded you, and lo! I am with you always, even unto
the end of the world." All that commission, you see. It's the
outworking of the covenants. And there we see that he has
a sovereignty that is appointed to him, because he is the God-man. oh he is God's but he is that
one who has also become a man and he has entered heaven there
as a as a real man as the God man and there in heaven he ever
lives to make intercession or the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus
Christ it's absolute yes when we think in terms of who he is
the eternal Son and yet in that great work of redemption and
salvation the outworking of the Covenant the Father as appointed
and so Paul says giving thanks unto the Father giving thanks
unto the Father for He does not withhold His Son even His only
begotten Son but delivers Him up for sinners and this Kingdom
of the Lord Jesus Christ it's not only one in which he is the
sovereign, it's also, we have to remember, a spiritual kingdom. It's a spiritual kingdom. My
kingdom is not of this world, he says to Pontius Pilate. If my kingdom were of this world,
then would my servants fight. It's not a worldly kingdom. Those who are The subjects of the Lord Jesus
Christ in that spiritual kingdom, they are involved in a warfare,
as we've already said, they're involved in a conflict, but not
with flesh and blood. It's a spiritual conflict. Or
the kingdom of God is not to be thought of in terms of anything
external. The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink, says Paul, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy
Ghost. It's not the observance of rituals
and ceremonies. It is that that is established
in the heart of the sinner. Again, remember when the Pharisees
come to the Lord and speak with him concerning his kingdom, how
the Lord answers them. There in the 17th chapter of
the Gospel according to St. Luke, they come and they demand
Christ. This is the Pharisees. Verse
20 in Luke 17, when the kingdom of God should come. He was demanded
of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come. He answered
them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation. Or as the Margin says, cometh
not with outward show, neither shall they say, Lo, hear. or,
lo there, for behold, the kingdom of God is within you. Always kingdom is spiritual in
its very nature. It's an inward kingdom. And what
is it that is established in that kingdom? Spiritual deliverance. Christ is the great deliverer.
And isn't that what we have here? who hath delivered us who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son it's a deliverance from from one kingdom and a translation
into another kingdom that's what we read It's from darkness to
light. It's from condemnation to justification. It's from guilt to pardon. It's
from misery to happiness. It's from death to life. That's
the kingdom. By nature we're the children
of wrath, even as others. Oh, but when we're delivered
and translated into that blessed kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ,
That's a lovely verse, isn't it, that we have in 2 Corinthians
1.10, "...who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver,
in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us." Always deliver
us from so great a death. When the Lord begins to take
us in hand and to instruct us and to teach us, He shows us
something what that so great a death is. He shuts us up to
what we are by nature. He makes us feel what we are
as sinners, our complete impotence. What can we do? We cannot save
ourselves, we cannot help ourselves. We feel our complete and utter
spiritual inability. It's so great a death. And yet
there is deliverance in the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, it's the work
of Christ to deliver. We are those who are under the
condemnation of the broken Lord of God. Cursed is everyone that
continueth not in all things written in the book of the law
to do them. Says Paul, we're under that curse, we've broken
the law, we cannot make amends. But what does Paul go on to say
there in Galatians 3? Christ has redeemed us from the
curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written,
Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. And thus, in this
passage, Paul is speaking of the person of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and we've referred to those remarkable words in verses
15, 16, and 17. But doesn't he also go on to
make mention of what the Lord has done. The work
of the Lord Jesus Christ, verse 20, having made peace through
the blood of his cross by him to reconcile all things unto
himself by him I say whether they be things in earth or things
in heaven and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your
mind by wicked works yet now have he reconciled in the body
of his flesh through death to present you holy and unblameable
and unreprovable in his sight or the precious blood of Christ
that purges away all sin that washes away all the guilt, all
the filth of sin Paul says we have the sentence
of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves
but in God which raiseth the dead. Oh, we are to live then
as those who are ever looking to this person and the work that
he has accomplished, God's dear son, the son of his love, the
one in whom there is this great deliverance. We which live, Paul
says, are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the
life also of Jesus might be manifest in our mortal bodies. We have
to live that life, you see, of complete dependence upon Him. I am crucified with Christ, he
says. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.
In the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith
of the Son of God who loved me. and gave himself for mine." Oh,
there are many deliverances. That's why I so like that statement
that the Apostle makes there in 2 Corinthians 1.10, who delivered
us from so great a death, and doth deliver, in whom we trust
that he will yet deliver us. It's deliverance in the past,
it's deliverance in the present, it's deliverance to come, deliverance
in the future. Now we need those deliverances.
In the language of the Psalm, O God, command deliverances for
Jacob. And God has commanded it. And
it's all in the Lord Jesus Christ. Many are the afflictions of the
righteous, but the Lord delivereth them out of them all. And so, do we not have cause
to come before God in a spirit of real gratitude, with thanksgivings. All Paul can speak of giving
thanks. As we pray, yes, we need to ask God to come and to grant
us time and again the blessings of salvation, and we need to
taste the forgiveness of sins daily. Well, can we not thank God that
our prayers are never uttered in vain? He will hear, He will
answer, He will deliver. Giving thanks unto the Father
which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance
of the saints in light, who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear
Son. Oh, the Lord grant His blessing
to be upon this word for His namesake. Now let us before we pray again
sing a second praise tonight. The hymn is 748, the tune Saxby
409. In darkness born I went astray and wondered from the gospel-way,
and since the Saviour gave me sight, I cannot see without His
light.