Paul's epistle to the Colossians
in chapter one and verse 13. Paul's epistle to the Colossians
chapter one verse 13 reads, who have delivered us from the
power of darkness and have translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son. God who have delivered us from
the power of darkness and have translated us into the kingdom
of his dear son. In the epistle to the Colossians, we see the veil of that which
is temporary, the veil of that which is fleshly, earthly, the
veil of all that which is temporal, which obscures that which is
real. We see this veil this veil which
men look upon and see, this veil of that which they can see with
the natural sight, this veil of that which is earthly, this
veil of that which can be seen, touched, handled and felt. We
see this veil, this mirage taken away and we see a glorious vision
of heavenly realities behind them. Paul, as it were, makes
his hearers to see that which is eternal in the heavens. He
takes their gaze away from that which is upon the earth, and
sets it upon that which is heavenly. He brushes aside that which is
merely passing, that which is fading, that which deceives the
nations and natural man. All is brushed aside, all is
taken away from the gaze, and that which is eternal in the
heavens, that which is everlasting. That which is real is made clear. The fragility and the temporiness,
the passingness, the nothingness of all those things in which
men trust and which men look to, which men can see with the
natural eye and understand with the natural mind. The fragility
and nothingness of these things is exposed. and the tremendous
truth, the tremendous worth, the tremendous reality, the riches,
the splendor of that which is eternal. That which men scoff
upon, that which men mock at, that which men cannot see and
cannot comprehend, but that which is true, that which is everlasting,
that which is really real is brought into the gaze and the
sight of faith. That which was once a mystery,
hid from ages and generations, is made known and revealed. And
what is that mystery? Chapter 1 and verse 26, 27 makes
this known. What is that mystery which was
hid from ages and from generations, but which is now made manifest
to his saints? What is that mystery? The riches
of the glory of this mystery revealed to the Gentiles. What
is that mystery? It is Christ in you, the hope
of glory. It's that mystery of the gospel.
That mystery of which Paul speaks in Romans 16, which he speaks
in 1 Corinthians 2 and verse 7, in Ephesians in several places,
and again here in Colossians. often speaks of this mystery
which was once hid but which is now made known but we speak
the wisdom of God in the mystery even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory which none of
the princes of this world knew for had they known it they would
not have crucified the lord of glory this mystery which is made
now this mystery of the gospel This mystery of Christ in you,
the hope of glory. This is Paul's message in Colossians.
In Colossians, in the gospel, in reality, this mystery is made
known. This mystery in the gospel, in
reality, is Christ. For Christ is in all. Christ
is all and is in all. He is all. Paul would lift up
the gaze to Christ take it away from everything which we can
see in this world everything which passes all which is of
the old man Adam and point the gaze to the second man the last
Adam Christ and all that is in him and all that is heavenly
all that is everlasting. So in Colossians Paul writes
this epistle he writes this epistle to the faithful brethren in Christ
which are at Colossae This is a people whom Paul had never
met. As with one or two of his other epistles, he wrote the
epistle to the Romans before he ever went to Rome, before
he ever met them. Again, with the epistle to the
Colossians, he'd never met this people. He'd never seen them
in the flesh. And yet he writes this epistle.
Why does he write it? Why does he write to this people
whom he has never seen? he writes because though he's
never seen them in the flesh though as he says in chapter
2 and verse 1 even to as many as have not seen my face in the
flesh though he's never seen them yet he is one in them he's
one with them in Christ he's one in the spirit he has this
glorious vision of the gospel that we are one in Christ that
we are in Christ that we are one body in Christ that the church
is in Christ the body of Christ is the church And it is in Paul's
sight, it is in the heavens, it is seated in heavenly places
even now. And though there are those on
this earth whom he has yet to see, when he hears of their faith,
when he hears of their love of Christ, when he hears of them
being in Christ, when he hears of their hope which they have
in the gospel, he is as it were one with them. And he has a burden
to, right to them, to comfort them, to see them established
in the truth. So when he hears from Epaphras, this fellow servant,
their faithful minister at the church in Colossae, this minister
of Christ at Colossae, Epaphras, when he comes to Paul and tells
Paul of all that is done in that city and all that is done in
the assembly of God's saints in that place, Paul is moved
to write to that people for for his love for that people and
for his love for his fellow servant Epaphras. Epaphras came to Paul,
Epaphras had heard the gospel, he knew something of that mystery
of the gospel. But he came to Paul and Paul
ministered to Epaphras and he brought Epaphras to know the
truth of the gospel more perfectly. He established his fellow servant
in the gospel and Epaphras would have desired that Paul would
labor with him to see that people gathered by God at that city
in Colossae, to see them also established in that gospel, to
see them come to know the knowledge of the truth and that fellowship
of the mystery, that revelation of the Son of God in the gospel.
He longed to see them established in the truth, to see them built
up in it, that they might come to a unity in Christ, to the
stature of the perfect man, to that stature of oneness in the
truth in Jesus Christ, the perfect man. So Paul writes to this people
whom he had not seen. And he writes, as it were, not
just to them at that time, but he writes to the church of Christ
throughout all the ages. He writes not just to the Colossians,
but he writes in spirit to them there. He writes in spirit to
all the church in their day, and he writes in spirit to us
now, that they might be established in the truth, and that we too
might be established in the truth. might be established in Christ
and might be established in heavenly places in Christ and delivered
from all that is earthly delivered from all that is that obscures
the gaze of faith upon that which is heavenly and which is everlasting
delivered from all that which is earthly and which is of earthly
errors and deception and set the gaze upon that which is everlasting
so Paul writes he writes to them and he writes to us and he writes
this truth of comfort that we have read in this verse in this
first chapter in the earlier verses he sets forth his love
for the saints he describes how he has heard of them he describes
his prayer for them that they might walk worthy of the lord
unto all pleasing that they might be strengthened with all might
according to his glorious power and he gives thanks unto the
father which have made us them him and all the church in Christ,
all his people, which have made us meet to be partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light. And he says this word
in verse 13, who have delivered us from the power of darkness
and have translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. So he begins with his desire that they might
know that Christ, that God has delivered them from the power
of darkness and have translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son. The power of darkness. The power of darkness. This is
what the son came to deliver his people from, the power of
darkness. What do you know of the power
of darkness. Have you discovered anything
of the power and the force of darkness? Have you discovered
anything of its power in the world around you? Have you discovered
anything of the power of darkness in your own heart in your own
mind and in your own flesh? For this is where we are by nature
this is where we are we are in darkness we're in darkness and
we're under its power we're under its authority we're under its
grip we're under its deception we're dark and we're under the
power of darkness and the world lieth in darkness the world lieth
in wickedness it lieth in wickedness the world is dark it is blind
it is dead this is where we are before ever we'll know anything
of the kingdom of God's dear Son, we will have to discover
just how dark we are by nature, and just what a power there is
in this world, the power of darkness. We're earthly, we're dead, we're
full of sin, we're carnal. As we said last week, we're carnally
minded. Our minds, our mentality, our
thinking is of this earth. It's earthly, we're blind, we're
dark. We're blind to all that is real,
all that is true, all that is everlasting, all that is of God.
With the natural sight and the natural thinking we can see everything
in this world, everything that is of the earth, everything which
is earthly. We can see what we can see with
our eyes, we see people, we see things, we see the world, we
go places, we do things. We hear the speech of man, we
hear the thoughts and opinions of man. We hear everything that
goes on in this world and everything which seems real to us is that
which we can see, which we can comprehend with the senses, that
which we can touch, that which we can handle, that which we
can feel, that which we can hear. All of this is real to us. And
yet in God's eyes and in reality, all of this is so far from reality. It's a mirage. It's a deception. It's that which deceives the
nations, and it's that which leads countless numbers along
in darkness. It's that which keeps them in
darkness, and it's that which keeps them walking along merrily,
as it were, through this world, thinking they see when they see
not, thinking they can see when they are blind, thinking they
live when they are dead. And it leads them, as the Piper
of Hamelin would lead the children, it leads them away into this
structure. what fools we are by nature we say in our hearts
there is no god we look upon that which we can see and we
think these things are real but they're but temporary they're
passing our life is but a vapor whereas grass that grows up one
minute and is cut down the next life is but a vapor we live three
score years and ten as our years pass by they rapidly go when
we're 10, 15, 20 we think we have years ahead of us but when
we get to 60, 70, 80 we look back and see how fleeting
life was and we dare not look upon death we look back with
our memories we won't look upon death but we're too fearful to
look upon it yet the day comes when all die when we come to
see what is really real for this world is not real friends it
is not real it's but a miserage It's the deception of Satan to
make people think that here and now is all that will ever be.
That here and now will carry on forever. That we are, as it
were, immortal. When the reality is we're very,
very mortal in this world. And there comes a day when we
pass from this world. And there comes a day when we
will know that our souls are immortal. And that they do not
just end with death. But there is an existence after
death. and that there are spiritual realities which go on beyond
time and which are experienced and which can be touched handled
and felt not in this world but in the next when we will feel
what it is like to be in the next world and we will either
enter into the kingdom of God's dear son in light or we will
pass from this world of darkness into outer darkness from which
there is no escape and which is torture forevermore and we
will feel it we will feel the darkness of that time of that
eternity and we will know what was real may we discover what
is real now Paul's zeal for the Colossians was that they might
look upon those things which were real look beyond everything
which was temporary look beyond that which they could see in
this world know that their existence had passed from that which was
in in the earth into that which was in the heavenlies to look
upon that which was everlasting and not be taken up with the
things of time and sense but to look to where they were in
Christ to where they had been delivered to where they now dwelt
to look upon these things For all that is in this world is
darkness. Doesn't matter how religious
we might be in this world. Doesn't matter how moral we might
be in this world. However religious, however moral,
however zealous you might be. If you're outside of Christ,
if you're outside of his kingdom, you are still in the power of
darkness. You are still dark, everything
is dark. Everything is under the power
of dark. That power of darkness permeates all that is of the
earth, all that is earthly, whether it is religious or irreligious. Everything which is in the churches
and passes for Christianity which falls short of the gospel of
God's Son, which falls short of the full revelation of Jesus
Christ as he is in the gospel, as he's made known in the mystery
that gospel as he's made known in that mystery which has been
hid from ages and from generations everything which is outside of
this mystery everything however religious however much it might
take from the scriptures however much it might take the name of
jesus if it's stopped short of that mystery which is revealed
by the spirit it's all darkness and most of religion most of
christianity so-called most of that which is done and said in
the name of jesus in our day is darkness let us not be found in the darkness
whether it be the darkness of this world in irreligion or the
darkness of false religion which takes the true god out of the
message of the gospel and which puts man in his place which takes
the will of God in saving all those whom he would save, and
puts the will of man in its place to save those whom man would
have saved. For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness
in high places. You see, we look upon this world,
we look upon men, we look upon the things which go on, we look
upon that which is done in religion and we see what is outward. And
we see men doing and saying various things, but behind all of this,
there lies a power. There lies a power which controls
it. There are powers, there are the rulers of the darkness of
this world. There is spiritual weakness in
high places. And it goes forth to deceive
the nations. satan goes forth to deceive the
nation so many are deceived many in our day particularly in the
western world with their great learning and intellect with their
colleges and universities scoff at spiritual realities they make
light of them they speak of science they speak of things which can
be touched and seen everything must be proven in the science
lab. Everything must be quantified.
All talk of an afterlife, all talk of spirits, all talk of
those things which are spiritual, I laugh at that. And yet these
things are true. There are spiritual principalities
and powers. And Paul writes to the Colossians,
reminding them of these things. The Colossians, in their day,
They knew that there was a spiritual realm. They knew that what could
be seen was not everything. And yet the Colossians' problem
was that they still stopped short of that which is in Christ alone.
They would still turn to the creature rather than the creator.
Though they knew that God created all things, though they knew
that salvation was in Christ, they found themselves taken up by worshipping those things which
were created. They found themselves indeed
worshipping angels. They knew that there were angels,
they knew that there were principalities and powers, they knew that there
was a world outside what they could see in this world. But
they still ended up worshipping the creature. And all religion,
however spiritual it might seem, if it stops short of Christ alone,
it stops short of the message of salvation in Christ alone,
if it stops short of Christ being over all and in all, if it brings
anything else in, if it brings anything else in alongside then
it's darkness. And Paul writes to the Colossians
to remind them that everything is in Christ and everything is
in that mystery which is made known in him. So he reminds them
that they have been, they have been delivered from the power
of darkness and they have been translated into the kingdom of
his dear son. Darkness. We're in darkness by
nature. Turn to Exodus in chapter 10.
We're in darkness in many, many places in the scriptures. Many
times it's set forth as a picture of that which is evil, that which
is earthly, that which is outside of the things of God that which
is contrary to that light which is in God and in Exodus when
the children of Israel were when the Hebrews were in captivity
in the land of Egypt and when they groaned for reason of their
bondage and when God purposed to bring them out to deliver
them out of the captivity in which they were God sent a number
of plagues upon Egypt to bring the Egyptians to their knees
and to bring Pharaoh to his knees that he might bring his people
out. And one of those plagues which we read of in chapter 10
and verse 21 was a plague of darkness. And the Lord said unto
Moses, stretch out thine hand towards heaven that there may
be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may
be felt. And Moses stretched forth his
hand toward heaven and there was a thick darkness in all the
land of Egypt three days. They saw not one another, neither
rose any from his place for three days, but all the children of
Israel had light in their dwellings. There's this difference placed
between the Egyptians and the Israelites in this place. The Israelites had light in their
dwellings, but all around was darkness. Read what it says in
verse 21 of this darkness. There was darkness, even darkness,
which may be felt. have you felt the darkness when
there's pitch darkness you can feel it the darkness in this
world the darkness of sin of corruption the evil which permeates
this world and its thinking can be felt as the spirit brought
you to feel it as he brought you to feel it in your flesh
in the barrenness in your flesh as he brought you to that point
of being able to say that in my flesh there dwelleth no good
thing that I am dead by nature and except the Lord deliver me
from the power of darkness that is where I will remain those
who are brought to this place it's not a light thing and they're
brought to know how dark they are and how lost they are or
never truly brought to their knees it's a desperate place
it's a desperate place to be brought to feel the darkness
to feel how lost you are in the darkness to feel how helpless
you are in the darkness when you're in darkness and there's
not a light not even a flicker of a flame of a light when you
know that you're in darkness you stumble about You may work,
you may strive, you may go this way and go that way, but you
stumble, you crash, you fall, you stumble. You're dark, you're
in darkness, you cannot see in the darkness, you cannot escape
the darkness. You'll be brought to your knees
and you cry out in the darkness for one to come and to deliver
you from darkness. All who were truly saved are
brought to this place. and if this day you look back
upon your own pathway and you cannot say that there was a time
when you knew the darkness and you felt the darkness and you
felt your helplessness in the darkness and your poverty in
the darkness and that you couldn't see in the darkness then ask
yourselves the questions whether you've ever come to know the
light because you'll never know the light and you'll never know
what it is to see the light and to be translated into the light
till you've seen the darkness until you've cried out from the
midst of the darkness to the one who can deliver from darkness. There's darkness in this world.
There's darkness in its religion. There's darkness in its thinking.
There's darkness in its mind. There's darkness in carnal reason.
There's darkness in the flesh. There's darkness in all in which
men glory. It's all dark. and unless God
deliver us that's where we will remain of now and evermore. But that's not where Paul remains
either in this epistle or in this verse but he has this wonderful
message to those at Colossians who have heard the gospel, he's
heard of their faith in Christ Jesus, he's heard of their love
for the saints, he's heard of that word which they have heard
He's heard of the word of the truth of the gospel which they
did hear. And that word of the truth of
the gospel made known unto them that they were delivered from
the power of darkness. And they have been translated
into the kingdom of his dear son. For this son, the Lord Jesus
Christ came into this dark, dark world to deliver a people, to
deliver his people. deliver them from the darkness
and bring them into light to deliver them from the earth and
bring them into the heavens to deliver them from all which is
earthly and bring them into all which is heavenly to deliver
them from the temporariness of this passing time and bring them
into the eternity of the everlasting glory which is in him and everlasting
life in his in himself to deliver them from the kingdom of this
world, the kingdom, the power of darkness, and to bring them
into His kingdom and His reign and His authority, to deliver
them, to translate them into the kingdom of His desire. Christ
Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief,
Paul would say. He came, there came a time when
the light shone in the darkness, there came a time when the Lord
Jesus Christ was born a babe in Bethlehem, there came a time
when the people that dwelt in darkness should see a great light,
there came a time when that prophet was sent before the coming of
the Lord Jesus when he sent the one who would prepare his way,
when he sent John the Baptist, he sent him forth. And Zacharias,
filled with the Holy Ghost, was able to say of the one who would
come, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited
and redeemed his people, and hath raised up and honoured salvation
for us in the house of his servant David. He spake in the past by
the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world
began, that we should be saved from our enemies, and from the
hand of all that hate us, to perform the mercy promised to
our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which
he swore to our father Abraham, that he would grant unto us his
people, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve him without fear. in holiness and righteousness
before him all the days of our life. The time had come, the
time had come, and Zacharias was promised a son, even John,
who would go before the birth of the Lord Jesus. And this prophet
of the highest, him who went before the faiths of the Lord
to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation under
his people by the remission of their sins, he would make the
way plain. that the tender mercy of our
God would be made known in the day spring from on high which
have visited them to give light to them which sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death to guide their feet into the way
of peace. Yes, the time came when the Lord
was sent and he came unto his own, he came unto that people
which sat in darkness and yet at which point in time they saw
a great light. and that light was Christ and
that light was in the coming of Christ as he came into this
world to save his own and how did he save his own he saved
them by dying for them for in whom Paul writes in Colossians
1 and verse 14 in whom we have redemption through his blood
even the forgiveness of sins as Christ has delivered his people
out of the power of darkness He's translated them into the
kingdom of his son. How? Because he redeemed them
by his blood. He's brought them out of this
world, out of its mentality, out of the darkness into the
light. Out of that which is temporary into that, out of that which
is fleeting and that which is passing into that which is eternal.
Out of the flesh into the spirit. Out of bondage into freedom.
out of the earth into the heavens out of death into everlasting
life for in his death he swallowed up death he swallowed up sin
he swallowed up the wrath of God against the sins of his own
and having swallowed it up brought his people out of darkness into
light out of death into everlasting life. He hath delivered them
from the power of darkness. He hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear son. Not he will, not he may, not
he will if you receive him, but he hath, he's done everything
to deliver us up. He brought them out of darkness
and the shadow of death, and break their bands in sunder.
Read Psalm 107. Brought his people out of darkness. He separated the light from the
darkness, we read in Genesis. He separated Israel from the
darkness of Egypt around them. He swallowed up darkness. See Genesis 15. Genesis 15. We read of that darkness, which
came when Abraham was told to make a sacrifice. And when the
sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abraham, and low and
horror of great darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abraham,
Abraham, know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger
in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them, and they
shall afflict them 400 years. and also that nation whom they
shall serve will I judge and afterwards shall they come out
with great substance and thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace
thou shalt be buried in a good old age. This horror of great
darkness came upon Abraham as God prophesied to Abraham of
that people that Israel who would spring from his loins and who
would be brought into bondage in Israel and who as we have
read in Israel in Egypt that God sent this sign Egypt this
this plague of darkness too and as he showed to Abraham in this
horror of great darkness which came upon him he pointed Abraham
to that one who would deliver him and his people that one who
was made darkness upon the cross that one who was made sin upon
the cross that one who swallowed up darkness that we might be
brought out of darkness and into light And Abraham was in a great
horror of darkness as he looked by faith through time to the
coming of his Saviour. And as he could sense that horror
into which his Saviour went to deliver him. And God told Abraham
that such a time would come when his people would be brought out
of darkness. Out of darkness and God sent
that plague upon that people and as we read that darkness,
that plague was felt by the nation around them, it was felt and
Christ felt the darkness as he took the darkness away for his
people that they might be spared the darkness and they might dwell
in light and that plague of darkness in Egypt was on Egypt for three
days for three days there was a plague of darkness, why three
days? Because in three days it was
a picture of that time when Christ would be made dark upon the cross. Points us to the three days on
the cross from the first day when he was crucified to the
third day when he would rise victorious from the grave. It
points us to the three hours upon the cross when he was made
dark. When the world was made dark for he was made sin. What
a picture of the work of Christ that he swallowed up the darkness. bring his people out of darkness
into the light to deliver them from all that was against them
from all was burned against them from the wrath of god was burned
against them and their sin and their sins against their maker
for what burned against them and what brought the darkness
against them was the wrath of god in his judgment in his righteousness
which burned against their sins and their iniquities which all
their lifetime they had lived in all their lifetime they had
walked in all their lifetime they had rebelled against their
maker all their lifetime we rebelled against our maker all your lifetime
in the flesh you've rebelled against your maker you've lived
in darkness you've lived in rebellion you've shaked your fist at your
maker you've loved the darkness you've loved the things of darkness
the world loves darkness It goes out at night in the darkness.
The world rises up at night. When the earth is dark it rises
up to play. The world loves the darkness.
They speak of the nightlife. They love the darkness. All the
evil comes out at night. All the sin is done at night.
The murderers, the violence is all done at night when men cannot
see. the evil the hatred is all done
at night the world loves darkness we love darkness we need to be
delivered from the darkness and to deliver us from the darkness
Christ had to enter into this world into this dark world and
he had to swallow up the darkness he had to swallow up the wrath
of God that burned against the darkness of the sins of his people
he had to swallow up all the wrath which was against those
sins he had to take those sins and make them his own he had
to make them so much his own that God turned his back upon
him and the vaults of heaven rained down against him and the
fires of heaven burned down against him in those hours of darkness
upon the tree and that's why the earth was made dark the judgement
of the law burned against the sins of God's people That mount
upon which the law was given was a mount of darkness. It was
dark upon the mount and the darkness points to the darkness of sin
and God's fury against the sins of his people. In Deuteronomy
5.22 we read, these words the Lord spake unto all your assembly
in the mount out of the midst of the fire of the cloud and
of the thick darkness. with a great voice and he added
no more and he wrote them in two tables of stone and delivered
them unto me. And those two tables of stone
the ten commandments which God uttered in the law of God which
condemned every man upon this earth which were delivered out
of that mount which was in thick darkness which he spake with
a great voice they rained down upon us and judged us and they
bring condemnation against everyone that has broken them and we have
broken every command on each table and yet Christ came instead
of his people and he stood in their stead and he stood in the
darkness which was brought down upon them which was against their
sins and he stood in the darkness and he took that darkness and
that condemnation of the law against their sins and he took
it he made it his own and he swallowed it up, and he took
that cup of God's wrath, and he drank it, and he drank it,
and he drank it, until there was no more to drink, until there
was no more darkness against them, and they were in light. and though the darkness was on
Egypt all around and is on all those who are outside of Christ
all around all those who are in Christ all his people dwell
in light for he has translated them he has delivered them from
the power of darkness and have translated them into the kingdom
of his dear son and he could cry out when it was finished.
Paul can cry out. In 1 Corinthians chapter 5 he
can cry out, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is
thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and
the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory. through our Lord Jesus Christ
where he delivered us from sin and he delivered us from death
and he delivered us from the law and death's sting has gone
and grave's victory has gone for he has delivered his people.
Have you been delivered? Is this you? Is this you who
can count yourself amongst this number to whom he speaks at Colossae?
Have you been delivered? who have delivered us from the
pair of darkness and have translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son. Is that you? Are you one of the us? Who is
this us? Who? His people. His people, his own. The us. We didn't choose Christ. Our
choice doesn't make us one of the us. Our will doesn't make
us one of the us. For our will kept us in darkness. All our life we dwelt in darkness. This is where Christ finds his
people in the darkness. Their will didn't make them one
of the us. His will made his people one
of the us. In John 1, where he speaks of
the light and the darkness, he makes it very clear. that John
was not that light which was sent to bear witness of that
light, that was the true light, Christ, which lighteth every
man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the
world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto
his own, and his own received him not. For as many as received
him, to them gave he power to become the son to God, even to
them that believe on his name. which were born, not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God. And the Word was made flesh,
and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the
only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. If you're
one of the us, it's not of your will, nor of the will of your
flesh, not the will of any man but of God. Are you one of the
us? Have you been translated out
of darkness? Have you been translated out
of the power of darkness? Can you say truly from your heart
that you have been translated? Would you say it's of your works,
of your will, of your decision? Did you do it? Did you translate
yourself? You won't. not if you know anything
of this translation not if you know anything of this deliverance
not if you know anything of the darkness which could be felt
for if you knew anything of the darkness which could be felt
and if you've been brought by the work of God to come into
the kingdom of his dear son If you are amongst that us who's
been delivered from the power of darkness and translated into
the kingdom of his dear son, then you will know that you've
been translated not by your will, but his. Not by your strength,
but his. Not by your power, but his. For you are under the power of
darkness, but there's a greater power. There's a greater power
than the power of darkness. And this power came into this
world and this power came into this world and he dwelt in this
world in bodily flesh. This power is found in Jesus
Christ and in him alone. Christ came into this world,
he took upon himself human flesh, he came into this world and was
made flesh and he dwelt among us and we beheld his glory as
of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. for
there is this in this world which is made known unto a people they
are brought to know him of whom the gospel testifies they're
brought to know him of whom the gospel declares and there is
that people in this world that people whom the son the son of
god came to save that people whom he have translated whom
he have delivered whom he have redeemed through his blood, whom
he hath purchased by his death, whom he makes known the work
of his gospel in saving them by his gospel, whom the spirit
brings to see that he is their saviour, and he hath translated
them. there is a people who will come
to know that they have been translated they will be translated out of
darkness they will be translated into the kingdom of his son as
the spirit quickens them to life but they will be translated because
they have been translated and they have been delivered finally
where have they been translated? where? where have they been translated? they're brought out of darkness
but where to? where to? translated into the
kingdom of his dear son, the kingdom of his dear son. They may partake us of the inheritance
of the saints in light, in light. This is where we are if we're
in Christ. If you, my friend, are in Christ
this day, if God has translated you if He have redeemed you by
the blood of His Son, if Christ swallowed up darkness in your
place, in your stead, for you, if He took your sins and took
them away, and took them away to the uttermost, if He took
every last sin that you might be washed by His blood, that
you might be made clean, that you might be delivered from all
that condemned you, that you might be brought out of condemnation,
that you might be justified if he did that for you today then
where you are today is no longer under the power of darkness you're
no longer under the grip of darkness you're no longer in darkness
you're no longer walking as others walk you're no longer walking
as others walk who are the children of wrath you were once you once
walked as the children of wrath you once walked as others But
you're now delivered, you're in Christ. You are now a partaker
of the inheritance of the saints in light, in light. You're not in darkness, you're
in light. You're no longer walking in the
flesh, you're walking in the spirit. You're no longer earthly,
you're heavenly. You're no longer dead. You live,
you live and you live because you're in Christ and he is our
life if we're born again by the Spirit. We're in the heavens
and the picture in Colossians is a heavenly view, a heavenly
picture, a heavenly exhortation. We're in the heavens now, now
we're in the heavens, we're seated in heavenly places now as he
says also in Ephesians He points them also in Ephesians, that
epistle which gives such a glorious picture of the church, as Paul
paints this picture of the church and reminds his hearers of where
they are in Christ, as the body of Christ. He writes to the Colossians
2, he reminds them of where they are in the heavens. And he points
them to Christ, for Christ is all. Christ is their all, they're
in Christ, they're in him. Christ is risen. He's conquered
death, He's conquered hell, He's conquered sin, He's risen, He's
over all, and they are risen in Him. If you're in Christ,
you're alive in Him today. You're not of the world, even
as I am not of the world, Christ says in John chapter 17. You're
not of this world, you're in the heavens, you're in Christ.
And Colossians is all about this heavenly kingdom. It's all about
the kingdom of his dear son. It's all about the King. It's
all about Christ. He's its entire message. The
whole view in Colossians is a heavenly view. It's not of the flesh. It's not of this world. It's
not of that which is passing. It's of the Spirit. It's of the
heavens. He speaks in Colossians entirely
of Christ, of being in Christ. being delivered from the rudiments
of this world. He speaks of the body of Christ,
of the new man, not of this earthly body but the body of Jesus Christ
of all his people being one in him, all united in him as members
of his body. They may be upon this earth now
but in God's eyes they are in the heavens now as one body. There is this new man, this new
creation, this one man in Christ Jesus, and that is where we are
now, in Christ. He speaks of Christ being above,
not on this earth, of reigning above, of us being in him above. The whole view is heavenly, the
whole view is in Christ, the whole picture is of his kingdom.
we're in his kingdom we're in the spirit we're not in the flesh
we're in his kingdom and we're in his kingdom now for he hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear son if we're in him
if we know him if the spirit's brought us to know our darkness
and brought us to faith in Him, then we are in Him. It's all
about His kingdom, His reign, His authority, His rule. It's
all about the reign of Christ, the reign of grace, not the reign
of sin, but the reign of grace. We're in His kingdom for He translated
us out of the power of darkness into the kingdom of His dear
Son. And how were we brought there? How were we brought to
know that we are there how were we brought to know that we're
no longer in this world that we're no longer in the flesh
that we're no longer earthly that we're no longer in the first
man in the first Adam but we're in the second man in the last
Adam how were we brought to know we're brought to know as the
spirit brings us to here as he brings us to hear the word of
the truth of the gospel chapter one and verse five this is how
the colossians heard this is how they were made to know this
is how they were brought to be in christ they heard the word
of the truth of the gospel and if you will ever know christ
you must hear the word of the truth of the gospel if you're
in christ today then you've heard and the spirit gave you hearing
and if you're not in christ today then listen, may God give you
hearing, for outside of Christ you're in darkness. But if you're
brought to hear the word of the gospel, you'll be brought to
know that he has delivered you. This word, the word of the gospel,
this word of which Paul was sent with, when Paul was made to know,
when Paul who walked in darkness, in the darkness of religion he
persecuted the church he had all the scriptures yet he was
in darkness and he went everywhere seeking to bring to nothing this
religion this following of Jesus Christ he sought to bring to
nothing but God arrested him in his darkness and there was
a great light which shone from heaven and he was brought to
his knees and on that road to Damascus there shone all around
about him a great light and we read in Acts 26 we read that
voice that came from the heavens to Paul which uttered and shouted
to him but rise and stand upon thy feet for I have appeared
unto thee for this purpose to make thee a minister and a witness
both for those things which thou hast seen and of those things
in the which I will appear unto thee delivering thee from the
people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to
open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light,
and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness
of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by
faith that is in me. Paul heard the gospel. he saw
the light he was brought into light and he was sent forth to
preach that gospel he was sent forth to the gentiles to make
known unto the gentiles that mystery which had been hid from
the ages and from generations that mystery which is which god
would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery
among the gentiles christ in you the hope of glory That gospel
which declares that we have been translated from the power of
darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son, in whom we have
redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
That gospel. That gospel. Have you heard that
gospel? Has the Spirit spoken it to you
this day? Look up. Look up. Look up above this world. Look
up from all which is of time and all which is of sense. Look
up beyond all principalities, all powers. Look up to the heavens
of heavens and behold the King of kings, the Lord of lords,
the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.
Look unto the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look unto
Him. Look unto Him. and be saved. May you know what it is to be
delivered into the kingdom.