The Joy Set Before Him
A Tale of Two Kingdoms
Colossians 1:13–14 (CSB) “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
What Jesus has done for all who will believe Him is astounding. As amazing as forgiveness is, what He has done goes far beyond forgiveness. If the good news of Jesus Christ ended with forgiveness, the world would have many forgiven people with no hope beyond physical life.
Jesus rose from the grave victorious over death and in so doing He rescued us from the power of death. We are no longer bound under the laws of the domain of darkness. Instead, we are citizens of the Kingdom of God. We have become children of Light. There is a stark contrast between where we were and where we are.
What the ruler of this land does to his citizens is heartbreaking. We read for example, “In their case, the god of this age 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.” 2 Corinthians 4:4 (CSB)
This powerful despot was once our governor. We read about that in Ephesians 2:1–2 (CSB) where we find, “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient.”
When Jesus came, he said, “You are from below,” and, “I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.” John 8:23 (CSB) He continued later saying, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” John 18:36 (CSB)
Jesus is not from around here and all who are in Christ are not from around here either. We are transplants out of the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of the beloved Son of God. Indeed Jesus told the Disciples about this before it had taken place. In John 15:19 (CSB) He said, “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.”
Friends, we are not of this world. We are ambassadors here from another Kingdom. While we are here we experience life in many of the same ways the citizens governed by the tyrannical rules of the ruling power who governs this realm. That can give us pause from time to time. It may cause us to wonder just how real the change of citizenship was.
Fortunately, we have Colossians 1:13–14 (CSB) to help remind us that “He has rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son he loves. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
The redemption and forgiveness of sins was crucial to the change in our citizenship status. Until our debt was paid, we remained indentured to the evil one. Our minds were darkened and there was no way out for us. We are told in John 6:44 (CSB) that, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day.” But Jesus also said, “if I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people to myself.” John 12:32 (CSB)
He did exactly what He promised and that made it possible for anyone who believes Him to be made righteous and inherit eternal life.
