Colossians 1: 12-14

Colossians 1: 12-14 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

In Acts 26:18 Paul told Agrippa his (Paul’s) task. ”To open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”

The first privilege given to Gentiles is a share in the inheritance of the chosen people of God. The 2nd is being delivered from darkness to the kingdom of Christ. Back in those days, when one country defeated another, it was the custom to take the population of the defeated country and transfer the whole thing to another place. The people of the Northern kingdom were taken to Assyria and the people of Jerusalem and the Southern kingdom were taken to Babylon. So Paul is using this common knowledge and saying that God has transferred the Christian into His own kingdom. And it was not only a transfer, but also a rescue. He delivers us from darkness to light, from slavery to freedom, condemnation to forgiveness and the power of Satan to the power of God.

One commentator wrote that “man in his sin deserves nothing but condemnation of God, but that through the work of Jesus Christ, he discovers the love of God, the forgiveness of God and he knows he is no longer a condemned criminal at God’s judgment seat, but a lost son for whom the way home is always open.”