Jesus was the beloved son of god

JESUS WAS THE BELOVED SON OF GOD
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE

New International Version
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness
and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

New Living Translation
For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness
and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,

English Standard Version
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and
transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

BIBLEHUB RESOURCES

Pulpit Commentary Homiletics

Translation Into Christ's Kingdom
Colossians 1:13
T. Croskery
The apostle now proceeds to show how the Father makes us meet for the
inheritance of saints. "Who delivered us from the power of darkness, and
translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love."
I. THE ORIGINAL CONDITION OF ALL MEN. They are under "the power
of darkness."
1. Consider the meaning of this darkness. There is a darkness that is
seasonable; which, in the economy of nature, brings rest and recovery to man.
This darkness is far different.
(1) It is the darkness of ignorance apart from "the light of life" (John 8:12;
Ephesians 5:13).
(2) It is the darkness of sin (Romans 13:12; 2 Corinthians 3:14), blinding men
against the truth.
(3) It is the darkness of misery (Isaiah 8:22).
(4) It is the darkness of death (Psalm 88:12).
(5) It is the darkness of hell - " utter darkness."
2.. It is darkness organized for the ruin of men. It is "the power of darkness" -
an arbitrary, usurped power, and not "a true kingdom." The prince of
darkness is at the head of this dreary realm and strives to keep all his slaves in
darkness, lest "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Christ Jesus should shine into them" (2 Corinthians 4:4).
II. THE RESCUE FROM THIS POWER OF DARKNESS. "Who delivered
us." None but God can do this work. The strong man will keep his own till the
stronger come (Luke 11:22). He delivers us in our effectual calling.
1. He enlightens our minds in the knowledge of Christ, who is "the trite
Light." (John 8:12.)

2. He persuades and enables us to embrace Christ as offered in the gospel.
(John 6:44; Philippians 2:13.)
3. He renews our wills and causes as to "walk in the light as he is in the light."
(1 John 1:7.)
4.. He clothes us "with the armour of light." (Romans 13:12.)
III. THE NEW KINGDOM OF THE RESCUED CAPTIVES AND ITS NEW
RELATIONS, "And translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love."
The word usually suggests the transplanting of races and the settlement of
them in a new territory.
1. The significance of the translation.
(1) It implies separation
(a) from the world,
(b) from sin,
(c) from the devil. "Go out from among them, and be ye separate" (2
Corinthians 6:17).
(2) It implies the assumption of entirely new relations. The believer is a
member of a new society - " the kingdom of grace;" is "a fellow-citizen with
the saints;" is heir of the kingdom of glory. He has a new name, new hopes,
new friends, and works for a new heaven.
2. The new kingdom of the saints. "The kingdom of the Son of his love."
(1) It is not the kingdom of inferior angels, as errorists might fancy
(Colossians 2:8), but that of God's own Son.
(2) It is a kingdom already in existence.
(3) It is a kingdom that cannot be shaken like the kingdoms of earth (Hebrews
12:28).
(4) It is a kingdom that will endure to the end (Luke 1:33).

(5) It is a kingdom in which the number of the possessors will not diminish the
blessings enjoyed by each.
(6) It is a kingdom in which Christ now reigns by his Word and Spirit; the
saints rejoicing to have him reigning over them.
(7) All the subjects of this kingdom are kings (Revelation 1:6). - T. C.

Biblical Illustrator
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness.
Colossians 1:13, 14
The great moral translation
G. Barlow.
I. INVOLVES OUR ENFRANCHISEMENT FROM A STATE OF DARK
CAPTIVITY.

1. The unrenewed are in a realm of moral darkness.(1) Darkness denotes
ignorance — moral blindness about the great mysteries of being, of sin and
suffering, the deep significance of life. It is possible to know much about
religion, to hold religious ideas at second hand; yet be totally in the dark as to
the experience of these ideas.(2) Darkness denotes danger and misery.
2. In this realm the unrenewed are held in captivity.
3. From this realm God graciously liberates. "Who hath delivered us."(1) For
the slaves of sin there is no help but in God. It is the nature of sin to
incapacitate its victim for self-enfranchisement. He is unwilling to be free.(2)
The word "deliver" means to snatch, or rescue from danger, even though the
person seized may at first be unwilling to escape, as Lot from Sodom. God
does not force the human will.(3) Our enfranchisement may be painful.
II. PLACES US IN A CONDITION OF HIGHEST MORAL FREEDOM
AND PRIVILEGE.
1. We are transferred to a kingdom. "Hath translated us into the kingdom."
Power detains captives; a kingdom fosters willing citizens. Tyranny has no
law but the will of a despot; a kingdom implies good government, based on
law. The kingdom of God has an earthly and heavenly aspect, both of which
are governed by one and the same sceptre. It resembles a city divided by a
river, but both parts controlled by the same municipal authority, and having
one common franchise. There is no middle state between the power of
darkness and the kingdom of grace: all who breathe are either in the one or
the other.
2. We are placed under the rule of a beneficent and glorious King. "The Son
of His love." The manifestation of Christ is the manifestation of Divine love (1
John 4:9). The kingdom into which believers are translated is founded on
love: its entire government is carried on by love. The acts of suffering and
death, by which Christ won his kingly dignity, were revelations of love. Under
such a monarch we are sure of protection, guidance, support, and final
victory.
III. IS EFFECTED BY "REDEMPTION."

1. The means. "Through His blood."
2. The effects.
3. The Author.
(G. Barlow.)

The great spiritual change
J. Spence, D. D.
I. THE MOMENTOUS CHANGE.
1. Is from the power of darkness. Darkness is thus personified as a monarch,
not a mere force. Under this the Colossians were living till they received the
gospel. Neither the light of their Gentile philosophy nor the fitful course of
their culture could rescue them. The very light that was in them was darkness.
This is the condition of all men naturally. Darkness is —(1) Ignorance. Men
are ignorant of God and themselves (1 Corinthians 2:14). They may learn
lessons of God's power and wisdom in creation, admire the literature and
poetry of revelation, and believe in a future state; but they have no true
knowledge of their moral condition, of God as their Father, Christ as their
Saviour, or of the blessedness of holiness.(2) It leads to error. In the absence of
light the traveller mistakes his way. Men think they are in the road to heaven
as they wander up and down the bye-paths of religious formality, of their own
resolutions, or of some superstition. Deluded by this darkness they make no
effort to live for God and work out their own salvation.(3) Such a condition
must be one of danger. The belated traveller cannot distinguish friend from
foe, land from water. Unconscious of peril, and perhaps thinking of home, he
draws near a precipice, falls over and is killed.(4) Darkness promotes
discomfort and fear. There is a gloomy uncertainty and dread of the future, a
bondage of the soul through the fear of death. He cannot be happy who knows
not God as his Friend, and has no meetness for the future.
2. The process of deliverance.(1) It may involve not a little that is painful. To a
man soundly asleep the sudden cry of "fire" is not welcome. So this

deliverance involves a distressing inward struggle and the abandonment of
many a pleasure.(2) Whither is the delivered soul brought? He is not rescued
and left to wander in search of a home, but has a title and guidance to the
kingdom of God's Son.(a) This kingdom is so called because it belongs to Him
by right, who founded, formed, and rules over it.(b) Something of its
character may be learned from His: the Son of God's love (John 3:35). Who
can tell the peace and blessedness of those subjects on whom God's boundless
love rests.
3. This deliverance is the most important and wonderful event in a man's
history. It is a present privilege and prepares for, and is a pledge of the future
inheritance.
4. It is exclusively the work of God.
II. THE DIVINE MEANS FOR THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THIS END.
1. A putting forth of power on the part of the deliverer manifested by the
mediation of Christ. Although the words, "through His blood," are not found
in the earlier MSS., and may have been borrowed from Ephesians 1:7; yet the
text involves their meaning. Men are sold under sin and condemned; from this
state deliverance comes by redemption; redemption implies a price paid; the
ransom is the precious blood of Christ. In His Cross there was a vindication of
God's righteousness and power to rescue from sin (1 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:14;
Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 5:2).
2. This redemption is "in Christ." His blood was the ransom, but He is the
Redeemer, and it is only in living union with Him that we can receive its
blessing. Just as we rest and walk in Him have we evidence that we are
amongst the redeemed.
3. It is easy to see how this redemption must, in effect, be the raising of the
soul to obedience and purity (2 Corinthians 5:17). The blessing character istic
of redemption: forgiveness. This —
(1)is its first blessing (Romans 5:1).
(2)Its most urgent and momentous blessing.

(3)The most direct, flowing immediately from Christ and reaching us directly
through His expiation.
(4)The blessing which opens the way for all others.
(J. Spence, D. D.)

Redemption
Bp. Davenant.
I. WHO? The Father. And no one else ought to, or could, deliver man, but
God.
1. None other ought, because (as observes) "by this act he would forcibly take
away from the Creator His own servant." For so great is this benefit of
deliverance, that it binds us more than the benefit of creation.
2. But neither could any other deliver. For he must necessarily be stronger
than the devil who could wrest his prey from him (Matthew 12:29). But who
could overcome and bind this prince of darkness except the mighty God
alone? It was He, therefore, who plucked us from him.
II. WHOM, or what sort of persons God delivered? And this consideration
may be twofold.
1. Of those who were to be delivered. Previous to our deliverance we were not
only diseased and weak, but opposed to our own deliverance (Romans 5.).(1)
Observe the immeasurable love of God, who would deliver such persons: for
no one cares to redeem a thing of no value.(2) The infinite power of God who
delivered man in spite of the devil.
2. As to those who have been delivered; after that they are faithful and holy,
who before were rebels and unholy. "Us" refers to verses 4-6. Hence it is
manifest —(1) The dreams of carnal men of deliverance are vain. The
Israelites, while serving Pharaoh and lusting after the fleshpots, were not in
the enjoyment of liberty; so Christians while obeying the devil and delighting
in sin are not delivered.(2) Hence, also, we infer for the consolation of the

godly that they alone are free; the ungodly, although they glitter in the eyes of
men, are slaves.
III. FROM WHAT? The power of darkness.
1. From the power of the devil who is the prince of darkness. We all are born
under his kingdom, so that he worketh in us according to his own will. But
this prince of darkness is bruised under the feet of the faithful (Romans
16:20), to whom, by the Spirit of God, new strength is administered to trample
upon this unclean spirit.
2. From the power of sin, which hath blinded the understanding, corrupted
the will, and placed us in a condition of darkness both as to knowledge and to
spiritual and saving practice (Ephesians 5:8; John 1:5; John 3:19). Now from
this darkness God has rescued us. He pours in the light of faith and imparts
the Spirit of holiness; which blessings being bestowed, this power and
dominion of sin is dissolved (Romans 6:14).
3. From the power of hell, i.e., from the miseries and calamities which arise
from the guilt of reigning sin. From the power of this they are delivered by the
Divine mercy (Romans 8:1). Observe —(1) For instruction. The whole world
is involved in darkness under the devil, neither is there a spark of saving light
before deliver ance; for we are in "the power of darkness."(2) For caution.
The redeemed ought to have no fellowship with the works of darkness; for
they are rescued from the power of the devil and of sin, and, therefore, by
serving these they show them selves to be deserters (Romans 13:12).(3) For
consolation. Although the godly are often troubled yet they are delivered from
a misery compared with which all external evils are trifling.
IV. To WHAT?
1. The nature of the translation.(1) The word is borrowed from those who
plant colonies and compel persons to migrate to inhabit some new region. So
God has translated us from the kingdom of darkness, which is the native soil
of us all.(2) How hath He translated us? We may under stand that from the
context. God translates us when He illuminates our hearts by pouring into
them faith, when He changes our will by imparting grace; for, being

enlightened and sanctified, a man is by that very act translated from the
power of darkness into the kingdom of His Son; because He cannot possibly
be at the same time a citizen of two cities which observe contrary laws. Here
observe, To be delivered it is not enough that we be called to this kingdom,
and admonished to desert that other.(3) Therefore He is to be regarded with
the highest honour, for so colonies are accustomed to regard their founder.
2. What is intended by this word kingdom? The Kingdom of God, Christ,
heaven.(1) Is put for the state of .glory (Matthew 6:33; 1 Corinthians 6:9).
This the saints have by right, and hope, but not m possession.(2) For the
promulgation and knowledge of the gospel (Matthew 13:11; Matthew 21:43).
But this the saints have only in common with other professors.(3) For a state
of grace, remission of sins, renovation, and Divine favour on account of
Christ, the Mediator; and for the whole multitude of those who are in this
state (Luke 18:21; Romans 14:17). I deem this to be the proper sense of this
expression.
3. Why the apostle calls it the kingdom of the Son, and not of heaven, or of
light. Because —(1) God admits no one to it except through His Son as
Mediator. He is the channel of grace. Through Him its streams flow to us, and
we are planted in the kingdom (Ephesians 1:3, 8).(2) Christ, the Mediator,
received it from the Father to govern it to the end of time (Luke 22:29).(3)
Paul wished to open the way and make an easy transition for discoursing on
the person of the Son. For he immediately enters upon that doctrine, which he
could not so aptly have proceeded to unless he had expressly named the
Son.(4) Christ is rightly called the Son of the Father's love, because He hath
the Father's whole and entire love communicated to Him, even as He had His
essence. This is a great consolation to the godly man, when he calls to mind
that he is not merely a subject, but a member of Christ so beloved of God. For
hence he derives the hope of obtaining from God whatever is necessary to
salvation.
(Bp. Davenant.)
I. MAN IS NOW IN SOUL MISERY.
1. Naturally. We are children of wrath by nature.

2. Judiciarily. We are under condemnation.
3. Universally. Soul death hath passed over all men.
II. MAN NEEDS DELIVERANCE.
1. We are sensible enough of bodily misery, but insensible to soul misery; yet
the former is but to make us sensible of the latter. 'Tis God pulling the rope
without to make the bell speak within.
2. Without our sense of the need of deliverance, that deliverance will never
come.
3. What temporal and eternal horrors are there for the unsaved.
III. MAN MAY BE DELIVERED. Christ "snatched" souls out of darkness
and danger.
1. He moves strongly to save. Snatching speaks an act of force; Christ
overturns all that stands in His way when He puts forth to deliver a soul.
2. He moves swiftly to save. Snatching notes swift motion. There is but a step
between hell and that soul that is under the power of darkness; what,
therefore, is done must be done speedily or the soul is lost.
3. Christ moves thoroughly to save. Snatching, speaks a full assuming of that
which was wholly another's. That which I snatch from my enemy in war is
wholly mine own, and Christ, having plucked us out of the hands of Satan,
claims us as his own.
4. Christ moves preventingly. Snatching speaks an act unthought of, force
surprising, the surprised dreaming nothing. Christ catcheth sinners in a dead
sleep. Soldiers are sometimes so caught; the devil's soldiers are all so.
5. Christ moves ravishingly. This is love smiling, and the soul is taken.
IV. THE DELIVERED.
1. Love the Redeemer.
2. Obey Him.

(N. Lockyer, M. A.)

The power of darkness
T. Guthrie, D. D.
I. Look at THE STATE OF NATURE AND SIN AS ONE OF DARKNESS.
Sin is as opposed to holiness as darkness is to light, and as different from
holiness as midnight from noonday. Our state by nature is one of double
darkness. We have neither light nor sight. That we may be saved we require
two things — a medium to see by, and eyes to see with; the revelation of the
gospel, and regeneration of the Holy Spirit; Christ as an object for faith to see,
faith as an eye to see Christ. As inhabitants of a Christian land we already
possess one of these. There is fulness of light, and yet multitudes are wrecked
and perish, and unless He, who gave sight to the blind, touch your eyes their
fate will be yours. There are animals that are born blind; but after a few days
their eyelids are unsealed and they are delivered from the power of darkness.
But not ten years will do for us such friendly office. Not that we shall be
always blind. Eternity opens the darkest eyes, but when too late, "He lift up
his eyes, being in torment."
1. Darkness is a state of indolence. Night is the proper period for rest. Yet in
its hours of darkness and repose, this city presents no true picture of our state
by nature. We see it where a city sleeps, while eager angels point Lot's eyes to
the break of day, and urge his tardy steps through the doomed streets of
Sodom. Rouse thee, then, and betake thee to the Saviour. The plague of
Egyptian darkness is, perhaps, the best illustration. "They saw not one
another, neither rose any from his place for three days." Many a man has not
risen from his place for ten times three years and more. He is no nearer
heaven than he was long, long ago. "Give diligence to make your calling and
election sure."
2. Darkness is a state of ignorance. Ugliness and beauty, friend and foe, are all
one in the dark, and so are the solid ground and the yawning precipice. Many
a gallant ship has perished in a fog, and many a sinner in guilty ignorance.

The greatest of mistakes is to miss the path of heaven, and yet how many,
turning from Christ, are missing it? Some think that their charities and duties
will save them; others a routine of outward services; others that they may go
on a little longer in sin and then turn.
3. Darkness is a state of danger.(1) As locks and bars prove neither life nor
property is safe at night. The prowling thief, the hiding assassin, the gaudy
tempter, are but types of the great enemy who takes advantage of spiritual
darkness to ruin sinners.(2) Such danger is there in darkness that people have
perished almost at their own doors: and many die at the gate of salvation, and
by the very door of heaven (2 Corinthians 4:4).(3) In respect of its power over
men what can be compared to mental, moral, and spiritual darkness?(a) Look
at Popery! She immures her votaries in a gloomier dungeon than ever held
her victims. God sends them His blessed Word, but they dare not open it; and,
greatest triumph of darkness, they refuse instruction. "If the light that is in
thee be darkness, how great is that darkness?"(b) But how many among
ourselves lie under the delusion that though the happiness they seek in the
world has eluded their grasp, they will yet embrace the mocking phantom!
How many are putting away the claims of Christ and their souls to a more
convenient season? Many fancy themselves safe who are ready to perish.
II. EVEN GOD'S PEOPLE REMAIN IN MORE OR LESS DARKNESS, SO
LONG AS THEY ARE. HERE.
1. They may be in darkness through ignorance.(1) Having abandoned the
works of darkness, and "become children of light," yet all do not enjoy the
same measure of light, nor possess equal powers of sight; hence those
conflicting views which have separated brother from brother.(2) While some
saints enjoy a clear assurance of their salvation, others pass their days in
despondency. By the help of God's Word, their compass, they succeed in
steering their way to heaven, but it is over a troubled sea, and under a cloudy
sky.
2. They may be in darkness through sin. So long as you walk in the path of
God's commandments you walk in the light; but in turning aside from that we
have withdrawn from it. He that descends into a pit leaves the light, not the

light him. And the deeper the saint sinks in sin, the darker it grows. God will
not smile on His child sinning; and that which would befall our world were
the sun withdrawn, befalls his soul; a chilling cold follows on the darkness,
and but for restoring grace death would ensue.
3. They may be in more or less darkness as to their spiritual state. It is easy to
account for such a case as David's; but there are cases of religious desertion
that do not admit of being thus explained. Hear that "My God, My God, why
hast Thou forsaken Me." In such cases, however, God does not leave you
comfortless. You may retain your hold when you lose your sight of Him; and
the sun, which has struggled through clouds all day long, often breaks forth
into golden splendour at his setting. Not seldom have hopes that never
brighten life broken forth to gild the departing hour.
(T. Guthrie, D. D.)

The unconsciousness of the sinner under the mower of darkness
P. Bayne, B. D.
If we lay in some darksome prison leaden with irons, as many as we could
bear, committed to the custody of some Cerberus-like keeper; how would we
lament our hard fortune? but to lie in such a condition wherein is no light of
knowledge of God, leaden with chains of darkness, hellish lusts of wrath,
covetousness, pride, filthiness, in the custody of the devil himself, this none
bewaileth.
(P. Bayne, B. D.)

The kingdom of Christ
T. Guthrie, D. D.
I. THE IMPORTANCE WHICH CHRIST HIMSELF ATTACHES TO HIS
KINGLY CLAIMS.

1. There are crowns worn by living monarchs of which it would be difficult to
estimate the value. The price paid for their jewels is the least part of it. They
cost thousands of lives. And yet in His esteem, and in ours, Christ's crown
outweighs them all. He gave his life for it.
2. The connection between our Lord's sufferings and these claims marks some
of the most touching scenes in His history. The people rejected Him in His
kingly character. "We will not have this King to reign over us." The soldiers
reviled Him as a King; and His claim to be such was the crime for which He
was crucified. It was a kingly inscription that stood above His dying head.
3. Our Lord had the strongest temptation to abandon these claims; and if He
refused to give them up in the desert when tempted by the devil, when He had
not a morsel to eat, and at the bar, when to have parted with them would have
saved His life, He is not likely to yield them now. He has now no inducement
to do so. A friendless prisoner no more, He stands at the right hand of God,
and claims to reign over all whom He has conquered by love and redeemed by
blood.
4. Would God we could live up to that truth. How often is it forgotten! each of
us doing what is right in his own eyes, as though there were no King in Israel.
Oh, that we were all as anxious to be delivered from the power as we are to
escape the punishment of sin.
II. FROM WHOM CHRIST RECEIVED HIS KINGDOM.
1. Not from the Jews. "His own received Him not." Once they tried to thrust
royal honours on Him: afterwards they bore Him in royal state to the capital,
and then they crucified Him. The only crown our Lord gets from man is
woven with thorns. Had Christ consented to rule on their terms the Jews
would have made Him king. Now to-day how many would accept Jesus if He
would allow them to retain their sins. But He accepts not the crown if sin is to
wield the sceptre.
2. Not from His own people. The sceptre which a female hand sways so
gracefully over the greatest, freest empire in the world was wrenched two
hundred years ago from the grasp of a poor popish bigot; and his successor

was borne to the vacant throne on the arms of a people who considered
crowned heads less sacred than their liberties and religion. Is it by any such
act that Christ is crowned? Is He a popular monarch in this sense? No. Here
the king elects His subjects, not the subjects their king; and in that and other
senses His kingdom is not of this world. Aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and enemies to God, it is necessary that Christ should first choose you
as His subjects, before you can choose Him as your King. Christ reigns by
conquest, but His reign is not one of terror. He reigns as He conquered, by
love. Enthroned in the heart He rules through the affections.
3. From God. When we look at the two great occasions on which our Lord was
crowned, what a contrast do they present. The scene of the first is laid on
earth. Behold Him stripped of His garments, tied to a post, scourged, clothed
with an old purple robe, a wreath of thorns upon His head. Some in bitter
mockery bend the knee as to a Caesar and shout, "Hail, King of the Jews."
Turn now to the other. The cross is vacant, the court empty, and from the
vine-covered sides of Olivet a band of men are joyfully descending. While the
disciples come down to the world, Jesus goes up to heaven escorted by a host
of angels. His battle over, and the great victory won, the Conqueror is now to
be crowned. Behold the scene as revealed by anticipation to the rapt eyes of
Daniel (Daniel 7:13).
III. IN WHAT CHARACTER JESUS HOLDS THIS KINGDOM. Not as God
or as man, but as God-man. Our Lord appeared in both these characters at
the grave of Lazarus. "Jesus wept," and yet Death cowers before His eye. So
on the Sea of Galilee, the Son of Mary sleeps, but raising His hand He said to
the rude storm, "Peace, be still." Those two natures He still retains. As both
God and man He occupies the thrones of grace and providence — holding
under His dominion all worlds; for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily, and He has been made Head over all things to His Church.
Simply as God there could be no addition to His possessions, nor could He
receive them simply as man.
IV. SEEK AN INTEREST IN THIS KINGDOM. Your eternal welfare turns
on that. You must be crowned in heaven or cursed in hell.

1. Are you poor? That is no bar. "Blessed are the poor in spirit."
2. Are you degraded? That does not exclude you from the mercy and grace of
God.
3. Have you done nothing to merit this kingdom? Who has?
4. Though you are not saved by obedience, remember that submission to
Christ's commandment is required of all who belong to His kingdom.
5. In a general sense we are all His subjects; but in a saving sense Christ's
kingdom is not without, but within. Unless the heart be right with Christ, all is
wrong.
(T. Guthrie, D. D.)

"His dear Son
N. Byfield.
Or more correctly, the Son of His love. Christ is so because —
I. HE IS MOST WORTHY OF ALL OTHERS TO BE LOVED. As Judas is
the "Son of Perdition," i.e., most worthy to be condemned.
II. HE WAS FROM EVERLASTING BEGOTTEN OF THE LOVE OF HIS
FATHER. He is God's "own" Son.
III. HE IS INFINITELY FILLED WITH A SENSE OF HIS LOVE. "I always
do the things that please Him."
IV. IT IS HE BY WHOM LOVE IS DERIVED INTO OTHERS. He makes all
other sons beloved. They are all loved because of Him and through Him. He
imparts the lowest graces. This is all very comfortable.
1. He is like to speed anything He requests the Father for us, and will be sure
to preserve us.
2. He is a King's Son, and infinitely beloved of His Father. How excellent a
thing, then, to be Christ's member.

(N. Byfield.)

Religion a great change
Arvine.
In an early period of the ministry of the Rev. John Wesley, he visited
Epworth, in Lincolnshire, where his father had formerly been minister, but
found the people greatly opposed to what they considered his new notions. He
tells us, in his journal, that many persons were convinced of the importance of
the truths he delivered from the tombstone of his father, some of whom were
conveyed in a waggon to a neighbouring justice of the peace, to answer for the
heresy with which they were charged. Mr. Wesley rode over also. When the
magistrate asked what these persons had done, there was a deep silence; for
that was a point their conductors had forgotten. At length, one of them said,
"Why, they pretend to be better than other people; and, besides, they pray
from morning to night." He asked, "But have they done anything besides?"
"Yes, sir," said an old man, "An't please your worship, they have convarted
my wife. Till she went among them, she had such a tongue, and now she is as
quiet as a lamb." "Carry them back, carry them back," replied the justice,
"and let them convert all the scolds in the town."
(Arvine.)

"Translated us
N. Byfield.
The word is a metaphor, and the comparison is taken from plants in nature,
and there are divers things signified unto us in the similitude. As trees are
translated in winter, not in the spring, so commonly our redemption is applied
in the days of special affliction and sorrow: and as the plant is not first fruitful
and then translated, but therefore translated that it may bear fruit, so we are
not therefore redeemed because God was in love with our fruits; but therefore
translated out of the kingdom of darkness, that we might bring forth fruit

unto God. And as a tree may be truly removed, and new planted, and yet not
presently bear fruit, so may a Christian be truly translated, and yet in the first
instant of his conversion he may not show forth all the fruit he doth desire. In
particular, translating hath two things in it.
I. PULLING UP. The pulling up of a tree shadows out three things in the
conversion of a sinner.
1. Separation from the world: he cannot be in Christ tahat hath his heart
rooted in the earth, and keeps his old standing amongst these trees, the wicked
of the world.
2. Deliverance both from original sin in the reign of it (which is the moisture
of the old earth), and also from hardness of heart (for translating hath
removing of the mould and stones that were about the root).
3. Godly sorrow raised by the sense of the strokes of the axe of God's
threatenings, and by the loss of many sprouts and branches that were hidden
in the earth. A Christian cannot escape without sorrow; for he hath many an
unprofitable sprout of vanity, and sinful profit and pleasure he must part
with.
II. THE SETTING OF THE TREE NOTES —
1. Our engrafting into Christ by the Spirit of God through faith.
2. Our communion with the saints (the fruitful trees in God's orchard), as also
it notes our preservation by the infusion of the sap of holy graces. Conclusion:
And it is worthy to be noted that He saith "translated us," to teach us that
there remains in man the same nature after calling that was before; for our
natures are not destroyed in conversion, but translated: there remains the
same faculties in the soul, and the same powers in the body; yea, the
constitution and complexion of man is not destroyed, as the melancholy man
doth not cease to be so after conversion, only the humour is sanctified unto a
fitness for godly sorrow, and holy meditation, and the easy renouncing of the
world, etc., and the like may be said of other humours in man's nature.
(N. Byfield.)

The translation
T. Guthrie, D. D.
I. IN DELIVERING HIS PEOPLE FROM THE POWER OF DARKNESS,
CHRIST SAVES THEM FROM ETERNAL PERDITION. People talk about
the mercy of God in a way for which they have no warrant in His Word: and
ignoring His holiness, justice, and truth, they lay this and the other vain hope
as a flattering unction to their souls.
II. HOW WE ARE BROUGHT INTO CHRIST'S KINGDOM.
1. By translation.(1) There is a difference between being transformed and
translated. The first describes a change of character, the second of state.
These changes are coincident; but the transformation is not complete until the
time for the second translation. Then those who were translated at conversion
into a state of grace, are translated at death into a state of glory.(2) It is a
great mistake to suppose that God is only active and man passive in this work.
You may translate a man from one earthly kingdom into another while he is
asleep, and at death a man may be translated to glory in a state of
unconsciousness; but it is not in this placid way that sinners pass out of
darkness into Christ's kingdom.
2. This translation is attended by suffering and self-denial. Killed by a blow,
or deprived of existence and consciousness by an opiate, a man may die to
natural life unconsciously, but never to sin. Hence those striking figures of
crucifixion. But the crown is worthy of the cross. True there is much more
pain in going to hell than to heaven, and although this were not, one hour of
glory will recompense all the sufferings of earth. But be assured that as it is
among pangs and birth struggles that a man is born the first time, so when he
is born again, Christ baptizes with fire. How often has water fallen on the
calm brow of a sleeping infant who has been translated thus into the visible
Church. But a fiery baptism! Can a man take fire into his bosom and not be
burned? God is a consuming fire to His people's sins, and He cannot be so
without them knowing it.

3. In this translation God and man are active. Our Lord ascended from earth
to heaven without effort; not so His people from nature unto grace. We
receive salvation, still we must put forth our hand to take it, as a drowning
man clutches the saving rope. God works in grace as in nature; helps the man
who helps himself. The reason why men are not saved is not that God hath
forgotten to be gracious, or that the blood of Christ has lost its efficacy; but
because men will take no pains to be saved.
(T. Guthrie, D. D.)

The duty of thankfulness for the deliverance
P. Bayne, B. D.
If we had some grievous tyrant ruling over us, and God should take him away
and set a prince of singular clemency over us, should not the blessing of all the
kingdom come upon Him for so singular a change? But when He taketh the
devil's iron yokes off our necks and bringeth us under the kingdom of that
most meek King who will not bruise a broken reed, nor quench the smoking
flax, here none in comparison is thankful.
(P. Bayne, B. D.)

God is the Deliverer
J. L. Nye.
King Theodore kept two or three British subjects in prison, and no entreaty,
expostulation, threat, could induce him to release them. At last the British
nation arose and said, "At all costs the prisoners must be released;" and so
General Napier led his army along the defiles over the mountains. At length
he came to Magdala, the capital of Abyssinia. King Theodore was conquered
and slain, and so General Napier ascended to the capital. But perhaps some of
you do not know that as General Napier rode into the city, those captives,
bowed down with their long imprisonment, came near to him, and laid their

hands upon his horse's saddle and thanked him as their deliverer. He said to
them, "Do not thank me; God is the deliverer. The Christians in England have
been praying for you."
(J. L. Nye.)

COMMENTARIES

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
[2.The Doctrine of Christ.
(1) His SALVATION AND REDEMPTION of us all (Colossians 1:13-14).
(2) His NATURE AS THE IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD, the creator
and sustainer of all things heavenly and earthly (Colossians 1:15-17).
(3) His HEADSHIP OF THE CHURCH (Colossians 1:18).
(4) His MEDIATION, reconciling all to God, first generally stated, then
applied especially to the Colossians (Colossians 1:19-23).]
(13-23) In this we have the great characteristic section of this Epistle,
distinguished from corresponding parts of the Epistle to the Ephesians by the
explicit and emphatic stress laid upon the divine majesty of Christ. It
corresponds very closely with the remarkable passage opening the Epistle to
the Hebrews. In the Epistles of the preceding group, to the Corinthians,
Galatians, and Romans, chief and almost exclusive prominence is given to the
universal mediation of Christ, as justifying and sanctifying all the souls of
men. In these Epistles (this truth being accepted) we pass on to that which
such universal mediation necessitates—the conception of Christ as the Head
of all created being, and as the perfect manifestation of the Godhead. The
former is the key-note of the Ephesian Epistle; the latter is dominant here,
although the former remains as an undertone; as also in the great passage of

the Epistle to the Philippians (Colossians 2:6-11), speaking of Him as “in the
form of God,” and having “the Name which is above every name.” The
especial reason for St. Paul’s emphatic assertion of the great truth here we see
in the next chapter. But it is clear that it comes naturally in the order of
revelation, leading up to the full doctrine of, “the Word” in St. John. As the
spiritual meaning of the Resurrection, the great subject of the first preaching,
had to be sought in the Atonement, so the inquiry into the possibility of an
universal Atonement led back to the Incarnation, and to Christ as pre-existent
from “the beginning” in God.
(13, 14) We enter on this great passage, as is natural, and accordant with St.
Paul’s universal practice, through that living and practical truth of our
redemption in Christ Jesus, which in the earlier Epistles he had taught as the
one thing needful (1Corinthians 2:2).
(13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness.—“Delivered” is
“rescued,” properly applied to dragging a person out of battle or the jaws of
danger. “The power of darkness” (see Luke 22:53) is, of course, the power of
evil, permitted (see Luke 4:6) to exist, but in itself a usurped tyranny (as
Chrysostom expresses it), not a true “kingdom. Salvation is, first of all, rescue
from the guilt and bondage of sin, to which man has given occasion by his own
choice, but which, once admitted, he cannot himself break. It is here described
in its first origination from the love of the Father. “God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son.”
And hath translated us . . .—The word “translated” is a word properly
applied to the transplanting of races, and the settlement of them in a new
home. Salvation, begun by rescue, is completed by the settlement of the
rescued captives in the new kingdom of Christ. The two acts, indeed, are
distinct, but inseparable. Thus baptism is at once “for the remission of sins”
and an “entrance into the kingdom of God.”
His dear Son.—The original is far more striking and beautiful. It is, “The Son
of His love,” corresponding to “the beloved” of the parallel passage in the
Ephesian Epistle (Colossians 1:6), but perhaps going beyond it. God is love;

the Son of God is, therefore, the “Son of His love,” partaking of and
manifesting this His essential attribute.
In whom we have . . .—This verse corresponds verbally with Ephesians 1:7,
where see Note. From the love of the Father, the first cause of salvation, we
pass to the efficient cause in the redemption and propitiation of the Son.
Colossians 1:15-17 pass from Christ as our Mediator to Christ as He is in
Himself from all eternity, “the image of the invisible God,” and as He is from
the beginning of time, the creator and sustainer of all things in heaven and
earth. What was before implied is now explicitly asserted; what was before
emphatic ally asserted is now taken for granted, and made the stepping-stone
to yet higher and more mysterious truth.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
1:9-14 The apostle was constant in prayer, that the believers might be filled
with the knowledge of God's will, in all wisdom. Good words will not do
without good works. He who undertakes to give strength to his people, is a
God of power, and of glorious power. The blessed Spirit is the author of this.
In praying for spiritual strength, we are not straitened, or confined in the
promises, and should not be so in our hopes and desires. The grace of God in
the hearts of believers is the power of God; and there is glory in this power.
The special use of this strength was for sufferings. There is work to be done,
even when we are suffering. Amidst all their trials they gave thanks to the
Father of our Lord Jesus, whose special grace fitted them to partake of the
inheritance provided for the saints. To bring about this change, those were
made willing subjects of Christ, who were slaves of Satan. All who are
designed for heaven hereafter, are prepared for heaven now. Those who have
the inheritance of sons, have the education of sons, and the disposition of sons.
By faith in Christ they enjoyed this redemption, as the purchase of his atoning
blood, whereby forgiveness of sins, and all other spiritual blessings were
bestowed. Surely then we shall deem it a favour to be delivered from Satan's
kingdom and brought into that of Christ, knowing that all trials will soon end,

and that every believer will be found among those who come out of great
tribulation.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness - The power exerted over
us in that dark kingdom to which we formerly belonged - the kingdom of
Satan. The characteristic of this empire is darkness - the emblem of:
(1) sin;
(2) error;
(3) misery and death.
Over us, by nature, these things had uncontrollable power; but now we are
delivered from them, and brought to the enjoyment of the privileges of those
who are connected with the kingdom of light. Darkness is often used to
represent the state in which men are by nature; compare Luke 1:79; Acts
26:18; Romans 13:12; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 2:8.
And hath translated us - The word rendered here "translated" is often used in
the sense of removing a people from one country to another; see Josephus,
Ant. ix. 11. 1. It means, here, that they who are Christians have been
transferred from one kingdom to another, as if a people were thus removed.
They become subjects of a new kingdom, are under different laws, and belong
to a different community. This change is made in regeneration, by which we
pass from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light; from the empire
of sin, ignorance, and misery, to one of holiness, knowledge, and happiness.
No change, therefore, in a man's life is so important as this; and no words can
suitably express the gratitude which they should feel who are thus transferred
from the empire of darkness to that of light.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
13. from—Greek, "out of the power," out of the sphere in which his power is
exercised.
darkness—blindness, hatred, misery [Bengel].

translated—Those thus translated as to state, are also transformed as to
character. Satan has an organized dominion with various orders of powers of
evil (Eph 2:2; 6:12). But the term "kingdom" is rarely applied to his usurped
rule (Mt 12:26); it is generally restricted to the kingdom of God.
his dear Son—rather as Greek, "the Son of His love": the Son on whom His
love rests (Joh 17:26; Eph 1:6): contrasted with the "darkness" where all is
hatred and hateful.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
The power of darkness, which signifies the sadness and despair of the
damned, Ephesians 6:12 Judges 1:8, that they who are made meet to walk in
the light as children of the light, Ephesians 5:8, are eternally freed from. The
word which the apostle useth to express God’s delivering of believers from the
power of sin and Satan is very emphatical, signifying a gratuitous freedom,
where a stranger hath delivered him from slavery who did not deserve it, nor
then desire it, Mark 3:27 Luke 1:74,79 Eph 2:2,5,6 Heb 2:14,15, though he
was held fast as in fetters of iron. And which is more, he adds another word,

hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son; intimating he did not
leave us as Adam was before the fall, but transport us without any precedent
will of ours, by the effectual call of his insuperable grace, John 6:44 1
Thessalonians 2:12 1 Peter 2:9, from the dominion of Satan, into that of his
own Son, the Son of his love, Matthew 3:17 17:5 Ephesians 1:6, amongst his
subjects and servants, where he reigns, in his kingdom of grace, Matthew
13:11, where Christ dwells in the heart by his Spirit, that is united to him by
faith, Ephesians 3:17 Ephesians 4:12,13 Heb 12:22,23; and of glory indeed in
our Head, Colossians 1:24, with Ephesians 2:6, by right of adoption, Romans
8:17, and hope of salvation through him promised by the omnipotent and true
God, Romans 8:24 1 Thessalonians 5:23,24 Tit 1:2; who may well call it the
kingdom of his dear Son, in that he admits none into it but by the mediation of
his Son, who makes his subjects willing, Psalm 110:3, and received this
government of his Father, Matthew 28:18 Luke 22:29 Ephesians 1:6,7; of

whose dear Son Paul hath more to say, to the comfort of his faithful subjects
at Colosse, and every where.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness,.... That is, from the power
of Satan; see Acts 26:18, who, though once an angel of light, is now darkness
itself, and is reserved in chains of darkness; he is a ruler of the darkness of
this world; his kingdom is a kingdom of darkness; and he blinds the minds of
them that believe not, keeps them in darkness, and increases the natural
darkness of their minds; he delights in works of darkness, and tempts men to
them; and his everlasting state and portion will be blackness of darkness: his
power over men, in a state of unregeneracy, which he usurps, and is suffered
to exercise, is very great; he works effectually in them, and leads them captive
at his will; and nothing less than the power of God, who is stronger than the
strong man armed, can deliver out of his hands; and which is at least one part
of the mercy for which thanks are here given; See Gill on Luke 22:53; with the
Jews, one of the names of Satan is "darkness" (e). Moreover, the darkness of
sin, ignorance, and unbelief, with which God's elect, while in a state of nature,
are surrounded, and, as it were shut up and imprisoned, so that they have not
the least spark of true spiritual light and knowledge, may be also meant;
under the power of which they are to such a degree, that they know nothing of
God in Christ, of the way of salvation by him, or of the work of the Spirit on
their souls, or of the doctrines of the Gospel in an experimental manner; and
so they continue, till, by an almighty power, they are turned from darkness to
light; when, by powerful grace, they are plucked as brands out of the burning,
and delivered from wrath to come, and from that utter darkness of misery
and destruction their ways of sin and darkness led and exposed them to. This
deliverance is wrought out for them in the effectual calling, when they are
internally called, and powerfully brought out of this darkness, by introducing
light into them, revealing Christ in them, causing the prince of darkness to
flee from them, and the scales of darkness and blindness to fall from their
eyes; and which is both an instance or the wonderful grace of God, and of his
almighty power, and in which lies in part the saints' meetness for the
inheritance; for these words are, in some sort, explanative of the former; for
so long as a person is under the power of darkness, he cannot be meet for an

inheritance which is in light: it follows, as another branch of this mercy, for
which thanks are given,
and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son; not into the kingdom
of glory; for though the saints are heirs of it, and rejoice in hope of it, they
have not yet an entrance into it; which they will have abundantly when Christ
shall introduce them into it, not only as his Father's, but as his own kingdom
and glory: but the kingdom of grace is here meant, or that state of grace, light,
and life, which such are brought into, when rescued out of Satan's hands, and
recovered out of their former state of ignorance and infidelity; when they are
by the drawings of the Father, by his powerful and efficacious grace, brought
to Christ, and, in the day his power on their souls, are made willing to submit
to his righteousness, and to embrace him as the alone Saviour and Redeemer,
and be subject to him as King of saints, observing his commands, keeping his
ordinances, and walking in his statutes and judgments with other saints, in a
Gospel church state; which is Christ's kingdom here on earth, where he reigns
as King over God's holy hill of Zion, being set there by his Father, from whom
he has received this kingdom, and will deliver it to him, when it is complete
and perfect. Now those whom Jehovah the Father snatches out of Satan's
hands, and breaks in upon their souls with divine light and knowledge, he
brings into such a state, and into this kingdom of Christ, who is called "his
dear Son": or "the Son of his love"; or "his Son of love"; who being his Son
by nature, of the same nature with him, and equal to him, always was, is, and
will be, the object of his love, complacency, and delight; as he cannot be
otherwise, since he is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his
person; and even as this Son of his is in an office capacity, as the Mediator
between God and man, he is his elect, in whom his soul delights; and he is
always well pleased with all the chosen ones in him, who are the sons of God
through him, and always beloved in him. This clause is added, partly to
distinguish the kingdom of Christ, into which the saints are brought in this
life, from the kingdom of the Father, or the ultimate glory they shall possess
hereafter; and partly to express the security of the saints, and their
continuance in the love of God, being in the kingdom, and under the care and
government of the Son of his love; and also to make way for what the apostle

has further to discourse concerning the person, office, and grace of Christ, in
the following verses,
(e) Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 25. 4.
Geneva Study Bible
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us
into the kingdom of his dear Son:
EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Colossians 1:13. A more precise elucidation of the divine benefit previously
expressed by τῷ ἱκανώσαντι … φωτί. This verse forms the transition, by
which Paul is led on to the instructions as to Christ, which he has it in view to
give down to Colossians 1:20.[21]

ἐκ τῆς ἐξουσ. τοῦ σκοτ.] τοῦ σκοτ. is not genitive of apposition (Hofmann),
but, corresponding to the εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν that follows, genitive of the
subject: out of the power, which darkness has. The latter, as the influential
power of non-Christian humanity (of the κόσμος, which is ruled by the devil,
Ephesians 2:2), is personified; its essence is the negation of the intellectual and
ethical divine ἀλήθεια, and the affirmation of the opposite. Comp. Luke
22:53; Matthew 4:16; Acts 26:18; Romans 13:12; Ephesians 5:8; Ephesians
6:12, et al. The act of the ἑῤῥύσατο has taken place by means of the
conversion to Christ, which is the work of God, Romans 8:29 f.; Ephesians 2:4
ff. It is to be observed, that the expression ἐκ τ. ἐξουσ. τ. σκότους is chosen as
the correlative of ἐν τῷ φωτί in Colossians 1:12.

καὶ μετέστησεν] The matter is to be conceived locally (εἰς ἕτερον τόπον, Plat.
Legg. vi. p. 762 B), so that the deliverance from the power of darkness
appears to be united with the removing away into the kingdom, etc. Comp.

Plat. Rep. p. 518 A: ἔκ τε φωτὸς εἰς σκότος μεθισταμένων καὶ ἐκ σκότους εἰς
φῶς.

εἰς τὴν βασιλ. κ.τ.λ., that is, into the kingdom of the Messiah, Ephesians 5:5; 2
Peter 1:11; for this and nothing else is meant by ἡ βασιλεία Χριστοῦ (τοῦ
Θεοῦ, τῶν οὐρανῶν) in all passages of the N. T. Comp. Colossians 4:11; and
see on Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 4:20; Matthew 3:2; Matthew 6:10. The
aorist μετέστ. is to be explained by the matter being conceived proleptically
(τῇ γὰρ ἐλπίδι ἐσώθημεν, Romans 8:24), as something already consummated
(comp. on ἐδόξασε, Romans 8:30). Thus the kingdom which is nigh is, by
means of their fellowship of life with their Lord (Ephesians 2:6), as certain to
the redeemed as if they were already translated into it. The explanation which
refers it to the Christian church (so still Heinrichs, Bähr, Huther, and most
expositors) as contrasted with the κόσμος, is just as unhistorical as that which
makes it the invisible inward, ethical kingdom (see especially Olshausen,
following an erroneous view of Luke 17:21), to which also Bleek and Hofmann
ultimately come. Certainly all who name Christ their Lord are under this king
(Hofmann); but this is not yet his βασιλεία; that belongs to the future αἰών,
Ephesians 5:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9 f., 1 Corinthians 15:24; 1 Corinthians 15:50;
Galatians 5:21, et al.; John 18:36.

τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ] in essential meaning, indeed, nothing else than τοῦ υἱοῦ
αὐτοῦ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ (Matthew 3:17; Matthew 17:5, et al.), or τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ
ἀγαπητοῦ αὐτοῦ (Matthew 12:18; Mark 12:6), but more prominently singling
out the attribute (Buttmann, Neut. Gr. p. 141 [E. T. 162]): of the Son of His
love, that is, of the Son who is the object of His love, genitive of the subject.
Comp. Genesis 35:18 : υἱὸς ὀδύνης μου. Entirely parallel is Ephesians 1:6 f.:
ἐν τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν κ.τ.λ. Augustine, de Trin. xv. 19, understood it
as genitive of origin, making ἀγάπη αὐτοῦ denote the divine substantia.[22] So
again Olshausen, in whose view the expression is meant to correspond to the
Johannine ΜΟΝΟΓΕΝΉς. This is entirely without analogy in the N. T. mode
of conception, according to which not the procreation (Colossians 1:15), but

the sending of the Son is referred to the divine love as its act; and the love is
not the essence of God (in the metaphysical sense), but His essential
disposition (the essence in the ethical sense), even in 1 John 4:8; 1 John 4:16.
Consequently it might be explained: “of the Son, whom His love has sent,” if
this were suggested by the context; so far, however, from this being the case,
the language refers to the exalted Christ who rules (βασιλείαν). The
expression itself, Ὁ ΥἹῸς Τῆς ἈΓΆΠ. ΑὐΤΟῦ, is found in the N. T. only here,
but could not he chosen more suitably or with deeper feeling to characterize
the opposite of the God-hated element of σκότος, which in its nature is directly
opposed to the divine love. The view, that it is meant to be intimated that the
sharing in the kingdom brings with it the ΥἹΟΘΕΣΊΑ (Huther, de Wette),
imports what is not expressed, and anticipates the sequel. Holtzmann without
ground, and unfairly, asserts that in comparison with Ephesians 1:6 our
passage presents “stereotyped modes of connection and turns of an
ecclesiastical orator,” under which he includes the Hebraizing Ὁ ΥἹῸς Τῆς
ἈΓΆΠΗς ΑὐΤ. as being thoroughly un-Pauline—as if the linguistic resources
of the apostle could not even extend to an expression which is not indeed
elsewhere used by him, but is in the highest degree appropriate to a specially
vivid sense of the divine act of love; something sentimental in the best sense.

[21] This Chiristological outburst runs on in the form of purely positive
statement, although having already in view doctrinal dangers of the kind in
Colossae. According to Holtzmann, the Christology belongs to the compiler;
the whole passage, vv. 14–20, is forced and without motive, and it is only in
ver. 21 that we find the direct sequel to ver. 13. The latter statement is
incorrect. And why should this excursus, as a grand basis for all the
exhortations and warnings that follow, be held without due motive?
Holtzmann forms too harsh a judgment as to the whole passage Colossians
1:9-23, when he declares it incompatible with any strict exegetical treatment.

[22] Theodore of Mopsuestia finds in the expression the contrast that Christ
was the Son of God οὐ φύσει, ἀλλʼ ἀγάπῃ τῆς υἱοθεσίας.

Expositor's Greek Testament
Colossians 1:13. Paul now explains how God has qualified them for their
share in the heavenly inheritance. On this passage Acts 26:18 should be
compared; the parallels extend to Colossians 1:12; Colossians 1:14 also.—
ἐρύσατο. The aorist refers to the time of conversion. The metaphor implies the
miserable state of those delivered and the struggle necessary to deliver
them.—ἐξουσίας: “ubi τῇ βασιλείᾳ opponitur, est tyrannis” (Wetstein, so also
Chrys., Lightf., Kl[6]). This would heighten the contrast between the power of
darkness and the “kingdom of the son of His love”. But Abbott argues forcibly
against this view, especially with relation to the N.T. usage. He quotes
Revelation 12:10, ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμῶν καὶ ἐξουσία τοῦ Χριστοῦ αὐτοῦ,
where the contrast obviously cannot be maintained. Grimm takes the term as
a collective expression for the demoniacal powers; and Klöpper says that in
Paul ἐξ. is not a mere abstract term, but signifies the possessors of power.
Here, however, he rightly sees that the contrast to βας. makes this meaning
inappropriate, and that for it ἐρύς. ἀπό would have been expected rather than
ἐρύς. ἐκ. Accordingly he interprets it as the dominion possessed by the
(personified) darkness.—τοῦ σκότους: taken by Hofmann as a genitive of
apposition, but the obvious interpretation is to take it as a subjective genitive,
the dominion which darkness exercises. We should have expected simply “out
of darkness” to correspond to “in light,” but Paul changes the form, partly to
insist that the darkness is not a mere state but exercises an active authority,
partly to secure a parallel with the kingdom of God’s Son. But we are not
justified (with Mey., Kl[7]) in personifying σκότος, for the primary contrast is
with φωτί not υἱοῦ.—μετέστησεν. Wetstein quotes Jos., Ant., ix., 11, 1
(Tiglath-Pileser’s deportation of N.E. Israel), and Lightfoot thinks that this
use of the word suggested the choice of it here, and this is made more
probable by the addition of εἰς τ. βας. Meyer, however, quotes a striking
parallel from Plato, where no such reference is present: ἔκ τε φωτὸς εἰς
σκότος μεθισταμένων καὶ ἐκ σκότους εἰς φῶς (Rep., p. 518 A).—βασιλείαν.
Meyer insists that this is the Messianic kingdom, and as the realisation of this
lay in the future to Paul the clause must have a proleptic reference, citizenship
in the kingdom being guaranteed by their conversion. But the argument rests
on a false premiss, for in 1 Corinthians 4:20, Romans 14:17, the sense is not

eschatological. Nor, indeed, can it be so here, for the translation into the
kingdom must have taken place at the same time as the deliverance.—υἱοῦ τῆς
ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ. Augustine, followed by Olshausen and Lightfoot, takes ἀγάπης
as a genitive of origin, and interprets, the Son begotten of the essence of the
Father, which is love. This has no parallel in the N.T., and rests, as Meyer
points out, on a confusion of the metaphysical with the ethical essence of God.
The phrase is practically equivalent to His beloved Son, but is chosen for the
sake of emphasis to indicate His greatness and the excellence of His kingdom.
There is, perhaps, the further thought that the love which rests on the Son
must rest also on those who are one with Him.

[6] Klöpper.

[7] Klöpper.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
13–14. The thought pursued: the greatness of their Redemption, and of their
Redeemer

13. hath delivered] Better, delivered, rescued. The time-reference is the same
as that of “qualified us,” explained in the last note but one. The verb is that
used in the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:13), and e.g. 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 2
Timothy 3:11; 2 Timothy 4:17-18.

the power of darkness] Lit., the authority of the darkness; Latin Versions, de
potestate tenebrarum. The exact phrase recurs, in our blessed Lord’s lips, and
in the very crisis of His work for our “rescue,” Luke 22:53.—The word
rendered “authority” (exousia) is distinguished from mere “force” (dunamis),
and denotes some sort of recognized dominion, whether lawful (e.g. Matthew
10:1; Romans 13:1, &c.) or unlawful. In secular Greek (as Lightfoot shews) it

has a slight tendency to denote excessive or tyrannous dominion. This must
not be pressed in the N.T., as a Concordance will shew; but in this Epistle
(Colossians 1:16, Colossians 2:15) and its Ephesian companion (Ephesians 2:2,
Ephesians 3:10, Ephesians 6:12), it certainly takes that direction, referring to
evil spiritual powers and their sphere of dominion.

Man, in the Fall, so surrendered himself to the Usurper that, but for the
action of his Divine King and Deliverer, he would now lie not merely under
the force but under the dominion of his enemy. Cp. Ephesians 6:12 and our
note.

“The darkness:”—cp. again Ephesians 6:12. Here the idea presented is the
antithesis to that of the holy “light” of Colossians 1:12; a (moral) region of
delusion, woe, pollution, and death, in which the “Antipathist of Light”[80]
rules over those who “are darkness” (Ephesians 5:8) and “do its works”
(Ephesians 5:11; cp. 1 John 1:6). On the whole expression here, cp. 1 Peter
2:9.

[80] So Coleridge, Ne plus Ultra.

hath translated] Lit. and better (as above) translated, or transferred.

the kingdom] Rescued from a tyranny, they stepped not into a “no man’s
land” but at once under the righteous, beneficent sovereignty and protection
of the true King. The “kingdom” here is, immediately, our present subjection,
in grace, to the Son of God; to be developed hereafter into the life of glorified
order and service (Revelation 22:3). See on Ephesians 5:5 in this Series.

Lightfoot, in an interesting note here, says that St Paul uses this positive
language about the actual deliverance of the Colossians, inasmuch as “they
are [in St Paul’s view] potentially saved, because the knowledge of God is
itself salvation, and this knowledge is within their reach … He hopes to make
them saints by dwelling on their calling as saints.” True; but the meaning put
on the word “calling” is, we think, inadequate. On the general phenomenon of
“inclusive” apostolic language see above on Colossians 1:2.

his dear Son] Lit. and far better, the Son of His love. Lightfoot, following
Augustine, takes this most precious phrase to mean, in effect, the Son of the
Father who is (1 John 4:8; 1 John 4:16) Love; the Son who accordingly
manifests and as it were embodies the Father’s Love (1 John 4:9-10). But
surely the more probable meaning is that the Son is the blessed Object of the
Father’s love (so Ellicott); the supremely Beloved One (cp. the parallel
passage, Ephesians 1:6, where see our note). Far from “destroying the whole
force of the expression” (Lightfoot), this interpretation is full of ideas in point
here. The “kingdom” is what it is to its happy subjects because its King is the
Beloved Son, in whom the subjects are therefore not subjects only but sons,
and beloved. See Ephesians 1:6-7, in connexion, for a strong suggestion in this
direction.
Bengel's Gnomen
Colossians 1:13. Ὃς, who) the Father.—ἐξουσίας, from the power) The
antithesis is kingdom: power detains captives; a kingdom fosters willing
citizens; comp. Ephesians 2:2; Ephesians 5:5; Ephesians 6:12.—σκότους, of
darkness) the darkness of blindness, of hatred, of misery.—τοῦ Υἱοῦ τῆς
ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ, the Son of His love) [His dear Son, Engl. Vers.] John 17:26;
Ephesians 1:6. This is treated in the 15th and following verses.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 13. - Who (sc. the Father) rescued us from the dominion of the
darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of his love (Ephesians
5:8; Ephesians 6:12; Romans 7:14-8:4; 1 Corinthians 15:56, 57; 1

Thessalonians 1:9, 10; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5-7; 1 John 2:7-11). To "rescue"
(ῤύομαι: 1 Thessalonians 1:10; Romans 7:24; 2 Corinthians 1:10; 2 Timothy
4:17, 18, - to be carefully distinguished from other Greek verbs rendered
"deliver") implies the evil state of the rescued, the superior power of the
rescuer, and a conflict issuing in deliverance. St. Paul repeatedly associates
the figure of darkness with the language of warfare (Ephesians 6:12; Romans
13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:8; comp. John 1:5, R.V. margin). "Dominion of
darkness" - same as "dominion of Satan" (Acts 26:18). Αξουσία, as
distinguished from δύναμις ("power," vers. 11, 29), is "right," "authority"
(comp. 1 Corinthians 9:4-6; John 1:12;. 17:2): the power of Satan is not mere
external force, but takes the form of established and (as it were) legalized
dominion (1 Corinthians 15:56; Luke 4:6; John 12:31). "The darkness" is
precisely opposed to "the light" (ver. 12), being the region of falsehood and
hatred, whether in this world or outside of it, where Satan rules (Ephesians
6:12; Ephesians 5:8, 11; 2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 2:8-11; Matthew 8:12;
Luke 22:53; John 3:19, 20; John 12:35). To "translate" (μεθίστημι) is to
remove from one place, office, etc., to another; Josephus ('Ant.,' 9:11, 1) uses
it of the deportation of the Israelites by the Assyrian king. The Father,
rescuing his captive children, brings them "into the kingdom of the Son of his
love." Here we touch the central and governing idea of this Epistle, that of the
supreme lordship of Christ (vers. 15-20; Colossians 2:6, 10, 19, etc.); and this
passage affords a clue which will, we trust, guide us through some of the
greatest difficulties which follow. (On "the kingdom of the Son," comp.
Ephesians 1:20-23; Philippians 2:6-11; Romans 14:9; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 1
Corinthians 15:24 28; Hebrews 1:1-4; Hebrews 2:5-10; Revelation 1:5-7, 18;
Revelation 5, etc.; John 5:22-27; John 17:2; John 18:36; Matthew 25:31-46;
Matthew 28:18-20.) Only here and in Ephesians 5:5; 2 Timothy 4:1, 18; 1
Corinthians 15:24, 25, does the apostle speak of the kingdom as Christ's;
otherwise as God's (and future). The "Son of his love" is not simply the
"beloved Son" (Ephesians 1:6; Matthew 3:17, etc.), but the representative and
depositary of his love: "Who is his love made manifest" (Augustine, Lightfoot;
see ver. 2, note; John 3:16; John 17:26; 1 John 4:8, 9, 14-16; Ephesians 2:4;
Titus 3:4-6; Romans 5:8), being at once our "Redeemer King "(ver. 13, 14)
and the" Image of the invisible God" (ver. 15).

Vincent's Word Studies
Power (ἐξουσίας)
See on Mark 2:10.
Translated (μετέστησεν)
The word occurs five times in the New Testament: of putting out of the
stewardship, Luke 16:4; of the removal of Saul from the kingdom, Acts 13:22;
of Paul turning away much people, Acts 19:26; and of removing mountains, 1
Corinthians 13:2. A change of kingdoms is indicated.
Kingdom
Hence God's kingdom is in the present, no less than in heaven. See on Luke
6:20.
Of His dear Son (τοῦ υἱοῦ τῆς ἀγάπης αὐτοῦ)
Lit., of the Son of His love. So Rev. The Son who is the object of His love, and
to whom, therefore, the kingdom is given. See Psalm 2:7, Psalm 2:8; Hebrews
1:3-9. It is true that love is the essence of the Son as of the Father; also, that
the Son's mission is the revelation of the Father's love; but, as Meyer correctly
says, "the language refers to the exalted Christ who rules."

PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES

Colossians 1:13 For He rescued (3SAMI) us from the domain of darkness and
transferred (3SAAI) us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, (NASB: Lockman)
Greek: hos errhusato (3SAMI) hemas ek tes exousias tou skotous kai
metestesen (3SAAI) eis ten basileian tou huiou tes agapes autou

Amplified: [The Father] has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the
control and the dominion of darkness and has transferred us into the kingdom
of the Son of His love, (Amplified Bible - Lockman)
Analyzed Literal: who rescued us out of the dominion of the darkness and
transferred [us] into the kingdom of the Son of His love,
Lightfoot: Yes, by a strong arm he rescued us from the lawless tyranny of
darkness, removed us from the land of our bondage, and settled us as free
citizens in our new and glorious home, where his Son, the offspring and the
representative of his love, is King;
MLB (Berkley): He has rescued us from the domain of darkness, and has
transferred us into the kingdom of His Beloved Son,
Moffatt: rescuing us from the power of the Darkness and transferring us to
the realm of his beloved Son!
NJB: Because that is what he has done. It is he who has rescued us from the
ruling force of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son that he
loves (NJB)
NLT: For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of
darkness, and he has brought us into the Kingdom of his dear Son. (NLT -
Tyndale House)
Phillips: For we must never forget that he rescued us from the power of
darkness, and re-established us in the kingdom of his beloved Son, that is, in
the kingdom of light. (Phillips: Touchstone)
Weymouth: It is God who has delivered us out of the dominion of darkness,
and has transferred us into the Kingdom of His dearly-loved Son,
Wuest: who delivered us out of the tyrannical rule of the darkness and
transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we are having
our liberation, procured by the payment of ransom
Young's Literal: who did rescue us out of the authority of the darkness, and
did translate us into the reign of the Son of His love,

FOR HE DELIVERED US: os errhusato (3SAMI) hemas:
Lk 1:74 Ro 7:24, 11:26 Acts 26:18; 2Co 1:10 1Th 1:10 2Pe 2:7, 8, 9
Colossians 1 Resources - multiple sermons and commentaries
OPERATION
RESCUE
For - (See terms of explanation) This word is not present in the Greek but is
added by several of the translations (NAS, NIV, NLT, NAB) to explain how
we got into the light, how we became saints in light, for as Ephesians said we
were all dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:1-note) and were formerly
darkness (not just in darkness which is true but literally in some way the
essence of darkness! Woe! What a Deliverer! What a glorious Gospel which
had the power to abolish death and bring life and immortality to light - 2Ti
1:10-note) (Eph 5:8-note). We were blind (2Cor 4:4-note) but God shined His
Gospel light (2Cor 4:6-note) into our hearts and delivered us into the light!
Maclaren- Paul now explains how God has qualified them for their share in
the heavenly inheritance.
Delivered (4506)(rhuomai [word study] or ruomai or rhyomai from rhúo = to
draw, drag along the ground) means to draw or snatch to oneself and
invariably refers to a snatching from danger, evil or an enemy. This basic idea
is that of bringing someone out of severe and acute danger, and so to save,
rescue, deliver, preserve. Rhuomai emphasizes greatness of peril from which
deliverance is given by a mighty act of power. In the NT rhuomai is always
associated with God as the Deliverer and with a person as the object of His
deliverance.
In context rhuomai means God drew or snatched us to Himself out of danger
and away from the clutches of our mortal evil enemy, Satan and his minions,
who rule in the "domain of darkness". Rhuomai emphasizes the greatness of
peril from which deliverance is given by a mighty act of power.
Delivered is in the aorist tense (past completed act) and the middle voice
which conveys the great truth that God initiated the "rescue operation" and

participated in the carrying out of the operation! One could paraphrase this
verse as "God Himself rescued us" (or the Amplified Version's "[The Father]
has delivered and drawn us to Himself"). This deliverance points to the
moment of salvation for every believer - He "rescued" us from sin and death
when He died in our place, and that "credit" was placed on our account the
moment we first believed this Good News. The truth to depraved men and
women is that we did (and could) not rescue ourselves from the jaws of eternal
destruction! God did only what He could do and for that we should have the
deepest gratitude.
Rhuomai - 15v in NT - Mt. 6:13; 27:43; Lk. 1:74; Ro 7:24; 11:26; 15:31; 2Co
1:10; Col. 1:13; 1Th 1:10; 2Th 3:2; 2Ti 3:11; 4:17f; 2Pe 2:7, 9
Rhuomai was used to describe a soldier going to a wounded comrade on the
battlefield and snatching him to safety. The "great danger" we were rescued
from is that the wages of sin made us liable to eternal death and placed us in
the kingdom of Satan and subject to his rule and authority and in bondage to
our old (sin) nature inherited from Adam.
NIDNTT notes that rhuomai is found in "found in classic Greek. from Homer
onwards and also in inscriptions and papyri. It is used of deliverance and
keeping by both the gods and men. (1) Ajax prayed to “Father Zeus” to save
(rhuomai) the Achaians from the dark night (Homer, Il. 17, 645). “Only Zeus
and the other gods saved (rhuomai) thee”, cried Achilles to Aeneas (Il. 20,
194). Such deliverance extends not only to individuals in battle, but to various
dangers, afflictions and also the protection of property (Il. 15, 257, 290; Hdt.
1, 87 ek tou kakou, “from evil”; 5, 49; 9, 76; 4, 187; 6, 7; 7, 217; other
instances in W. Kasch, rhyomai, TDNT VI 1000). (2) On the human level the
verb. is applied to the action of princes in delivering cities and countries
(Homer, Il. 9, 396), women and children (Il. 17, 224), the outcast (Soph., OC
285). Moreover, rhuomai can be used of inanimate objects. Thus, walls (Il. 18,
515), helmets (Il. 10, 259), and armour (Il. 23, 819) are said to protect. On the
other hand, Odysseus cannot save his comrades who have destroyed
themselves by sin (Od. 1,6f.), and there are cases where not even the gods can
save (Il., 15, 141; Od. 12, 107; Aesch., Sept. 91; cf. W. Kasch, ibid.). (Brown,

Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986.
Zondervan)
Jonathan Edwards in his famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry
God says that as those in the domain of darkness, we were "always exposed to
destruction as one that stands or walks in slippery places is always exposed to
fall… always exposed to sudden unexpected destruction… every moment
liable to fall… at once without warning" Edwards goes on to write that we
were all once in danger of spending eternity apart from God -- "God will not
hold them up in these slippery places any longer, but will let them go; and
then at that very instant, they shall fall into destruction; as he that stands on
such slippery declining ground, on the edge of a pit, he cannot stand alone,
when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost… The wrath of God is like
great waters that are dammed for the present; they increase more and more,
and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is given; and the longer the stream is
stopped, the more rapid and mighty is its course, when once it is let loose.
(Ref)
The sword of God’s judgment was hanging over our heads from the moment
of our birth into Adam's helpless race (Ro 5:12) until God graciously snatched
us from the jaws of death and placed us safely in the "ark", in Christ (see
1Cor 15:22)! We were "judged already" and on "death row" according to (Jn
3:18) with the "wrath of God" abiding on us (Jn 3:36) until we were saved by
grace through faith in the fully atoning work of Jesus Christ (Eph 2:8-9).
To Thee my spirit I commend;
Redemption is with Thee,
O Thou Jehovah, God of truth,
Who hast delivered me. (play hymn)
Zacharias, upon the birth of his son, John the Baptist, was filled with the Holy
Spirit and prophesied of the Messiah declaring "Blessed be the Lord God of
Israel, for He has visited (episkeptomai [word study]) us and accomplished
redemption (lutrosis [word study]) for His people (in the Messiah)… to grant
us that we, being delivered (rhuomai) from the hand of our enemies, might

serve (latreuo [word study]) Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness
before Him all our days. (Luke 1:68, 74, 75)
Although deliverance grants us freedom our enemies, as this Scripture
indicates, the freedom is to now live a holy, righteous lifestyle, not to live any
way our old nature chooses!
Paul was encouraged by the Thessalonian believers who had "turned to God
from idols to serve a living and true God and to wait for His Son from heaven,
Whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, Who delivers us from the wrath
to come (literally "the wrath, the coming"). (1Th 1:9, 10-note).
In this verse in Colossians Paul is referring to our deliverance in our salvation
experience, but God's mighty deliverances do not end with our initial
salvation. And so Paul encouraged Timothy with this truth, explaining that
although he (Paul) had experienced "persecutions, and sufferings" yet "out of
them all the Lord delivered (rhuomai) me! (2Ti 3:11-note)
Paul went on to explain that in his first defense no one supported him but all
deserted him, and yet "the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me, in order
that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all
the Gentiles might hear and I was delivered (rhuomai - aorist tense and
indicative mood = a definite time and a definite historical event!) out of the
lion's mouth. The Lord will deliver (rhuomai) me from every evil deed, and
will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and
ever. Amen." (2Ti 4:17, 18-note).
The fact that God's deliverances are not restricted to our initial salvation, is in
one sense the basis for Jesus' instruction to pray for daily deliverance asking
God specifically to "not lead us into temptation, but deliver (rhuomai) us from
evil. (Mt 6:13-note)
Peter adds that if God "rescued (rhuomai) righteous Lot, oppressed by the
sensual conduct of unprincipled men (for by what he saw and heard that
righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day
after day with their lawless deeds), then the Lord knows how to rescue
(rhuomai) the godly from temptation (notice that temptation can be perceived

at times as torment - cp Lot), and to keep (guard) the unrighteous under
punishment for the day of judgment." (2Peter 2:7-9-note)
If you are godly, you are not immune to temptations, even very strong ones!
Have you prayed Mt 6:13 today asking God for deliverance from evil? Note
that God does not always deliver us immediately or in the same way.
Sometimes He delivers us from our trials, and at other times He delivers us in
our trials (cp 1Cor 10:13-note).
Christ comes to His temple; we, His Word receiving,
Are made happy in believing.
Lo! from sin delivered, He hath turned our sadness,
Our deep gloom to light and gladness!
Let us raise hymns of praise, for our bonds are severed;
Christ comes to His temple! (play hymn)

Today in the Word - Captain Scott O’Grady knows better than most what
rescue (Ed: cp "delivered") means. In June 1995 his plane was shot down over
Bosnia. The Air Force pilot survived on insects, plants, and rain water and
was only able to use his radio transmitter late at night. On the sixth night of
his ordeal, his faint radio signal was picked up by another U.S. pilot. A daring
rescue mission eventually brought the helpless pilot to safety. As amazing as
this rescue was, every believer has experienced one even more miraculous, as
today’s passage reveals. As part of his prayer for the Colossians, Paul first
prays for knowledge of God’s will. This isn’t knowledge for the sake of
knowledge, but knowledge that causes growth in one’s relationship with the
Lord so as to live a life worthy of the Lord, pleasing to Him in all respects
(Col. 1:10). As Bible scholar David Garland says, “God gives us knowledge to
lead us to deeper faith, greater virtue, and more devout service.”
FROM THE DOMAIN OF DARKNESS: ek (out from) tes (the specific)
exousias tou skotous:

Lk 22:53,Col 2:15 Acts 26:18, Jn 12:31 2Co 4:4 Ep 4:18; 5:8; 6:12 1Pe 2:9 1Jn
2:8, 2:11, 3:8
Colossians 1 Resources - multiple sermons and commentaries
out of the control and the dominion of darkness (Amp),
out of the power of darkness (ASV),
has made us free from the power of evil (BBE),
from the authority of darkness (Darby)
For he has rescued us from the one who rules in the kingdom of darkness
(NLT)
From - Ek more literally means "out of". It's as if God looked down, saw we
were drowning in sin, threw us a life preserver to grab hold of and lifted us up
out of the dark, miry clay of lost mankind in bondage to sin and Satan.
Lightfoot comments that "We were slaves in the land of darkness. God
rescued us from this thralldom. He transplanted us from there and settled us
as free colonists and citizens in the kingdom of his Son, in the realms of light.
Domain (1849) (exousia is derived éxesti = it is permitted, it is lawful meaning
liberty of action). It refers to authority, conferred or delegated power,
"authorization" to operate decisively in a designated jurisdiction. Exousía in
short refers to delegated authority and combines the idea of the "right and the
might", these attributes having been granted to someone.
Exousia in reference to the saints is the authority God gives us which
authorizes us to act, thus bringing about the outcome He designated. 1. God
confers His sovereign authority (exousia) to believers as they submit to His
prerogatives, to use His power, at His direction. Exousia or "delegated
authority" from the Lord grants believers authority to act but Gal 2:20
explicitly teaches we have no rights (prerogatives) of our own – to do any
independent decision-making. We should never "make up our own minds"
about what the Lord should do, or how He should be served! The Lord
authorizes believers to act out His will as revealed through His written Word.

Exousia is transferred or delegated power authorizing someone with delegated
power. Exousia specifically applies to believers as they are authorized by
God's word to do His will or His bidding. This is discerned through the Lord
imparting faith (His inworked persuasions; cf. Ro 14:23)
Wayne Barber adds that "Jesus now has authority (exousia) in me over the
darkness. Don't let anyone tell you that you and I have authority (the right
and the might) over the darkness apart from Jesus living in us. It is He who
has the authority, not us. That authority is that which He exercises as we walk
worthy of Him, and then He puts down the darkness which is around us. This
is a repeated picture in the New Testament --- if I walk in the light, if I seek
Him, then automatically I'm going to see power over the darkness, because it's
Him in me exercising that heritage through me."
Vine explains that exousia evolved "from the meaning of "leave or
permission" or "liberty of doing as one pleases" and passed to that of "the
ability or strength with which one is endued," then to that of the "power of
authority," the right to exercise power or "the power of rule or government,"
the power of one whose will and commands must be obeyed by others. (Vine's
Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words)
Vincent adds that "Authority or right is the dominant meaning in the New
Testament. (Word studies in the New Testament. Vol. 1, Page 3-171)
Exousía means the power to do something and was a technical term used in
the law courts, of a legal right.
Exousia - 93v in NT -
Matt. 7:29; 8:9; 9:6, 8; 10:1; 21:23f, 27; 28:18; Mk. 1:22, 27; 2:10; 3:15; 6:7;
11:28f, 33; 13:34; Lk. 4:6, 32, 36; 5:24; 7:8; 9:1; 10:19; 12:5, 11; 19:17; 20:2, 8,
20; 22:53; 23:7; Jn. 1:12; 5:27; 10:18; 17:2; 19:10f; Acts 1:7; 5:4; 8:19; 9:14;
26:10, 12, 18; Rom. 9:21; 13:1ff; 1 Co. 7:37; 8:9; 9:4ff, 12, 18; 11:10; 15:24; 2
Co. 10:8; 13:10; Eph. 1:21; 2:2; 3:10; 6:12; Col. 1:13, 16; 2:10, 15; 2 Thess.
3:9; Tit. 3:1; Heb. 13:10; 1 Pet. 3:22; Jude 1:25; Rev. 2:26; 6:8; 9:3, 10, 19;
11:6; 12:10; 13:2, 4f, 7, 12; 14:18; 16:9; 17:12f; 18:1; 20:6; 22:14

In English the word "domain" means complete and absolute ownership of a
land. John tells us who the "owner" is at the present time writing that "We
know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in [the power of (NIV =
"under the control of)] the evil one." (1Jn 5:19)
Paul calls Satan "the god of this world" who "has blinded the minds of the
unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God. (2Cor 4:4)
Darkness (4655) (skotos [word study] from skia = shadow thrown by an
object. Skia it can assume the meaning of skotos and indicate the sphere of
darkness) is literally that sphere in which light is absent. In the phrase "the
outer darkness", the reference is the place of punishment or exclusion from
God Who is light!
Skotos -30x in NT -- Skotos is translated "darkness" in each of these verses.
Click (or here) for more in depth discussion of the Biblical concept of
"Darkness".
Matt. 4:16; 6:23; 8:12; 22:13; 25:30; 27:45; Mk. 15:33; Lk. 1:79; 11:35; 22:53;
23:44; Jn. 3:19; Acts 2:20; 13:11; 26:18; Rom. 2:19; 13:12; 1 Co. 4:5; 2 Co.
4:6; 6:14; Eph. 5:8, 11; 6:12; Col. 1:13; 1 Thess. 5:4, 5; 1 Pet. 2:9; 2 Pet. 2:17;
1 Jn. 1:6; Jude 1:13.
NIDNTT explains that "In classic Gk. darkness applies primarily to the state
characterized by the absence of light (phos) without any special metaphysical
overtones. The thought is chiefly of the effect of darkness upon man. In the
dark man gropes around uncertainly (Plato, Phaedo, 99b), since his ability to
see is severely limited. Thus the man who can see may become blind in the
darkness, and no longer know which way to turn. Hence darkness appears as
the “sphere of objective peril and of subjective anxiety” (H. Conzelmann,
TDNT VII 424). Since all anxiety ultimately derives from the fear of death, the
ominous character of darkness culminates in the darkness of death which no
man can escape (cf. Homer, Il., 4, 461). Darkness is therefore Hades, the world
of the dead, which already reaches out into our world in the mythical figures
of the Eumenides, the children of Skotos and Gaia (Soph., Oedipus Coloneus,
40). Freed from their proper, temporal sense, the words of this group can be

used in a metaphorical sense to describe human ways of life and behaviour.
Thus they can describe a man’s seclusion or obscurity. They can also indicate
the secrecy, furtiveness or deceitfulness of his activity, the abstruseness of his
speech, lack of enlightenment, insight and knowledge. “The word does not
attain to high conceptual rank in philosophy. Mention of darkness serves to
set off light; it has no philosophical content of its own” (TDNT VII 425 f.).
(Brown, Colin, Editor. New International Dictionary of NT Theology. 1986.
Zondervan)
Skotos is sometimes used of natural or intellectual darkness but is most
frequently used metaphorically, of moral and spiritual darkness, the present
condition of the world, which reflects the character of the evil spiritual powers
that dominate it. Jesus Himself uses skotos in this way declaring "While I was
with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and
the power (exousia - right & might) of darkness are yours." (Lk 22:53)
For believers, this power of the evil one has been broken, the writer of
Hebrews informing us that "Since then the children share in flesh and blood,
(Jesus) Himself likewise also partook of the same (His incarnation), that
through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death,
that is, the devil and might deliver (release, set free, liberate believers) those
who through fear of death were subject to slavery (in as state of servitude) all
their lives." (Heb 2:14, 15-note)
Now that we are no longer in the "domain of darkness" "our struggle ("hand-
to-hand" combat describing wrestlers) is not against flesh and blood, but
against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this
darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
(Eph 6:12, 13, 14f-note)
Peter reminds us of our new privileged position and what should be our ready
reasonable response writing that we are now "A CHOSEN RACE, a royal
PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, a PEOPLE FOR God's OWN
POSSESSION, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called
you out of darkness into His marvelous light. (1Peter 2:9-note)

The Greek word exousia Vines says evolved "from the meaning of "leave or
permission," or liberty of doing as one pleases, it passed to that of "the ability
or strength with which one is endued," then to that of the "power of
authority," the right to exercise power… or "the power of rule or
government," the power of one whose will and commands must be obeyed by
others. In short exousia is "the right and the might" to do as one pleases.
Satan (and our old Sin nature inherited from Adam - see below) has both the
right (to rule) and the might (the ability or power to do so) to subject us to his
control and his evil schemes.
Paul teaches in this verse that God has delivered believers from the right and
the might of the darkness. The "domain of darkness" now has no right to
"fasten" itself on a believer. As a way of life the evil one cannot grasp a
believer in a way that exerts a modifying influence on his or her life. Why not?
Because God has delivered all believers by this once for all ("delivered" is in
the aorist tense = completed action, once for all accomplished in the past).
Believers can choose to slip back into the darkness for a season, but if this is
habitual or manifest by one's lifestyle, then there is no proof that such an
individual has ever been genuinely delivered from the domain of darkness. Do
not be deceived. God rescued us out from (ek) the power (exousia) of the
kingdom of darkness in which we were held captive as slaves (cf 2Ti 2:26-
note). How do you know whose "domain" you are under? John writes that
"the one who practices (present tense = continually, as a habit or lifestyle) sin
is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God
appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil. No
one who is born of God practices (present tense = continually, as a habit or
lifestyle) sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin (present tense
= continually, as a habit or lifestyle), because he is born of God." (1John 2:8,
9)

TENANT OF THE TUNNEL COLOSSIANS 1:13
For 16 years, John Kovacs was a "tenant of the tunnel." Along with a few
others, John lived underground in an abandoned railroad tunnel in New York

City. When Amtrak bought the tunnel and prepared to reopen it, John was
forced to look for a place to live above ground.
According to The New York Times, Mr. Kovacs became the first person
chosen for a new program designed to "transform the homeless into
homesteaders." After spending a third of his life in a railroad tunnel, he left
his underground existence to become an organic farmer in upstate New York.
He was quoted as saying, "The air will be better up there. I'm not going to
miss anything. I'm not coming back."
If we could see ourselves as our Lord does, we would realize that every child
of God has had a similar experience. We too have been chosen to leave a dark,
filthy existence for the dignity of a new life and work. If only we could see our
former life as clearly as John Kovacs saw his, we too would know that there is
nothing worthwhile in the dark, and no reason to go back.
Lord, help us to remember how needy we were when You found us. Forgive
us for sometimes wanting to go back to the tunnel. —Mart De Haan
I wandered in the shades of night
Till Jesus came to me
And with the sunlight of His love
Bid all my darkness flee. —Van De Venter

Children of the light will not be comfortable in the dark.

COLOSSIANS 1:9-14 THE POWER OF LIGHT
“You shine as lights in the world.” – Philippians 2:15-note
Some of us may not especially enjoy poetry. But often a few lines of verse will
grip our imagination, as do the following by Francis Thompson: “The
innocent moon that nothing does but shine, moves all the laboring surges of
the world.” The moon is nearly 240,000 miles from Earth and is only 1/400th

the size of the sun. With no light or heat of its own, it reflects the radiance of
that greater heavenly body. It appears to be relatively insignificant. Yet, the
moon quietly and almost imperceptibly moves the oceans of the world by its
gravitational pull. Most of us may not seem all that influential or well-known.
We don't have the giftedness, the wealth, or the position to make much of an
impact on our society. Our names don't appear in the newspaper, nor are they
mentioned on television. We may think that all we can do is practice our faith
in the humdrum routines of everyday life. But perhaps, unnoticed by us, we
are having an influence on the people around us by our Christlike attitudes
and actions. Let's not be concerned, then, about our seeming lack of influence.
Instead, do what Jesus commanded: “Let your light so shine before men, that
they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew
5:16-note). – V C Grounds
Jesus bids us shine with a clear, pure light
Like a little candle burning in the night;
In this world of darkness we must shine—
You in your small corner, and I in mine. —Warner

Even the smallest light can make a difference in the darkest night.
AND TRANSFERRED US: kai metesthsen (3SAAI):
Jn 5:24; Ro 6:17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22; 1Co 6:9, 10, 11; Eph 2:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10 Titus 3:3, 4, 5, 6; 1Jn 3:14
Colossians 1 Resources - multiple sermons and commentaries
Life Application Study Bible - The Colossians feared the unseen forces of
darkness, but Paul says that true believers have been transferred from
darkness to light, from slavery to freedom, from guilt to forgiveness, and from
the power of Satan to the power of God. We have been rescued from a rebel
kingdom to serve the rightful King. Our conduct should reflect our new
allegiance.

Brian Bell - So we’re transferred from what, to what?
(1) TRANSFERRED FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT! (Col 1:13) Delivered
us from the power of darkness - (contrast from light in previous verse)
Without God you’re groping around in the dark!
Lk.1:78,79 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring
from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the
shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
Jn 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world,
and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
(2) TRANSFERRED FROM ENEMY'S KINGDOM TO KINGDOM OF
THE SON! (13)
(3) TRANSFERRED FROM INCARCERATION TO REDEMPTION! (Col
1:14a)
(4) TRANSFERRED FROM CONDEMNATION TO FORGIVENESS! (Col
1:14b) (Sermon)
Transferred (3179) (methistemi from meta = denoting change of place or
condition + histemi =place, stand) literally means to remove or transfer from
one place to another.
Thayer says methistemi from "Homer down properly (means) to transpose,
transfer, remote from one place to another: properly, of change of situation or
place."
Friberg - literally remove from one place to another, transfer (1Cor 13.2); as
causing a change in someone's official position remove, dismiss, discharge
(Acts 13.22); passive be dismissed, lose one's job (Lk 16.4); figuratively, as
causing someone to change sides mentally or spiritually bring to a different
view; in a bad sense turn away, mislead (Acts 19.26)
In Acts 13:22 methistemi refers to causing someone to change their official
position and thus conveys the sense of to dismiss or discharge (cp similar
meaning in Lk 16:4).

In Acts 19:26 the meaning of methistemi is to bring or cause a person to turn
aside or "change sides" either mentally and/or spiritually.
Methistemi was used to signify deportation of men or a removal to form a
colony of which the history of Oriental Kings gave many examples-- for
example, the Assyrians "transferred" Israel out of the promised land (see 2Ki
17:23) and replaced them with substitutes. This Greek word may have had
special meaning to the Colossians for history records that Antiochus the Great
"transferred" at least 2,000 Jews from Babylonia to Colossae.
Barclay - The word which Paul uses for to transfer or to bring over is the
Greek verb methistemi. This is a word with a special use. In the ancient world,
when one empire won a victory over another, it was the custom to take the
population of the defeated country and transfer it lock, stock and barrel to the
conqueror's land. Thus the people of the northern kingdom were taken away
to Assyria, and the people of the southern kingdom were taken away to
Babylon. So Paul says that God has transferred the Christian to his own
kingdom. That was not only a transference but a rescue; and it meant four
great things.
(a) It meant a transference from darkness to light. Without God men grope
and stumble as if walking in the dark. They know not what to do; they know
not where they are going. Life is lived in the shadows of doubt and in the
darkness of ignorance. When Bilney the martyr read that Jesus Christ came
into the world to save sinners, he said that it was like the dawn breaking on a
dark night. In Jesus Christ, God has given us a light by which to live and by
which to die.
(b) It meant a transference from slavery to freedom. It was redemption, and
that was the word used for the emancipation of a slave and for the buying
back of something which was in the power of someone else. Without God men
are slaves to their fears, to their sins and slaves to their own helplessness. In
Jesus Christ there is liberation.
(c) It meant a transference from condemnation to forgiveness. Man in his sin
deserves nothing but the condemnation of God; but through the work of Jesus
Christ he discovers God's love and forgiveness. He knows now that he is no

longer a condemned criminal at God's judgment seat, but a lost son for whom
the way home is always open.
(d) It meant a transference from the power of Satan to the power of God.
Through Jesus Christ man is liberated from the grip of Satan and is able to
become a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Just as an earthly conqueror
transferred the citizens of the land he had conquered to a new land, so God in
his triumphant love transfers men from the realm of sin and darkness into the
realm of holiness and light. (Colossians 1 - William Barclay's Daily Study
Bible)
The verb methistemi is in the aorist tense which points to an immediate
transference from one spiritual region or kingdom to another. This great
transfer occurred the moment we believed in Jesus!
In a parallel passage Jesus describes the "transfer" in terms of a "passage"
declaring "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him
who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has
passed out of death into life." (Jn 5:24) John adds in his first epistle that "We
know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren.
He who does not love abides in death." (1Jn 3:14)
Paul describes the "transfer" in terms of a change of masters (see also next
paragraph) writing "thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you
became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were
committed and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of
righteousness. (Ro 6:17, 18, 19, 20-note, Ro 6:21, 22-note)
Paul describes some of the details by which this "transfer" was effected
writing that "such were some of you ("unrighteous") but you were washed,
but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and in the Spirit of our God." (1Co 6:9, 10, 11)
Paul goes on to describe the ideal behavior of those who have been
"transferred" writing "Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND
BE SEPARATE," says the Lord. "AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS
UNCLEAN and I will welcome you. And I will be a father to you, And you

shall be sons and daughters to Me," says the Lord Almighty. Therefore,
having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of
flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God."(1Co 6:17, 18, 2Cor
7:1-note)
Paul says that having been transferred, we should now "walk in a manner
worthy of the God Who calls you into His own kingdom and glory." (1Th
2:12-note)
Here are the 5 NT uses of methistemi…
Luke 16:4 'I know what I shall do, so that when I am removed from the
stewardship, they will receive me into their homes.'
Acts 13:22 "And after He had removed him, He raised up David to be their
king, concerning whom He also testified and said, 'I have found David the son
of Jesse, a man after My heart, who will do all My will.'
Acts 19:26 "And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all
of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of
people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.
1Corinthians 13:2 And if I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries
and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do
not have love, I am nothing.
Colossians 1:13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and
transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son
Methistemi - 19x in Septuagint (LXX) -
Dt. 17:17; 30:17; Jos. 14:8; Jdg. 9:29; 1 Sam. 6:12; 1 Ki. 15:13; 18:29; 2Ki.
3:2; 12:3; 17:23; 23:33; 2Chr. 15:16; Isa. 54:10; 59:15; Dan. 2:21; 7:12, 26;
11:31; Amos 5:23.
In 1Ki 15:13 we read that King Asa "also removed (Lxx = Methistemi)
Maacah his mother from [being] queen mother, because she had made a
horrid image as an Asherah; and Asa cut down her horrid image and burned
[it] at the brook Kidron." In essence she was deposed as a ruler.

In 2Ki 17:23 "the LORD removed (transferred, Lxx = Methistemi) Israel
from His sight, as He spoke through all His servants the prophets. So Israel
was carried away into exile from their own land to Assyria until this day.
Note that in the present context methistemi speaks of a total removal from the
rule of Satan. The verb is in the aorist tense which indicates a past completed
action at a point in time and thus the moment we were saved, at that point in
time, God transferred us from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of
light. We were set free from the power of the darkness and placed under
God's authority. Believers no longer are in or subject to the "domain of
darkness" and therefore are not obligated to live in submission to the power
of Satan nor to the power of the old SIN nature which seeks like Satan to
reign over us. Paul personifies "Sin" (our old flesh nature or our inherent
propensity to commit sin which we inherited from Adam Ro 5:12-note) as a
cruel "Monarch" explaining to the Roman saints that they were now (see
Romans 5 & Romans 6) in Christ (and in His "domain") and were now
"dead" to the rule of "King Sin" and thus Paul like a "spiritual general" in
wartime, commanded them -- "Do not let SIN reign (like a king) (present
imperative with a negative) in your mortal body that you should obey ITS
lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to ("King") SIN
as instruments of unrighteousness; but present (aorist imperative) yourselves
to God (you are now in His domain) as those alive from the dead, and your
members as instruments of righteousness to God. For ("King") SIN shall not
be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace. (Ro 6:12-14-
note)
Moule writes that "The second ground of thankfulness is, the change of king
and country. God "delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated
us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." These two clauses embrace the
negative and positive sides of the same act which is referred to in the former
ground of thankfulness, only stated now in reference to our allegiance and
citizenship in the present rather than in the future. In the "deliverance" there
may be a reference to God’s bringing Israel out of Egypt, suggested by the
previous mention of the inheritance, while the "translation" into the other
kingdom may be an illustration drawn from the well known practice of
ancient warfare, the deportation of large bodies of natives from conquered

kingdoms to some other part of the conqueror’s realm. We notice then the two
kingdoms and their kings. "The power of darkness," is an expression found in
Luke’s Gospel, {Luke 22:18} and it may be used here as a reminiscence of our
Lord’s solemn words. "Power" here seems to imply the conception of harsh,
arbitrary dominion, in contrast with the gracious rule of the other kingdom. It
is a realm of cruel and grinding sway. Its prince is personified in an image
that Aeschylus or Dante might have spoken. Darkness sits sovereign there, a
vast and gloomy, form on an ebon throne, wielding a heavy sceptre over wide
regions wrapped in night. The plain meaning of that tremendous metaphor is
just this-that the men who are not Christians live in a state of subjection to
darkness of ignorance, darkness of misery, darkness of sin. If I am not a
Christian man, that black three-headed hound of hell sits baying on my door
step.
What a wonderful contrast the other kingdom and its King present! "The
kingdom of"-not "the light," as we are prepared to hear, in order to complete
the antithesis, but-"the Son of His love," who is the light. The Son who is the
object of His love, on whom it all and ever rests, as on none besides. He has a
kingdom in existence now, and not merely hoped for, and to be set up at some
future time. Wherever men lovingly obey Christ, there is His kingdom. The
subjects make the kingdom, and we may today belong to it, and be free from.
all other dominion because we bow to His. There then sit the two kings, like
the two in the old story, "either of them on his throne, clothed in his robes, at
the entering in of the gate of the city." Darkness and Light, the ebon throne
and the white throne, surrounded each by their ministers; there Sorrow and
Gloom, here Gladness and Hope; there Ignorance with blind eyes and idle
aimless hands, here Knowledge with the sunlight on her face, and Diligence
for her handmaid; here Sin, the pillar of the gloomy realm, there
Righteousness, in robes so as no fuller on earth could white them. Under
which king, my brother?
We notice the transference of subjects. The sculptures on Assyrian
monuments explain this metaphor for us. A great conqueror has come, and
speaks to us as Sennacherib did to the Jews, {2 Kings 18:31-32} "Come out to
me and I will take you away to a land of corn and wine, that ye may live and
not die." If we listen to His voice, He will lead away a long string of willing

captives and plant them, not as pining exiles, but as happy naturalised
citizens, in the kingdom which the Father has appointed for "the Son of His
love."
That transference is effected on the instant of our recognising the love of God
in Jesus Christ, and yielding up the heart to Him. We too often speak as if the
entrance ministered at last to "a believing soul into the kingdom of our Lord
and Saviour," were its first entrance therein, and forget that we enter it as
soon as we yield to the drawings of Christ’s love and take service under the
king. The change then is greater than at death. When we die, we shall change
provinces, and go from an outlying colony to the mother city and seat of
empire, but we shall not change kingdoms. We shall be under the same
government, only then we shall be nearer the King and more loyal to Him.
That change of king is the real fitness for heaven. We know little of what
profound changes death may make, but clearly a physical change cannot
effect a spiritual revolution. They who are not Christ’s subjects will not
become so by dying. If here we are trying to serve a King who has delivered us
from the tyranny of darkness, we may be very sure that He will not lose His
subjects in the darkness of the grave. Let us choose our king. If we take Christ
for our heart’s Lord, every thought of Him here, every piece of partial
obedience and stained service, as well as every sorrow and every joy, our
fading possessions and our undying treasures, the feeble new life that wars
against our sins, and even the very sins themselves as contradictory of our
deepest self, unite to seal to us the assurance, "Thine eyes shall see the King in
His beauty. They shall behold the land that is very far off." (Colossians 1
Expositor's Bible Commentary)

Location, Location, Location
Buying and selling real estate in the US is tricky business these days. Housing
prices have dropped significantly, and if you’re trying to unload commercial
property it’s even more difficult. So, in the game of real estate, it remains
important to keep this old adage in mind: “The three most important things to
know about buying and selling property are location, location, location!”

The same is true of living for Jesus. Knowing our location spiritually is critical
if we are to succeed in navigating through the greatly devalued territory of
our world. Paul reminds us that we have a new location in Christ, having been
delivered “from the power of darkness and conveyed … into the kingdom of
the Son” (Col. 1:13). Knowing that we have been relocated by His amazing
grace into the kingdom of Jesus makes a difference. Jesus now reigns as King
in our hearts and minds, and we are His grateful subjects. His will is our will
and His ways become patterns for all of life and behavior. And when we are
forced to make a choice, our allegiance is to Him.
So, when the temptations and the seductions of the darkness from which you
have been removed threaten His reign in your heart, remember your new
postal code: Colossians 1:13!— by Joe Stowell
Where Jesus reigns there is no fear,
No restless doubt, no hopeless tear,
No raging sea nor tempest dread,
But quietness and calm instead. —Anon.
The subjects of the kingdom should display the manners of the court.
TO THE KINGDOM: eis ten basileian:
1Th 2:12 2Pe 1:11 Ps 2:6,7 Isa 9:6,7 Da 7:13,14 Zec 9:9; Mt 25:34; Ro 14:17;
1Cor 15:23, 24, 25
Colossians 1 Resources - multiple sermons and commentaries
Kingdom (932) (basileia from basileus = a sovereign, king, monarch) denotes
sovereignty, royal power, dominion and refers therefore to the territory or
people over whom a king rules. Therefore in context the kingdom of His
beloved Son defines the sphere in which the Son rules (In hearts giving Him
obedience).
In Scripture, the Kingdom has a spiritual aspect, a present physical aspect,
and a future eternal aspect (beginning with the millennium, cf Mt 25:31,34 -

see Dr Walvoord's article The Future Work of Christ — Part IV: The
Millennial Kingdom and the Eternal State).
In Romans, Paul reminds us that the Kingdom of God is not in observance of
ordinances, external and material, but in the deeper matters of the heart,
which are spiritual and essential "for the kingdom of God is not eating and
drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (Ro 14:17-
note)
See related discussion - the Kingdom of Heaven
Vine - Since this earth is the scene of rebellion against Him, it is the sphere in
which at any time His rule is acknowledged. He calls upon men everywhere to
submit voluntarily to it. It is now “in mystery” (Mk 4:11); that is, it does not
come within the range of natural observation. Entrance into it is by the new
birth, Mt 18:3; John 3:5. That a person is in it is shown, not in external forms
and ritual, but in matters which are spiritual and essential, namely,
“righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Ro 14:17-note). (Vine,
W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine)
To reiterate the Kingdom of His beloved Son in context refers to more than
the future millennial kingdom, when Jesus will reign on earth for 1000 years.
Similarly, the kingdom does not refer solely to the general rule of God over
creation. The kingdom is a present spiritual reality and in a real sense the
kingdom is the special relationship men in this age have with God through
Jesus Christ. Although Christ does not yet rule on earth, He is no less our
King. In response to Pilate’s question, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus
replied, “It is as you say” (Mt 27:11). He reigns in eternity, He rules now over
His church, and one day will return to rule on earth as King of kings in the
Millennium (Click here and scroll down for a prophetic time line).
As suggested by (Ro 14:17) quoted above, there is a tremendous responsibility
that accompanies being part of Christ’s kingdom. As subjects of that
kingdom, we must properly represent the King and so Paul admonished the
Thessalonians to “walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His
own kingdom and glory” (1Th 2:12-note). Even the persecution of the
Thessalonian believers was a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so

they might be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed
they were suffering (2Th 1:5). (cp Heb 12:28-note).
MacDonald offers a nice summary of kingdom writing that "The kingdom of
Christ is seen in Scripture in several different aspects. When He came to the
earth the first time, He offered a literal kingdom to the nation of Israel. The
Jews wanted deliverance from the Roman oppressor, but they did not want to
repent of their sins. Christ could only reign over a people who were in proper
spiritual relationship to Him. When that was made clear to them, they
rejected their King and crucified Him. Since then, the Lord Jesus has gone
back to heaven and we now have the kingdom in mystery form (Mt 13). This
means that the kingdom does not appear in visible form. The King is absent.
But all who accept the Lord Jesus Christ during this present age acknowledge
Him as their rightful Ruler, and thus they are subjects of His kingdom. In a
coming day, the Lord Jesus will come back to earth, set up His kingdom with
Jerusalem as capital, and reign for one thousand years. At the end of that
time, Christ will put down all enemies under His feet and then deliver up the
kingdom to God the Father (1Cor 15:23, 24, 25). That will inaugurate the
eternal kingdom, which will continue throughout eternity. (MacDonald, W &
Farstad, A. Believer's Bible Commentary: Thomas Nelson )

MEMBERS OF THE KINGDOM BY MARY WILDER TILESTON (In Joy
and Strength)
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us
into the kingdom of His dear Son. COLOSSIANS 1:13
IT is right that we should have an aim of our own, determined by our
individuality and our surroundings; but this may readily degenerate into
exclusive narrowness, unless it has for a background the great thought that
there is a Kingdom of God within us, around us, and above us, in which we,
with all our powers and aims, are called to be conscious workers. Toward the
forwarding of this silent, ever-advancing Kingdom, our little work, whatever
it be, if good and true, may contribute something. And this thought lends to
any calling, however lowly, a consecration which is wanting even to the loftiest

self-chosen ideals. But even if our aim should be frustrated and our work
come to naught, yet the failure of our most cherished plans may be more than
compensated. In the thought that we are members of this Kingdom, already
begun, here and now, yet reaching forward through all time, we shall have a
reserve of consolation better than any which success without this could give.
JOHN CAMPBELL SHAIRP

A NEW BEGINNING BY THEODORE EPP (In Strength for the Journey)
Exodus 12:1-14
That the time of the Exodus was also the time of the birth of Israel as a nation
is evident from what God told Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt. This
was actually a fulfillment of what God had told Jacob: "Fear not to go down
into Egypt; for I will there make of thee a great nation" (Gen. 46:3). The
month referred to in Exodus 12:2,3 is the month of April, known to the nation
of Israel as "Abib." From that point on, Israel was to keep the Feast of the
Passover during this month.
Deuteronomy 16:1 refers to this: "Observe the month of Abib, and keep the
passover unto the LORD thy God: for in the month of Abib the LORD thy
God brought thee forth out of Egypt by night."
The Feast of the Passover was a remembrance of the beginning of the nation
of Israel. As such, the Passover reminded the Israelites of everything that was
foundational to the nation itself.
Just as the Israelites needed to be reminded of their beginning as a nation,
those of us who know Jesus Christ as Saviour need to be reminded of the
deliverance we have experienced.
Colossians 1:12-14 refers to this deliverance:
"Giving thanks unto the Father,. . .Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom
we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."

"This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching
forth unto those things which are before" (Phil. 3:13-note).
OF HIS BELOVED SON: tou huiou tes agaphes autou:
Isa 42:1; Mt 3:17; 17:5; Jn3:35; 17:24; Ep1:6)
Colossians 1 Resources - multiple sermons and commentaries
His beloved Son - The Greek literally reads, “the Son of His love” the object of
the Father's love. At the baptism and transfiguration of Jesus Christ, the
Father declared that Jesus was His “beloved Son” (Mt 3:17; 17:5). This fact
reminds us of the price the Father paid when He gave His Son for us. It also
reminds us that His kingdom is a kingdom of love as well as a kingdom of
light. The Father gives the kingdom to the Son He loves, then to everyone who
loves the Son (Lk 12:32).
Beloved (27) (agapetos from agapao = to love, agape = unconditional love
borne by Spirit) means beloved, dear, very much loved. Agapetos is love called
out of one’s heart by preciousness of the object loved. God the Father
repeatedly uses agapetos to describe His Son and in fact the first 9 uses in the
NT (see below) refer to God the Father speaking about His beloved Son. This
gives you some idea of the preciousness of the word "beloved"! This truth
makes it even more incredible that Paul described the saints at Thessalonica
(and by application all believers of all ages) as
brethren beloved (agapao) by God, His choice (1Th 1:4-note).
Agapetos - 61 uses in NT -
Mt. 3:17; 12:18; 17:5; Mk. 1:11; 9:7; 12:6; Lk. 3:22; 20:13; Acts 15:25; Ro
1:7; 11:28; 12:19; 16:5, 8, 9, 12; 1 Co. 4:14, 17; 10:14; 15:58; 2Co. 7:1; 12:19;
Eph 5:1; 6:21; Phil. 2:12; 4:1; Col. 1:7; 4:7, 9, 14; 1Th 2:8; 1Ti 6:2; 2Ti 1:2;
Philemon 1:1, 16; Heb 6:9; Jas 1:16, 19; 2:5; 1Pe 2:11; 4:12; 2Pe 1:17; 3:1, 8,
14, 15, 17; 1Jn. 2:7; 3:2, 21; 4:1, 7, 11; 3Jn. 1:1, 2, 5, 11; Jude 1:3, 17, 20
H. C. G. Moule says this phrase signifies the Son who is “the blessed Object of
the Father’s love… the supremely Beloved One”

The false teachers in Colossae, like the false teachers of our own day, would
not necessarily directly deny the importance of Jesus Christ. They would
simply but subtly, surreptitiously dethrone Him, giving Him "prominence"
but not "preeminence". In their philosophy, Jesus Christ was but one of many
“emanations” that proceeded from God and through which men could reach
God. It was this claim that Paul refuted in (Col 1:13-20) which probably
contains more concentrated doctrine about Jesus Christ than any other
paragraph in the New Testament. Oh, how this sound doctrine is direly
needed in our day!
LET THE LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL SHINE - The LIGHT of the GOSPEL
of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God (2Cor 4:4) brings eternal life
and immortality to LIGHT in the revelation of our Savior Christ Jesus (2Ti
1:10), our LIGHT and our Salvation (Ps 27:1), the One Who declared “I am
the LIGHT of the world" and Who promised that "He who follows Me shall
not walk in the darkness, but shall have the LIGHT of life.” (John 8:12) For
God, Who said, “LIGHT shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has
shone in our hearts to give us the LIGHT of the knowledge of the glory of God
in the face of Christ. (2Cor 4:6) Indeed, the GOSPEL is the POWER (Greek =
dunamis = inherent miracle producing power) of God for salvation to all who
believe (Ro 1:16), ABLE to make us saints in the LIGHT by delivering us
from the domain of darkness, and transferring us to the kingdom of His
beloved Son (Col 1:12-13), ABLE to open the eyes of unbelieving, stony hearts
so that they might be turned from darkness to LIGHT and from the dominion
of Satan to God, receiving forgiveness of sins and an inheritance (Acts 26:18)
which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in
heaven for us (1Pe 1:4). Now because of the truth that the night is almost
gone, and the day is at hand, let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness
and put on the armor of LIGHT , putting on the Lord Jesus Christ, making
no provision for the flesh to gratify its desires (Ro 13:12, 14), striving
according to the Spirit's power (dunamis) which mightily works within us
(Col 1:29b, Phil 2:13) enabling us to walk in the LIGHT as He Himself is in
the LIGHT so that we might experience fellowship with one another (1Jn 1:7).
Beloved, now we are sons and daughters of LIGHT (1Thes 5:5), those who
have been called out of darkness into God's marvelous LIGHT (1Pe 2:9) and

have been given the privilege and responsibility to proclaim His excellencies
(1Peter 2:9), to be the LIGHT of the world like a city set on a hilltop that
cannot be hidden (Mt 5:14), children of God above reproach in the midst of a
crooked and perverse generation, among whom we now appear as LIGHTS to
the world (Phil 2:15).
Father, lift up the LIGHT of Your countenance upon us, O LORD, make
Your face shine upon us and by the Spirit of Christ Who indwells us,
strengthen us in our inner being with Your grace and power and boldness and
love so that we might be enabled to let our LIGHT, the LIGHT of the Gospel
of the glory of Christ in us, shine before men in such a way that they may see
our good works which You prepared beforehand, that we should walk in
them, and glorify You our Father Who art in heaven." Amen (Ps 4:6, Nu 6:25,
Ro 8:9, 1Cor 6:19, Mt 5:16, 2Cor 4:4, Col 1:27b, Eph 2:10b, Mt 6:9).

BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR

Colossians 1:13-14
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness.
The great moral translation

I. Involves our enfranchisement from a state of dark captivity.
1. The unrenewed are in a realm of moral darkness.
2. In this realm the unrenewed are held in captivity.
3. From this realm God graciously liberates. “Who hath delivered us.”

II. Places us in a condition of highest moral freedom and privilege.

1. We are transferred to a kingdom. “Hath translated us into the kingdom.”
Power detains captives; a kingdom fosters willing citizens. Tyranny has no
law but the will of a despot; a kingdom implies good government, based on
law. The kingdom of God has an earthly and heavenly aspect, both of which
are governed by one and the same sceptre. It resembles a city divided by a
river, but both parts controlled by the same municipal authority, and having
one common franchise. There is no middle state between the power of
darkness and the kingdom of grace: all who breathe are either in the one or
the other.
2. We are placed under the rule of a beneficent and glorious King. “The Son
of His love.” The manifestation of Christ is the manifestation of Divine love (1
John 4:9). The kingdom into which believers are translated is founded on
love: its entire government is carried on by love. The acts of suffering and
death, by which Christ won his kingly dignity, were revelations of love. Under
such a monarch we are sure of protection, guidance, support, and final
victory.

III. Is effected by “redemption.”
1. The means. “Through His blood.”
2. The effects.
3. The Author. (G. Barlow.)
The great spiritual change

I. The momentous change.
1. Is from the power of darkness. Darkness is thus personified as a monarch,
not a mere force. Under this the Colossians were living till they received the
gospel. Neither the light of their Gentile philosophy nor the fitful course of
their culture could rescue them. The very light that was in them was darkness.
This is the condition of all men naturally. Darkness is--

2. The process of deliverance.
(a) This kingdom is so called because it belongs to Him by right, who founded,
formed, and rules over it.
(b) Something of its character may be learned from His: the Son of God’s love
(John 3:35). Who can tell the peace and blessedness of those subjects on whom
God’s boundless love rests.
3. This deliverance is the most important and wonderful event in a man’s
history. It is a present privilege and prepares for, and is a pledge of the future
inheritance.
4. It is exclusively the work of God.

II. The Divine means for the accomplishment of this end.
1. A putting forth of power on the part of the deliverer manifested by the
mediation of Christ. Although the words, “through His blood,” are not found
in the earlier MSS., and may have been borrowed from Ephesians 1:7; yet the
text involves their meaning. Men are sold under sin and condemned; from this
state deliverance comes by redemption; redemption implies a price paid; the
ransom is the precious blood of Christ. In His Cross there was a vindication of
God’s righteousness and power to rescue from sin (1 Peter 3:18; 1 Peter 2:14;
Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 5:2).
2. This redemption is “in Christ.” His blood was the ransom, but He is the
Redeemer, and it is only in living union with Him that we can receive its
blessing. Just as we rest and walk in Him have we evidence that we are
amongst the redeemed.
3. It is easy to see how this redemption must, in effect, be the raising of the
soul to obedience and purity (2 Corinthians 5:17). The blessing character istic
of redemption: forgiveness. This--

Redemption

I. Who? The Father. And no one else ought to, or could, deliver man, but God.
1. None other ought, because (as Tertullian observes) “by this act he would
forcibly take away from the Creator His own servant.” For so great is this
benefit of deliverance, that it binds us more than the benefit of creation.
2. But neither could any other deliver. For he must necessarily be stronger
than the devil who could wrest his prey from him (Matthew 12:29). But who
could overcome and bind this prince of darkness except the mighty God
alone? It was He, therefore, who plucked us from him.

II. Whom, or what sort of persons God delivered? And this consideration may
be twofold.
1. Of those who were to be delivered. Previous to our deliverance we were not
only diseased and weak, but opposed to our own deliverance (Romans 5:1-
21.).
2. As to those who have been delivered; after that they are faithful and holy,
who before were rebels and unholy. “Us” refers to verses 4-6. Hence it is
manifest--

III. From what? The power of darkness.
1. From the power of the devil who is the prince of darkness. We all are born
under his kingdom, so that he worketh in us according to his own will. But
this prince of darkness is bruised under the feet of the faithful (Romans
16:20), to whom, by the Spirit of God, new strength is administered to trample
upon this unclean spirit.
2. From the power of sin, which hath blinded the understanding, corrupted
the will, and placed us in a condition of darkness both as to knowledge and to
spiritual and saving practice (Ephesians 5:8; John 1:5; John 3:19). Now from
this darkness God has rescued us. He pours in the light of faith and imparts

the Spirit of holiness; which blessings being bestowed, this power and
dominion of sin is dissolved (Romans 6:14).
3. From the power of hell, i.e., from the miseries and calamities which arise
from the guilt of reigning sin. From the power of this they are delivered by the
Divine mercy (Romans 8:1). Observe--

IV. To what?
1. The nature of the translation.
2. What is intended by this word kingdom? The Kingdom of God, Christ,
heaven.
3. Why the apostle calls it the kingdom of the Son, and not of heaven, or of
light. Because--

I. Man is now in soul misery.
1. Naturally. We are children of wrath by nature.
2. Judiciarily. We are under condemnation.
3. Universally. Soul death hath passed over all men.

II. Man needs deliverance.
1. We are sensible enough of bodily misery, but insensible to soul misery; yet
the former is but to make us sensible of the latter. ‘Tis God pulling the rope
without to make the bell speak within.
2. Without our sense of the need of deliverance, that deliverance will never
come.

3. What temporal and eternal horrors are there for the unsaved.

III. Man may be delivered. Christ “snatched” souls out of darkness and
danger.
1. He moves strongly to save. Snatching speaks an act of force; Christ
overturns all that stands in His way when He puts forth to deliver a soul.
2. He moves swiftly to save. Snatching notes swift motion. There is but a step
between hell and that soul that is under the power of darkness; what,
therefore, is done must be done speedily or the soul is lost.
3. Christ moves thoroughly to save. Snatching, speaks a full assuming of that
which was wholly another’s. That which I snatch from my enemy in war is
wholly mine own, and Christ, having plucked us out of the hands of Satan,
claims us as his own.
4. Christ moves preventingly. Snatching speaks an act unthought of, force
surprising, the surprised dreaming nothing. Christ catcheth sinners in a dead
sleep. Soldiers are sometimes so caught; the devil’s soldiers are all so.
5. Christ moves ravishingly. This is love smiling, and the soul is taken.

IV. The delivered.
1. Love the Redeemer.
2. Obey Him. (N. Lockyer, M. A.)
The power of darkness

I. Look at the state of nature and sin as one of darkness. Sin is as opposed to
holiness as darkness is to light, and as different from holiness as midnight
from noonday. Our state by nature is one of double darkness. We have neither
light nor sight. That we may be saved we require two things--a medium to see

by, and eyes to see with; the revelation of the gospel, and regeneration of the
Holy Spirit; Christ as an object for faith to see, faith as an eye to see Christ.
As inhabitants of a Christian land we already possess one of these. There is
fulness of light, and yet multitudes are wrecked and perish, and unless He,
who gave sight to the blind, touch your eyes their fate will be yours. There are
animals that are born blind; but after a few days their eyelids are unsealed
and they are delivered from the power of darkness. But not ten years will do
for us such friendly office. Not that we shall be always blind. Eternity opens
the darkest eyes, but when too late, “He lift up his eyes, being in torment.”
1. Darkness is a state of indolence. Night is the proper period for rest. Yet in
its hours of darkness and repose, this city presents no true picture of our state
by nature. We see it where a city sleeps, while eager angels point Lot’s eyes to
the break of day, and urge his tardy steps through the doomed streets of
Sodom. Rouse thee, then, and betake thee to the Saviour. The plague of
Egyptian darkness is, perhaps, the best illustration. “They saw not one
another, neither rose any from his place for three days.” Many a man has not
risen from his place for ten times three years and more. He is no nearer
heaven than he was long, long ago. “Give diligence to make your calling and
election sure.”
2. Darkness is a state of ignorance. Ugliness and beauty, friend and foe, are all
one in the dark, and so are the solid ground and the yawning precipice. Many
a gallant ship has perished in a fog, and many a sinner in guilty ignorance.
The greatest of mistakes is to miss the path of heaven, and yet how many,
turning from Christ, are missing it? Some think that their charities and duties
will save them; others a routine of outward services; others that they may go
on a little longer in sin and then turn.
3. Darkness is a state of danger.
(a) Look at Popery! She immures her votaries in a gloomier dungeon than
ever held her victims. God sends them His blessed Word, but they dare not
open it; and, greatest triumph of darkness, they refuse instruction. “If the
light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness?”

(b) But how many among ourselves lie under the delusion that though the
happiness they seek in the world has eluded their grasp, they will yet embrace
the mocking phantom! How many are putting away the claims of Christ and
their souls to a more convenient season? Many fancy themselves safe who are
ready to perish.

II. Even God’s people remain in more or less darkness, so long as they are.
Here.
1. They may be in darkness through ignorance.
2. They may be in darkness through sin. So long as you walk in the path of
God’s commandments you walk in the light; but in turning aside from that we
have withdrawn from it. He that descends into a pit leaves the light, not the
light him. And the deeper the saint sinks in sin, the darker it grows. God will
not smile on His child sinning; and that which would befall our world were
the sun withdrawn, befalls his soul; a chilling cold follows on the darkness,
and but for restoring grace death would ensue.
3. They may be in more or less darkness as to their spiritual state. It is easy to
account for such a case as David’s; but there are cases of religious desertion
that do not admit of being thus explained. Hear that “My God, My God, why
hast Thou forsaken Me.” In such cases, however, God does not leave you
comfortless. You may retain your hold when you lose your sight of Him; and
the sun, which has struggled through clouds all day long, often breaks forth
into golden splendour at his setting. Not seldom have hopes that never
brighten life broken forth to gild the departing hour. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
The unconsciousness of the sinner under the mower of darkness
If we lay in some darksome prison leaden with irons, as many as we could
bear, committed to the custody of some Cerberus-like keeper; how would we
lament our hard fortune? but to lie in such a condition wherein is no light of
knowledge of God, leaden with chains of darkness, hellish lusts of wrath,
covetousness, pride, filthiness, in the custody of the devil himself, this none
bewaileth. (P. Bayne, B. D.)

The kingdom of Christ

I. The importance which Christ himself attaches to His kingly claims.
1. There are crowns worn by living monarchs of which it would be difficult to
estimate the value. The price paid for their jewels is the least part of it. They
cost thousands of lives. And yet in His esteem, and in ours, Christ’s crown
outweighs them all. He gave his life for it.
2. The connection between our Lord’s sufferings and these claims marks some
of the most touching scenes in His history. The people rejected Him in His
kingly character. “We will not have this King to reign over us.” The soldiers
reviled Him as a King; and His claim to be such was the crime for which He
was crucified. It was a kingly inscription that stood above His dying head.
3. Our Lord had the strongest temptation to abandon these claims; and if He
refused to give them up in the desert when tempted by the devil, when He had
not a morsel to eat, and at the bar, when to have parted with them would have
saved His life, He is not likely to yield them now. He has now no inducement
to do so. A friendless prisoner no more, He stands at the right hand of God,
and claims to reign over all whom He has conquered by love and redeemed by
blood.
4. Would God we could live up to that truth. How often is it forgotten! each of
us doing what is right in his own eyes, as though there were no King in Israel.
Oh, that we were all as anxious to be delivered from the power as we are to
escape the punishment of sin.

II. From whom Christ received His kingdom.
1. Not from the Jews. “His own received Him not.” Once they tried to thrust
royal honours on Him: afterwards they bore Him in royal state to the capital,
and then they crucified Him. The only crown our Lord gets from man is
woven with thorns. Had Christ consented to rule on their terms the Jews
would have made Him king. Now to-day how many would accept Jesus if He

would allow them to retain their sins. But He accepts not the crown if sin is to
wield the sceptre.
2. Not from His own people. The sceptre which a female hand sways so
gracefully over the greatest, freest empire in the world was wrenched two
hundred years ago from the grasp of a poor popish bigot; and his successor
was borne to the vacant throne on the arms of a people who considered
crowned heads less sacred than their liberties and religion. Is it by any such
act that Christ is crowned? Is He a popular monarch in this sense? No. Here
the king elects His subjects, not the subjects their king; and in that and other
senses His kingdom is not of this world. Aliens from the commonwealth of
Israel, and enemies to God, it is necessary that Christ should first choose you
as His subjects, before you can choose Him as your King. Christ reigns by
conquest, but His reign is not one of terror. He reigns as He conquered, by
love. Enthroned in the heart He rules through the affections.
3. From God. When we look at the two great occasions on which our Lord was
crowned, what a contrast do they present. The scene of the first is laid on
earth. Behold Him stripped of His garments, tied to a post, scourged, clothed
with an old purple robe, a wreath of thorns upon His head. Some in bitter
mockery bend the knee as to a Caesar and shout, “Hail, King of the Jews.”
Turn now to the other. The cross is vacant, the court empty, and from the
vine-covered sides of Olivet a band of men are joyfully descending. While the
disciples come down to the world, Jesus goes up to heaven escorted by a host
of angels. His battle over, and the great victory won, the Conqueror is now to
be crowned. Behold the scene as revealed by anticipation to the rapt eyes of
Daniel (Daniel 7:13).

III. In what character Jesus holds this kingdom. Not as God or as man, but as
God-man. Our Lord appeared in both these characters at the grave of
Lazarus. “Jesus wept,” and yet Death cowers before His eye. So on the Sea of
Galilee, the Son of Mary sleeps, but raising His hand He said to the rude
storm, “Peace, be still.” Those two natures He still retains. As both God and
man He occupies the thrones of grace and providence--holding under His

dominion all worlds; for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead
bodily, and He has been made Head over all things to His Church. Simply as
God there could be no addition to His possessions, nor could He receive them
simply as man.

IV. Seek an interest in this kingdom. Your eternal welfare turns on that. You
must be crowned in heaven or cursed in hell.
1. Are you poor? That is no bar. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
2. Are you degraded? That does not exclude you from the mercy and grace of
God.
3. Have you done nothing to merit this kingdom? Who has?
4. Though you are not saved by obedience, remember that submission to
Christ’s commandment is required of all who belong to His kingdom.
5. In a general sense we are all His subjects; but in a saving sense Christ’s
kingdom is not without, but within. Unless the heart be right with Christ, all is
wrong. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
“His dear Son”
Or more correctly, the Son of His love. Christ is so because--

I. He is most worthy of all others to be loved. As Judas is the “Son of
Perdition,” i.e., most worthy to be condemned.

II. He was from everlasting begotten of the love of His Father. He is God’s
“own” Son.

III. He is infinitely filled with a sense of His love. “I always do the things that
please Him.”

IV. It is He by whom love is derived into others. He makes all other sons
beloved. They are all loved because of Him and through Him. He imparts the
lowest graces. This is all very comfortable.
1. He is like to speed anything He requests the Father for us, and will be sure
to preserve us.
2. He is a King’s Son, and infinitely beloved of His Father. How excellent a
thing, then, to be Christ’s member. (N. Byfield.)
Religion a great change
In an early period of the ministry of the Rev. John Wesley, he visited
Epworth, in Lincolnshire, where his father had formerly been minister, but
found the people greatly opposed to what they considered his new notions. He
tells us, in his journal, that many persons were convinced of the importance of
the truths he delivered from the tombstone of his father, some of whom were
conveyed in a waggon to a neighbouring justice of the peace, to answer for the
heresy with which they were charged. Mr. Wesley rode over also. When the
magistrate asked what these persons had done, there was a deep silence; for
that was a point their conductors had forgotten. At length, one of them said,
“Why, they pretend to be better than other people; and, besides, they pray
from morning to night.” He asked, “But have they done anything besides?”
“Yes, sir,” said an old man, “An’t please your worship, they have convarted
my wife. Till she went among them, she had such a tongue, and now she is as
quiet as a lamb.” “Carry them back, carry them back,” replied the justice,
“and let them convert all the scolds in the town.” (Arvine.)
“Translated us”
The word is a metaphor, and the comparison is taken from plants in nature,
and there are divers things signified unto us in the similitude. As trees are
translated in winter, not in the spring, so commonly our redemption is applied
in the days of special affliction and sorrow: and as the plant is not first fruitful
and then translated, but therefore translated that it may bear fruit, so we are
not therefore redeemed because God was in love with our fruits; but therefore

translated out of the kingdom of darkness, that we might bring forth fruit
unto God. And as a tree may be truly removed, and new planted, and yet not
presently bear fruit, so may a Christian be truly translated, and yet in the first
instant of his conversion he may not show forth all the fruit he doth desire. In
particular, translating hath two things in it.

I. Pulling up. The pulling up of a tree shadows out three things in the
conversion of a sinner.
1. Separation from the world: he cannot be in Christ tahat hath his heart
rooted in the earth, and keeps his old standing amongst these trees, the wicked
of the world.
2. Deliverance both from original sin in the reign of it (which is the moisture
of the old earth), and also from hardness of heart (for translating hath
removing of the mould and stones that were about the root).
3. Godly sorrow raised by the sense of the strokes of the axe of God’s
threatenings, and by the loss of many sprouts and branches that were hidden
in the earth. A Christian cannot escape without sorrow; for he hath many an
unprofitable sprout of vanity, and sinful profit and pleasure he must part
with.

II. The setting of the tree notes--
1. Our engrafting into Christ by the Spirit of God through faith.
2. Our communion with the saints (the fruitful trees in God’s orchard), as also
it notes our preservation by the infusion of the sap of holy graces. Conclusion:
And it is worthy to be noted that He saith “translated us,” to teach us that
there remains in man the same nature after calling that was before; for our
natures are not destroyed in conversion, but translated: there remains the
same faculties in the soul, and the same powers in the body; yea, the
constitution and complexion of man is not destroyed, as the melancholy man
doth not cease to be so after conversion, only the humour is sanctified unto a

fitness for godly sorrow, and holy meditation, and the easy renouncing of the
world, etc., and the like may be said of other humours in man’s nature. (N.
Byfield.)
The translation

I. In delivering His people from the power of darkness, Christ saves them
from eternal perdition. People talk about the mercy of God in a way for which
they have no warrant in His Word: and ignoring His holiness, justice, and
truth, they lay this and the other vain hope as a flattering unction to their
souls.

II. How we are brought into Christ’s kingdom.
1. By translation.
2. This translation is attended by suffering and self-denial. Killed by a blow,
or deprived of existence and consciousness by an opiate, a man may die to
natural life unconsciously, but never to sin. Hence those striking figures of
crucifixion. But the crown is worthy of the cross. True there is much more
pain in going to hell than to heaven, and although this were not, one hour of
glory will recompense all the sufferings of earth. But be assured that as it is
among pangs and birth struggles that a man is born the first time, so when he
is born again, Christ baptizes with fire. How often has water fallen on the
calm brow of a sleeping infant who has been translated thus into the visible
Church. But a fiery baptism! Can a man take fire into his bosom and not be
burned? God is a consuming fire to His people’s sins, and He cannot be so
without them knowing it.
3. In this translation God and man are active. Our Lord ascended from earth
to heaven without effort; not so His people from nature unto grace. We
receive salvation, still we must put forth our hand to take it, as a drowning
man clutches the saving rope. God works in grace as in nature; helps the man
who helps himself. The reason why men are not saved is not that God hath

forgotten to be gracious, or that the blood of Christ has lost its efficacy; but
because men will take no pains to be saved. (T. Guthrie, D. D.)
The duty of thankfulness for the deliverance
If we had some grievous tyrant ruling over us, and God should take him away
and set a prince of singular clemency over us, should not the blessing of all the
kingdom come upon Him for so singular a change? But when He taketh the
devil’s iron yokes off our necks and bringeth us under the kingdom of that
most meek King who will not bruise a broken reed, nor quench the smoking
flax, here none in comparison is thankful. (P. Bayne, B. D.)
God is the Deliverer
King Theodore kept two or three British subjects in prison, and no entreaty,
expostulation, threat, could induce him to release them. At last the British
nation arose and said, “At all costs the prisoners must be released;” and so
General Napier led his army along the defiles over the mountains. At length
he came to Magdala, the capital of Abyssinia. King Theodore was conquered
and slain, and so General Napier ascended to the capital. But perhaps some of
you do not know that as General Napier rode into the city, those captives,
bowed down with their long imprisonment, came near to him, and laid their
hands upon his horse’s saddle and thanked him as their deliverer. He said to
them, “Do not thank me; God is the deliverer. The Christians in England have
been praying for you.” (J. L. Nye.
END OF PRECEPT AUSTIN RESOURCES

"When Jesus is called the “Beloved Son” it means that he is completely,
thoroughly, and fully loved. He is the one who fully, thoroughly and
completely pleases God. The “Beloved Son” was the chosen king who pleased
God. In the Old Testament, the most beloved son, or king, who pleased God
was David."

Why Is Jesus the "Beloved" If We Are All Children of God?
byDr. Taylor Halverson | Dec. 20, 2017
Makes You Think

One of the titles for Jesus is “Beloved Son.”
In the New Testament gospels, the only time the word "beloved" is used is
when God the Father is speaking of His Son Jesus, such as when Jesus was
baptized:

“And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased” (Mark 1:11), or at the glory-enwrapped experience
at the Mount of Transfiguration when, “a bright cloud overshadowed [Jesus,
Peter, James, and John]: and behold a voice out of the cloud . . . said, This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him” (Matthew 17:5).
"Beloved" is an interesting word. Not only is its definition significant, but its
use in scripture points clearly to the role Jesus plays in the plan of salvation.
Let’s begin by learning more about the word beloved and other words in the
English language that start with “be.” When “be” begins a word, it means
“completely, thoroughly, fully.”
For example, let’s take a look at a few familiar “be” words we use, and as we
do this new understanding of “be” meaning “completely,” we may give us new
insights:

Beget = be + get = to fully deliver. God called Jesus His Only Begotten, which
means that Jesus is the only one God’s children that God fully delivered over
to the ultimate pain and suffering required to make atonement.
Below = be + low = completely underneath. Remember that Christ has
descended below all things—He is completely underneath us, supporting and
helping us.

Betray = be + tray = thoroughly hand over. In the Garden of Gethsemane,
after His excruciating suffering, Jesus said to Peter, James, and John, “Rise,
let us be going: behold, he [Judas] is at hand that doth betray me” (Matthew
26:46, emphasis added). Judas fully handed Jesus over to the authorities, and
the authorities had never been able to capture Jesus. Judas’s act of fully
handing Jesus over directly led to His death.
Beyond = be + yond = completely over there. In the Old Testament, Israel’s
enemies paid Balaam to prophecy evil against Israel. But, “Balaam answered
and said unto the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of
silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less
or more” (Numbers 22:18, emphasis added). Balaam would not cross the line.
He would not put himself “completely over there” on the other side of the
commandments of God. Instead, he would stay safely within the
circumference of the commanded space of fully here.
Betrothed = Be + truth = completely in truth. When you are engaged, you are
thoroughly and truthfully promised to marry someone, just as Joseph was
truthfully promised to marry Mary, even though she was pregnant with a
child not his own.
Beguile = be + guile = completely and thoroughly deceived. When Eve ate of
the fruit, she did so as one completely and thoroughly deceived. Only after the
fact were her eyes opened and meaningful context and understanding for her
decision were revealed, as she expressed, “were it not for our transgression we
never should have had seed, and never should have known good and evil, and

the joy of our redemption, and the eternal life which God giveth unto all the
obedient” (Moses 5:11).
Begin = be + gin =completely open something. When you start something you
fully open the door to that experience. Baptism is a gateway or beginning that
fully opens to us the path back to the presence of God.

Become = be + come = thoroughly arrive. When you have become something,
you have fully arrived. When we finally become like God, we will have fully
arrived at our potential.
Befriend = be + friend = thoroughly and fully make a friend. To be a real
friend requires thoroughness. President Gordon B. Hinkley regularly
encouraged the saints as Christians to thoroughly make friends with those
around us. (See The Need for Greater Kindness, April 2006 general
conference).
Behave = be + have = what you completely and thoroughly have. Your actions
become your habits. Your habits are your be+haviors or what you thoroughly
and completely have. If you want to have righteousness, you must be+have
righteously.
Believe = be + love = what you complete and thoroughly love and have
confidence in. Jesus Christ frequently asked his followers to believe in Him—
to love Him and have confidence in Him and Heavenly Father.
What does “beloved” mean?

Now that we’ve looked at a few other familiar “be” words, what about the
word “beloved”? It comes from be + loved = fully, thoroughly, completely
loved and pleasing. When Jesus is called the “Beloved Son” it means that he is
completely, thoroughly, and fully loved. He is the one who fully, thoroughly
and completely pleases God.

The “Beloved Son” was the chosen king who pleased God. In the Old
Testament, the most beloved son, or king, who pleased God was David.
Significantly, the word “David” in Hebrew means “beloved.”
These two following verses speak of King David and His descendant Jesus as
beloved.
“I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son;
this day have I begotten thee” (Psalm 2:7, emphasis added). This verse is a
coronation text where David (or his chosen descendant, Jesus) is adopted by
God and set upon the throne of kingship to rule as God’s representative and
son.
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth;
I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles”
(Isaiah 42:1, emphasis added). Though this verse definitely points to David’s
heir, Jesus, it originally referenced king David and his legitimate heirs.

In summary, when we hear God call Jesus the “Beloved Son” we can know it
is a title of kingship and a designation that Jesus has fully pleased God,
because of His thorough righteousness and sinless life. Jesus as the “Beloved
Son” is God’s chosen King and Messiah.

Create a Christ-centered holiday tradition with these new as you review the
sacred names of the Savior on these names of Christ ornaments. Display these
ornaments on the tree, as gift tags, or adorning a wreath. They make the
perfect gift. Names include: Lamb of God; Holy One; Prince of Peace;
Jehovah; Messiah; Only Begotten; Counselor; Savior; Advocate; Beloved
Son; Deliverer; and Wonderful.

Dr. Taylor Halverson

Taylor Halverson, Ph.D., is an aspiring master learner who loves people,
laughter, telling stories, and learning. Click here to request a free light-
hearted eBook Memoirs of the Ward Rumor Control Coordinator. More
about Taylor at taylorhalverson.com.

Matthew 12:18
Verse Concepts
"BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN
WHOM MY SOUL is WELL -PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON
HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.
Matthew 17:5
Verse Concepts
While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a
voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-
pleased; listen to Him!"
Mark 1:11
Verse Concepts
and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am
well-pleased."

Ephesians 1:6
Verse Concepts
to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the
Beloved.

Jesus the Beloved Son
Daily Reflection / Produced by The High Calling

And a voice from heaven said, "This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me
great joy."
Matthew 13:17
For three decades or so, Jesus had lived a fairly ordinary life. We don't know
much about him during that period of time, but we do know that, like almost
all Jewish boys in that culture, Jesus learned his father's trade (Matt. 13:55).
He attended the synagogue, learning along with his peers to read the Hebrew
scriptures (Luke 4:16-17). Given the later response of his hometown to Jesus'
ministry (Matt. 13:53-58), it's clear that Jesus had not lived as some sort of
Superman. Rather, he was known as a more-or-less ordinary young man.

But on the occasion of his baptism, something unexpected happened. Like so
many Jews who longed for the coming of the kingdom of God, Jesus
participated in the baptism of John. But unlike the others, Jesus experienced
an extraordinary revelation as he emerged from the waters of the Jordan
River. The Spirit of God descended upon him, and a voice proclaimed Jesus as
God's beloved Son. Perhaps for the first time, people began to realize that
Jesus was so much more than they had assumed. Could he really be the divine
Son, the messianic king through whom the kingdom of God would come?

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have there been times in your life when
Jesus has revealed himself in new ways to you? What does it mean to you that
Jesus is God's Son?

PRAYER: Dear Lord Jesus, today I'm reminded that you are so much more
than my life suggests. Oh, my theology regards you as Son of God, Messiah,
Savior, and even the Incarnate Word of God. But too often I live as if you're
simply an inspired teacher, a guide for life who's available at my beck and
call.

Yet if you are who the Gospels reveal you to be, then I ought to live at your
beck and call, not the other way around. As the royal Son of God, you deserve
my full allegiance, indeed, my full obedience. As the Savior of the world, you
deserve my full trust. As the Incarnate Word, you are worthy of my worship.

So may I live this day in a way that truly reflects who you really are. Be
honored through my life. All praise be to you, Jesus, the Son of God! Amen.
A Note from Mark:

Dear Friends,

I would like to invite you to join me at Laity Lodge this summer. Several of
our retreats are full, but some still have room. I will be present at all summer
retreats, and will be speaking at the June 5-8 retreat along with Marva Dawn.
For more information, check out the Laity Lodge website.

I hope to see you at Laity Lodge!

Mark Roberts

The Pleasure of God in His Son

Resource by John Piper

Scripture: Matthew 17:5 Topic: The Deity of Christ

We begin a new series of messages this morning that will take us, Lord
willing, through Easter Sunday morning, April 19. So I would like to begin by
explaining how I have been moved to develop this series.
Seeing Is Becoming

When it comes to understanding what should happen in the act of preaching I
am guided by several biblical texts, especially 2 Corinthians 3:18:
And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being
changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes
from the Lord who is the Spirit.
“We become more like the Lord when we fix our gaze on his glory.”

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I believe this text teaches us that one of the ways we are changed progressively
into the likeness of Christ is by looking at his glory. “We all, with unveiled
face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness.”
The way to become more and more like the Lord is to fix your gaze on his
glory and hold him in view.

We hum the music we listen to. We speak with the accent of our vicinity. We
pick up the courtesies of our parents. And we naturally tend to imitate the
people we admire most. So it is with God. If we fix our attention on him and
hold his glory in our view, we will be changed from one degree of glory to
another into his likeness. If teenagers tend to fix their hair like the stars they
admire, so Christians will tend to fix their character like the God they admire.
In this spiritual transaction seeing is not only believing; seeing is becoming.
Preaching as the Portrayal of the Glory of God

The lesson I learn from this for preaching is that to a great extent preaching
must be the portrayal of the glory of God, because the goal of preaching is to
change people into the likeness of God. I think this fits with Paul’s view of
preaching because just four verses later, in 2 Corinthians 4:4, he describes the
content of his preaching as “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who
is the likeness of God.” And two verses later in verse 6 he describes it just a
little differently as “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Christ.”
So, according to Paul, preaching is a means of conveying light to the darkened
heart of men and women. In verse 4 the light is called the “light of the gospel,”
and in verse 6 the light is called the “light of knowledge.” In verse 4 the gospel
is the gospel of the glory of Christ, and in verse 6 the knowledge is the
knowledge of the glory of God. So in both verses the light conveyed into the
heart is the light of glory — the glory of Christ and the glory of God.
But these are not really two different glories. In verse 4 Paul says it is the
glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God. And in verse 6 he says that the
glory of God is in the face of Christ. So the light conveyed by preaching is a
light of glory, and you can speak of this glory as the glory of Christ who is
God’s image, or the glory of God perfectly reflected in Christ.
Preaching is the portrayal or display or exhibition of divine glory to the hearts
of men and women (that’s 2 Corinthians 4:4–6), so that by the beholding of

this glory they might be changed into the likeness of the Lord from one degree
of glory to another (that’s 2 Corinthians 3:18).
Known to Be True from Experience

This is no artificial or merely intellectual construction. It is precisely what I
know to be true from my own experience (as do many of you!): seeing God for
who he really is has proven again and again to be the most powerful and
compelling force in motivating my quest for holiness and joy in him.
You and I know from experience that the root conflict in the human soul is
between two glories — the glory of the world and all the brief pleasures it can
offer, versus the glory of God and all the eternal pleasures it can offer. These
two glories compete for the allegiance, admiration, and delight of our hearts.
And the role of preaching is to display and depict and portray and exhibit the
glory of God in such a way that its superior excellence and worth shine in
your heart so that you are changed from one degree of glory to another.
The Challenge Facing the Preacher

That means that as a preacher I am constantly confronted with the question:
How can I best portray the glory of God so that the greatest number of people
will see it and be changed by it? As I asked myself that question on the retreat
two weeks ago, a new answer came to my mind.
I was reading again part of Henry Scougal’s The Life of God in the Soul of
Man. He made this penetrating comment: “The worth and excellency of a soul
is to be measured by the object of its love.” That struck me as very true. And
the thought came that if it is true for man, as Scougal intended to say, surely it
is true for God also: “The worth and excellency of God’s soul is to be
measured by the object of his love.”
So I searched the Scriptures for several days seeking all those places that tell
us what it is that God loves and enjoys and delights in and takes pleasure in

and rejoices in. The result is a plan to preach thirteen messages entitled the
pleasures of God.
So it is my prayer, and I hope that you will make it your prayer, that in seeing
the objects of God’s pleasure we will see the excellency and worth of his soul;
and in seeing the excellency and worth of his soul we will see his glory; and in
seeing his glory we will be changed from one degree of glory to another into
his likeness; and in being changed into his likeness we will confront this city,
and the unreached peoples of the world, with a living witness to a great and
irresistibly attractive Savior. May the Lord be pleased to send us a great
revival of love and holiness and power as we look to him and pray earnestly
over the next thirteen weeks.
Five Affirmations of the Pleasures of God

In portraying the worth of God’s soul in the object of his love we must begin
at the beginning. The first and most fundamental thing we can say about the
pleasures of God is that he takes pleasure in his Son. I will try to unfold this
truth in five affirmations.
1. God has pleasure in his Son.

In Matthew 17 Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain.
When they are all alone something utterly astonishing happens. All of a
sudden God gives Jesus an appearance of glory. Verse 2: “His face shone like
the sun, and his garments became white as light.” Then in verse 5 a bright
cloud overshadows them and God speaks from the cloud, “This is my beloved
Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”
First, God gives the disciples a brief glimpse of the true heavenly glory of
Jesus. This is what Peter says in 2 Peter 1:17: “[Christ] received honor and
glory from God the Father.” Then God reveals his heart for the Son and says
two things: “I love my son” (“This is my beloved Son”), and “I take pleasure
in my Son” (“with whom I am well pleased”).

He says this on one other occasion: at Jesus’s baptism, as the Holy Spirit
comes down and anoints Jesus for his ministry, signifying the Father’s love
and support — “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
“When God looks at his Son, he enjoys, admires, cherishes, prizes, and
relishes what he sees.”

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And in the gospel of John, Jesus speaks several times about the Father’s love
for him: for example, John 3:35, “The Father loves the Son, and has given all
things into his hand.” John 5:20: “The Father loves the Son, and shows him
all that he himself is doing.” (See also Matthew 12:18 where Matthew quotes
Isaiah 42:1 in reference to Jesus: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.” The Hebrew word behind
“well pleased” is ratsah, and means “delights in.”)
So our first statement is that God the Father loves the Son, not with any self-
denying, sacrificial mercy, but with the love of delight and pleasure. He is
well-pleased with his Son. His soul delights in the Son! When he looks at his
Son, he enjoys and admires and cherishes and prizes and relishes what he
sees.
2. The Son of God has the fullness of deity.

This truth will keep us from making a mistake about the first one. You might
agree with the affirmation that God has pleasure in the Son, but make the
mistake that the Son is merely an extraordinarily holy man that the Father
adopted to be his Son because he delighted in him so much. But Colossians 2:9
gives us a very different angle on things. “In him the whole fullness of deity

dwells bodily.” The Son of God is not merely a chosen man. He has the
fullness of deity in him.
Then Colossians 1:19 relates this to God’s pleasure: “In him all the fullness [of
deity] was pleased to dwell.” Or you could say (with the NIV), “God was
pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him.” In other words, it was God’s
pleasure to do this. God did not look out over the world to find a man who
would qualify for his delight and then adopt him as his Son. Rather God
himself took the initiative to bestow his own fullness on a man in the act of
incarnation. Or we could say he took the initiative to clothe the fullness of his
own deity with human nature. And Colossians 1:19 says he was pleased to do
this! It was his pleasure and delight.
We might be inclined to say that God didn’t find a Son who was pleasing to
him, but he made a Son who was pleasing. But that, too, would be very
misleading, because this fullness of deity, which now dwells bodily (Colossians
2:9) in Jesus, already existed in personal form before he took on human
nature in Jesus. This pushes us back further into the Godhead and on to
affirmation three.
3. The Son in whom God delights is the eternal image and reflection of God
and is thus God himself.

Here in Colossians 1:15 Paul says,
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation [that is, the
one who has the exalted status of divine Sonship over all creation, as the next
phrase shows]; for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth.
The Son is the image of the Father. What does this mean? Before we say, let’s
consider some other similar designations. In Hebrews 1:3 it says of the Son,
He reflects the glory of God and bears the very stamp of his nature, upholding
the universe by his word of power.
In Philippians 2:6 Paul says,

Though he was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing
to be grasped, but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant.
So the Son in whom God delights is his own image; reflects his own glory;
bears the very stamp of his nature; is in his very form; and is equal with God.
Therefore we should not be surprised when the apostle John, in John 1:1,
says,
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God.
So it would be totally misleading to say that the Son in whom God delights
was made or created at the incarnation or at any time. “In the beginning was
the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God.” As long as
there has been God, there has been the Word of God, the Son of God, who
took on a human nature in Jesus Christ.
Now we can get a better idea of what the Bible means when it calls him the
image or reflection or stamp or form of God who is equal with God.
From eternity past, the one reality that has always existed is God. This is a
great mystery because it is so hard for us to think of God having absolutely no
beginning and just being there forever and ever and ever without anything or
anyone making him be there — just absolute reality that every one of us has
to reckon with whether we like it or not.
The Bible teaches that this eternal God has always had
a perfect image of himself,
a perfect reflection of his essence,
a perfect stamp or imprint of his nature,
a perfect form or expression of his glory.
We are on the brink of the ineffable here, but perhaps we may dare to say this
much: as long as God has been God, he has been conscious of himself, and the
image that he has of himself is so perfect and so complete and full as to be the
living, personal reproduction (or begetting) of himself. And this living,

personal image or reflection or form of God is God, namely, God the Son. And
therefore God the Son is co-eternal with God the Father and equal in essence
and glory.
4. The pleasure of God in his Son is pleasure in himself.

Since the Son is the image of God and the reflection of God and the stamp of
God and the form of God, equal with God, and indeed is God, therefore God’s
delight in the Son is delight in himself. Therefore the original, the primal, the
deepest, the foundational joy of God is the joy he has in his own perfections as
he sees them reflected in his Son. He loves the Son and delights in the Son and
takes pleasure in the Son because the Son is God himself.
At first, this sounds like vanity and has the feel of conceitedness and smugness
and selfishness about it, because that is what it would mean if any of us found
our first and deepest joy by looking at ourselves in the mirror. We would be
vain and conceited and smug and selfish.
But why? Because we were created for something infinitely better and nobler
and greater and deeper than self-contemplation. What? The contemplation
and enjoyment of God! Anything less than this would be idolatry. God is the
most glorious of all beings. Not to love him and delight in him is a great insult
to his worth.
But the same is true for God. How shall God not insult what is infinitely
beautiful and glorious? How shall God not commit idolatry? There is only one
possible answer: God must love and delight in his own beauty and perfection
above all things. For us to do this in front of the mirror is the essence of
vanity; for God to do it in front of his Son is the essence of righteousness.
Isn’t the essence of righteousness to be moved by perfect delight in what is
perfectly glorious? And isn’t the opposite of righteousness when we set our
highest affections on the things of little or no worth?
And so the righteousness of God is the infinite zeal and joy and pleasure that
he has in his own worth and glory. And if he were to ever act contrary to this

eternal passion for his own perfections, he would be unrighteous; he would be
an idolater.
“The foundation of our salvation is the infinite regard that the Father has for
the Son.”

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Herein lies the greatest obstacle to our salvation: for how shall such a
righteous God ever set his affection on sinners like us? But herein lies also the
very foundation of our salvation, for it is precisely the infinite regard that the
Father has for the Son which makes it possible for me, a wicked sinner, to be
loved and accepted in the Son, because in his death he restored all the insult
and injury that I had done to the Father’s glory through my sin.
We will see this again and again in the weeks to come — how the Father’s
infinite pleasure in his own perfections is the fountain of our redemption and
hope and everlasting joy. Today is just the beginning.
I close with the fifth affirmation and final application. If Scougal is right —
that the worth and excellency of a soul is measured by the object (and I would
add, intensity) of its love — then . . .
5. God is the most excellent and worthy of all beings.

Why? Because he has loved his Son, the image of his own glory, with infinite
and perfect energy from all eternity. How glorious and happy have been the
Father and the Son and the Spirit of love flowing between them from all
eternity!
Let us stand in awe of this great God! And let us turn from all the trivial
resentments and fleeting pleasures and petty pursuits of life, and join in with

the gladness that God has in the image of his own perfections, namely, his Son.
Let us pray:
Infinite, eternal, and righteous God, we confess that we have often belittled
you and exalted ourselves to the center of your affections where you alone
belong in the person of your Son. We repent and turn from our presumption
and gladly stand in awe of your eternal, self-sufficient happiness in the
fellowship of the Trinity. And our prayer, in the words of your Son (John
17:26), is that the love with which you have loved him may be in us and he in
us, that we might be taken up into that fellowship of joy and that ocean of love
forever and ever. Amen.

What is the meaning of beloved in the Bible?

Question: "What is the meaning of beloved in the Bible?"

Answer: A beloved person is one who is dearly loved. In the Old Testament,
the word beloved is used repeatedly in the Song of Solomon as the newlyweds
express their deep affection for each other (Song of Solomon 5:9; 6:1, 3). In
this instance, beloved implies romantic feelings. Nehemiah 13:26 also uses the
word beloved to describe King Solomon as “beloved by his God” (ESV). In
fact, at Solomon’s birth, “because the Lord loved him, he sent word through
Nathan the prophet to name him Jedidiah” (2 Samuel 12:25). Jedidiah means
“loved by the Lord.”

For reasons known only to Him, God sets special affection on some people and
uses them in greater ways than He uses others. Israel is often called “beloved
of God” (e.g., Deuteronomy 33:12; Jeremiah 11:15). God chose this people

group as His beloved in order to set them apart for His divine plan to save the
world through Jesus (Deuteronomy 7:6–8; Genesis 12:3).

The word beloved is also used repeatedly throughout the New Testament. A
notable use of the word is at the baptism of Jesus. In this scene, all three
Persons of the Trinity are revealed. God the Father speaks to the Son from
heaven: “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17;
Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). Then the “Holy Spirit descended like a dove and
rested on Him” (Mark 1:10; Luke 3:22; John 1:32). God again calls Jesus
“beloved” at the Mount of Transfiguration: “This is my beloved Son, with
whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matthew 17:5). We can learn a little
about the loving relationship shared by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit by
God’s use of the word beloved. Jesus echoes that truth in John 10:17 when He
says, “The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take
it up again.”

Many New Testament writers used the word beloved to address the recipients
of their letters (e.g., Philippians 4:1; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 2:11). Most of
the time, the Greek word translated “beloved” is agapētoi, related to the word
agape. In the inspired letters, beloved means “friends dearly loved by God.”
In the New Testament, the use of the word beloved implies more than human
affection. It suggests an esteem for others that comes from recognizing their
worth as children of God. Those addressed were more than friends; they were
brothers and sisters in Christ and therefore highly valued.

Since Jesus is the One whom God loves, Beloved is also used as a title for
Christ. Paul speaks of how believers are the beneficiaries of God’s “glorious
grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6, ESV). The
Father loves the Son, and He loves and blesses us for the Son’s sake.

All those adopted into God’s family through faith in the finished work of
Jesus Christ are beloved by the Father (John 1:12; Romans 8:15). It is an
amazing, lavish love: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that
we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).
Because God has shed His love on us, we are free to apply the words of Song
of Solomon 6:3 to our relationship with Christ: “I am my beloved’s and my
beloved is mine.”
https://www.gotquestions.org/beloved-in-the-Bible.html

Why did God say, “This is my Beloved Son?” - AFTB

Posted on Jan 2, 2014
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There are two instances in the scriptures where the voice of God was heard,
expressing His love for His son. When the Lord Jesus was baptized by John
the Baptist, the Lord spoke from Heaven. Matthew 3:16-17 tells us, “And
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo,
the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Not only was the voice of God
heard, but evidence was given of the existence of the Father, the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost in this portion, as the Lord Jesus was baptized, the Holy Spirit
descended upon Him, and the Father spoke from Heaven, affirming that this
Jesus, was indeed, His beloved Son.

When the Lord Jesus was transfigured in the presence of Peter, James, and
John, the Lord spoke again from Heaven. Let’s read Matthew 17:1-5, “And
after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth
them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and
his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And,
behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then
answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou
wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and
one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them:
and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” In this portion, the Father not only
validates that Jesus was indeed His beloved Son, but He instructs the disciples
to listen to Him.
The Old Testament is very instructive; teaching us that God has a Son. Isaiah
9:6, a very familiar verse tells us, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace.” What a precious thought! A child was born, but a son was
given. We learn of the eternal son in portions such as Proverbs 8:22-30, “The
LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was
set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When
there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains
abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was
I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor
the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I
was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he
established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep:
When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his
commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was
by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing
always before him.” God has an eternal Son, and that son is Jesus.
We have the testimony of many in the New Testament concerning the Lord
Jesus being the Son of God. The angel said to the Virgin Mary in Luke 1:35,
“…The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall

overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God.” John the Baptist said of Jesus in John 1:34,
“And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God.” The disciples said to
the Lord in John 6:69, “And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ,
the Son of the living God.” Many of the Jews sought to kill the Lord Jesus
because of His claim to be the Son of God as we read in John 19:7 which says,
“The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die,
because he made himself the Son of God.” Even demons acknowledged that
Jesus is the Son of God as we read in Matthew 8:28-29, “And when he was
come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there met him two
possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no
man might pass by that way. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have
we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? art thou come hither to torment
us before the time?” We also read of demons acknowledging Jesus as the Son
of God in Mark 3:11 which says, “And unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell
down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.” At the Lord’s
crucifixion, we have this testimony in Matthew 27:54, “Now when the
centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake,
and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was
the Son of God.”
The Father acknowledged Jesus as His very Son, the one in whom He was well
pleased. The Lord Jesus, Himself said in John 8:29, “And he that sent me is
with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that
please him.” We read in Colossians 1:12-14, “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 whom we have redemption through
his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Finally, we have this wonderful
testimony of the sonship of Christ in 1 John 5:20, “And we know that the Son
of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him
that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is
the true God, and eternal life.” There are many more scriptures to show us
that Jesus Christ is truly the only begotten Son of God.
http://answersfromthebook.net/why-did-god-say-this-is-my-beloved-son/

Jesus the Beloved of God

The Beloved Messenger of God

A voice out of the Heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-
pleased. With this phrase the Bible opens the Book of Matthew 3 in the verse
17 to annunce that God had made His choice on someone very dear to Him.

To be the beloved of man is somenthing very important, to find someone that
make us feel dear and very important is everyman dream; but find ourselves
involved in the pleasure of God is something that only ONE person can tell;
and this person is Jesus of Nazaret, the "Beloved of God".

To be Beloved by God means to be choosen, to be appointed, to be sent, to
rappresent God; and this is exactly what Jesus of Nazaret is for mankind.
There is no other man in the face of the earth, that has been called "Son of
God", "Beloved of God" and therefore "Messenger of God"; for in order to
be a Messenger of God, ONE must be first God's Beloved Man.

When Jesus was presented to the world, the "Voice of God came out from
Heaven" to appoint Jesus is Beloved and God's Messenger directly from God;
no angel was send, but God Himself spoke in favor of Jesus of Nazaret

appointment has His Divine Messenger, His Beloved Son. The Testimony of
God is always bigger and more reliable than any angel; we know that in fact
one third of the Angels rebelled to God and when a man receives a revelation
from an angel, it could as well be an angel of lie.

This is not the case of Jesus of Nazareth; in two occasions God Himself, the
Allmighty and All Powerfull God of the Universe spoke directely to let people
know who he chosed, and this person is Jesus. The first time God spoke about
Jesus been His Divine Messenger, is during the Baptism in the Jordan River:

"Behold, a voice from Heaven said:“This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am
well pleased". Matthew 3,17

But this was only the first time God spoke directely from Heaven, to tell man
that Jesus is "God's Beloved Man", and to make sure that more man could
know Jesus Divine Mission. God spoke again a second time in another
occasion, the Trasfiguration, when Jesus is joined by Moses and the prophet
Elijiah:

"And a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My Son, whom I have
chosen; listen to Him. Two men, Moses and Elijah, appeared in glorious
splendor, talking with Jesus. They spoke about his departure, which he was
about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem. Luke 9,28-35

This time Jesus was with His best 3 Apostles and wanted to show to them, His
friends and God's friends, Moses and Elijiah, the two most important Biblical
people for the story of humanity. This happend in Israel in the Mount Tabor,
a mountain in the North of Israel, near Nazareth where Jesus lived- and near
the Jazreel Valley, where God will destroy all the muslim Nations- the enemies
of the people of Israel, in the Final war of Gog and Magog.

These two very important events in the life of Jesus of Nazaret, have marked
the "Voice of God" spoken to Jesus, and Moses is the witness of Jesus called
the "Beloved of God", the "Messenger of God" of whom God told every man
to listen! No other man on earth has ever recived this mission directly from
God. This is very important, because inorder to be the Messenger of God,
Moses or another great friend of God, should have witnessed God's
declaration. Jesus is the only man that not only is "Beloved by God", not only
is Sent by God, but he also the only ONE to receive His Divine Mission, having
for witness Moses and Elajiah, the two greatest prophets of God.

There is no doubt that anyone seen with Moses, can surely be a real Prophet
and a real Messenger of God. And in this occasion, only ONE had this
pleasure from Heaven and this is Jesus of Nazareth. A true messenger of God
therefore must be not only "Beloved of God", but also Beloved and eccepted
by Moses, the greatest of God's Holy Prophets.

Jesus of Nazareth is chosen by God to be His Divine Messenger to manking,
and after having seen Moses, we can be sure the He is the ONLY ONE
"Beloved of God", has no other man could testify of having seen Moses while
in life in this world.

Jesus of Nazareth has heard the Voice of God, and while God Himself was
talking, Moses came to greet Him and talk to him from Heaven; Elijiah came

to greet Jesus and Moses and the two, are the witness that God has spoken
only once, to confirm Jesus of Nazaret to be His only ONE "Beloved
Messenger" that we must listen to. This is the will of God Allmighty. God
could not choose better witness than Moses, to introduce Jesus as the Final
Beloved Messenger of God, to mankind.
https://menorahnews.blogspot.com/2015/10/jesus-beloved-of-god.html

BELOVED, One of the Best Words in the Bible
By Ron Edmondson
December 27, 2009
Devotional, Encouragement, Faith, God
17 Comments
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See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called
children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is
that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we
will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be
like him, because we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:1-2 ESV
One of my favorite words in the Bible is the word beloved. It doesn’t appear
in every version, but I think it’s a correct word for a key principle God is
trying to teach us about His kind of love.
Often one of the hardest things for a person to do is to accept unconditional
love. Perhaps it’s because the world is so void of that kind of love. The world
often displays a love that is contingent on the recipient’s behavior or form of
repayment of the love. It is a give and take kind of love…a “you scratch my
back, I’ll scratch yours” kind of trade-off for love. Sadly, many marriages

share this kind of conditional love, where spouses agree to love each other as
long as they are given equal or greater love in exchange.
That is not at all, however, the love of God the Bible teaches. The word
beloved in the previous verse literally means “ beloved, esteemed, dear,
favorite, worthy of love”. It’s a word indicating an action on the part of the
one doing the loving. The God of the universe, the same God who paints a
sunset, shapes a mountain and plans the waves at the beach, has chosen to
love us, not because of who we are, but because of who He is. Our role in this
is to BE-LOVED.
Are you struggling to accept that kind of unconditional love? Have the
circumstances of life caused you to question God’s love? Will you do me a
favor? Take some time today to read Job chapters 38-42. Job was
experiencing more heartache than any person should ever experience and he
was questioning his situation and ultimately God’s love for him at the time. In
these chapters, God answers his dilemma. It’s a challenging and encouraging
read.
You and I may never fully comprehend the love of God, but for today we can
be encouraged that we have been called “beloved” and we can anticipate
learning about and receiving more of His kind of love.

Jesus was the beloved son of god

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