“Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. For He rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:12-14
As you prepare your heart for the Lord’s Day worship, or as you read this whenever you happen upon it, I want you to join me in a time of thanks, of remembering, and of supplication.
He Qualified Us
We give thanks because (phew!) we do not qualify ourselves. We are not His because of our own works, our own merit, our own inclination and good common sense, or our decision to repent… No beloved, He has been at work, and is faithfully working. He has begun this good work in you, regeneration; He gave you a new heart and with it the desire for what is truly good–the desire to know Him, and to come to Him.
It is good to remember that our salvation is a gift from God (Ephesians 2:1-10), received (1 Peter 1:1-5 & 2 Peter 1:1-5), and of the same kind with all who are His. There is no “to each his own” concerning life in the Kingdom of God. He who is Life grants you life in Christ, there is no other source, no other life. Jesus came to reveal all this; “in Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” We who do comprehend, who know Him, have had this Light shine in our hearts “to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.” (2 Cor. 4:5-6)
The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God–and He reassures us often. For in this world we face tribulations, doubts, weariness, false teaching, pain, and all the other ill effects of living in a fallen world, a post-Genesis 3 world. Yet in all these things, He bears witness, He helps us pray with groanings too deep for words, and builds us up to persevere; nothing can separate us from the Love of God in Christ Jesus! (see all of Romans 8; a passage that has been a favorite)
He Transferred us into a Kingdom
Not just any kingdom though–the Kingdom of His beloved Son. A kingdom He is filling with all His beloved sons and daughters. A work that is not new, but one our Triune God has been working out since eternity past. A Kingdom of Love. Have you ever read Jonathan Edwards essay “Heaven-a World of Love”? Now is the time!
This Kingdom is united in His love. One Kingdom.
One God and Father who is over all and through all and in all. One body, one Spirit, one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism…(Ephesians 4:3-6). He has called us into “His own kingdom and glory” not into a glory all your own, not into individual scattered glories (1 Thess. 2:12).
Called into communion with the One True God, knowing Him and being known, and being transformed from your old glory to the new–no longer being found “in Adam” but “in Christ”! (see 2 Corinthians 3:14-18; Romans 5:12-17).
Ephesians 2:11-end describes this community as “one new man” and instead of being excluded from the commonwealth we are fellow citizens, and are being fitted together into a holy temple for the Lord, into one new man. It is His ongoing work, building His temple–which is His people. Not a nation, but a kingdom that is not of this world, not with a permanent home here. We await our true home as exiles here.
Our Corporate Supplication
In the meantime we are disciples, raising up disciples, walking alongside our brothers and sisters, resisting the evil urge to isolate, to separate, to run away, to think we’ve figured out a better way (like house church, see my own story here). We have need of endurance! (Hebrews 4:14-16; 10:32-39; 11:24-27; 12:1-29; 13:7-9, 20-25)
We are disciples, praying. Praying as Jesus taught, hallowing His Name together, and letting our needs to known-knowing He already knows, but knowing that He delights to commune with His people. The Spirit leads us to pray according to His will as we sit in His Word, abiding in His Word. Let His Spirit and His Word lead you to prayer this preparation day!
Pray not only for yourself, but for your communion with the saints, your church, knowing He has placed you among those brothers and sisters! He who sanctifies you, and is conforming you into the image of His Son, and is transforming you from glory to glory, making you holy according to His command to be holy, is doing this in you as you commune with Him and His people; not as you ditch His people or hide or fake it or choose to disconnect. Join in the fellowship! Walk with Him who is among the seven golden lampstands (see Revelation 1:12-2:1; and even through chapter 3).
My prayer for the body of Christ I partake in, and for you:
11 Now may our God and Father Himself and Jesus our Lord direct our way to you; 12 and may the Lord cause you to increase and abound in love for one another, and for all people, just as we also do for you; 13 so that He may establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.
1 Thessalonians 3:11-13