Clssians: Christ in YOU. Cl. 1:13-14 Recite the prayer (1:9-12) Did yu pray it ver anther believer this week? Happy Valentine s Weekend! Hw did yu celebrate Valentine s Day? We nw enter int a 3-week series we re titling Christ the King It is incredibly rich thelgy. I dn t want yu t be scared f that wrd. It literally means Gd study r the study f Gd Text: Tday: Cl 1:13 He has delivered us frm the dmain f darkness and transferred us t the kingdm f his belved Sn, Cl 1:14 in whm we have redemptin, the frgiveness f sins. Next week (Stuart): Cl 1:15 He is the image f the invisible Gd, the firstbrn f all creatin. Cl 1:16 Fr by him all things were created, in heaven and n earth, visible and invisible, whether thrnes r dminins r rulers r authrities all things were created thrugh him and fr him. Cl 1:17 And he is befre all things, and in him all things hld tgether. Cl 1:18 And he is the head f the bdy, the church. He is the beginning, the firstbrn frm the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. Tw weeks: Cl 1:19 Fr in him all the fullness f Gd was pleased t dwell, Cl 1:20 and thrugh him t recncile t himself all things, whether n earth r in heaven, making peace by the bld f his crss. Tday, we fcus n the first tw verses: Cl 1:13-14 He has delivered us frm the dmain f darkness and transferred us t the kingdm f his belved Sn, in whm we have redemptin, the frgiveness f sins. Lest we fully miss the pint, please v13-20 = The POWER behind the prayer. Jesus Christ is King! Last week, I fcused n share in the inheritance This week, v13-14 = an elabratin n the wrd qualified IOW, v13-14 says Jesus Christ the King is the qualifier, and here s hw he des it. I m ging t define sme f the terms in a mment, but first Have yu ever wndered WHY?
Why des Gd qualify me fr anything? Many might say fr His glry gd answer But I m asking why ME? Why fr the purpse f His glry, des he d fr me what we just read in v13-14? I lk at all these thelgical terms, and I knw it s imprtant fr me t knw what they mean, hw t bey Gd in them, hw t explain them t ther believers, and grw in them, but WHY? And I m nt asking what are the results? I m asking why Gd wuld g t all this truble all this wrk fr me? Anybdy knw? He lves me. It s imprtant t be reminded f Gd s lve fr yu when studying thelgy at any level. As we grw in knwledge, LOVE is ften neglected in favr f understanding BIGGER wrds, like: Delivered, dminin, pwer, transferred, redemptin, frgiveness But dn t miss this: The Hly Spirit saw fit t begin this sectin f this letter thrugh Paul t the Clssians that Christ the Deliverer is the BELOVED Sn f Almighty Gd. Jessica had a rugh few days this week nt feeling well at all. I ve prayed ver her multiple times daily fr health, energy, jy, hpe And Thursday mrning, as I was praying, the Spirit revealed t me again hw much He lves my bride MORE THAN ME. Smetimes that thught verwhelms me I lve Jessica with a lve I reserve fr n ne else. Nthing brings me greater jy than t see her living with HOPE, PEACE, JOY, PURPOSE, lacking nthing, experiencing everything Gd has fr her I really enjy being her husband attempting t lve her as Christ lves the church But I fall s far shrt f Gd s lve fr her! But mre and mre - the lnger I live and study Gd the deeper I cmprehend prayer That Gd instituted it fr me t agree with Him fr His plan and purpse here And he LOVES t answer when I pray accrding t His will! And it struck me HUGE n Thursday hw much He LOVES Jessica! And I said alud, Gd, yu lve my bride with an indescribable lve!!! And that day, her pain and discmfrt was lifted! If I really want t grasp hw much Gd lves every created persn, I need t think in terms f hw much He lves the ne I lve the mst. Then I get a GLIMPSE. Lve is the reasn Gd qualifies the saints. By grace thrugh faith, yu have believed in Jesus Because f that cnfessin f faith yu are nw called a saint and heir a child f the King f kings and Lrd f lrds! Sme f yu might be thinking, Yeah, I knw. Gd is lve. I learned that in children s church, r I learned it a lng time ag
Church, yu will never grasp hw much Gd lves yu! In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul writes, I bw my knees befre the Father (asking) that yu, being rted and grunded in lve, may have strength t cmprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and t knw the lve f Christ that surpasses knwledge, that yu may be filled with all the fullness f Gd. S the theme is LOVE. Let s keep that in mind as we walk thrugh sme imprtant attributes f Christ Jesus Significant Terms: Delivered = Rhumai (rh'-m-ahee) = t rush r draw (fr neself), rescue: - deliver (-er). Used in NT: 18 times, all f them in the cntext f Gd and/r Jesus delivering man frm evil/darkness/death/hell/temptatin: Lrd s Prayer (Matt 6 and Luke 11) Deliver us frm evil A rescue!!! A strategic, cstly, elabrate, perfectly executed cnducted peratin, by the Army f the Lrd, led by the greatest General wh ever lived, Jesus Christ the King t save YOU. Frm = ek = A primary prepsitin denting rigin; frm, ut f As a yuth pastr, ne f the interactive lessns I d d with the students have them all stand in the middle f the rm I d say smething like Cke r Pepsi (pinting t my left fr ne, right fr the ther) They d mve t ne side r the ther Bk f mvie? Cuntry twang, r actual MUSIC? Then I d get t the main lessn with smething like Receiving gifts, r giving gifts? And then talk abut the merits f bth, using scripture Well, if I were t d that tday, t get us cmprehending what Paul is saying here, I might say: Were yu brn int spiritual darkness (right), r spiritual light (left)? And ALL OF US wuld be frced t stand t my right NOBODY WOULD BE STANDING TO MY LEFT. Why? Because yu were kidnapped! Held fr ransm! As in Adam all die. (1 Cr. 15:22) The sin f man in the garden ushered in the dmain f darkness. T be clear: yur place f rigin were it nt fr the bld f Jesus wuld still be darkness. But thanks be t Gd! He delivered us frm. Dmain = exusia = frce, capacity, mastery, delegated influence: - authrity, jurisdictin Used 103 times in the NT, mst ften in the cntext f spiritual pwer supernatural pwer pwer f Gd, pwer/influence f Satan, demns, evil
HE DELIVERED US FROM THE DOMAIN OF Darkness = (LIGHTS OUT) skts = shadiness, bscurity: - darkness. Used 32 times in the NT, ALL referring t spiritual blindness And all times used, referring t Jesus being the LIGHT (LIGHT UP CROSS) Gd shines int darkness Mat 4:16 the peple dwelling in darkness have seen a great light n them a light has dawned." Jesus said t Paul that he is delivering him Act 26:18 t pen the eyes (f all peple), s that they may turn frm darkness t light and frm the pwer f Satan t Gd, that they may receive frgiveness f sins The price fr yu t be rescued/delivered frm the dmain f darkness? Gd must die. Can yu see Satan twiddling his bny fingers in delight??... The end f this 3-part Christ is King sectin says Gd makes peace by the bld f His crss. (1:20) AND SO HE DID! (ALL LIGHTS BACK UP) Transferred = methistēmi = t transfer, carry away, exchange Used nly 5 times in the NT Taken frm 2 Greek wrds: Meta = amid a psitin between Histemi = appint, cvenant, establish I get the picture f a persn with authrity t stand between gd and evil, ft firmly placed n the neck f the kidnapper, taking back what was stlen and destined fr evil and death, and transplanting it int what is gd and alive. A bridge between hell and heaven! S, let s review! (Read the text tgether at the tp f the screen THROUGH BELOVED SON ) When we get t kingdm f his belved sn, enter thse as they are read) In whm we have Redemptin = aplutrōsis = ransm in full, riddance f all, Christian salvatin There is n ther payment Gd s death, thrugh Jesus the Messiah in bdily frm is the price paid. Justice is served. Once fr all Frgiveness = Aphesis = freedm; pardn: - liberty, remissin. Rev 1:5-6 (Gd in Christ Jesus) lves us and has freed us frm ur sins by his bld and made us a kingdm, priests t his Gd and Father, t him be glry and dminin frever and ever. Amen. Jesus lves yu. He has qualified yu t share in the kingdm
He has made yu a priest. Yu ve been delivered! Transferred! Redeemed! Frgiven! 3 things t cnsider t take hme: 1. Fr sme f yu: Stp believing yu are unlvable. That s a lie time t stp questining WHY He lves I just shwed yu by His Wrd It s nt a mystery His lve never stps. Stp wndering if His lve might end sme day He lves yu. Lve Him BACK! 2. Fly! Be Free! At a funeral mnths ag 3 White dves were released by their wner int the sky at the end. It takes them abut 30 secnds t get their bearings flying straight ut tward the sunlight nce they ve determined the skyline, they recgnize where they are, and they ll turn and head straight fr hme back int a cage, where they await the next time they re put in a basket, driven t a spt, and released again. My first thught: What stupid birds!!! They re free!!! They re freed EVERY WEEKEND t fly away frm the cage!! What kind f idit bird vluntarily flies back t captivity??? Church, sme f us can relate. Yu re frgiven f sin smetimes the same sin ver and ver again. Gd frees yu, and yu fly! Yu get yur bearings, experience freedm, and within mments, yu fly right back int the captivity f sin. Knck it ff! T the Church in Galatia, the Spirit f Gd writes, Fr freedm Christ has set us free; stand firm therefre, and d nt submit again t a yke f slavery. (Gal. 5:1) 3. Fr all f us: Never stp recgnizing Gd s Lve fr Yu. I read Ephesians 3 earlier: yu are being rted and grunded in lve Active verb: BEING And rted and grunded signifies seasns f great prduce! Gd s lve will ften present in beauty Other times His lve will present in pruning He LOVES yu! He s crazy abut yu! Zephaniah 3:17, Gd rejices ver yu with gladness; he quiets yu by his lve; he exults ver yu with lud singing. There ught t be times in life where yu feel quite shwered t the pint f blushing fr hw much He shws the wrld His lve fr yu! Never stp recgnizing His lve n matter what seasn yu re in.