Colossians 1:13-14

“The Plan of Salvation for the Believer”

The New King James Version Chapter 1

13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.

I. The importance of knowing where we came from.

13 the power of darkness

from the power (domain, authority, dominion, jurisdiction, control, ruling force, tyranny, we left the one kingdom and entered into the other, What is meant by ἐξουσίας ‘domain/power’? It means the rule of a despot who has usurped power, a domain where power is exercised) of darkness (evil world, realm of evil, dark ‘power’ of Satan, evil one, the sphere dominated by evil, It is where evil powers are in control and influence people in a bad way, where Satan’s authority is exercised and people are in bondage to him. They are in bondage to the evil powers, It means the mode of life and standards of conduct of those who are not Christians)

II. The importance of knowing what we were in need of.

14 the forgiveness of sins.

the forgiveness of sins. (‘forgiveness’, ‘remission’, ‘pardon, cancellation of punishment or guilt’. The verb phrase ἔχομεν τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ‘we have the forgiveness of sins’ is translated ‘our sins are forgiven’, ‘our sins have been forgiven’, ‘God has forgiven all our sins’, ‘who forgives our sins’. It means remission, being pronounced free from guilt and declared righteous, having our sins taken so far away that never again will they be found. It includes being released from the consequences or punishment due to sin, and it brings about a change in behavior. When our sins are forgiven, we receive joy, peace, hope and holiness; we are brought under the Lordship of Christ and we receive life and eternal blessings.

‘sin’. It means to act contrary to the will and law of God. It means any way in which we have come short in doing God’s commands. It includes guilt. It is what kept us in bondage to the darkness.)

QUESTION—How is this clause related to the preceding?

1. It indicates means [Ea, Lns, Mrt, My]. It is the means of the qualifying [Lns]: he qualified you for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the light by means of our redemption. It is the means of the qualifying and of the rescuing from the domain of darkness and the transferal into the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love [Ea]. It is the means of the rescuing from the domain of darkness [Mrt]. It is the means of the transferal into the kingdom of the Son of the Father’s love [My].

2. It indicates a restatement [NTC, SSA]: he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, that is, we are redeemed.

3. It indicates an amplification of the qualifying [WBC]: he qualified you for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the light, meaning that we are redeemed.

4. It indicates the result of having been transferred into the kingdom of the Son [NIC]: he transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, and as a result we are redeemed.

5. It indicates a reason for the thanksgiving [TNTC]: giving thanks to the Father because we are redeemed.

QUESTION—What relationship is indicated by ἐν ‘in’?

1. It indicates the means of redemption [Ea, EG, EGT, Lns, NIC]. We are redeemed through being in union with Christ [Ea, EG], through believing in him [Lns], through being in union with Christ by means of our faith [NIC], through having Christ [EGT].

2. It indicates the agent of redemption [Alf, Lt, My, NTC, SSA, TH, TNTC; TEV]: we are redeemed by means of what Christ did.

QUESTION—Who is the implied actor of ἀπολύτρωσιν ‘redemption’?

1. The implied actor is Christ [Ea, Lns, NTC; CEV, TNT].

2. The implied actor is God the Father [Herm, Lg, NIC, SSA, WBC; NLT].

QUESTION—From what is it implied that we have been redeemed?

We have been redeemed from bondage [EG, My, NIC, NTC, TH, TNTC] to sin [EG, NTC], from the punishment due to sin [My], from the curse [NTC].

QUESTION—What is the relationship between ἀπολύτρωσιν ‘redemption’ and ἄφεσιν ‘forgiveness’?

1. Forgiveness is a restatement of redemption [Ea, EG, EGT, Herm, Lt, Mou, Mrt, WBC; TEV]: we are redeemed, that is, our sins are forgiven.

2. Forgiveness is the result of redemption [Lns, NTC]: we are redeemed, as a result of which our sins are forgiven.

3. Forgiveness is a specific of redemption [SSA]: we are redeemed, in particular, our sins are forgiven.

4. Forgiveness is simultaneous with redemption [NIC]: we were redeemed, and at the same time our sins were forgiven.

QUESTION—Who is the implied actor of ἄφεσιν ‘forgiveness’?

1. The implied actor is God [Lg, Lns, NTC, SSA, TH]: our sins are forgiven by God.

2. The implied actor is Christ [Ea, NIC]: our sins are forgiven by Christ.

III. The importance of knowing how we got out of our problem.

13 He has delivered us from

14 in whom we have redemption through His blood,

13 He (It indicates reason: giving thanks to the Father because he rescued us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the son of his love, It indicates means: he qualified you for the share of the inheritance of the saints in the light by rescuing us from the domain of darkness and transferring us into the kingdom of the son of his love) has delivered (to rescue, save, to free from the harm or evil, in some cases from imprisonment; of bringing someone out of severe and acute danger save, deliver, rescue; in the NT always with God as the deliverer and with a person as the object (MT 6:13)) us (all believers)

14 in whom we have redemption (‘redemption’, ‘ransoming’, ‘release’, ‘liberation, deliverance’, ‘acquittal, the state of being redeemed’, ‘freedom’. The verb phrase ‘we have redemption’ is translated ‘we are set free’, ‘God has purchased our freedom’, ‘(God’s Son) sets us free’, ‘we have been redeemed’. The literal meaning is being set free from prison and bondage. Here it means being freed from bondage to sin, deliverance, having come into true freedom. It is the result of being set free. It means being set free by the payment of a ransom, which is the blood of Jesus. It does not include the idea of a ransom being paid.) through His blood, ()

IV. The importance of knowing where we are at.

13 and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

and conveyed(‘to transfer’, ‘to bring’, ‘to bring safe’, ‘to translate’ [KJV], ‘to transplant’, ‘to transform’. It means to take from one place to another. It was used of kings who took people from their country and transplanted them in another country. The transferal referred to in this verse is spiritual and took place when we were converted. It includes a change in our conduct and way of living, He did not stop with just the rescuing, but he went on to do the transferring.) us into the kingdom (The Son is the one who rules. The kingdom belongs to him. It is a present reality and brings salvation. It is moral and spiritual and is present wherever the gospel rules, but it also has a future aspect in heaven, where it will be perfected. It will be perfected in the future age. It is a future kingdom, but because of our union with Christ it is as certain as if we were already in it.) of the Son of His love, (The Son is the object of the love: the Son whom the Father loves. And through the Son, the Father’s love comes to us. This construction is synonymous with ‘my beloved son’ of the gospels. It is not completely synonymous, in that it gives emphasis to the love. It gives emphasis to the Son as loved by the Father. It points out the greatness of the Son and of his kingdom.)