Jesus Christ our Redeemer

Colossians 1:13-14 “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.”

성경전서 개역개정판 (1장)

그가 우리를 흑암의 권세에서 건져내사 그의 사랑의 아들의 나라로 옮기셨으니

그 아들 안에서 우리가 속량 곧 죄 사함을 얻었도다

1. INTRODUCTION

Talk about why salvation is such an amazing thing. What does it mean to be saved? What did Jesus do? How did He do it?

2. BODY

a. Jesus rescued us (1:13a)

i. Judgment (심판) is something most people don’t like to think about. But for us to understand salvation better, we must understand judgment. These are the two sides to the one coin. Jesus came to bring salvation, but the very fact of salvation for all who believe implies judgment on all who do not. So in today’s passage, Paul tells us what salvation entails. Paul is answering the very question of, What does it mean to be saved?

ii. The first aspect (측면) of salvation is that we were rescued. Paul tells us here that we were rescued from the domain of darkness. What does this actually mean? Well to understand this correctly, we have to understand primarily that we needed to be rescued.

iii. A good text for us to consider is John 3:18-19. John 3:16-17 tells us that God loved the world and sent His son to save those would love Him and have life in Him. Then in verse 17, John speaks about judgment. This goes to show that salvation and judgment go hand in hand. If some people are saved, then it automatically teaches us that some are damned. This is why John writes in 3:17 that God sent Jesus not to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.

iv. This leads us to 3:18 on the topic of judgment. John writes that He who believes is not judged and the one who does not believe is judged already. What is the condemnation? Those that don’t believe in the name of the only begotten son of God. John is making an exclusive claim. John’s statement is that salvation is found only through the person and work of Christ. All those who don’t put their faith and trust in Him are judged.

v. One of the most important truths about salvation and judgment is that many people fail to understand it correctly. Many people look at salvation and judgment in the future. But John’s focus is not on the future. It is on the present. This is why John writes if you believe, than you are saved. But if you don’t believe, you are judged. John is not thinking about a future salvation or a future judgment. He is speaking in the present.

vi. John’s point is that anyone who does not believe is what? Judged already. He is judged because his unbelief and unbelieving heart is what causes them to be judged. Why is this important? Too much focus on grace these days when it deals with salvation. It’s almost as if because Jesus saved us, we are saved without any effort. When we deal with justification, that is the absolute work of God. But in sanctification, we must believe and continue to believe. We must grow in faith and continue to obey.

vii. Faced with the light (see on 1:4) that has come into the world people may prefer the darkness. John is not saying that God has decreed that people who do such and such things are condemned. People choose the darkness and their condemnation lies in that very fact. They shut themselves up to darkness; they choose to live in darkness; they cut themselves off from the light. Why? “Because their deeds were evil.” How do I know this?

viii. Many people tell me that they wish that they could have lived when Jesus was around thinking that they have a better chance to believe. We think that it’s harder today than in biblical times. But what does the Bible tell us? It tells us that even back then, when Jesus was alive and walking around and performing miracles, Jesus came and they rejected Him. They rejected Him to the point that they killed Him. Simply, they loved their darkness. It is no different today. Since Adam and Eve fell, man has always been evil. It is no different than as it is today.

ix. This goes to show us that when Paul writes that He rescued us, He saved us from this. Paul here is answering the question of what happened? What did God do? What did Jesus do? We were in darkness but now we have seen the light. If you have seen the light, Paul is telling us cling to it. This is why John is telling us that we must believe. It is not enough to just know who Jesus is and know what He did for me. You must put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. John tells us that although Christ died for people, that does not automatically bring salvation. John is telling us that we must believe. What must we believe? Because Jesus is the only means in which we can receive salvation.

x. This is why in Colossians 1:13, Paul reminds us that we were all in the domain of darkness. We were all prisoners in this domain. We could not escape from this domain. But what happened?

b. Jesus transferred us (1:13b)

i. What’s beautiful about this verse is that it doesn’t just speak about how He rescued us. It takes us further. He didn’t just rescue us and leave us there. Rather, He rescues us from the domain of darkness and transfers us, moves us to the kingdom of His son. It gives us a picture of giving us position in the new kingdom. We are not just free slaves in a new land. Rather, we have become citizens, family members in the king of this new land that we now reside in.

ii. But what’s the most important and beautiful truth about this? It is the reality that we have already been transferred into the kingdom of His son. It is not just a future event. It is partly realized here and when Christ returns, we will see the whole glory realized.

iii. Why is it important that we recognize this? Because what we see in the future what we hope for in the future, are assured that this is already ours. We know this because that is the reality we have received when we were transferred into His kingdom. We are no longer citizens of the domain of darkness. Rather, we are now children of God and citizens of His kingdom which is something we enjoy presently but will taste completely when we are glorified.

iv. I think it’s hard for people to completely understand this because many people think of salvation as future. But for us to understand the future, we must understand the present. If we don’t have joy in the present, we will not have hope in the future. This is why people don’t really have joy in their salvation because they think they have to suffer here on earth and wait for salvation when they are dead. What Paul is telling us is the very opposite. Jesus transferred us from the domain of darkness to His kingdom and although that will be completed when we are in His kingdom, we have received a foretaste of that.

c. Jesus redeemed us (1:14)

i. What is that foretaste? It is the fact that we have been redeemed from our sins. When we think about salvation being future, we think that our redemption is also future. But our redemption is in the present. We have been freed from the power of sin in the present. This is the purpose and point of the Christian experience here on earth.

ii. Notice Paul’s language here. In whom we have redemption. Where is our redemption? Our redemption is in Him. Redemption points to critically important effects of Christ’s death on the cross. When Christ died on the cross, He effectually saved those who are trusting in Him. All those who have put their faith and hope in Christ and not in themselves, these people He has redeemed.

iii. What does it mean to be redeemed? The language would have brought to mind in the first century the transaction by which a slave paid a price to secure his or her release from slavery. Christ came to “redeem” sinners from their slavery to sin by offering his own life as a “ransom.” But it doesn’t end there. It says the forgiveness of sins. Literally, the release of sins. Whereas redemption speaks of deliverance from bondage, forgiveness means release from some kind of debt. So when we were redeemed, we were delivered from the debt of sin.

iv. One of the best ways to understand this idea is to realize the Exodus. In Exodus 12:12-13, it tells us of the Passover. God says that if you kill a lamb and put its blood on your doorpost, that death would Passover this house. This blood on the doorpost is speaking about the lamb of God, Jesus, that if you have His blood covering you, death in the same way would pass us by (Exodus 12:23). Well we see from the narrative, Exodus 12:29 that at midnight, all the firstborns of Egypt died because they didn’t have the blood of the lamb on their doorpost. So Pharaoh tells Moses and Aaron to leave Egypt with His people.

v. This understanding of the Exodus helps us grasp the picture of salvation here. Salvation is not what Israel did, but clearly what God did through the Passover. How did God accomplish this salvation on our behalf? Through the blood and death of His Son. That is why it says in whom, which expresses our identification with Christ. Those who have been transferred into the kingdom of His Son, those people, have redemption. What is this redemption? The forgiveness of sins.

vi. So clearly again, not only have we been brought into His kingdom, we are freed from the domain of darkness through Him. All those who are in Him, they are redeemed. Then Paul goes a little further. They are redeemed by being forgiven of their sins.

vii. We say that when Jesus forgave us, He forgave my past, present and future sins. Why is this true? Because by the time of Christ, the reason why He can forgive all of our sins is because every sin known to man was committed at that time. There is no new sin that we can commit today that wasn’t committed back then. This is why when Jesus died for our sins and forgave us of our sins, this is the reason why we are forgiven today. Why? Because there is no sin that is uncommon to Him. 1 Corinthians 10:13 gives us this idea. The reality is, every sin was committed and when we say the death and salvation of Christ was sufficient, we are speaking that His death and salvation was sufficient enough to free us from this sin.

viii. This is a beautiful reminder because it tells us that our forgiveness is in the present. We will not be forgiven, but rather, we have forgiveness now. Can I just remind you that this is our confidence? Our confidence is not about superficial things. Our confidence is that we have union (연합) with Christ. If we are to have any hope and joy in the future, we must first recognize what we have received in Jesus in the present. The next time you struggle to find joy in your Christian walk, don’t just look to the future and think about you will receive. Think about what you have already received. May this be a source of encouragement for all of us.

3. CONCLUSION