God the Father and God the Son: Colossians 1:12b-20–High Christology
Chapter 1 Overview
A. In this letter Paul addresses the Colossians as Believers in Christ
B. He recounts how they came to be saved (Col 1:6-7)
C. Paul recounts how he prays for these precious believers
1. He thanks God for their faith and love in Christ through the Holy Spirit (Col 1:3-8, especially 3-4)
2. He petitions God to give them clear understanding of his will and the power to do it with joy and thanksgiving (Col 1:9-12a)
D. Paul spells out the Father’s role in the Colossian believers’ salvation (Col 12b-14)
E. The Father’s role spills over into the Son’s role (Col 1:14)
F. Paul expands upon the unsurpassable excellences of Christ (Col 1:15-20)
Question: In this letter only, which of the three persons of the trinity does Paul present with least detail? second least? the most detail? (For Scripture concerning the Spirit’s role in believers’ salvation, see Galatians 3-6.)
G. The Colossian believers’ position in Christ (Col 1: 13-14, 21-23a)
H. Paul’s role among the Colossians and the kingdom of Christ (Col 1:23b-2:5)
Part 1: God the Father’s Role in Salvation (Col 1:12b-14)
Colossians 12b …[the Father] who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
I. The Inheritance
A. How has God “qualified” the Colossian believers and us to share in the inheritance? (see :13)
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
B. Describe some of the differences between the dominion of darkness and the Kingdom of light (the kingdom of the Son he loves)
C. What is the inheritance?
II. The Inheritors
A. Who are “his holy people in the kingdom of light?”
B. How are “redemption” and “forgiveness of sins” related? (vs 14)
Redemption = to loosen, to set free, to release
Forgiveness = to loosen, to set free, to release in exchange for an equivalent payment of some kind
III. Christ is the Mediator Between God and Man
A. OT Israel was God’s son
Exodus 4:22 Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the LORD says: Israel is my firstborn son,
Hosea 11:1 “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.
B. NT Israel is Christ, who is God’s Son
Matthew 2:15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Mark 9:7 Then a cloud appeared and covered them, and a voice came from the cloud: “This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him!”
C. The OT Exodus from Egypt
D. The NT Exodus from the dominion of darkness, enslavement to sin, curse of death, release from bondage to the ruler of this world (Satan)
Colossians 1:20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Other Great Verses:
Ephesians 5:8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
1 Peter 2:24 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”
Ephesians 1:14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.
Ephesians 2:4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.