"For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sin." - Colossians 1:13-14
"Due to the sin in the Garden, two kingdoms stand antithetically to one another, a contention that will pit God against all that is in opposition to his rule. But note that this antithesis is not between earth and heaven, the body and the soul, or the visible and the invisible, but between God and Satan, between God and the kingdom of sin and death" - Michael D. Williams, Far as the Curse is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption (69).
In thinking a little bit more about evil in the world and our response to it, I wanted to look at the larger picture of evil in a biblical sense with respect to God's kingdom. First, we see in Colossians in Paul's prayer that it is the Father who has rescued us from the dominion of darkness. This dominion of darkness is the rule and reign of evil that has authority over every person who has is not in the kingdom of God's Son, Jesus Christ. We not only have been transferred from one kingdom to another, but once being enslaved in darkness we now are in a wholly different kindgom, one that is constituted by the affections the Father has for the Son, and in turn the affections the Son has for us. Paul writes that we have redemption not in some abstract philosophy or belief system but in Christ. Literally, redemption means "to buy back." We have been bought back from the dominion of evil and darkness to a kingdom which is based upon inter-personal love and sacrifice. Lastly, we see that this redemption through the Father's Son, Jesus Christ leads to the forgiveness of sins. Being slaves to sin, we lived with no need for forgiveness nor no capacity that we needed to be forgiven. Yet, through the Father and Son's work, we realize out utter destitution and need of grace before God. God grants his forgiveness through the redemption that was wrought by Christ.
Two noteworthy comments:
1. The transference of Kingdoms, from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of Christ is a trinitarian work . We fall into the trap many times of thinking that certain aspects of redemption or sanctification are accomplished by one of the persons of the Trinity. Paul here reminds his readers that the Father was in the business with the Son to accomplish the grand work of redemption.
2. Forgiving someone of their sins or going to a person and God in need of forgiveness relinquishes the power of evil and sin to do its bidding. This is not a statement that means that we are fully free from temptation when we forgive and ask for forgiveness. But, rather, when we live a life of forgivenness, we take evil and sin so seriously that we don't allow temptation to get a foot hold because we relinquish the power to hold grudges and grow a callous heart. When we take account of the evil and sin we have committed, we see the frailty of our hearts and lean on another for strength to face temptation the next time (Christ). Secondly, the cycles of vengeance in our own actions and hearts are averted when we live a life of forgiveness.
"Due to the sin in the Garden, two kingdoms stand antithetically to one another, a contention that will pit God against all that is in opposition to his rule. But note that this antithesis is not between earth and heaven, the body and the soul, or the visible and the invisible, but between God and Satan, between God and the kingdom of sin and death" - Michael D. Williams, Far as the Curse is Found: The Covenant Story of Redemption (69).
In thinking a little bit more about evil in the world and our response to it, I wanted to look at the larger picture of evil in a biblical sense with respect to God's kingdom. First, we see in Colossians in Paul's prayer that it is the Father who has rescued us from the dominion of darkness. This dominion of darkness is the rule and reign of evil that has authority over every person who has is not in the kingdom of God's Son, Jesus Christ. We not only have been transferred from one kingdom to another, but once being enslaved in darkness we now are in a wholly different kindgom, one that is constituted by the affections the Father has for the Son, and in turn the affections the Son has for us. Paul writes that we have redemption not in some abstract philosophy or belief system but in Christ. Literally, redemption means "to buy back." We have been bought back from the dominion of evil and darkness to a kingdom which is based upon inter-personal love and sacrifice. Lastly, we see that this redemption through the Father's Son, Jesus Christ leads to the forgiveness of sins. Being slaves to sin, we lived with no need for forgiveness nor no capacity that we needed to be forgiven. Yet, through the Father and Son's work, we realize out utter destitution and need of grace before God. God grants his forgiveness through the redemption that was wrought by Christ.
Two noteworthy comments:
1. The transference of Kingdoms, from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of Christ is a trinitarian work . We fall into the trap many times of thinking that certain aspects of redemption or sanctification are accomplished by one of the persons of the Trinity. Paul here reminds his readers that the Father was in the business with the Son to accomplish the grand work of redemption.
2. Forgiving someone of their sins or going to a person and God in need of forgiveness relinquishes the power of evil and sin to do its bidding. This is not a statement that means that we are fully free from temptation when we forgive and ask for forgiveness. But, rather, when we live a life of forgivenness, we take evil and sin so seriously that we don't allow temptation to get a foot hold because we relinquish the power to hold grudges and grow a callous heart. When we take account of the evil and sin we have committed, we see the frailty of our hearts and lean on another for strength to face temptation the next time (Christ). Secondly, the cycles of vengeance in our own actions and hearts are averted when we live a life of forgiveness.
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