Delivered!

Delivered!

‭Colossians 1:13 KJV‬

[13] who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

Identity defines benefits. Who you are or who you know determines what you get. All men who are born of women are born into sin, and are subject to the power and influence of darkness. No amount of earthly influence, human connections or earning power can change the foundation. Only the intervention of Jesus can address that foundation and change the end. The people to whom this letter by Paul is addressed are referred to as God's holy people. At a time, they were also sinners and destined for eternal death, until they had an encounter with the saving power of Jesus. Now they are God's people, and the same power that worked in them in Colosse at the time is still the same power at work in all those that come to the Lord for help.

As you read the verses just before the one above, you get clarity on the expectations for those who now have the new identity. These include: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in my knowledge of God, being strengthened to have endurance and patience, and able to give thanks at all times for the grace to be qualified to share in the inheritance of fellow holy people in the kingdom of light. I must audit my life, and be sure that my life is aligned with the laid out expectations above. God will not demand from me that which He has not supplied grace and help for. If He commands it, He can birth and sustain it in me, and also empower me for all of my lifetime to align with His will.

The verse above reminds me of who I am now. I have been delivered from the power of sin and death, and translated into the kingdom of Jesus. Sin is powerful; do not depend on your own strength or wisdom to overcome sin. The power of sin has been in effect long before I was born, and only the Son of God, born outside of the influence and power of sin, can provide the deliverance I need. His death on the cross is the final seal of deliverance, and anyone who would walk in that reality must come to the cross. The power is still available, and will remain in place until Jesus returns either at death or the rapture. I belong to God's kingdom, and my life must produce in line with that reality. Can you say the same? God's time of favour is here.