“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light.
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“I have my message of my great Lord, you have yours. Your dog, your horse tells you about him who cares for all his creatures. None of them came from his hands. Perhaps the precious things of the earth, the coal and diamonds, may be said to have come from his hands; but the live things come from his heart. Every one of us is something that the other is not, and therefore knows some thing—it may be without knowing that he knows it—which no one else knows; and that it is everyone’s business, as one of the kingdom of light, and inheritor in it all, to give his portion to the rest; for we are one family, with God at the head and the heart of it, and Jesus Christ, our elder brother, teaching us of the Father, whom he only knows.
We may say, then, that whatever is the source of joy or love, whatever is pure and strong, whatever wakes aspiration, whatever lifts us out of selfishness, whatever is beautiful or admirable—in a word, whatever is of the light—must make a part, however small it may then prove to be in its proportion, of the inheritance of the saints in the light; for, as in the epistle of James, ‘Every good gift, and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.’”
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Commentary
by Leah Morency
Colossians 1 v. 9-17 : 9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light.
13 For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
The context of Colossians 1.v.12, beginning with v. 9 and continuing to v. 17, beautifully shines forth a heartfelt description of the gospel: God works a transformation in us through Christ, and in this work, He intimately engages us as he begins us, and all creation, for an endless state of unity with Him, for Him to hold together. Verse 16 and 17..."all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together." What a beautiful image! Every soul, every piece of creation, so many individual parts, all held together, in an unexplainable way, in Christ, the "image of the invisible God"(v.15). God describes himself as the unifying force in all the realms of creation and beyond.
Verses 9-11 are a prayer for fulfillment of the tremendous need we have for knowledge, wisdom, understanding, and strength, to empower us to follow him into the Inheritance! Each of us is not passive, but engaged. The more we walk in Him, the more intimately we will know Him, our knowledge of Him grows in us, and the greater our desire and ability to live a life pleasing to Him in that it is in harmony with light, with goodness. We will have more of Him in us, and therefore more strength. We need His power and His might. We must pray for His power and might, after all, this is the path out of the "domain of darkness"(v.13). Because of our lack of sight while in the darkness, we cannot see how small the darkness is compared to the light, yet without God we would be lost in it.
Yet it is His rescue to accomplish; he rescues us out of the darkness and transfers us to Christ, there is found redemption, forgiveness, and unity where there was none before. How can we truly understand this mystery of His work in us? Our hope in understanding even the smallest fraction is in our "walking in a manner worthy of God," so that our spiritual eyes may see enough of our Inheritance to experience unity with God. Even the briefest moment of union with God is enough to see with spiritual eyes, to ignite giving of thanks for what before was unseen to us. Every part of creation is moving back into unity through Him who holds all creation together. God is good. Thanks be to Him who rescues us out of the domain of darkness and brings us into harmony with Himself!