‘We Have Not Stopped Praying for You.’ (7)
[Colossians 1:9-14]
In today's passage, Colossians 1:12, the Apostle Paul, in his unceasing prayer to God for the faithful saints of the Colossian church, prayed for them to give thanks to God the Father: "giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." Through the central focus on Colossians 1:1-8, we have learned four reasons why Paul continually gave thanks to God the Father whenever he prayed for the faithful saints of the Colossian church. These reasons were: (1) they had strong faith in Christ (v. 4), (2) they loved all the saints (v. 4), (3) they had hope stored up in heaven (the hope of the kingdom of heaven) (v. 5), and (4) they had heard and truly understood the gospel of Jesus Christ, bearing fruit and growing since the day they truly grasped God's grace (v. 6). Thus, as Paul prayed for the faithful saints of the Colossian church, he expressed in Colossians 1:12 that they were continually praying to God, not ceasing, to enable these saints to give thanks to God the Father. If we apply this to our church, whenever Pastor and elders remember and pray for our church members, they pray that you, as believers in Jesus, loving all the saints, having hope in heaven, and bearing fruit in the knowledge of God's grace, will continually offer thanksgiving to God the Father. This aligns with the first prayer topic received during our church 42nd-anniversary worship, emphasizing the importance of being a thankful church. If both the pastor and the elder, as well as the entire congregation, continually offer thanksgiving to God, it truly signifies a church of gratitude. This is the lesson we received during the 42nd-anniversary worship. The church established by the Lord, Victory Presbyterian Church (Mt. 16:18), is to be a 'thankful church,' and for this, we all must continue to pray without ceasing. The question we need to consider here is, 'Why did the Apostle Paul pray continually for the faithful saints of the Colossian church to give thanks to God the Father?' Let's revisit Colossians 1:12: "giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light." There are at least three reasons for this:
The first reason is that God the Father "has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves."
In today's passage, Colossians 1:13, it states: "He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love." When the Apostle Paul, in his continuous prayer for the faithful saints of the Colossian church, mentioned the reason for them to give thanks to God the Father without ceasing, it was because God the Father "has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves" (v. 13, Modern Korean Bible). Here, the "kingdom of the Son he loves" refers to the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom God the Father loves. In verse 12, the Modern Korean Bible has already referred to this kingdom as the "kingdom of light." In other words, the kingdom of the Son of God is called the kingdom of light because, as stated in John 8:12, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life" (Modern Korean Bible). Therefore, the reason the Apostle Paul referred to this as the "kingdom of light" is based on Jesus Christ's own declaration about being the light. Paul also emphasized this in Ephesians 5:8, saying, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light" (Modern Korean Bible). Additionally, the Apostle John affirmed this in 1 John 1:7, stating, "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin" (Modern Korean Bible).
Therefore, we must also give thanks to God the Father. The reason is that God the Father has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Col. 1:13). Now, we are no longer part of the "dominion of darkness," the kingdom of Satan. We are not children or slaves of Satan. In Satan's kingdom, there is only deception and wickedness (MacArthur). God the Father, through the death and resurrection of His only Son Jesus Christ, has delivered us from the dominion of Satan and transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son. In this kingdom of the Lord, there is only truth and purity (MacArthur). The Apostle Peter referred to this kingdom as the "eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:11, Modern Korean Bible). Since God the Father has transferred us to this eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ, we must continuously give thanks to Him.