‘We Have Not Stopped Praying for You.’ (8)
[Colossians 1:9-14]
The second reason is that God the Father, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, has granted us freedom and forgiveness of sins.
Look at Colossians 1:14 - "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." 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 granted us redemption, specifically forgiveness of sins, through His Son Jesus Christ (v. 14). The word "redemption" in Greek means 'to deliver by payment of a ransom,' and it was used to signify freeing a slave from bondage by paying a ransom. This term refers to Christ liberating believing sinners from the slavery of sin (MacArthur). Ephesians 1:7 also affirms this: "In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace." The reason we must continually give thanks to God is that, according to the abundance of God's grace, we have received redemption, specifically forgiveness of sins, through the blood of Jesus Christ. In other words, we are freed from the bondage of sin and forgiven because of the ransom paid by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Therefore, we should not cease but continuously give thanks to God the Father for this tremendous gift of redemption and forgiveness.
The third and last reason is that God the Father has made us "qualified" or "fit" to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
Look at Colossians 1:12 - "Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light." 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 qualified them to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light (v. 12). The original Greek meaning of the term “qualified” is "to make sufficient," "to empower," or "to authorize" (MacArthur). In essence, God the Father has sufficiently authorized the faithful saints of the Colossian church. What authority has He sufficiently granted them? Colossians 1:12 reveals that God has given them sufficient authority "to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light." In contemporary terms, God has granted the faithful saints of the Colossian church sufficient authority "to participate in the blessings that saints will receive in the kingdom of light" (Modern Korean Bible). Here, the "inheritance of the saints" or "the blessings that saints will receive" refers to the inheritance and blessings that all saints, as children of God and co-heirs with Christ, will enter and receive in the eternal kingdom of God (Rom. 8:17).
Believers in Jesus are not only children of God but also heirs of God, co-heirs with Christ (v. 17). Ephesians 1:18 says, "Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints." When we enter the eternal kingdom of Jesus Christ, the glorious and abundant blessings of the saints' inheritance in the heavenly kingdom, the kingdom of God, will be ours. Our certain and clear hope in Jesus Christ compels us to offer unceasing thanks to God the Father.