“He delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
— Colossians 1:13-14
This is the close of Paul’s prayer for the Colossians and every phrase could be unpacked. Colossians and Ephesians are so similar (which is why some think Paul didn’t write Ephesians or Colossians or both), so these prayers also parallel one another. Many blessings in Christ.
Here and middle of chapter 2, Paul emphasizes how Christ conquered dark forces. Support for a Christus victor theory of atonement. Probably not wise to emphasize one theory to the exclusion of others but see multiple theories as supporting others. The atonement is a mystery, as to what exactly was happening on the cross and why.
Even here we also see “redemption” which is a metaphor. Is it used in purchasing slaves or other items as well at the market? And then forgiveness of sins.
Another reason I like to let each passage speak for itself. Paul isn’t concern about our “role” of believing/repentance here. Stick with the context. This is clearly all about praising God. It’s all about His work from start to finish. He moved us from death to life. And we simply reap benefits. Yes, gratitude seems appropriate, Paul.
No comments:
Post a Comment