Please refer back to the entry posted on June 30 for an overview of our passage, found at Col. 1:9 – 14. Our verse for this lesson is, “12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light” (Col.1:12 NASB).
For the purpose of this blog entry we will give only a brief comment about each line of the phrase shown above.
“giving thanks to the Father” indicates the second part of Paul’s prayer. The first part of his prayer was making three request concerning knowledge, their walk, and their strength. Here, thanks is given for three things; being qualified, delivered and transferred. Paul thanks our Father for these things.
“who has qualified you” is the first thing he has done that we are to be thankful for. To be qualified is to have met specific requirements or conditions. Those at Colossae that Paul is writing to have met the conditions of being born again and are children of the Father.
“to share in the inheritance” is what they are qualified for. Those at Colossae are not the only ones who are qualified. They are to share the inheritance with others. The inheritance seems to relate to eternal life, the kingdom of God, salvation, that which is imperishable, a promise, and a blessing. Consider the diagram shown below.
After the new birth, the Spirit of God enters our spirit and makes it alive and turns on the light in our soul. We now have eternal life, but there remains one part of us that is still old. The body is dying and is not fit for the next life we are to experience. The salvation we are to inherit is not complete until we have a new body to allow us to relate in the next life. Our present body allows us to experience life now in the physical, but we need a body with greater capacity so we can experience life in the spiritual realm; to experience the saints in the next life.
The present body is perishable and corruptible. It must be replaced with one that is fitting for what lies ahead. I really believe that a big part of this inheritance is that every saint has a new body waiting in heaven which, when received, completes the salvation process. Our salvation will then be complete.
“of the saints in light” indicates an aspect of the environment where the saints will live. The saints are those who are qualified to share the inheritance. Notice in the diagram above that before the new birth the soul is in darkness, but after the new birth there is light. Those who die without Christ will go to a place of darkness. Those who die knowing Christ will go to a place of light. The holy city where we are to live is illuminated by the glory of the Lord. We who are light will dwell in his light.
As children of God we should give thanks to our Father because we have so much to be thankful for. As we think about what he has done and provided for us we should be willing to obey and serve him completely, and as we look ahead we can only wonder what our new bodies will be like; new bodies that will complete our salvation. Indeed we have an inheritance to look forward to where we will dwell in light.
We can now add to our personal prayer that which is in the text box above and obtain the following:
Father, fill me with knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that I may live my life in a manner worthy of the Lord, able to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Make me strong with the strength that comes from your glorious power so that I may be able to endure everything with patience and joy. Father, I thank you for qualifying me so that I can share in the inheritance with the saints in the light.
For the purpose of this blog entry we will give only a brief comment about each line of the phrase shown above.
“giving thanks to the Father” indicates the second part of Paul’s prayer. The first part of his prayer was making three request concerning knowledge, their walk, and their strength. Here, thanks is given for three things; being qualified, delivered and transferred. Paul thanks our Father for these things.
“who has qualified you” is the first thing he has done that we are to be thankful for. To be qualified is to have met specific requirements or conditions. Those at Colossae that Paul is writing to have met the conditions of being born again and are children of the Father.
“to share in the inheritance” is what they are qualified for. Those at Colossae are not the only ones who are qualified. They are to share the inheritance with others. The inheritance seems to relate to eternal life, the kingdom of God, salvation, that which is imperishable, a promise, and a blessing. Consider the diagram shown below.
After the new birth, the Spirit of God enters our spirit and makes it alive and turns on the light in our soul. We now have eternal life, but there remains one part of us that is still old. The body is dying and is not fit for the next life we are to experience. The salvation we are to inherit is not complete until we have a new body to allow us to relate in the next life. Our present body allows us to experience life now in the physical, but we need a body with greater capacity so we can experience life in the spiritual realm; to experience the saints in the next life.
The present body is perishable and corruptible. It must be replaced with one that is fitting for what lies ahead. I really believe that a big part of this inheritance is that every saint has a new body waiting in heaven which, when received, completes the salvation process. Our salvation will then be complete.
“of the saints in light” indicates an aspect of the environment where the saints will live. The saints are those who are qualified to share the inheritance. Notice in the diagram above that before the new birth the soul is in darkness, but after the new birth there is light. Those who die without Christ will go to a place of darkness. Those who die knowing Christ will go to a place of light. The holy city where we are to live is illuminated by the glory of the Lord. We who are light will dwell in his light.
As children of God we should give thanks to our Father because we have so much to be thankful for. As we think about what he has done and provided for us we should be willing to obey and serve him completely, and as we look ahead we can only wonder what our new bodies will be like; new bodies that will complete our salvation. Indeed we have an inheritance to look forward to where we will dwell in light.
We can now add to our personal prayer that which is in the text box above and obtain the following:
Father, fill me with knowledge of your will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that I may live my life in a manner worthy of the Lord, able to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Make me strong with the strength that comes from your glorious power so that I may be able to endure everything with patience and joy. Father, I thank you for qualifying me so that I can share in the inheritance with the saints in the light.
