 |
Positive Words Newsletter#72/ 28th January 2004
----- http://www.peterwade.com/ -----
We Are Qualified
"Giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Colossians 1:12-14)
This is another verse that has blessed my life and influenced my teaching for nearly 50 years. I may have read it previously, but it was the writings of E.W. Kenyon that brought it to life for me and got me excited about being a Christian.
It is always good to give thanks to the Father, and here is one of the primary reasons why we should. "Qualified us" is to make us fit or adequate for the event. It is the same word as "able" in II Corinthians 3:6, where believers are described as "able ministers of the new testament". There is no sense of progressive qualification, it is once and for all time. God has already qualified us! That's a good reason to give thanks.
..."Qualified to be partakers...", to have a share or portion "of the inheritance of the saints in the [kingdom of] light". The dividing of the land of Canaan between the tribes of Israel is in view here. Our inheritance as a saint, a child in God's family, will likewise be fair, equitable and all that we need.
...Verses 13 and 14 are the powerhouses of this section. "He has delivered us" [KJV "translated us", others "rescued us"]. We are delivered, we are rescued! From what? The Message Bible says "God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons" but believe me, it is far more than that. He delivered us "[out] from the power [or authority] of darkness" -- that is Satan's kingdom of evil, sin, misery and death, where we were reluctant captives. Satan no longer has any authority over us. He can only trick us into thinking that he has! Let me say it again, we ARE delivered, we are rescued, once and for all time!
However, we are not refugees or stateless people, because God not only delivered us, He also "conveyed us" [KJV "translated us", or others "brought us safely"]. Josephus uses this word of removing people from one country to another. God paid the plane fare, arranged the documentation, made sure we got on the plane and arrived safely, and gave us new citizenship, a new state and a new life, in the kingdom of grace under the authority of His Son, whom He loves deeply. So my earthly passport is only part of the story, for I have dual citizenship, and the spiritual citizenship is the one that will get me through life's tight corners while I walk the road of my earthly citizenship. And its worth noting that kingdoms are mentioned only 12 times in Paul's epistles, while words like child, children, family are used over 50 times in those same epistles. Being a citizen is important, but being a child in the family of God is a deeper, closer, more personal relationship. "I'm so glad I belong to the family of God", as the gospel song states.
Finally, "in whom [God's Son] we have [as our present possession] redemption through His blood." This is a parallel passage to Ephesians 1:7. Some translations have "our redemption" or even "THE redemption", that grand and glorious accomplishment of our Lord and Saviour, Christ Jesus. We have been "bought back" so that the power and penalty of sin no longer has authority over us, and we are forgiven. Now that's something to praise God for! -- Peter Wade.
Insights From Every Chapter Of The Bible
G. Campbell Morgan was a well-known preacher and writer of over 60 books from the first half of the 20th century. In each issue of this newsletter he gives a comment from one verse in every chapter of the Bible. We continue with Paul's Roman letter.
"How? ... How? ... How? ... How?" (Romans 10:14,15).
This sequence of inquiries follows a declaration, which is a quotation from Joel: "Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." Whatever its value in that prophecy, or in Peter's quotation thereof on the day of Pentecost (see Acts 2:21), Paul here evidently employed it in reference to man's responsibility concerning the salvation provided in Christ Jesus. That whole responsibility is revealed in the one word "call." Salvation comes to a man when he calls on the Name of the Lord. The inquiries reveal the place and nature of the call. The call follows belief. The belief follows hearing. The hearing follows preaching. The preaching follows sending. Thus the Apostle traces the movement back to its origin.
Let us state it in the other order that we may apprehend the nature of mans' calling on the Name of the Lord. God has a message of salvation, and this He sends preachers to proclaim. The preachers proclaim that message. Men hear the preachers' message, and believe it. Observe that they are not saved by that belief. So far it is merely intellectual; it is conviction that the message is true. That does not bring men into salvation. They must now "call upon the Name of the Lord." At once we see that the element of volitional surrender to the message believed, is necessary in order to salvation. Everything begins with God, but the final responsibility is with man.
On our web site right now!
After a month of people not being able to log on to our site, we have at last persuaded our hosting supplier to place our site on a new server. For the last couple of weeks this has worked well. Please let us know if you have any problems.
We have also revamped our Books/CDs area to make it easier to request copies. In addition, we have solved many of the "Document Not Found" problems coming from our Articles area, the largest part of our site.
What You Are Saying
Again another couple of hours searching, reading and being blessed by the site. It is always a joy to come here knowing that there is not going to be any controversies going on, and that only the Word of God is being taught by those who have a deep and grounded love for Him. -- England.
Thank you for your wonderful web page. Its such a blessing to me. I NEED to hear all this. Even after 33 years of salvation, it is still fresh and new and life-changing. Again, thank you for taking the time to put it all together. Minnesota, USA.
Thank you for your insights into God's word. The word as revealed on your site has enabled me not to kill myself. I still revert to being suicidal and I therefore run to the presentation of the word as portrayed in this site and that helps me to understand once more that God is there and that He loves me. So thank you! -- Australia
This site and it's articles has changed me FOREVER. It has been a feeding frenzy ever since I was divinely led to Positive Words. I really just want to thank you for making all these wonderful resources available to me. Every Christian on the face of this planet needs to seriously know what God has done for them through Christ. It goes waaaaaay beyond salvation. There are no words to express what your site has done for my relationship with Christ. You are a precious gift that God has used in such a profound way. Oh, how I can never thank you enough. Please keep up the anointed work because this world needs this web site and all it has to offer. -- Canada
|
| |
This
email was launched into cyberspace to bless you. There is no paid
advertising in this newsletter, only content-rich, inspirational
material.
Subscription information...
To contact us or subscribe, go to our Home Page:
http://www.peterwade.com.
To
unsubscribe, click on the special link at the bottom of your newsletter (copy and paste into your browser as one line).
This newsletter is never sent unsolicited.
(c)
2004 Peter Wade
http://www.peterwade.com
http://www.inChristRadio.net
|
|
|
"IN CHRIST" QUOTE FOR TODAY
