REDEEMED

Photo by B Smith from the garden

344 - 2 REDEEMED

March 6, 1977

Henry F. Kulp

 

Colossians 1: 12 - 17 Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: or by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

In verse 12 we have a wonderful truth. We constantly give thanks unto the Father who has made us qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. We have an inheritance the moment we are saved.

1/  Now let us take time and look at the doctrine of inheritance

    (1) Inheritance is based on sonship. When we believe in Jesus Christ, we become sons of God. 

Romans 8: 16, 17 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Galatians 3: 26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.

    (2) Heirship is based on the death of another. It takes the death of someone. 

Romans 5: 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

I Corinthians 15: 3, 4 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

We inherit on the basis of the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross of calvary.

    (3) Heirship demands we possess the life of God. If you are going to be the heir of God, you are going to have to have the life of God. That means God possess eternal life. And we do this at the moment of salvation.

Titus 3: 7  That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

    (4) Heirship is related to predestination. 

Ephesians 1: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Heirship includes the sharing of the destiny of Christ.

  

    (5) Heirship is related to election. We share the election of Christ—He is the elected one of God.

    (6) Heirship means security. We are secure—eternally secure because we are heirs of God.

 

    (7) Heirship is provided on the basis of grace. 

Galatians 3: 29  And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Everything we have which is of any value is based on grace.

    (8) The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is the down payment on the inheritance. 

Ephesians 1: 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

3/  The word, from, is EK and it means out from, and then the word, power is interesting. It is the Greek word, EX-DO- SEE’- AH and it means dictatorship in this case. Whenever this Greek word is translated it is usually power, and it doesn’t mean power—it means authority. Let us show you what I mean. 

John 1: 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

We were given the authority not the power—but the authority to be the sons of God.

4/  And now darkness—that refers to the kingdom of Satan. He is the authority of darkness. 

Notice Luke 1: 79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Here unbelievers as far as the kingdom is concerned are said to be sitting in darkness, and that is true today. All unsaved are in darkness. They are in the kingdom of Satan. 

I John 5: 19  And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

Here we read the whole world lieth in the lap of wickedness—in Satan’s kingdom, because that means in the wicked one—that means Satan. 

5/  Now we have the phrase, hath translated us, and MET-HISS-TAY-ME it means not to be translated, but to be transferred. When we think in our present day of the word, translated, we mean taking something from one language and translating it into another language. We can take something in Spanish and translate it over into English. Those who know English know what it means, but this word here means to be transferred.

 

6/  Not into the Kingdom of His dear Son, but OF THE SON OF  HIS LOVE. Jesus Christ is the object of the Father’s infinite love, that is why Ephesians 1: 6 he is called the beloved one. To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

7/  Notice this transfer has already taken place. It is not something to happen in the future for He hath transferred us. What a contrast between the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of the Son of His love.

8/  What is the kingdom of the Son of His love? It is the Kingdom where everything is love for the Lord Jesus Christ. I meet  people who love their church, and it is not wrong to love their church, but that is what they love altogether. They talk about their church work, what their church is doing, but they do not say a word about the Lord Jesus Christ. One who is truly saved is one who loves to talk about the Lord Jesus Christ, and is one who shutters when the Lord’s Name is taken in vain. This is the Kingdom where everything is love for Christ. There are people who will talk to me if I talk about the church, or religion, but when I talk about the Lord Jesus Christ they turn away. So this is the Kingdom where Jesus Christ is loved, and when anyone says anything against Him it pierces you right to your heart.

9/  Verse 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

And here we have redemption. In whom, and of course that means Jesus Christ, we have redemption. The word redemption, in the Greek is OPP-O-LEW-TROW-SIS. It means deliverance on the basis of paying a ransom. It means to buy back a slave who is captive in the slave market, so we can say, redemption means to purchase the freedom of a slave.

10/  Every man is born inside the slave market. Every man is born into slavery. This is because we are born with an old sin nature and it is impossible for us to get out of the slave market. It takes a free person, one who is outside of the slave market to purchase our freedom, and no one born of woman, outside of the Lord Jesus Christ fits this category. He was born free, and He purchased our salvation.  

11/  Acts 20: 28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

Here we read the Lord Jesus Christ redeemed us. He paid a price and that price was His own blood. He was outside of the slave market and he died and with His blood purchased us and now we are free men.  

12/  Psalm 49: 1 - 3 Hear this, all ye people; give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world: Both low and high, rich and poor, together. My mouth shall speak of wisdom; and the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

Here God is going to say something wonderful that has to be heard by all the world, and then He speaks about the world and its wealth in Verse 7 None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him: 

Man cannot redeem a man from a slave market.

Psalm 49: 8 (For the redemption of their soul is precious, and it ceaseth for ever:)

I went to a lot of trouble to find out the true meaning of the Hebrew word that is translated “ceaseth,” and it means to stop a thing or leave it alone, and what God is saying is—don’t meddle with redemption. If anybody preaches anything but redemption by blood, what can he offer to men? If Jesus Christ did not redeem us by blood how can a soul be redeemed? Where will you find the price? Because redemption is a costly thing and not to be trifled with. There are many preachers, preaching a bloodless religion, but there is no redemption in it. We have been redeemed by His blood.

13/  Then notice, even the forgiveness of sins. Now we have the forgiveness of sins, and that means of all our sins. Everything has been forgiven. Don’t you see you would not have a perfect redemption. You could not be complete if God held anything against you, and you have to see that God doesn’t hold anything against the believer. Then notice in Ephesians 4: 32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

We have been forgiven by God for Christ’s sake.

Ephesians 1: 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:

We have the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of God’s grace. Can you measure the grace of God? Not at all. But God has forgiven you, not according to your forgiveness of others, not according to how good you are, but according to the riches of His grace. Just try to measure that! And you will find that you cannot do it.

14/  Hebrews 9: 26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.

When Jesus Christ died He put away sin. Sin is gone for the believer. He didn’t go back to Heaven until He had put away our sins.

AMEN

Ref: 03/06/1977 / 344 - 2 REDEEMED / 01/22/2021