COL. i. 12, 13. “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.”

OUR text summons us to the consideration of our present
heaven, whilst it embraces within its scope the work of
grace, which has given us so priceless a possession.
I. A present heaven. We have a work already per-
formed. Our meetness, our deliverance, and translation
and redemption are accomplished facts.
1. Meet to be partakers of the same portion in the light.
The saints of God are to the regenerated in the world as
the Israelites were to the Egyptians. They are partakers
of the light. Their meetness comes from God; not from
natural goodness, virtue or such like.
2. God has not only prepared the way for us, but He
has accomplished the rescue. “Who hath delivered us
from the power of darkness.” There has been a conflict
and a victory. Darkness is a power from which we have
escaped.
3. The third fact of our present heaven is this—”hath
translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son.” This
is the positive side. There is no negation of sin except in
Christ, no opposition to sin in the universe except that of
Christ.
4. “We have redemption, even the forgiveness of sins.”
The root of all our trouble has been removed, to wit, the
damning power of sin.
II. Notice the character of the working of that grace
which has given us so heavenly a possession. Redemption
through His blood. The word redemption means a deliver-
ance by the payment of a ransom, and the ransom is here
stated to be the blood of God’s dear Son. The most con-
spicuous fact of revelation is the pouring out of Christ’s
blood as the price of our release from eternal death.
Howard Crosby, D.D.