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You may turn in your Bibles to 
Colossians chapter 1 for our meditation this evening for the 
Lord's Supper. Colossians chapter 1. I'll begin 
reading in verse 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ 
by the will of God, and Timothy, our brother, to the saints and 
faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colossae, Grace to you 
and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We 
give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying 
always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus 
and of your love for all the saints, because of the hope which 
is laid up for you in heaven. of which you heard before in 
the word of the truth of the gospel, which has come to you, 
as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, 
as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the 
grace of God in truth. As you also learned from Epaphras, 
our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ 
on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the spirit, 
For this reason, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease 
to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge 
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that 
you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful 
in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. strengthened 
with all might according to his glorious power, for all patience 
and long-suffering with joy, 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. He is the image of the invisible 
God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created 
that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, 
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. 
All things were created through him and for him. And he is before 
all things, and in him all things consist. And he is the head of 
the body, the church, who is the beginning. the firstborn 
from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. 
For it pleased the Father that in him all the fullness should 
dwell, and by him to reconcile all things to himself by him, 
whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace 
through the blood of his cross. and you who once were alienated 
and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now he has reconciled 
in the body of his flesh through death to present you holy. and 
blameless and above reproach in his sight, if indeed you continue 
in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the 
hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to 
every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister. I now rejoice in my sufferings 
for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions 
of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the church, of 
which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God, 
which was given to me for you to fulfill the word of God, the 
mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, 
but now has been revealed to his saints. To them, God willed 
to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery 
among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we preach, warning every 
man and teaching every man in all wisdom that we may present 
every man perfect in Christ Jesus. To this end, I also labor, striving 
according to his working, which works in me mightily. Amen. Let us pray. Lord God most high, 
we pray for the Spirit now to guide us, to direct us, and to 
help us to receive with thankful hearts the word of truth. Cause 
us to respond properly to the gospel blessings that we have 
received. Cause us, Father, to walk in 
a manner that is pleasing to the Lord. We ask that you would 
just bless and strengthen us Cause us, Lord God, to love you, 
to grow in our desire to pursue those things which are pleasing 
in your sight. Give us a genuine hunger and thirst after righteousness. And we pray these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, we all know that 
it is commanded in the Bible that we are to be thankful. And 
probably, at least to some degree or other, we struggle with that 
reality. Perhaps you are as thankful as 
you ought to be. If so, you can tune out for the 
next 30 or 40 minutes. But for the rest of us, it's 
a slog. It's difficult. We need reminders. David himself, in the Psalms, 
said, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless 
his holy name. He then repeats it, just in case 
he didn't hear himself. He says, bless the Lord, oh my 
soul, and all that is within me. And then he says, forget 
not all of his benefits. There is a tendency within the 
heart to forget the God of heaven and earth. To not acknowledge 
him, and to not thank him, and to not praise him. In Paul's 
prayer in Colossians 1, 12 to 14, he highlights that thankfulness 
is an identifying mark of Christians. I thought this would be a fitting 
meditation this evening, because as we come to the supper, as 
we eat the bread, as we drink the wine, This is the highest 
point or the most important thing that we as God's children have 
to be thankful for. We ought to be a praising people, 
a celebrating people, a delighting people, a people that indeed 
take seriously what God has done and respond to Him in a genuine, 
heartfelt thankfulness. Our focus this evening, as I 
said, will be verses 12 to 14. But I want to do two things tonight. 
In the first place, I want to look at the structure of Paul's 
prayer, which begins at verse 9. And then secondly, I want 
to look at the believer's gratitude toward God, which comes in verses 
12 to 14. Now, I don't know that Paul, 
when he prayed, or Paul, when he wrote, thought that we would 
look at the structure. But certainly it does help us 
to see. I think the prayers of Paul serve 
as good models for the prayers of us. We ought to see what it 
is that Paul prays for. Him being a godly man, it would 
be wise and good for us to follow suit and to take seriously how 
he approaches the throne of grace. But as I said, the prayer begins 
in verse 9 and ends at verse 14. The structure. I want us 
to see, first of all, the occasion of his prayer in 9a. For this 
reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to 
pray for you. I think what's in view here is 
what Epaphras had told Paul concerning the Colossians. In verse 7, as 
you also learn from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who 
is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared 
to us your love in the Spirit. So Epaphras tells Paul that the 
Colossians love him in the spirit. And so Paul then returns in kind 
and says, for this reason also, since the day we heard it, since 
we were conscious of the fact that you had become believers, 
since we knew that you entered into the state of grace, we do 
not cease to pray for you. So the occasion is, a reflection 
upon the fact that the church in Colossae was indeed the real 
deal. But notice the constancy involved 
in Paul's prayer life. We do not cease to pray for you. That doesn't mean that Paul never 
talks to the butcher. Paul doesn't talk to the merchant 
selling fruit. Paul doesn't talk to brothers 
and sisters about the weather. I'm certain Paul did all those 
particular things. But this constancy in prayer 
means that we are praying always. We're always in that disposition. We don't necessarily have to 
go find a closet and get on our knees and engage in formal prayer. 
There is a sense where the saint of God is praying all throughout 
the day. I love that illustration in the 
book of Nehemiah. When Artaxerxes asks Nehemiah 
why he was downcast, of course, Nehemiah had heard about Jerusalem 
and he had heard about the situation facing his fellow countrymen. 
Artaxerxes sees that Nehemiah is downcast and he asks Nehemiah 
essentially, what is your problem? And Nehemiah says, so I prayed 
to the Lord and then he answered him. Now, that wasn't a 20-minute 
prayer. That probably wasn't a 10-second 
prayer. It was probably long enough to 
say, God help me so that I can answer Artaxerxes. So the particular occasion and 
the constancy of his prayer is stressed in verse 9. Now, notice 
the content of his prayer in verses 9b to 14. In 9b, he says, do not cease 
to pray for you and to ask. Here's what Paul prays for. and to ask that you may be filled 
with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 
that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him." Isn't 
that beautiful? Isn't that a good way to pray 
for your fellow Christian? Isn't that a good way to pray 
for your spouse, to pray for your children? children to pray 
for their parents, what is the highest goal for the saint of 
Christ in this lower world? That God would indeed fill us 
with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. That we may walk worthy of the 
Lord, fully pleasing Him. Now, if we ask the question, 
what does it mean to walk worthy of the Lord? What does it mean 
to walk in a manner that is fully pleasing to the Lord? Well, the 
next section fleshes that out for us. In using four participles, 
for those who are out of school now, a participle is sort of 
a a verbal noun, and Paul uses four of them in the next few 
verses to tease out or to flesh out what a pleasing walk looks 
like before God. In the first place, a pleasing 
walk, that they would be fruitful in every good work. Notice in 
verse 10b. Being fruitful in every good 
work. That's a good thing. That's a worthy walk. That is 
to please God. In the second place, that they 
would increase in the knowledge of God. That next statement there, 
increasing in the knowledge of God. Is this how you pray for 
brethren? Is this how you pray for the 
church? Is this how you pray for spouses and children? I'm 
not saying take this as a form and just recite it over and over 
to God. But this is the stuff that ought 
to make it into our prayer closets. This is the stuff that we ought 
to be bringing before the Lord at the family altar. It is the 
spiritual things. It is that growth in grace. It 
is that conforming to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ. In 
the third place, that they would be strengthened with all might 
according to His glorious power. You see, this is fully pleasing 
to the Lord. And then the fourth participle 
is found in verse 12, giving thanks to the Father. This is an identifying mark of 
the believer. This is a characteristic of one 
who, by God's grace, has been conquered. One who has been forgiven. One who participates in the Lord's 
Supper. One who, by God's grace, is redeemed. Thankfulness. This ought to mark 
us. This ought to characterize us. 
This ought to be a badge that we wear with reference to the 
Christian faith. We are a thankful people. So 
those are the four participles. Now let's look at the believer's 
gratitude toward God, focusing on verses 12 to 14. In the first 
place, we ought to understand the importance of it. I've already 
mentioned. It's an identifying mark, isn't 
it? That ought to be important enough. If I am supposed to be 
one who is thankful, if God says that that is important, if God 
says that fleshes out what it means to engage in a worthy walk, 
well then I need to quit being a thankless wretch and stir up 
my soul to be a thankful person. Notice how many times in this 
short book of Colossians, Paul mentions thanksgiving. Notice 
in verse 3, we give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. Here in verse 12, obviously, 
notice in chapter 2 at verse 7, rooted and built up in Him 
and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding 
in it with thanksgiving. Notice in chapter 3 at verse 
15, And let the peace of God rule 
in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body. 
And be a miserable wretch. Walk around like there's a perpetual 
dark cloud over you. Walk around like you're Eeyore 
from the Winnie the Pooh series. Walk around with nothing but 
hum and drama and trial and difficulty. No! Abandon it with thanksgiving. You can tell a thankful person 
because they look differently than you are. Now notice in chapter 
3 at verse 17, and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in 
the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through 
him. And then in 4.2, continue earnestly 
in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving. When you come into the presence 
of God, is it first and foremost to lay down your petitions? Is 
it first and foremost to demand what you want? Is it first and 
foremost to say, give me, give me, give me, give me? I remember 
when our children were little, when they would come to see me 
after their day at school or whatever it was that they did, 
they'd run in and say, Dad, can we have, or can we do, or can 
we go? And I would say, hello, it's 
good to see you. Isn't that typical of the child 
of God? We run into the presence of God 
and we say, give me, give me, give me. The leech does have 
two daughters, give and give. And oftentimes we function that 
way at the throne of grace. Now if you fall down a well shaft, 
you can pray to God immediately for deliverance. I'm not suggesting 
that you spend ten minutes thanking God for every particular Nehemiah 
probably didn't say, thank you, Lord, for making me. Thank you, 
Lord, for saving me. There are instances and occasions, 
to be sure, what the Puritans called ejaculatory prayer. You 
can just call out to God for deliverance. But as a common 
occurrence in your prayer life, is it marked by thanksgiving? Notice then what we see here. 
In Colossians 1.12, giving thanks to the Father. One of the other 
reasons why I think thankfulness is absolutely crucial in the 
Christian life is simply this. When we are thanking God, we 
are expressing gratitude to Him for what He has done. When we 
utter thanksgiving to God, we are acknowledging by that utterance 
the grace character of our salvation. There's no place for congratulations 
of ourselves in the Christian life. There's no place to pat 
ourselves on the back. There's no place to stand with 
that Pharisee and say, I thank you, Lord, that I'm not like 
other men. No, when we thank God, we are 
affirming, we are confirming, we are acknowledging, and we 
are recognizing that salvation is by grace through faith. There's 
no place for personal applause. There's no place for personal 
congratulations. When we are thanking God, we 
are not congratulating ourselves. So the importance of gratitude 
is seen in verse 12, but now notice specifically the reasons 
for gratitude. It's a beautiful structure that 
Paul now employs. He kind of transitions from the 
prayer closet to theological discourse. The next section, 
12 to 14, certainly is still Paul's prayer, but it's starting 
to take on the flavor of theological discourse about what God has 
done. And then he moves on into verses 
15 to 20 to tell us how God has done it. It's through Christ, 
the Creator, Christ, the Provider, and Christ, the Redeemer. But 
notice, specifically, there are two major categories that Paul 
says we are to be thankful to God for. Verse 12, giving thanks 
to the Father in the first place who has qualified us to be partakers 
of the inheritance of the saints in the light. In other words, 
thank God because you're going to heaven. Thank God because 
this train is bound for glory. Thank God because of the redemptive 
work of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have an inheritance laid 
up for you. I think it was last week when 
Mike preached from Ephesians chapter 1. Specifically in verses 
11 and 12 it says, in him also we have obtained an inheritance 
being predestined according to the purpose of him who works 
all things according to the counsel of his will, that we who first 
trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory." We 
have an inheritance laid up. Does that provoke from us a thankfulness? We have an inheritance in heaven 
laid up. Does that provoke from us gratitude? We have bread and wine which 
represent the wounded, crushed, dying body and the blood or the 
shed blood of our Lord Jesus. Does that elicit from us thanksgiving? Do we realize that we are heaven-bound? Yesterday, we had the grandkids 
over at our house for breakfast. Rebecca made French toast for 
them. And Miles had his two pieces 
of French toast. And of course, Miles wanted a 
third. It was good French toast. And something that my wife said 
was true on this side of glory. She said to young Miles, all 
good things come to an end. You've all heard that, haven't 
you? You're eating good French toast or a bowl of strawberries 
or it's raining and it's cool. All good things come to an end, 
except heaven. Accept glory. Accept the inheritance 
that is laid up for us. Accept that place when we, with 
these eyes, will gaze upon the King of Glory. Not at the crown 
He gifteth, but on His pierced hand. The Lamb is all the glory 
of Emmanuel's land. Doesn't this serve to provoke 
from us gratitude, thankfulness, joy, delight? Do we ever read 
chapters 21 and 22 of the book of Revelation? Some people are 
afraid of the book of Revelation. That's unfortunate. The book 
of Revelation is all about the glory of the Lamb sitting upon 
the throne, judging his enemies and blessing his people. Why 
would that be a book that would produce fear in the hearts of 
God's people? Do you know what is emphasized 
over and over and over again in the book of Revelation? It 
isn't the doom and the gloom that you're going to go through. 
It isn't the political machinations of our particular day. It is 
the crown of our Lord Jesus Christ. When you get to 21 and 22, when 
that city, that New Jerusalem comes down out of heaven, you 
may not understand all the particular details, but this much you must 
know, that the covenant blessings of God come to fruition in that 
inheritance. There will be no more sorrow. 
There will be no more hunger. There will be no more pain. There 
will be no more death. It's the last enemy judged by 
Jesus Christ. And we shall see Him as He is. We know this from what the Scripture 
testifies. If we are not a thankful lot 
concerning the fact that we are heaven-bound, then we ought to 
ask God to forgive us. and to help us and to inculcate 
in us this longing and desire. So the first thing, the inheritance 
of the saints. And in the second place, the 
deliverance from the power of darkness. And he teases this 
out in a little bit more detail. It's interesting, at the end 
of verse 12, the saints in the light leads naturally to how 
we got into the light. In verse 13, 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. There are three things we ought 
to observe here. The first place, we are delivered 
from spiritual darkness. Isn't that beautiful? How will 
we stand in this inheritance with the saints in the light? 
Because God has delivered us. God has rescued us. God has brought 
us out of darkness. Peter puts it this way, that 
we are to proclaim the excellencies or the praises of Him who called 
you out of darkness into marvelous light. It's one of the purposes 
for which the Church exists. That is in a corporate context 
there. We are a chosen people. We are 
a redeemed body so that we may proclaim His Excellencies. Probably 
behind the scenes is a reference to Exodus chapter 6. Exodus 6.6. Therefore say to the children 
of Israel, I am Yahweh. I will bring you out from under 
the burdens of the Egyptians. I will rescue you from their 
bondage. and I will redeem you with an 
outstretched arm and with great judgments. I will take you as 
my people and I will be your God. Then you will know, or then 
you shall know, that I am the Lord your God who brings you 
out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring 
you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage. As a heritage, 
I am the Lord. The great power of God demonstrated 
in the exodus, in the rescue of Egypt from that bondage, is 
typological or paradigmatic of what God does in delivering us 
from the power of darkness. The Lord Jesus puts it this way 
in Luke's Gospel, chapter 22. Luke chapter 22 at verse 53. He says, when I was with you 
daily in the temple, you did not try to seize me. But this 
is your hour and the power of darkness. The enemies of Christ 
are under the power of darkness. We were the enemies of Christ. 
He has broken the back of the power of darkness on our behalf. 
He has brought us into light. He has called us to himself. 
He has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places 
in Christ Jesus. In the book of Acts, in Acts 
chapter 26. Acts 26, when the Apostle Paul recounts or rehearses 
his conversion before Agrippa. In Acts 26 at verse 12. Well, 
beginning in verse 15. So I said, Who are you, Lord? 
And he said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise 
and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, 
to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you 
have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will 
deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles 
to whom I now send you." Notice, to open their eyes in order to 
turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to 
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among 
those who are sanctified by faith in me." Now let this provoke 
thankfulness. We have seen the power of darkness, 
haven't we? We live in the midst of the workers 
of the power of darkness. You've probably heard me refer 
to those Planned Parenthood videos a couple of times over the last 
few weeks. If you have not seen them, you 
ought to be aware that they're out there. The sorts of things 
that is going on under the power of darkness. Some prior to their 
conversion were under the power of darkness with reference to 
drugs, with reference to alcohol. Some under the power of darkness 
were slaves to their money, slaves to their lusts, or slaves to 
whatever carnal pursuits they had. We've been freed from that. We've been called out of darkness 
into marvelous light. Doesn't it necessarily follow 
that we thank God, that we express gratitude to God, that in this 
worthy walk that is fully pleasing to Him, thankfulness would be 
part and parcel of our daily exercises. He has delivered us 
from spiritual darkness. Notice, as he teases this out, 
again, I think this is under the deliverance from the power 
of darkness. There are three thoughts. The deliverance from 
spiritual darkness. Notice, secondly, the transfer 
of kingdoms. I mentioned this morning, the 
skull-crushing seed of the woman breaks the devil, breaks his 
head, crushes it, shatters it, smashes it. And as a result of 
that, there is this transfer. We were in the kingdom of darkness. We have been conveyed or transferred 
or translated into the kingdom of the Son of His love. I like 
the word translated. I remember a beloved brother 
in the church in Palmdale. He was an older man. He has gone 
to be with the Lord. I remember singing hymns with 
him one day at church and it was, you know, in a living room 
and it was glorious. I mean, heaven came down and 
glory filled our souls. It was a beautiful time. I remember 
talking to him after the fact and he said, you know, if I could 
be translated in any way I chose, it would be when we were singing 
hymns like that. Wouldn't that be great, singing 
hymns with the brethren, and then drop dead and end up in 
the presence of the Lord? Wouldn't that be glorious? What 
a transition! What a translation! What a conveyance! We have been conveyed from the 
power of darkness into the kingdom of the Son of His love! I love 
what John Eady says with reference to this kingdom. He says, plainly 
that kingdom which has Christ for its head and founder, which 
is partially developed on earth and shall be finally perfected 
in heaven. He goes on to explain the word 
used here by Paul was often used to signify deportation of a body 
of men or the removal of them to form a colony. Isn't that 
what's happened? We have formed a colony. Our 
citizenship is in heaven. We are those who dwell among 
one another. We are under God, under Christ, 
and we have that solidarity. And this is a reason to praise. 
Murray Harris says the imagery of verses 12 to 13 suggests that 
believers have been rescued from the gloomy domain and tyrannical 
rule of Satan by being transplanted as free colonists into the kingdom 
and peaceable sovereignty of Christ to become citizens in 
the realm of light. We have been freed from darkness. Now notice in the third place, 
again under the head, deliverance from the power of darkness. We 
have redemption from bondage. He has delivered us from the 
power of darkness, conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of 
His love, and now He's going to amplify flesh out how God 
does this. The end of verse 14, that answer 
leads to his Christology in verses 15 to 20. He moves from prayer 
to theology. Notice what he says in verse 
14, in whom? The son of his love, we have 
redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. The 
way that God rescued, the way that God delivered, the way that 
God transferred us was through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was through that death. It 
was through the sacrifice. It was through the atonement. 
It was through that curse bearing. It was through Him being made 
sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God 
in Him, in whom we have redemption. Of course, the presupposition 
there is sin, human sin, our sin. In Exodus 6, 6-8, the presupposition 
is bondage in Egypt. Our bondage is in sin. The redemption 
that is in view here is something, again, we ought to celebrate 
before God Most High. You know, when we consider this 
theological stuff that Paul sets forth before us, and we really 
ponder the implications of it, and we really suck the sweetness 
out of this gospel flower, I don't know how we contain ourselves. 
I don't know how we're not doing holy jigs. Now, I'm not suggesting 
you get up and do a holy jig right now, but brethren, we ought 
to be a thankful people. Do you ever notice that if you 
get a pebble in your shoe, let's say in your right shoe, you typically 
don't think about how good your left foot feels, do you? Maybe 
you do, because you're awesome. But if I get a pebble in my right 
shoe, all I'm thinking about is my right foot. I don't think, 
well, at least my left foot's good. At least it's healthy, 
happy, and wise. At least it's unmolested in its 
shoe. I think that's sort of how we 
are at times. We have so many blessings and 
so many good things and so many pebble-less shoes in our lives 
that when a pebble does get introduced into our shoe, it becomes all-consuming. It becomes mesmerizing. It becomes 
captivating and intoxicating. Brethren, never forget that we 
have an inheritance laid up for us in heaven. Never forget that 
we have been delivered from the power of darkness. We have been 
transferred into the kingdom of the Son of His love. And the 
way that the Father accomplished that, He was pleased to bruise 
His Son at Calvary. We have redemption. The means 
by which this comes in or through his blood. It's a textual variant 
there. It's in Ephesians 1.7. And what 
we have here is a reference to the blood atonement of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. And the particular status, look 
what it yields, the forgiveness of sins. Pardon my iniquity, 
for it is great. You've probably heard me say 
this before, but it bears saying again. Of all of the gospel blessings 
that you and I enjoy, isn't forgiveness a chart topper? Isn't it in the 
top one? We have been forgiven! The blood 
of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. God is holy, 
holy, holy. God is of too pure an eye to 
look upon any evil. We are nothing but evil. To do iniquity is like sport 
to a fool. We eat sin like it's our daily 
bread. The wicked plots evil on his 
bed. Everything about us is wretched. It is dark. It is unholy. It is ungodly. And yet, by the 
grace of God, when we believe the gospel, what happens? He cleanses us. He purges us. He blots out our transgressions. He removes our iniquities. And 
in the language of the prophet Micah, he casts them into the 
depths of the sea. This is what provokes Micah to 
ask the question, who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity? I think if we were to get Micah 
in a room and say, does it surprise you that God judges the wicked? Well, certainly not. Does it 
surprise you that God overthrew Pharaoh and his armies at the 
Exodus? Well, certainly not. Does it 
surprise you that the wages of sin is death? Well, certainly 
not. Well, what surprises you, Micah? 
What surprises Micah, and what ought to surprise us, is that 
God pardons iniquity. Justice, righteousness, equity 
demands the punishment of sin. This is why we ought to be very 
careful when we impugn God with not being fair. It has been in vogue, at least 
in some parts of the church, that it's okay to complain against 
God. He has caused some severe distress 
in your life or some providence. It's okay to get really upset 
and get really mad at Him. The humanists used to do this. 
They'd go into rooms and they'd take pillows and they'd punch 
the pillows. Christians co-opt the thought and say, well, you 
punch a pillow because God has inflicted this upon you. Brethren, 
be very, very, very, very resistant of such a thought. be very, very 
resistant against saying to God, well, that's not fair. Do you know what fair is? Fair 
is everlasting fire and punishment for every sin. Fair is God cutting 
off all the sons of Adam and casting them into the lake of 
fire. Fair is justice meted out. It's grace that taught our hearts 
to fear. It's grace that God has poured 
out upon us. It's grace that has called us 
to the Lord. It is grace that orchestrates 
this great redemptive act by or through the blood of the Lord 
Jesus. The forgiveness of sins, and 
as we eat this bread and drink this cup, These are all concepts, 
brothers and sisters, that I think, that I hope, are going through 
your minds. I hope it's not the case. Well, 
this is a religious rite, and we do this every month because 
that's what Christian churches do. Now, on one hand, that's 
a good thing. We are commanded by God, by the 
Lord Christ, to do this. But as we eat this bread and 
drink this cup, it's a time of remembrance. As Pastor Kim reminded 
us last month, who are we remembering? We are remembering Christ. We 
are remembering the fact that through His blood we have redemption. 
That through His blood we have the forgiveness of sins. That 
through His blood we have been delivered from our bondage or 
from the power of darkness. That through His blood we have 
an inheritance with the saints and the light. These are all 
reasons why we ought to praise, why we ought to worship, why 
we ought to be a thankful people. As I said, prayer gives way to 
theology. Grammatically, these verses are 
still connected to Paul's prayer. But there is a transition here 
from three of God's redemptive acts to the celebration of Christ's 
person and work. It's like, for Paul, when he 
says Christ, he can't stop. Let me tell you about Christ. 
Let me tell you about Jesus. Look at the progression. He has 
delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into 
the kingdom of the Son of His love. The Son of His love! This 
is Paul's cue. In whom? That Son of love, or 
the Son of His love. We have redemption through His 
blood, the forgiveness of sins. Now Paul, in verses 15 to 20, 
keeps on amplifying who the Son of His love is. Christ created 
this world. Christ upholds this world. Christ redeems His elect out 
of the world. This is what I call spiritual 
CPR. You all know what CPR is, cardiopulmonary 
resuscitation. That is good to remember if you're 
ever out and about and somebody keels over. Use CPR. But you know what's good to keep 
in your mind is a Christological CPR. He made this world and everything 
in it. By Him, all things consist. Verse 
17. And by Him, we have redemption. 
Creation, providence, and redemption. The great Christological works 
upon which these blessings come to the people of God, wherein 
we have an inheritance, wherein we have deliverance, wherein 
we will ultimately enter in to be with God the Father, God the 
Son, God the Holy Spirit. I just want to focus two thoughts 
and then we close. Notice in verse 19, and for these 
two thoughts I'm going to lean on two men. For it pleased the 
Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell. Interpreters or 
commentators are divided on what does Paul mean here. Does this 
mean all the fullness of the deity dwells in Jesus? Well, 
Paul says that in Colossians 2.9. It is a reality. All the 
fullness of deity dwells in Christ bodily. Christ is God. Christ is God. That is a reality 
that the Bible everywhere presents to us. But most likely verse 
19 is not about the fullness of deity dwelling in Christ. 
I believe that Edy is on the right track when he says, all 
fullness of grace or saving blessings dwells in Christ. Whatever is 
needed to save a fallen world and restore harmony to the universe 
is treasured up in him, is in him. That's the point in verse 
19, for it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness 
should dwell. We need an inheritance, the fullness 
is in Christ. We need a deliverance, the fullness 
is in Christ. We needed a rescue from bondage, 
the fullness is in Christ. We needed the forgiveness of 
sins, the fullness is in Christ. And then notice, secondly, by 
way of a concluding thought, verse 20. which by the way does 
not teach universalism. And by him to reconcile all things 
to himself by him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, 
having made peace through the blood of his cross. The idea being that it's a fallen 
world, it is by the grace of God, a redeemed world. Not every 
man without exception, but every man without distinction from 
every tribe, tongue, people and nation. Always try and get this 
quote in because I think it's so beautiful. Consider verses 
15 to 20. Again, this is the foundation 
for the blessings that we have received for which we give thanks 
to the Father. Because he's qualified us to 
share or participate in this inheritance and because he's 
delivered us from darkness. And verse 20 comes on the heels 
of Paul having said that Christ created and that Christ is sovereign 
in providence. In him, all things consist. That's an amazing statement. Gordon Clark says, now when we 
pause to consider, this is staggering. The preceding verses have described 
Christ in transcendent terms. He was the creator in whom all 
the fullness dwells, the heir of the universe for whom it was 
created. Now when the creator of heaven 
and earth, the creator himself, voluntarily suffered on the cross 
for our sins, we can only stand in awe and worship. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for these blessings detailed by the Apostle in this 
section of Scripture. Grant us grace to be a thankful 
people. Certainly, God, as we thank you, 
we are not congratulating ourselves. We are not putting forth our 
own good works. We are acknowledging the work 
of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Help us to be those 
who take these things to heart. Help us to be those who are marked 
by this identifying characteristic of a worthy walk before our God. 
And as Paul has fleshed these things out for us, certainly 
we have so much to be thankful for. Thank you that we have redemption 
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, Thank you that you have 
taken those sins and cast them into the depths of the sea. And 
we do say with the prophet, who is a God like you, pardoning 
our iniquity? We thank you for your graciousness 
and for your mercy. And our desire is that other 
sinners would hear of the Lord Jesus Christ, that others would 
believe the gospel. that they would turn from their 
sins, that they would know the joy of being found in Him, not 
having their own righteousness, which is from the law, but having 
that righteousness, which is through faith in Jesus Christ. 
We praise you, God, in Jesus' name. Amen.