The Good Word Spoken In and Through Jesus
Sunday’s Verse:
From Colossians 1:13-14 ESV
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Saint Paul knows this better than most of us. He doesn’t want you to think that the Christian life begins with our climb out of darkness, into the light, and toward God. It didn’t start this way for him. The Christian life began for Paul when God rescued him. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Do you hear what Saint Paul is saying in these words? They are simple. God rescues us from our misery and transfers us to a new kingdom. Paul does not say that God is working to rescue us, or that God desires to rescue us. He says God has rescued us. We were not marching toward the light. We could not free ourselves from our dark and hopeless place. The Father did not wait for us to get ourselves out. He reached into that darkness and pulled us out.
Paul is clear that this transfer is not just symbolic. It is real and grounded in the work of Jesus Christ. In Christ we have redemption. In Christ, we have the forgiveness of sins. We do not have some future or potential salvation in Christ. We have a finished gift. His cross was the payment. His blood was the price. His resurrection is the guarantee that the debt has been paid and that we are forever free.
The Gospel is central to Lutherans. God acts first. God rescues. God forgives. The Christian does not earn God’s forgiveness or twist God’s arm with effort or emotion. Faith rests on what Christ has already done. Our relationship with God is grounded in Christ alone, not in our performance.
In church today, you will hear these words spoken in worship. Take them to heart. Let them steady you. You have been brought out of darkness. You belong to Christ. You are forgiven. Whatever your week held. Whatever your conscience accuses. The Father has already spoken a greater word in and through His Son.
Prayers
A Prayer for Today:
Father, thank You for delivering us in and through Your Son. Strengthen our faith in His finished work. Keep us in His kingdom, and let His forgiveness shape our lives. Amen.
Apostles’ Creed:
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer:
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Luther’s Morning Prayer:
I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your hands, I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.
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