Paul’s Prayer for the Saints (2) - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2026

Giving thanks to the Father, who has made us fit for sharing the portion of the saints in light, who has delivered us from the authority of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love: in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Colossians 1:12-14 JND

Paul's Prayer for the Saints (2)
God the Father has given His own Son, the Son of His love—called the Son of the Father in 2 John 1:3—to bring "many sons" to glory (Heb. 2:10). This new relationship is summarized in seven points in Paul's prayer in Colossians 1:

1. As sons, we enjoy an intimate relationship with our God and Father. He is looking for a response from our hearts, lips, and lives, to the satisfaction of His own heart.

2. To make this possible, He has done wonderful things; He has made us suitable to Himself, so that He can share with us the blessings of His house and heart. This implies a transformation.

3. As His beloved sons, we have become heirs because of the death of His Son, and coheirs with Him, because He is risen.

4. To enable us to enjoy these things, God has delivered us from the power of darkness, and has set us free and in His light.

5. Furthermore, our God and Father has transferred us from the domain of darkness to the kingdom controlled by "the Son of His love"—an expression only found here.

6. The redemption He has accomplished implies a complete deliverance from adverse powers; it also implies that He has paid a ransom, a price we are not able to calculate or even estimate. We have this redemption in Him (v. 14): it is not something we may perhaps receive one day—no, we have it. And it is in Him, in relationship and fellowship with Him.

7. The forgiveness of sins is also in Him. Our sins showed that we had missed the mark. Christ, who never failed, took our place as the Substitute; our sins are gone and the debt canceled.

-- Alfred E. Bouter