Colossians 1:12 Commentary and Bible Study

In verses 12 to 14, Paul prays for four benefits of Calvary, four benefits of the shed blood of Christ; they end with these words, ‘redemption through his blood’. In a way, they are all one. The New Testament reveals to us various aspects of Christ’s work on Calvary. They are described in distinctive terms so that we can see just how much there is to redemption, how much needed to be done for us, how much was accomplished on Calvary.The first great benefit is that we are actually transformed on Calvary. Our complete transformation awaits our translation into heaven. It begins at conversion and is fully accomplished when we brought to glory, but the basis of it was achieved on Calvary’s cross. That person, the old person, was not remotely fit for glory or heaven – tainted, stained, polluted, our whole outlook, all our inclinations; we are coarse people and we needed to be transformed entirely. He has made us meet, given us a lot or portion ‘of the inheritance of the saints in light.’ In Romans 6.6, the apostle Paul utters those strange and profound words – ‘Knowing this, that our old man,’ the old person, ‘is crucified with him.’ Are you a believer? Have you trusted in Christ and repented of sin and yielded to him? Then your old person was actually crucified on Calvary. Yes, we think of our sin, our guilt being taken away, but the picture here is that the whole disposition – your stance, your behaviour, your inclinations, your views and opinions, your tendencies – the entire you which was unfit for God and for glory, were put on Christ on Calvary. It is as though you were superimposed somehow on Christ, and when he died he took you with him. You have been judged as though you were not saved, and you have come to your last day, to the Day of Judgement, the day when you must be set aside from God and glory forever and punished, and the judgement of God has come down upon you. You have in a mystical sense been transported to Calvary, and you were in Christ because he was your representative. Of course, when you are converted, this change is to a large extent effected in you. You are given a new nature and a new life, but you are not entirely transformed. Although the entire benefit has been purchased for you on Calvary’s cross, it does not all come with your conversion, otherwise Paul would not have to say to us, ‘Put off the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.’ The old nature is still there within you. It is diminished, it is eclipsed by the new nature, the new person you have become, but it still there within you, and it will be there until your dying day, clamouring for attention. Then finally we shall be released from it, and total effect of what Christ did on Calvary will be given to us. Thanksgiving is the expression of love to God. You cannot say, ‘I love Christ, I love God,’ without giving thanks. We thank God not only in public services and in private devotions, we have cause to thank him constantly through the day. It is the essential expression of love. Thanksgiving goes into detail, it does not just vaguely generalise, it specifies before God the things we are particularly grateful for and we give thanks for. It does us a lot of good. Much thanksgiving promotes humility in us. If I thank God for everything, I cannot take the credit for it myself, or imagine this is my accomplishment. We thank the whole Godhead, the Son and the Spirit also but here, giving thanks to the Father who has given his Son for us, and given us to the Son.