The Power of Darkness

It's that time of year, I was at work at 4:15 and as I looked out the window it was dark.  Not twilight but dark. As I head home after 5:00 I feel like I have worked overtime since I stayed over an hour after dark. Living in Maine at the eastern end of the eastern time zone the day ends early.  I am not a big fan of the darkness at the end of the day.  The days will only get shorter until we get to December 21st and then it shifts the other way.  Don't get me wrong I love Maine.  I like the seasons pretty much the same.  If pressed I would have to pick fall as my favorite season.  I just fall lasted just a little longer and the days were a little longer.

There are many aspects to this idea of darkness.  We can be locked up as prisoners in a cell away from the light of day.  We can be in darkness in living in a society where truth is suppressed and their isn't a freedom of thought and speech.  We can be in darkness when our freedoms are restricted.  We can also be living in the darkness of a broken relationship to God our creator.

What is this power of darkness?  It is brought about by the lies of Satan.  Satan has deceived us in to believing that God doesn't care, isn't good, is not all powerfull, has our same bad characteristics, is whatever we define him to be in our religions or doesn't exist at all.

So when Paul is writing to the Colossians and we come upon the passage we started to look at last time.  He wants to remind the Colossians that through thier faith in Christ they were delivered from this power of darkness.  From the fear and uncertainty of living a life apart for the grace of God.

THE LIE HAS BEEN DISPELLED!!

Col 1:13 He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 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. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 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.

Through Christ we are forgiven of our sins (our rebellion against God).  We are redeemed.  We are more than redeemed we have been conveyed into the kingdom.  We are the recipients of His love.

How can Christ do this?  Who is Christ that He is able to deliver us from the Power of Darkness?  This is the point Paul goes on to make.  Christ is:

• Image of the invisible God 
• Existed before anything was created
• Actually the author of all creation
• Head of the church
• The firstborn of the dead (the first to be resurrected)

In other words there is nothing higher or more important that Christ. In actuality He is God.

We no longer need to walk in the power of darkness.  We do not need to live a lie.  We do not have to live in fear.   This is what Paul wants to assure the Colossians.  That is his prayer for them.

This is my prayer for you.  That you might be delivered from the power of darkness as you search for the savior.