Delivered and Conveyed

Introduction and Purpose: Colossians 1.1-18 (5)

Pray Psalm 91.1-3.
He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”
Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.

Sing Psalm 91.1-3.
Lauda Anima: Praise My Soul the King of Heaven
All who dwell within God’s shelter in His shadow will reside. 
He our Tow’r, our Fortress ever, in Him we our trust confide. 
From the trapper’s snares He saves us; safe from sickness we abide.

Read and meditate on Colossians 1.13, 14.

Preparation
1. From what have we been delivered?

2. To what have we been conveyed?

Meditation
These two verses offer a concise and thrilling summary of the power and effects of the Gospel. The Gospel is power, as Paul explained in Romans 1.16, the power of divine grace that operates for our salvation. But do we truly recognize just how great that power is, and how great are salvation’s effects?

First, the Gospel has power to deliver us. Think about what that means: A delivery is something moved from one place to another, one condition or situation to another, one owner to another. We were owned by the prince of darkness; our minds were shrouded with lies; we stumbled around trying to make sense out of our lives without any reliable light to guide us. Then the Gospel delivered us from that. Say hallelujah!

And there’s more: We were delivered from darkness and conveyed or even transferred into the Kingdom of the Son of God! Dorothy stepping out of that black-and-white cabin into the technicolor land of Oz has nothing on us! The Greek verb used here is μεθίστημι methistemi. It means “to cause a change of state, with emphasis upon the difference in the resulting state—to change to, to turn into, to cause to be different from, to transform” (Louw and Nida). Dorothy coming out of that cabin was still Dorothy, and she would ultimately return to her black-and-white home. But we have been conveyed, transferred, turned into, made new and different in a Kingdom ruled by the Son of God’s love! And we aren’t going back to the darkness ever again.

Because we are redeemed, forgiven, born again, adopted, and saved! Bask in it, friends, and rejoice!

Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162Reflecting on delivering and conveying made me think of moving. Kind of like Dorothy, but with a little less whirlwind and fewer munchkins. So, I looked up moving companies for names to use like Mayflower and Allied. But curiously, as it turns out, the number one best moving company these days is named Trinity! 

Indeed.

Imagine. We lived in darkness. And then God in His mercy through the work of His Son and the power of the Holy Spirit moved us out of that state. All the documents are taken care of by Him: the moving estimate, the bill of lading, the final payment. Redeemed by Him. No cost to us. Everything forgiven. Jesus paid it all.

Now we unpack and get settled into our new home. As God said to David, He says to us: “Moreover I will appoint a place for My people…and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people…and have caused you to rest from all your enemies. Also the LORD tells you that He will make you a house” (2 Samuel 7.10, 11).

As we get familiar with our new surroundings, we hear these words of encouragement from Peter: “Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet. 1.10, 11).

Safely delivered and conveyed.

Reflection
1. If we are delivered from the kingdom of darkness, should we continue living there? Explain.

2. Now that we are conveyed into the Kingdom of God’s Son, how should we live? What should we seek?

3. Dorothy longed to go back to her home. Our home lies ahead, beyond this life. She prepared to go home by clicking her heels together. How should we prepare for our home?

God rescued us from the power of darkness, and then He truly transferred us to the Kingdom of the Son Whom He Himself loves. The power of darkness is the power of Satan, whom we assuredly formerly served in habitual sins of ignorance and darkness, in idolatries, in contemptible gods, in impiety and in evil deeds—all in abominable shame and disgrace. The heavenly Father has liberated us from all this and set us free. Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575), Commentary on Colossians 1.12-14

Pray Psalm 91.4-16.
What safety and strength we know in the shelter of our Lord! Thank and praise Him for His grace. Call upon Him to keep and use you this day. Rejoice in His great salvation!

Sing Psalm 91.4-16
Lauda Anima: Praise My Soul the King of Heaven
He will shade us with His pinions, ’neath His wings we safety find 
from night’s terror, from day’s arrow, from the fears that stalk our mind. 
When destruction falls at noon time, safe in Him shall we abide. 

Thousands at our sides may falter—it will not to us come near! 
We instead shall see the end of all who at God’s mercy sneer. 
Evil shall no more befall us for we hold the LORD most dear. 

He shall give His angels charge to bear us up, lest we should fall; 
they will guard and carry all who on the Savior’s mercy call. 
Cobra, mighty lion, serpent: We shall tread upon them all! 

Save us, LORD! We love You only; set us up secure on high! 
You we know, on You we call in trouble: Hear us when we cry! 
Show us Your salvation, let long life forever satisfy!

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).

Men, check out the fall schedule of reading and study groups. Lots of opportunities here to grow and make some new friends. And look over the free books in our clearance sale at The Ailbe Bookstore. Order several copies and share them around.

Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast launches into readings from our book, The Disciplined Life.  Our Crosfigell teaching letter wraps up the current series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column continues our study of “Everyday Christianity”. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.

And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.

Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.