What happens to a sinner once their eyes are opened and they have turned from Satan to God? According to this verse, they receive forgiveness of sins and an “allotted portion” among the saints.

This is exactly what the aged apostle, according to the Lord’s commission to him above, said to the saints in Colossae many years later as he neared the end of his ministry. He told them they should be

…Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you for a share of the portion allotted to the saints in light; who delivered us from the authority of darkness and removed us into the kingdom of the Son of His Love—in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
— Colossians 1:12-14

Surely the apostle had been faithful to fulfill the charge the Lord had given him long before, to bring so many of His chosen ones out of darkness and Satan’s authority and into the “portion allotted” to them by God; may we all in our turn be so faithful to the Lord with what He has committed to us!

In both the Lord’s commission to Paul, and in his own word here, this receiving of the “allotted portion” is the end result of the gospel. And in both cases it is not speaking of the saints going to heaven when they die, but that they would be brought into the kingdom of the Son of God’s Love today, to live as citizens of God while here on the earth.

That is how and why the Lord sent Paul, and surely it is the same commitment He would give us if we would be His followers in our time. That is, we must serve Him in the power of the Spirit so that sinners would have their eyes opened and be transferred out of Satan’s kingdom; then they will be brought into the Lord’s kingdom in so many local churches to live under the authority of the heavenly king today, so He can return and finally bring an end to this present evil age.

Lord, make it so! Amen.

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—  1 April 2025 —