Colossians 1:13
“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”
King James Version (KJV)
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Read Full Chapter →God has rescued believers from the dominion of darkness and brought them into the kingdom of his beloved Son.
What Does Colossians 1:13 Mean?
Here Paul names the great transfer. Two realms stand opposed: the power of darkness, a tyranny that held people captive, and the kingdom of God's dear Son, into which the rescued are carried.
The verbs are decisive -- delivered and translated, that is, rescued and relocated. This is not a gradual self-improvement but a deliverance accomplished by God, like captives set free and led home. And the destination is personal: not merely a better place but the kingdom of the Son God loves. To belong to Christ is to have changed kingdoms entirely, to live now under a king who loves us rather than a darkness that enslaved us. Paul wants the Colossians to know their citizenship has already been settled. They are no longer where they once were, and the One who moved them will not let them go.