You've Been Qualified

Growing up in church, I was always amazed by the different stories in the Bible. I always loved hearing about Abraham offering Isaac, Moses and the burning bush, Daniel in the lions’ den, and Samson with his extraordinary strength. As much as I loved these stories, it was not until I grew older that I began to understand that these stories were more than isolated events. They are connected to one another and form part of the whole of divine revelation.

As we have been studying Colossians, I have been reminded again of the unity of Scripture. It has been interesting to note how much overlap has occurred between the Salvation Belongs to the Lord Grow Class (a class that explores how God saves sinners) and the introduction to Paul’s letter to the Colossians.

For the purposes of this blog, two points of comparison are worth noting. First, in verses 3 and 4, Paul thanks God for the faith of the believers at Colossae. This seems strange, or is it? Why would Paul thank God for someone's faith? It's because In Paul’s theology, faith is actually a gift from God (Ephesians 2:8–9 and Philippians 1:29). It is not a work, but instead an instrument through which believers receive the benefits of Christ. This is why Paul consistently gives thanks to God when he sees genuine faith in the lives of His people.

The second point of comparison came in this week’s sermon. In verse 12, Paul gives thanks to the Father who qualifies us. In the sermon, we focused more on what we were qualified for (the inheritance). However, this idea of "qualifying" has stayed with me since Sunday, and I would like to spend some time thinking through it in this blog.

1. The Word

The first thing to consider is the word Paul uses, translated into English as “qualified.” The Greek verb means to make sufficient, to make competent, or to give the required standing. When Paul tells the Colossian Christians that God has qualified them, he does not mean God improved them enough to make them acceptable for heaven. Instead, he is saying God granted them a status that they once did not possess. God Himself is the One who grants this status. The point is this, our works in no way contribute to our qualification for heaven. Only the grace of God can do this.

2. The Context

If we look closely at the context of verses 13 and 14, Paul reminds the Colossians that before Christ they were entirely disqualified. They were in the domain of darkness, under bondage, in need of redemption, guilty, and in need of forgiveness. Pastor Mike stressed this Sunday by referring to Ephesians 2:1-3 which emphasizes the same thing. The point Paul is making in both passages is that we are unable and unworthy to qualify ourselves.

On our own, we cannot inherit anything from God. Yet in Christ we have redemption and the forgiveness of sins. On the basis of our union with Christ, notice what the Father does – He himself qualifies us (v.12), He delivers and transfers us (v. 13), and He redeems and forgives us (v. 14). Our qualification belongs entirely to the category of God's sovereign grace and our union with Christ is the cause of such blessings.

3. The Means and the End

When Paul speaks of being qualified, he is thinking of two things. First, he is thinking of the forgiveness of sins and the righteousness that is credited to us on account of Christ's obedience. Second, he is thinking of being brought into the family of God. Put simply, our qualification in this passage speaks of our justification and our adoption, two of the foundational benefits of union with Christ.

Justification

Through faith, God counts us righteous. He credits us with the perfect righteousness of Christ and forgives our sins. Justification is courtroom language. It speaks of God declaring us "not guilty" and freeing us from the penalty of our sin.

Adoption

Yet salvation is not only about being freed from guilt. God also grants us a new status. We are transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son. As His children, He gives us an inheritance. That inheritance is Christ Himself and every spiritual blessing found in Him. These acts are once-for-all. They are irreversible and complete. We are not being qualified. We have been qualified.

This means we meet God's requirements for entrance into His kingdom, not because we earned it, but because God Himself provided everything we lacked. We have a right to this inheritance because the righteousness of Christ has been given to us. God has already provided everything necessary for us to belong to His holy people forever. Our works never earn more grace or increase God's favor toward us. Instead, they flow out of the mercy He has already given. Because of this, we may rest assured in our salvation. Justification and adoption cannot be undone.

In the end, being qualified means God has already done everything necessary to bring us safely home. Our hope rests not in our performance, but in the finished work and perfect righteousness of Christ.