First we need to know the will of God, the mystery of God, which is Christ Himself. Then we need to walk according to what we know, to walk under the control of the revelation that we have seen. To do this, we must be strengthened so that we will obtain the power and have the might. After these three experiences—knowing, walking, and being strengthened—we should add a fourth—giving thanks to the Father (v. 12a). We should sing hymns, offer praise, and give thanks to the Father for qualifying us for a share of the portion of the saints. These are the four steps of our experience—to know, to walk, to be strengthened, and to thank. I believe that this is what the apostle Paul meant when he prayed for the saints. He prayed that the saints would be filled with the knowledge of God’s eternal plan, that is, that they would have the revelation of the mystery of God, which is Christ Himself, so that they would walk according to this revelation by being strengthened. Those who are brought into this experience will thank God for His mercy and grace that qualified them for a share of the portion of the saints, which is the all-inclusive Christ.
We also must realize that all these four steps are “in the light” (v. 12b). Light is a sphere, a realm. There is a realm and sphere of light and a realm and sphere of darkness. These two realms are two kingdoms—a kingdom of darkness and a kingdom of light. Consider all the people of the world today. They are walking in a sphere and a realm that is actually the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of Satan. Those who know God’s plan, who walk according to that plan, and who are strengthened with the power of Christ to share the portion of the saints, however, are walking in another realm. What realm is this? This is the realm of light, which is the kingdom of light, the kingdom of God.
The more we have the revelation of God’s plan and the more we experience Christ, the more we will feel that we are in the light. Our whole daily life and walk will be in the light. This realm of light is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. As you have more revelation of the mystery of God and have more experience of Christ in a practical way, your daily life and your whole being will be brought into a realm of light. This will cause you to be controlled and directed by the divine light.
What does it mean to be controlled, directed, and ruled by light? Let us consider the opposite of this. Suppose we were in a room where there was absolute darkness. The result would be total confusion. When the sun is shining and the lights in the room are turned on, however, we are all kept in a state of order. The light keeps us in order, and thus, the light controls, directs, and rules us. We eat in the light, speak in the light, and listen to messages in the light. This is what it means to have a share of the allotted portion of the saints in the light. In the light means under the control, direction, and rule of light.
What then is the light that controls us? The answer is in John 1:4. This verse says, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.” When we experience Christ as our life, that very life at that very moment becomes our light. In John 8:12 the Lord Jesus said, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall by no means walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” This is true in our experience. The more we experience Christ, the more we have light, because light is nothing other than the life of Christ that we experience.
Immediately after Colossians 1:12 says that we are in the light, verse 13 tells us that we have been delivered out of the authority of darkness. The authority of darkness is the realm of darkness, the kingdom of darkness. This verse also tells us that we have been transferred into the kingdom of the Son of His love. We have been translated, transferred, from one realm into another.
Colossians 1:12 speaks of light; Colossians 1:13 speaks of love: “the kingdom of the Son of His love.” What is love? You may say that God is love. This is correct (1 John 4:8, 16). Love is God’s essence, element, and substance. The Scriptures also reveal that God is light (1:5). The two, love and light, are a pair. Love and light are also related to life, for God is life (cf. John 14:6). What then is the relationship between love, light, and life, and what is the difference between these three? Love is the substance, essence, and element of life; life is the energy and strength of love; and light is the shining forth of love. Love, life, and light are triune.
This matches our experience. The more we realize Christ as life, the more we are in the light and the more we have love. We are simply filled with love, and we love everyone and everything. As a result, people see that we are people who are full of love and full of light. When the life within us is lived out of us, it is lived out of us as love, and when this life is lived out of us as love, it shines. This shining is light.
Colossians 1:13 tells us that we have been transferred into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. God has delivered us from darkness and translated us into the kingdom of love. The kingdom of the Son of God’s love means that God’s kingdom is the kingdom of love. When we live in the light, we are in the kingdom of love. There is no hatred in light and no hatred in the life of Christ. There is also no jealousy or envy in the light or with the life of Christ. In the light and with the life of Christ, there is only love. How can we be humble? Only when we are filled with love. How can we endure? Only when we are filled with love. First Corinthians 13 reveals that love suffers long, love endures, and love is humble. We can express all the good things mentioned in this chapter because we are filled with love and are living in the kingdom of love. This kingdom of love is also the kingdom of light and of life. The kingdom of Christ is the kingdom of love, light, and life. God has delivered us from the kingdom of darkness, which is full of hatred, envy, jealousy, and pride. We have been delivered out of this kingdom and translated, transferred, into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love. This kingdom is full of humility, long-suffering, endurance, sympathy, and compassion.
This kingdom is called “the kingdom of the Son of His love.” What does the expression the Son of His love mean? It means that Christ as the Son of God is the embodiment and expression of God’s love. The word Son also conveys the thought of life. Thus, Christ is the embodiment, the expression, and the life of the love of God. In this kingdom of love, light, and life, Christ is the love, Christ is the light, and Christ is the life. Christ is also the kingdom—the sphere and realm. Christ is our love, our light, our life, and our kingdom. The kingdom of Christ is nothing other than Christ Himself as the love, light, and life.
Since Christ Himself is this kingdom, He is the sphere and realm in which we walk. Colossians 2:6 says, “As therefore you have received the Christ, Jesus the Lord, walk in Him.” We have received Christ as our life, but we must realize that this life, Christ Himself, is a sphere, a kingdom, for us to walk in. We must “walk in Him.”
Suppose a friend of yours, whether a believer or an unbeliever, came to you and told you that we must live our lives endeavoring to do many good things. Would you listen to him? If not, what would you say to him? If I were in this situation, I would say to my friend, “Friend, I am now in the kingdom of Christ. I only understand and take care of things related to the kingdom of Christ. I am not in the kingdom of goodness, and I am not in the kingdom of good works. I simply do not understand good things. Trying to do good is a foreign concept to me.” The affairs of China are foreign to a person living in America. With regard to the affairs of China an American might say, “I am an American. I do not understand the things of China. Regardless of whether they are good or bad, they are not my business because I am living in the kingdom of America.” In the same way, everything related to good and evil are foreign to a man who is living in the kingdom of Christ. Good and evil do not belong to the kingdom of Christ. They belong to another kingdom—the kingdom of the knowledge of good and evil. Since we are living in the kingdom of the tree of life, which is Christ Himself (cf. John 15:1; 14:6), we do not understand the things that are outside of this domain. We are citizens of the kingdom of Christ, so we do not understand good or bad; we know only one thing—Christ as our life. Christ is our life, our love, our light, and our kingdom. Thus, we must walk in Him.
As we walk in Christ as our love, light, and life, we will be under the rule of these very items. As elements of the kingdom of Christ, love, light, and life are ruling elements. Communist nations are ruled by communism. Thus, they are nations of communism. We, however, are ruled by love, light and life. Thus, our kingdom is a kingdom of love, light and life.
In the book of Colossians, Christ is our portion, our life, our love, our light, and our kingdom. Christ is everything to us. This is God’s eternal plan—that we would experience Christ, who is the mystery of God, as our life and everything that we would be brought under the rule of the divine love and light to live in the kingdom of God, which is Christ Himself.