Does Colossians 1:13 say we are delivered from the power of darkness now or in the future?
Colossians 1:13 states God the Father 'hath delivered us from the power of darkness,' using past tense. The context emphasizes this deliverance is not something we work toward or hope for, but something believers have right now. It is a present possession, not a future hope.
Les teaches from Colossians 1:12-13 that Paul is praying for the Colossian believers and says the Father 'hath delivered us from the power of darkness' and 'hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son.' Les emphasizes that this is past tense for the believer, not something we are working toward or hoping for, but something we have right now. He compares it to Israel at the Red Sea, who could do nothing until the power of God delivered them, and says we too recognize our hopelessness and are saved by that same power.
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
More Questions
Is our deliverance from the power of darkness already finished or still future?
Our deliverance from the power of darkness is already done, because the Bible says God 'hath' delivered us; it is a finished transaction.
What does it mean that God has translated us from darkness into the kingdom of his dear Son?
God has translated us out of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son, and that kingdom is something we have right now rather than only a future hope.
Has God already translated believers into the kingdom of His dear Son, or is that still future?
Believers have already been translated out of darkness into the kingdom of God's dear Son, and that is something they possess right now, not merely a future hope.
Are believers today already delivered from darkness and placed into God's kingdom?
God the Father has delivered believers from the power of darkness and translated them into the kingdom of His dear Son, and because these verbs are past tense, this is already accomplished for believers today.