Colossians 1:12-13

God qualifies the believer by His grace. He makes us heirs of an inheritance (cf. 1 Peter 1:4). [Note: See John A. Witmer, "The Man with Two Countries," Bibliotheca Sacra 113:532 (October-December 1976):338-49.] The qualification to receive an inheritance took place at conversion, though actual possession of most of it is future. Second, He delivers us from Satan’s domain (Colossians 1:13 a). This, too, took place at conversion but will become more evident in the future. Third, He transferred us to Christ’s kingdom (Colossians 1:13 b). The verb translated "transferred" (metestesen) described the relocation of large groups of people such as captured armies or colonists from one country to another. [Note: Johnson, 472:344.] This kingdom is probably a reference to Christ’s domain as opposed to Satan’s domain of darkness. [Note: See Robert L. Saucy, The Case for Progressive Dispensationalism, pp. 107-10; idem, "The Presence of the Kingdom and the Life of the Church," Bibliotheca Sacra 145:577 (January-March 1988):42-43; and Charles A. Bigg, The Messiah of the Apostles, pp. 211-12.]

The apostle probably used these figures because the false teachers in Colosse seem to have been promoting a form of Gnosticism that became very influential in the second century. Gnosticism made much of the light-darkness contrast in its philosophic system. "Darkness" is also a prominent figure in biblical symbolism where it represents ignorance, falsehood, and sin (cf. John 3:19; Romans 13:12; et al.). It is also common in the Qumran material (1QS 1:9; 2:5; 2:16; 11:7-8; 1QM 1:1; 1:5; 1:11; 4:2; 13:2; 1QH 11:11-12).