The US now has its new president. On January 20, 2017, the 45th president was sworn into office. And as the incoming and outgoing presidents finally parted ways, the media repeatedly used a common phrase: “transfer of power.”
The phrase “transfer of power” refers to the act of officially turning over authority to someone else. This is nothing new in human experience. At one level or another as we make choices in life, in a way, we transfer some power over us from one entity to another. For example, when we change jobs, we transfer power from our old boss to our new boss.
But there is one decision that is the most important that any person must make. It is a transfer of power that has eternal significance. The apostle Paul writes: God “delivered us from the power of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1.13–14 NET).
This transfer of power highlights an important truth about the salvation that the gospel of Christ offers. This salvation is not just a matter of escaping the consequences of my sins. There is more to my salvation than getting a free pass to heaven. It’s about a transfer of power from self and sin to Christ. This means that when I embrace the gospel, I officially turn over authority over my life to Christ alone. As a person “delivered from the power of darkness,” I now submit to the authority of the one who saved me. But I submit to Christ not because I am forced into subjection, but because I respond to his love. I choose to trust the “the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2.20 NET).
This is what happens when we transfer power to Christ. As recipients of God’s grace in Christ, “it trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age” (Titus 2.12 NET). Sin, which only destroys us, no longer has absolute control over our lives as we have turned over our allegiance to Christ. And we can rejoice in this transfer of power. “But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness” (Romans 6.17–18 NIV). Or as another version puts it: “But thank God you’ve started listening to a new master, one whose commands set you free to live openly in his freedom!” (Romans 6.17–18 The Message)
Do you need a transfer of power in your life? Don’t miss out on this one. Let Christ be the true authority over your life.
—Keith Y. Jainga