For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins (Col 1:13-14).

If you are “in Christ,” you belong to Christ, and are in his kingdom. There are two, and only two, different spiritual kingdoms: one is the kingdom ruled by Satan, and the other the kingdom ruled by Christ. The former is expressed, according to the above scripture, as “the dominion of darkness,” and the latter “the kingdom of the Son he loves.” Every human belongs to either of the two kingdoms. We, who are now in Christ and in his kingdom, used to belong to Satan in the past, and were in his kingdom with the rest of people in the world. But through “redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” which we came to have in Christ, God “brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.” It was through Christ that we were redeemed and were brought into his kingdom. And for this very purpose, Christ was sent to this world.

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (vv. 15-17).

Note the expressions, “by him,” “for him,” and “in him.” Christ already existed when nothing was created yet—even before Satan existed. All things in heaven and earth, spiritual and physical, were created by him, for him, and in him. Thus, everything initially belonged to him, and still does. It is important to know that the dominion of Satan happened to humanity against the will of God, and Christ came to this world to stop such a dominion and put everything under his feet. And we, who are in Christ, have been transferred to the kingdom of his own family.

Humans are all vessels. The nature of each vessel is determined by what is contained in it: if you are led by Satan, you are his slave and carry out his desire, but if you are led by the Spirit of God, you are his son, and do the will of your Father. The choice is yours, and whichever you choose, the one you accept and belong to determines your existence and nature. If you are in Christ, you are a new creation, the righteousness of God, and more than a conqueror.

God is love, and he loves. When he loves, he does so as he loves himself. That is why Jesus said, “love your neighbor as yourself.” Loving yourself means loving those who belong to you—your husband, wife, children, etc. It does not mean, of course, that you should hate, should not love, or do not need to love those who do not belong to you. God does love all people, but he loves those who belong to him with a special kind of love. Jesus prayed to the Father the night before he was crucified, saying:

I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word (John 17:6).

In Jesus’ mind, all disciples are his: they are given to him. He also said:

I pray for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours (v. 9).

Jesus did not pray for the world in the same way as he prayed for his disciples. Those who have been given to him are very special to him. That is who you are in Christ—God’s “treasured possession.”

Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation (Exod 19:5-6).