Thrust Statement: Jesus sets us free through His blood.

Scripture Reading: Ephesians 1:7-8

Redemption in Christ (1:7)

            As Paul reflects upon adoption and predestination, he bursts forth with excitement of the consequences of these two spiritual blessings. Immediately he launches into implications of the spiritual blessings in Christ—“redemption.”  Listen to Paul as he seeks to capture the essence of redemption: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace ^8 that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding” (1:7-8). The word redemption (ajjpoluvtrwsi" apolutrwsis) carries within its meaning the idea of deliverance by payment of a price. In Christ, one is liberated from the guilt of sin and from the condemnation of the Law. This release allows one to enter into a life of liberty (Romans 6:4). It is “in Him” that God makes redemption possible. In redemption one is set free from fault.  Again, Paul reminds the Ephesians that redemption is “through his blood.” When one thinks about “His blood,” one is immediately reminded of His death upon the cross. Christ’s blood reflects the sacrificial system of the Old Covenant. The definite article (thVn thn) before the word redemption signifies that this redemption in Christ is the one and only way of salvation. Jesus has rescued humanity from the just judgment of God.

 Ransom Paid by Christ

Jesus accomplished this deliverance through the payment of His own blood when He died upon Calvary. The word redemption (apolutrwsis) originally denoted the buying back of a slave or captive, thus making him or her free by payment of a ransom (lutrovw lutrow, “redeem by paying a ransom, set free, rescue”). The word ransom occurred in reference to freed prisoners of war or released slaves.  Sin had kept humanity in bondage and under God’s wrath. Sin had formerly kept humanity captive, but Jesus through His death brought redemption for all who respond to God through Himself.

Jesus, in His remarks to the twelve about the greatest in the kingdom of God, spoke of His life as a ransom: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom (lavtron lutron) for many” (Matthew 20:28). Redemption is through His blood. Redemption, forgiveness, and adoption go together. Yes, He paid for our redemption through His sacrifice upon the Tree. The words of Peter should echo within everyone’s heart as he or she reflects upon the power of the blood of Christ:

For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, ^19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect (1 Peter 1:18-19).

The blood of Christ is more valuable than silver or gold.  Forgiveness of sins depends on the blood of Christ. The author of Hebrews writes: “The law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22).

Richness of God’s Grace

Forgiveness and redemption result from God’s grace: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace” (1:7). As one contemplates God’s grace, one is mindful that grace refers to God’s uncaused and unmerited and unconditional love in reaching out to sinful humanity. God showed kindness to children of wrath; that is to say, God showed His compassion to us who were dead in transgressions and sin (2:1). As pointed out above, one should praise God for His “glorious grace”—“to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (1:6).

  Following Paul’s reflections upon what God accomplished in and through Jesus, he states emphatically that one is saved by grace, not works (2:8). Once more, one recalls the words of Paul in 1:7 in which he exclaims: “in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” This verse speaks of the wealth of God’s grace; that is to say, God’s grace is abundant and plentiful. This grace is so rich and overflowing that it sets men and women free from God’s wrath (Romans 5), from the dominion of sin (Romans 6), from the curse of the Law (Romans 7), and from condemnation (Romans 7).

God’s Wisdom and Understanding (1:8)

            Paul, as he thinks about God’s grace, cries out: “He lavished on us with all wisdom (sofiva sofia, “intelligence, skill”) and understanding (frovnhsi" fronhsis, “thought, way of thinking, frame of mind, intention, judgment”)” (Ephesians 1:8). What did God lavish upon us? He lavished upon us His righteousness, His holiness, and His redemption found in Christ (see 1 Corinthian 1:30). God’s wisdom of justification is found in His means of justifying the corrupt human race. One stands in amazement, as he or she mulls over the means of justification—justification by faith in His Son, not works. Paul never tires of writing about the means of justification. Pay attention, once more, to the words of Paul to the Romans: “Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all” (Romans 4:16).

For Paul, this means of justification is not the wisdom of the world, but rather the wisdom of God. Paul speaks of Jesus’ crucifixion as God’s wisdom. Paul explains God’s wisdom this way:

When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).

Paul prefaces these remarks with this explanation about God’s wisdom: He cuts away all underbrush, as it were, in going right to the heart of the matter of justification on God’s part. Take note of the words of Paul as he makes clear this concept to the Corinthians:

It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom (sofiva sofia) from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

Jesus Christ has “become for us wisdom from God.” In other words, God makes Jesus our righteousness, our holiness, and our redemption. This is the reason that no one can boast about his or her salvation, except in the Lord. Listen once more to Paul as he unrolls the richness of God’s grace in the scheme of redemption—the wisdom of God:

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not⁹ by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰ For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:1-10).

How does God make us alive? Paul writes, “made us alive with Christ.” How does God save us? Again, Paul jots down words that pierce the soul with excitement: “by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works.”  In 2:1-10, Paul unfolds God’s wisdom of salvation for a sinful people. Not only did Paul address this subject of God’s wisdom in Ephesians and Corinthians, but he also explains in greater detail this wisdom from God to the Romans:

But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. ²² This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³ for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵ God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- ²⁶ he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. ²⁷ Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith. ²⁸ For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. ²⁹ Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too (Romans 3:21-29).

How could God be just and, at the same time, justify sinful beings? Since God is just, He must punish sin. On the other hand, God is full of grace. God’s answer concerning justice and punishment is Jesus. In God’s wisdom, He presented Jesus “as a sacrifice of atonement.” If one has faith in the blood of Jesus, God justifies that person because Jesus paid the penalty. Justification is through faith, not works. God presented Jesus as a sacrifice in order to demonstrate His justice. To state this wonderful truth in a nutshell, Jesus is God’s wisdom of redemption—“He did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

God’s wisdom is found in that He makes Christ our righteousness, which refers to the doctrine of justification by faith in Him. Paul’s Epistles are peppered with justification by faith in the atonement of Christ upon Calvary through His death. Take note, once more, of the words found in Galatians 2:21: “I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Not only is Jesus our “wisdom,” but He is also our “sanctification.” As long as we remain “in Christ,” He is our holiness and perfection. Paul does not stop with the words wisdom and sanctification, but he also employs the word redemption, which refers to our deliverance.

In the Roman letter (3:21-29), Paul goes to the kernel of God’s wisdom—redemption through Jesus Christ. As stated above, in order for God to maintain His justice and, at the same time, justify a sinful civilization, God had to devise a way to bring about this task of justifying sinful souls. The miracle of this justification is available to those who have faith in His Son. God in His wisdom gave Jesus as atonement for the sins of humanity. When one gets the true picture of the merits of Christ, one will glorify God for this great revelation of God’s wisdom and power. For one to have eternal life, one’s life must be grounded “in Jesus”; otherwise one is “separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12).

Forgiveness In Him (1:7)

It is only “in Him” that God grants complete removal of sin—“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace” (1:7). There are other passages from the Older Testament that clarifies this notion of forgiveness. For example, David, as he puts pen to paper, captures this grace of God with clearness: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). Over again, Jeremiah, writing about the Messianic Age, declares: “No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, ‘declares the LORD.’ ‘For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more’” (Jeremiah 31:34).  Yet again, Micah, writing about 735 BC, declares: “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19). Also, John, in his first Epistle, writes: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).

CONCLUSION

This grace and this forgiveness elicit praise to God. The marvel of it all brings forth praise form the twenty-four elders in heaven: “And they sang a new song: ‘You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation’” (Revelation 5:9). How do you feel about praise for salvation? Do you stand in admiration of God’s way of justification? What is your reaction to God’s forgiveness through the Cross of Jesus? Do you spurn God’s love by your lifestyle? Do you seek to bring every area of your life into captivity to Christ?

What about your language? Are your words seasoned with grace (Ephesians 4:29)?  Are you kind and forgiving (4:32)? Can people see Christ in you (1 Timothy 4:11-12)? What does redemption mean to you? Do you praise God for salvation through election in Christ Jesus? Are you living a life of love (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)? If one stands in wonder of God’s wisdom, if one stands in amazement of God’s election, if one stands in amazement of God’s adoption, if one stands in astonishment of God’s redemption, and if one stands in awe of God’s forgiveness, then one seeks to incorporate into his or her life the admonition of Paul toward the end of the Ephesian Epistle (Ephesians 4:22—5:7). Keep your mind on the following instructions that gives evidence that you stand in admiration of God’s grace—the giving of His Son (John 3:16):

You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; ²³ to be made new in the attitude of your minds; ²⁴ and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. ²⁵ Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. ²⁶ "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, ²⁷ and do not give the devil a foothold. ²⁸ He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. ²⁹ Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. ³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. ³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:22-32).

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children ² and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ³ But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. ⁴ Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. ⁵ For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person-- such a man is an idolater-- has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. ⁶ Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient. ⁷ Therefore do not be partners with them (5:1-7).