He Redeemed Us

 

“In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7) 

Redemption is a word that we don’t often use in English, so it may not be clear to us exactly what Paul is saying. But to Paul’s original audience, the word redemption would have given them a vivid understanding of what Christ had done. The word redemption describes the act of purchasing from bondage or imprisonment by paying a price. In the first century, slavery was commonplace in this part of the world. People could be born into slavery, they could become slaves after being defeated in battle, or they could sell themselves into slavery in order to satisfy a debt. Regardless of how they became slaves, the effect was that they became the property of the one who owned them. So, a slave could be traded or sold the same as property would be. But a slave could be set free if someone paid the “redemption price” required by their owner. Once that price was paid the one who had paid it could set the slave free.

And the Apostle Paul is saying ‘Christians, you who trust in Jesus for your salvation, you need to understand this: that God has bought you with a price. He is the one who has bought you out of slavery, out of the bondage, of sin. He is the one who has brought you into a marvelous freedom. He has brought you out of darkness and into His marvelous light. He is the one who has paid the price.’ And what is the price? Not with silver or gold, but with the precious blood of His own Son: “In Him we have redemption….”

Our redemption is spoken of as an event that has already taken place: “In Him we have redemption.” It is not that we hope to have redemption: we have it. In Colossians 1:13-14, Paul writes, “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins”.

God has done the work of rescuing us, transferring us into the kingdom of the Beloved in whom redemption and forgiveness is given. It is the Beloved in whom we have redemption. “Through His blood” we have deliverance. It is in the beloved Son of God, the Father’s only begotten is the One by whom He has paid the price, and He is the price that the Father has paid in order to redeem you out of iniquity, out of slavery, out of the bondage of sin, and bring you into the fullness of freedom from sin and guilt, from its condemnation, from its penalty, and one day, from its power. It is the cost to the Father of the Son which has given you your freedom.

God’s gift is out of all proportion, and He is drawing attention to us here the costliness of this gift. For us to be redeemed, for us to enjoy communion with God, for us to enjoy everlasting life, to “dwell in the house of the Lord forever” — the only way that this could be; is through the shedding of the blood of God’s own beloved Son.

The shedding of blood is a figure speech for death, which is the penalty and the price of sin. Christ's death by the shedding of His blood was the substitute for our death. That which we deserved and could not save ourselves from, the beloved Savior, though He did not deserve it, took upon Himself. He made payment for what otherwise would have condemned us to death and hell. Our freedom cause Jesus His blood. Don’t you ever go to Him thinking, ‘Well, will the Lord give me what I need?’ He’s given you, His Son! The cost of your redemption was His Son, and everything else, all of it rolled up together doesn’t equal the value of His Son. And He’s given that for you.

The Bible tells us that each of us has incurred a tremendous debt because of our sins. It is a debt that we cannot pay off. The Bible also teaches that we are in slavery to our sinful natures. In the book of Romans, Paul tells us that our slavery to sin is so severe that no one will choose to follow God, because our natural instincts are to go our own way. In many ways, it is like being in prison—we are condemned with no hope of parole unless someone else intervenes on our behalf.

Romans 6, Paul explains that the wages of sin is death. The reason for this is that sin is a capital offense. We think of sin as being no big deal, but it is a rebellious act against God. As people under a death sentence, we can only be set free if the blood of an innocent person is spilled. That is exactly what happened at the cross. Jesus has not only paid the debt that we owe, but he has set us free from the prison of sin. As a result, we are free to respond to God’s call to follow Him.

We sometimes miss the point of the cross. Sometimes we think that Jesus was crucified to demonstrate God’s love for us. We sometimes think that the spread arms of Jesus on the cross were to demonstrate that He loved us “this much.” The cross should indeed remind us of God’s love, but that was not its primary purpose. The primary purpose of the cross was for Jesus to spill his blood as payment to redeem us from sin. For us to be redeemed and set free, justice had to be served, and payment had to be made. It is only because of the blood of Jesus Christ that we can have redemption. But because of the blood of Christ, we are free! And so, we praise God for our redemption.

May God bless you and keep you, and may these words help you renew your spirit.

Pastor Dimas