Download Ephesians 1:7 Praise of God the Son for

Ephesians 1:7
Praise of God the Son for Redemption
August 31, 2008
Introduction
We are still early in our journey down the road of discovering what God is telling us
in this letter to the Ephesian church. We’ve seen how God has blessed us with every
spiritual blessing in Christ, particularly the blessings of election and adoption. Now we
are going to move on to the actual redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We’ll carefully
comb through some details in verse 7 to understand the import of what Paul is teaching.
1. “In Him We Have Redemption”
In him means in Christ, the Beloved one. This does not say “by him” though that is
true. This says “in Him.” Remember our spiritual blessings come (v. 3) “in Christ” and
we were chosen “in Him” before the foundation of the world and we were made accepted
“in the Beloved.” “In Him” refers to a close spiritual relationship.
The present tense “we have” shows assurance of present possession, and an ongoing
state of redemption as opposed to simply a past act. Once redeemed, always redeemed.
Redemption means release (setting free) on the basis of an associated payment. Because the association with sin, the offended party is God, and thus the payment was made
to satisfy God. Redemption is a “big” word in Christianity, used almost synonymously
with the term “salvation” itself, or the term “atonement.” This one word opens our thinking to a whole range of ideas regarding salvation.
A. Problems created by sin
1. Guilt. Everyone is guilty as a sinner (Rom. 3:19), i.e. liable to punishment for
their sin. This is not a feeling. Whether you feel guilty or not, you are declared so by
God. Many people also have a guilty feeling about sin. If you want to know how to eliminate that, keep reading!
2. Wrath. Everyone is under God’s wrath as a sinner (John 3:36, Rom. 1:18). God’s
wrath is not an emotional outburst, but it is a settled disposition of hatred against sin and
those who promote it. Wrath is a judicial idea, as opposed to the emotional connotation
that arises in our minds when we think of it. In God, it is a disposition provoked by sin.
3. Enmity. Everyone is an enemy of God as a sinner (Rom. 5:10, Isa. 63:10). Enmity
has to do with the broken relation between God and man.
4. Bondage. Everyone is a slave of sin as a sinner (John 8:34, Rom. 6:17, 20). This
means that sin dominates the sinner, that sin is king and the believer is a servant.
B. Solutions provided by the atonement
For each of these problems, there is a corresponding Biblical teaching as to the solution of that problem. In salvation, the problems are removed! Consider the solutions:
1. Regarding guilt. Sacrificial expiation is the removal of guilt by a blood sacrifice.
The guilt of sin was borne by the Substitute (2 Cor. 5:21) and taken away by Him as well
(Heb. 9:26, 10:12) in a final and permanent manner. Expiation removes sin and guilt as a
basis for God’s judgment against the sinner. This is pictured in OT language in 1 Cor.
5:7, where “Christ our Passover is sacrificed.”
2. Regarding wrath. Propitiation means to appease or satisfy the wrath of God.
Wrath in God is removed by propitiation. Jesus Christ propitiated God regarding our sins
(1 John 2:2, 4:10) and that propitiation allows God to be just (fair to his holy standard) at
the same time that He is the justifier of believers (Rom. 3:25-26).
3. Regarding enmity. Both parties are in need of reconciliation, i.e. each is the enemy of the other and needs to be brought to peace. The atonement of Christ effects this
reconciliation in both directions—toward God in 2 Cor. 5:18-21 and also toward man in
Rom. 5:11 (cf. Rom. 5:1).
4. Regarding bondage. The idea of redemption is to pay the price of a slave to loose
him from his slavery. The Bible speaks of redemption or ransom in several places (Matt.
20:28, Eph. 1:7). We are not only loosed from the enslaving power of sin (Titus 2:14),
but also from the law (Gal. 4:5) and its curse (Gal. 3:13), and the guilt of sin (Col. 1:14).
2. “Through His Blood”
“Through His blood” refers to the means of redemption. That is, how did Christ
provide redemption? Through dying. That was the price paid for the redemption/ransom.
The language of “purchasing” is used regarding redemption in Acts 20:28.
When we come to this notion, we have to avoid some pitfalls and note carefully
what the Bible says to arrive at the right, Biblical understanding of “the blood.”
1) We do not believe in sacramental blood. That is, a drop of blood from Christ’s
body could not have saved you or anyone else from their sins (Luke 22:44,
John 19:34). The blood is human blood because of Christ’s full humanity.
There is no efficacy in the plasma and blood cells alone.
2) We do not believe there is a storehouse of Christ’s blood in heaven which, in
agreement with a sacramental view of the blood mentioned above, is sprinkled
on every person who gets saved (Heb. 12:24, 1 Peter 1:2). The sprinkling described in these passages is metaphorical, using OT language to refer to the application of the benefits of the blood of Christ (redemption) to an individual
(see 1 Cor. 10:16 for example of this participation in Christ). The only place
where Christ’s blood exists today is in his glorified human body, at least to the
extent that a glorified human body has blood in it (?).
3) We believe that the blood refers to the death of Christ, but that is not to say he
could have died in any way at all (being shot, stoned, strangled, beaten, shot
through with an arrow, etc.). The death was one which was done in a sacrificial
way, as in the OT, as a bloody sacrifice. The OT sacrificial system gives plenty
of witness to this point.
4) We believe that the shedding of blood was required (Heb. 9:22).
5) We believe that the blood of Christ was intimately connected with his life, in
fact, his perfect life (Lev. 17:11, 1 Peter 1:19).
6) Christ’s blood was what instituted the new covenant (Matt. 26:28), provided
for the satisfaction of God’s wrath and justification (Rom. 3:25, 5:9).
3. “The Forgiveness of Sins”
Forgiveness of sins refers to cancellation of guilt and punishment, and is a release or
pardon because sin’s punishment has been paid by Christ. See Col. 1:14 for a parallel.
This explains redemption, at least in one of its aspects. Salvation is such a rich reality
that it is hard to explain it in just one word or another. But forgiveness is included, coming immediately on the heels of release from bondage to sin. Really expiation and redemption are the causes worked by Christ, and forgiveness is the effect that benefits us.
Sins are usually conscious and willful acts of rebellion against God’s holiness.
Sometimes, however, we are unaware of our own sin (Ps. 19:12, 139:23-24)—and even
this dullness is a result of sin! As we have said, God hates sin. The kind of penalty that
had to be paid shows that God does not think sin is a little matter.
Application
We tend to treat sin like a little matter. Even “big sins” are, in our minds, can become insignificant or run of the mill. “Little sins” are no big deal. We even joke and
boast about them. Is this really how God would have us view sin?
To take this to the next level, because we treat sin this way, we do not understand
the magnitude of our problem with God. Culturally God is presented as one who blesses—“God bless the USA” or “God bless you”—but the reality is God has told us that we
are guilty, under his wrath, we are his enemies, and we are in bondage to sin. God does
not bless us in that state in any special way.
Because we do not understand the magnitude of our problem with God, this in turn
leads many of us to think up our own little ways to “be saved” whether it is keeping the
10 commandments or doing so-called good works or not even worrying about it.
But if we understood the problem, we would be more appreciative of the last
phrase—that all this happened in a manner consistent with God’s rich grace. God’s favor
has been lavished on each believer in redemption. I trust you don’t take it lightly. MAP