What do Redeemed, Forgiven, and Grace Mean for You?

In Him

we have redemption through His blood,

the forgiveness of our trespasses,

according to the riches of His grace

Those who receive Jesus Christ are adopted by God the Father into his family. We are now introduced to the work of the Eternal Son, Jesus Christ:

• Redemption (Ephesians 1:7)
• Wisdom to understand the mystery of God’s will (1:8-10), and
• God’s inheritance in his people (1:11).

We will deal with the first of these in this post.

Before we explore elements of our text, I encourage you to pause and re-read the context of Ephesians 1:3-14.

Redemption

We begin with:

we have redemption through His blood

Can you imagine what it is like to be a slave?

A slave is owned by someone who controls their life. In normal circumstances, the conditions are cruel, painful, and dehumanizing. Life is a living hell.

In contrast to the exploitation of slavery throughout the world, both ancient and modern, the biblical principles governing slavery (perhaps more accurately, servitude) assured a high level of humaneness. Despite this, it was still not the preferred life.

There is no hope for a better life—for freedom, unless …

Imagine the elation of a slave who cries out,

“I’ve been redeemed! I am freed from my slavery.”

In our context, slavery is a metaphor. We are enslaved by sin, including its control, guilt, and doom. Paul goes further when he writes (2:1):

You were dead in your trespasses and sins.

When Paul wrote, his audience understood that slavery resulted from being captured in war, entrapped by debt, or born to a slave. In any event, people were enslaved by circumstances and powers beyond their control.

As unlikely as it was, a slave could be released, delivered, or redeemed from slavery by payment of a ransom price. The substantial sum required for release was beyond the resources of a slave, so payment would have to be made by some benefactor.

In our case, Jesus Christ has paid the ransom price “through his blood”—language referring to the Lord’s violent death on the cross.

Jesus Christ freely gave everything to redeem us. Have you received His redemption?

Forgiveness

We next read:

the forgiveness of our trespasses,

Bible scholars refer to this statement as appositional to “redemption through his blood.” In other words, “the forgiveness of our trespasses” describes our redemption.

Harold Hoehner writes:

“the forgiveness of sins,” is appositional to redemption and further defines it. It is the immediate result of release from sin’s bondage by the payment of Christ’s sacrificial death.[1]

Two words demand our attention in this phrase: forgiveness and trespasses.

“Trespasses” (paraptōma) are not simply unconscious mistakes. Referring to Hoehner again, he writes that the distinction is much sharper in classical Greek literature. This word:

indicates a conscious and deliberate false step, or error before a holy and righteous God.[2]

These are our intentional actions against God.

“Forgiveness” is the other word we need to describe because it is often misunderstood and misused in modern settings—even Christian settings.

Like redemption, the Greek word for forgiveness (aphesis) means freeing and liberating. In this case, it means freeing from guilt and punishment for our trespasses.

Even though redemption is made possible by the payment of the ransom price—“through his blood,” it’s crucial for the slave to accept their redemption to experience and enjoy freedom. Similarly, we must accept God’s forgiveness through our repentance, acknowledging our sin against God, and receiving his forgiveness and all that entails.

Similarly, even though God’s forgiveness is made possible and offered through the death of Jesus Christ, we still need to accept that forgiveness through our repentance. This repentance is not a ‘work’ or payment to gain forgiveness—that forgiveness has already been fully and freely offered.

Repentance plays a crucial role in the process of forgiveness. It's not just about receiving God’s forgiveness but also about acknowledging that we have sinned against Him and understanding the full implications of His forgiveness.  

I encourage you to read “4 Dynamics of Repentance” for more on repentance and its relationship to forgiveness. For a more comprehensive treatment of the theology and practice of biblical forgiveness, see the series “Reclaiming Forgiveness.”

God has freely given everything to forgive us. Have you received His forgiveness?

In Him

‘In Christ’ and related phrases such as ‘in Him’ and ‘in the Beloved’ are the focus of this series. Such phrases are found at least ten times in the twelve verses of Ephesians 1:3-14.

Reaching back to the opening statement in verse 3, “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” has been bestowed upon those who are ‘in Christ.’

These ‘in Christ’ phrases are the focal point for each blessing. In addition to verse 3, we hear:

• in Him, people are chosen or elected (1:4),
• through Jesus Christ, we are predestined to the adoption as sons (1:5),
• in the Beloved, the Father has freely bestowed his grace (1:6),
• and now in Him, we have redemption (1:7).

These blessings are the essence of a life in Christ. None of these blessings are received, obtained, or experienced apart from being ‘in Christ.’

A person is placed ‘in Christ’ upon believing in Jesus Christ through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9; etc.) or receiving him (John 1:12; etc.). There is no salvation, justification, sanctification, or glorification without Jesus Christ.

And all this is according to the riches of His grace (1:7):

God’s redemption and forgiveness were not “out of” but “according to” the wealth of his grace. … It took the wealth of God’s grace to redeem and forgive the sinner. The cost of sin was the supreme sacrifice of God’s Son Jesus Christ.[3]

God did not dole out some of His grace to deal with our slavery to trespasses and sins. He gave all the wealth of His grace. This abundance of grace should fill us with gratitude and a sense of humility.

When God the Father offered up Jesus, He offered up everything.

This should ignite our souls to praise the glory of His grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

Let me know what you think. You can contact me using this link.

BACK TO What Does It Mean to Praise the Glory of God's Grace?

Notes:
[1] Harold W. Hoehner, Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002), 207.
[2] Hoehner, 208.
[3] Hoehner, 209.

Image credit: DepositPhotos