Redemption Through His Blood—Ephesians 1:7-8

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” (Ephesians 1:7-8)

I drove the same car for over 12 years. Not only was it a great car, but it was paid off, so I thoroughly enjoyed the freedom of not having a car payment for many, many years. In fact, near the end of the car’s life, I had to bum rides for almost two weeks before deciding the car was beyond repair and needed to be replaced. I had enjoyed owning it free and clear! 

Owning the title to the car meant that the debt was satisfied. This has legal ramifications, meaning that no other entity had a claim on this property. While this example in no way compares to what Christ did for us, the same principle can be applied relating to our redemption in Christ. It was done legally, fully, and completely in every way imaginable. “The entire universe is governed by law. Redemption from beginning to end is based upon a system of divine jurisprudence. It has a legal foundation” Paul E. Billheimer.

Amazingly, God has not left us in the dark concerning His purpose for our lives. According to His Grace, he has lavished on us all wisdom and understanding so that we could have insight into His eternal purpose in Christ, which started with the redemption of mankind.

Redemption is a term that describes the “release effected by payment of ransom.” This means the required price was paid and therefore no debt remains. This word for redemption (apolytrōsis) is used 10 times in the New Testament. It is clear that this redemption is in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:23), the price was His blood (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14) and it is eternal so we can serve the living God (Heb. 9:12, 14).

Here is where this concept hits home to the normal everyday life—the debt that was paid was due to sin, the result can only mean complete forgiveness for sin. How many times do we beat ourselves up over past mistakes? We keep a record and are quick to add new line items to it. But what Paul is saying is that we’ve already been forgiven of everything because of the riches of God’s Grace lavished on us in Christ Jesus. So our responsibility is to humbly receive that and move on!

This is why Paul prays in the Book of Colossians, “For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Col. 1:9). It is echoed here in Ephesians: “lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” Wisdom is the application of knowledge and God has freely given both in Christ Jesus.

He prays this so that we “may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God...” (Col. 1:10).

So this is the takeaway: if we can understand what God has freely given us in Christ Jesus and understand that we are completely forgiven and redeemed for a new purpose in life, then we can move forward to fulfill that purpose.

May you seek the Lord and may you understand His will for your life and carry it onto completion until that glorious day when Christ returns!