Ephesians 1:7
7 In [en] whom [hos] we have [echo] redemption [apolutrosis] through [dia] his [autos] blood, [haima] the
forgiveness [aphesis] of sins, [paraptoma] according [kata] to the
riches [ploutos] of his [autos] grace; [charis] KJV-Interlinear
7 In
Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,
according to the riches of His grace, NASB
Three concepts are
brought into view here. The principle of
redemption, the principle of atonement, and the principle of forgiveness.
First, redemption which
means the substitution of money for a slave or prisoner. This is payment of some sort, which purchases
and secures the freedom of the slave or prisoner. This is often called a ransom, wherein the
prisoner is set free when payment is made.
Sin is our slave master
and as such, while we are in sin, we are trapped in slavery and cannot set ourselves
free. We cannot even buy our own way out
of sin. Its binding chains are far too
heavy.
Christ’s work on the
Cross made the payment for sin in our behalf, thus purchasing our freedom from
sin. Without redemption we would have
nothing, and certainly no freedom. We
are either owned by sin or by God. And
since God paid for all sins, then everyone has the choice of leaving sin or
remaining within its clutches. Faith in
Christ is the decision to leave sin and go to God. Rejection of Christ is the choice to reject
God and to remain as a slave to sin even though the unbeliever is free to go,
but chooses not to.
Through His blood, is a
descriptive phrase referring to the saving work of Christ in the Cross.
From the Old Testament,
the blood of animals was used to represent redemption, or the saving work of
Christ wherein He paid the ultimate price by means of His spiritual death on
the Cross. The animal sacrifices resulted
in the literal death of those sacrificial animals. However, the spiritual realm is not physical
but spiritual and Christs work on the cross is spiritual. His death on the Cross wherein He paid the
price for sin, occurred during those three hours of judgment between noon and
3p.m., while under a veil of darkness.
Jesus screamed aloud throughout those three hours letting all of
humanity know that the judgment process was proceeding.
At the end of those three
hours, Christ said, ‘Finished.’ And then
and only then, after His work on the Cross had been accomplished, He gave up
his physical life and died physically on the cross.
The blood of Christ is
symbolic, not literal.
Forgiveness of sin is the
result. The price of sin is paid, and therefore God is free to forgive all who
acknowledge their sins. Forgiveness is
the expungement of sin, washing it away as though it never occurred.
In salvation, when a
person believes in Christ, they simultaneously acknowledge their sins by
default. If one does not sin then one
does not need salvation, however, the very need for salvation recognizes the
existence of sin, and thus forgiveness occurs at that moment of faith in
Christ.
Subsequent to the moment
of salvation, all people return to committing sins. However, now the issue is not salvation, for
once saved always saved, but the issue is now confession. This concept is not in view here, but suffice
to say, confession is necessary in order to maintain a functioning spiritual relationship
with God from within the fellowship sphere.
Just as God cannot have a
relationship with you prior to salvation, so also, after salvation, God cannot
have a functioning relationship with you unless you enter into His sphere of righteousness,
which mean that you confess your sins and are therefore forgiven those
contemporary sins and are re-entered into Gods fellowship sphere.
According to the riches
of His grace, indicates that only God and no one else can accomplish that which
God has accomplished. The magnitude of His
work, securing salvation for us, accomplished the completeness of salvation
with the result that salvation secured now through faith, continues on forever,
and never diminishes or fades. Salvation
is permanent and will never fade or go away.
Gods grace is not limited
to just a few, but is eternal and permanent, and is available to all.
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