Friday, January 6, 2012

Ephesians 1:7


Copyright Ó 2011 J. Neely
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.

E-Books, E-Book Reader
Your Comments
Daily Bible Study Quick Links
Subscription Options