Graduate 179: Advent & Ephesians, Day 7
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses,..."
How has God blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places? (1) He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, (2) He predestined us to adoption as sons, and (3) He has given us "redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses."
There really is so much caught up in this idea of redemption that we can miss if we focus just on the idea that Christ's atoning death paid the penalty of our sin so that we can get into heaven some day. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel understood that they were a "redeemed people."
This is what Francis Foulkes says about it: "The people of Israel,... were themselves essentially a redeemed people. They had been slaves in Egypt, and later, through their own sinfulness, in Babylon as well. Yet God had redeemed them, and by redemption they were made his people (Ex. 15:13; Dt. 7:8; Is. 48:20; 52:9). The fundamental idea of redemption is that of the setting free of a thing or a person that has come to belong to another." (Foulkes, 58)
In Colossians 1, Paul speaks of our having been rescued from the "domain of darkness" and placed in the "kingdom of His beloved Son." In Romans 6, he talks about how we used to be slaves of sin, resulting in death, but have become slaves of righteousness. In several places, the language of 'enslavement to sin' is used to describe our condition apart from Christ. But just as God redeemed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, so He also redeems us from enslavement to sin and allows us to enter the kingdom of His Son. In the last two entries, we talked about what it means to become a child of God. We can get at some of those same ideas by thinking about what is involved in becoming the citizen of a country or nation. When Christ redeems us, He invites us into His kingdom and gives us all the rights and privileges of citizens of that kingdom.
Paul reminds us, though, that this redemption came at a cost. It is "through His blood" that we are redeemed. Even in the Old Testament, the God's people understood that relationship with God came at a cost. They regularly offered sacrifices to atone for sins--for the various ways in which they strayed from God's commands and will. Something similar takes place in Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross. He is the one, perfect sacrifice, offered for all time and all people.
When we talk about 'prices,' this conjures images of things like business transactions. Such imagery is not inappropriate, but we must remember that much more is going on. God did not just arbitrarily decide that atonement for sin was required for fellowship with Him. This is especially clear when we start to get at the full extent of God's intent and desire for us. Fellowship with God consists in God indwelling us. He offers to us a relationship and intimacy to which no human relationship can even come close. But in order to have that kind of relationship, we must be in the right condition. Living water cannot flow through a pipe that has become completely blocked with the things of this world. The power of God (like the power of a nuclear reactor--and keep in mind that God is the one who created all the nuclear reactions that take place in every star in every one of the millions of galaxies in our universe) cannot flow through wires that are too small and can't handle the amperage. There's always a cost associated with cleaning the plumbing or reinforcing the wiring, and the amazing thing is that God pays that price entirely.
Through the blood of Jesus Christ, we can receive forgiveness of all our sins. Not only forgiveness, but also freedom. And not just freedom from sin, but the freedom to enjoy fully that relationship with God that He has always desired for us. This is the free gift of God to us, if only we will accept it.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
How has God blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places? (1) He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, (2) He predestined us to adoption as sons, and (3) He has given us "redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses."
There really is so much caught up in this idea of redemption that we can miss if we focus just on the idea that Christ's atoning death paid the penalty of our sin so that we can get into heaven some day. In the Old Testament, the people of Israel understood that they were a "redeemed people."
This is what Francis Foulkes says about it: "The people of Israel,... were themselves essentially a redeemed people. They had been slaves in Egypt, and later, through their own sinfulness, in Babylon as well. Yet God had redeemed them, and by redemption they were made his people (Ex. 15:13; Dt. 7:8; Is. 48:20; 52:9). The fundamental idea of redemption is that of the setting free of a thing or a person that has come to belong to another." (Foulkes, 58)
In Colossians 1, Paul speaks of our having been rescued from the "domain of darkness" and placed in the "kingdom of His beloved Son." In Romans 6, he talks about how we used to be slaves of sin, resulting in death, but have become slaves of righteousness. In several places, the language of 'enslavement to sin' is used to describe our condition apart from Christ. But just as God redeemed the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt, so He also redeems us from enslavement to sin and allows us to enter the kingdom of His Son. In the last two entries, we talked about what it means to become a child of God. We can get at some of those same ideas by thinking about what is involved in becoming the citizen of a country or nation. When Christ redeems us, He invites us into His kingdom and gives us all the rights and privileges of citizens of that kingdom.
Paul reminds us, though, that this redemption came at a cost. It is "through His blood" that we are redeemed. Even in the Old Testament, the God's people understood that relationship with God came at a cost. They regularly offered sacrifices to atone for sins--for the various ways in which they strayed from God's commands and will. Something similar takes place in Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross. He is the one, perfect sacrifice, offered for all time and all people.
When we talk about 'prices,' this conjures images of things like business transactions. Such imagery is not inappropriate, but we must remember that much more is going on. God did not just arbitrarily decide that atonement for sin was required for fellowship with Him. This is especially clear when we start to get at the full extent of God's intent and desire for us. Fellowship with God consists in God indwelling us. He offers to us a relationship and intimacy to which no human relationship can even come close. But in order to have that kind of relationship, we must be in the right condition. Living water cannot flow through a pipe that has become completely blocked with the things of this world. The power of God (like the power of a nuclear reactor--and keep in mind that God is the one who created all the nuclear reactions that take place in every star in every one of the millions of galaxies in our universe) cannot flow through wires that are too small and can't handle the amperage. There's always a cost associated with cleaning the plumbing or reinforcing the wiring, and the amazing thing is that God pays that price entirely.
Through the blood of Jesus Christ, we can receive forgiveness of all our sins. Not only forgiveness, but also freedom. And not just freedom from sin, but the freedom to enjoy fully that relationship with God that He has always desired for us. This is the free gift of God to us, if only we will accept it.
--
God is in this place,
And that reality, seen and understood by the grace of God in Christ Jesus through the work of the Holy Spirit, makes all the difference in the world.
posted by Metaphysician_delta | 4:32 PM
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