The Messenger 13
Introduction
In his book In Christ Stanley Jones writes:
The business of the Scriptures is to take us by the hand and lead us beyond the words in the Word. The Scriptures are not the revelation of God – that would be the Word became printer’s ink. The Scriptures are the inspired record of the Revelation – the revelation is seen in the face of Jesus Christ, the Word become flesh. Every day I go to these words and say to them – ‘Hast thou seen Him whom my soul loveth?’ These words take me by the hand and lead me beyond the words to Him who is the Word.”
For me those words of Stanley Jones sum up the purpose and inspiration behind The Messenger. As you continue to go through the letter of Ephesians, therefore, let me encourage you to pray: “Lord, as I study your Word lead me beyond the words to Him who is the Word.”
Redeemed
The Gospel is unique. Every attempt at a human substitute falls far short of the mark when it comes to addressing the deep, inner restlessness within the human heart. It is only in Christ that we find our true rest.
Now, as we continue our study of the treasures of salvation, we turn to 1 v 7:
In him (Jesus) we have redemption through his blood….
Take note of the word we in that verse. It refers, as we discovered in the introduction to the letter, to those who are in Christ, those who exercise faith in Jesus Christ. The phrase have redemption implies a present possession. So if you are in Christ then you have redemption. It is for you a present possession.
To grasp the significance of redemption and its influence on how we live out our life, we need to spend a little time exploring what the Bible teaches about it.
Thayer, in his Greek/English Lexicon, has defined the Greek word for redemption as “a releasing effected by payment of a ransom, a deliverance, a liberation procured by the payment of a ransom. Everywhere in the New Testament it is used for the deliverance effected through the death of Christ from the retributive wrath of a holy God and the merited penalty of sin.” W.E. Vine in his Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words speaks of it as “signifying to release by paying a ransom price. The death of Christ is stated as the means of redemption.”
The thought of our needing redemption inevitably gives rise to two interesting and important questions – why did we need to be ransomed and to whom was the ransom paid?
To understand why a ransom was necessary to procure our liberation we need to begin by looking at what the Bible teaches about sin.
Sin is not a popular term in today’s thinking. Even in the church today the word seems largely to be avoided. It is noticeably absent in a lot of modern day preaching, probably because it would cause offense to those in the pew. But to downplay sin is to emasculate the Gospel and to see the cross of Jesus as being little more than an expression of the lengths to which God’s love for us was prepared to go.
From a biblical perspective there are FOUR things that we need to keep in mind about sin:
- Sin is always directed against God (Ps. 51:4; Rom 8:7). “Any conception of sin which does not have in the forefront the contradiction which it offers to God is a deviation from the biblical representation” (Prof J Murray).
- Sin is universal (Rom. 3:10-12 and 23a). That does not imply that everyone is evil. Sin and evil are not synonymous. It is perhaps this confusion that makes it difficult for many to accept the universality of sin. All of us have sinned but all of us are not evil. Sin involves our falling short of God’s standard or missing the mark. Evil involves injuring or bringing harm to another deliberately.
- Sin always results in a separation from a holy God (Is 59:2). The Bible speaks of that separation as death. Death in the Bible does not mean ceasing to exist. It means a conscious existence in separation from God (Gen 2:17; Rom 6:23a).
- We are all held captive to sin (Jn 8:34; Rom 6; Rom 7:15-19).
God takes sin seriously. And God wants us to take it seriously. Look around you. The effects of sin are evident in the world and in our lives. The church, therefore, needs clearly, fearlessly and unambiguously to communicate the biblical facts about sin.
“I am convinced most of us see sin as something we can manage. One thought here. One word there. One deal done compromised. One time. It’s only one time right? And before we know it we are in a cyclone of trouble. We find ourselves separated from God’s communication, and we wander” (From: When Sin Takes You Captive).
If sin is real in every one of us; if sin carries with it the condemnation of a just and holy God – where is the solution to be found? The answer? In the Gospel (the Good News) of redemption! Nowhere else. Not in religion! Not in self-help programmes! Not in our own efforts to rise above the baser side of our human nature.
The key lies in the Gospel message of redemption. The ransom price effecting our release is the blood of Christ (“In Him we have redemption through His blood” – Eph 1:7).
But to whom was the ransom paid? Writes J Sidlow Baxter: “The ransom price was paid in respect of the eternal principles of righteousness which govern the universe, to the holy law of God which human sin had outraged.”
The judgement of a holy and righteous God upon sin is clear and just – “The wages of sin is death.” Jesus, however, has stepped into our shoes, and although He was without sin He took upon Himself the judgment that should have come upon us (2 Cor 5:21).
“We have been ‘redeemed from the curse of the law’ (Gal 3:13), from the death penalty due to our guilt. We have been ‘bought with a price’ (1 Cor 6:20) from the slavery of inherited bondage… We are now His, by costliest payment, even ‘through His blood’” (Baxter).
If you have a question or a comment about this series please feel free to write to me, Brian, at
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