"In whom [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace."
Ephesians 1:7a
Part 1
“In whom we have redemption.”
The “in whom” here is speaking of Jesus. He is the One who is “the beloved” whom we believers are “accepted in” (v. 6). In Jesus “we have,” presently, right now, at this very moment, “we have redemption.”
Redemption is a beautiful word! It always pictures a price being paid for the freedom that is bought. To “redeem” us, is to repurchase us from the slave market of sin. We belong to God by right of creation, He made us, so we belong to Him. In our great grandfather Adam we sinned, and with the rest of the human race we ended up on the devil’s slave block. God, loving us, sent His Son to redeem us, and he has bought us back. As believers, we are twice owned by God.
“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,” (Romans 3:24).
In the Old Testament being redeemed is clearly taught. When a man was a bond-slave, and he couldn’t afford to purchase his freedom, his “kinsman,” a close relative might buy his freedom by paying the price for his redemption.
“After that, he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him,” (Leviticus 25:48).
Following this picture, Jesus Christ the “Son of God” put on human flesh and became the “Son of man,” our near “kinsman,” and He paid the purchase price for our redemption! We are now redeemed!
“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many,” (Matthew 20:28).
When Jesus redeemed us, He saved us from the power, the guilt, and the consequences of our sin. Our redemption in Christ Jesus has been called “the grand subject of all revelation, especially the New Testament.”1
Come back tomorrow as we learn the price of our redemption.
1. Jamison, Fausset, and Brown. Jamison-Fausset-Brown’s Commentary, the electronic version in eSword.