Ephesians 1:7

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7 NKJV). 

Our redemption came at the cost of Christ’s own life.  This is what He died to do in our life so it is worth camping out on this word for more than just a quick minute. 

According to it's definition, “redeem” means:

1. To compensate for the faults or bad aspects of.

Synonyms: save, vindicate, absolve, atone or make amends for, make restitution for, save (someone) from sin, error, or evil.

2.  To gain or regain possession of (something) in exchange for payment.

Synonyms: retrieve, regain, recover, get back, reclaim, repossess.

Christ had to die to compensate for the faults and bad aspects of mankind.  Christ’s blood had to be shed for the remission of our sins because the Bible clearly states that one of the spiritual laws of God is that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sin (Hebrews 9:22 and Leviticus 17:11).

In accordance with the second definition, Christ also had to regain possession of the human race, which was lost to the devil in the Garden of Eden, and He did so by exchanging His life for ours.  That was the payment made by God to redeem us back to Himself.

It is easy and dangerous, 2000 plus years after the fact, to feel a disconnect from this idea of redemption.   When we hear the word it conjures up old spiritual hymns that sing about “Redemption Hill,” “My Redeemer Lives,” among others.  The irony in relegating this powerful principle of redemption to the past is that redemption was key to our salvation in the here and now and is key to our future.  Paul will go on to highlight this in just a few more verses:

The Holy Spirit is the down payment on our inheritance, which is applied toward our redemption as God’s own people, resulting in the honor of God’s glory (Ephesians 1:14 ESV).

One of the ways that redemption becomes front and center in our lives is through testing and trials.  It takes the ancient concept from a Hill on Calvary to the mountain we are facing.  That’s why after Job goes through some of the most extreme testing of any man on earth, he ends up settling onto a truth that sees him through to the end:

For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, Whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.  How my heart yearns within me!  (Job 19:25-27 NKJV).

If we will allow the trials we encounter in this life to produce the perfect work James tells us they are intended to do, we will find this truth that Job did.  We will realize that one of the earmarks of redemption is that it creates a yearning for the Redeemer. 

Today I will meditate upon the beauty of redemption until I yearn to see my Redeemer.