Thinking on Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 7-10 Part 1

It's been a couple weeks since I have posted on Ephesians. It's been a crazy couple of weeks for me. If you don't know, besides being a pastor at BLDG28 Church, I am also the Admissions Director for a local Bible College. Yesterday we had our Fall Campus Preview. This is a huge event that we have been planning for for months. Now that it's over, I hope to get back to my regular schedule.

Let's get into the text...

Eph. 1:7-10

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." - ESV


Let's begin today with the phrase, "In him we have redemption through his blood." First, what is "redemption?" The Greek word used is apolytrosis. This word carries the idea of being released or to grant clemency.

Jesus uses this word in Luke 6:37 when he says, "forgive, and you will be forgiven..."

Jesus also uses this word in Matthew 5:31 when he says, "Whoever divorces his wife..."

Check it out: Paul is trying to communicate the MAGNITUDE of this word! REDEMPTION CHANGES EVERYTHING!

You might say that being in Christ divorces us from our sin (in a legal sense)...makes sense, right?because the Bible says that we are justified (declared righteous) at the same time. Redemption and Justification go hand in hand.

Col. 1:13-14 says, "He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins."

Notice how Paul defines redemption in Colossians: 1. deliverance from darkness, 2. transference into the family of God, and 3. forgiveness of our sins.


Second, it's very important to understand that there was a COST for redemption. In this passage we see that "we have redemption through his (Jesus) blood."

Matt 20:28 says, "even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Mark 10:45 says, "For even the Son of man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

You see, we were redeemed from being children of God's wrath, to being sons and daughters of the most high King, because Christ paid our debt with his blood.

Rev. 1:5 tells us that we were set free from our sin by the blood of Christ, 1Cor. 6:20 says we were bought with a price, and Gal. 3:13 says that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law becoming a curse for us.

Next week we will talk about the phrase "according to the riches of his grace." God's grace is so very AMAZING.

For today, though, be edified in the truth that you have been rescued by our Great God through the precious blood of his Son.

How do we respond...in humility and service. We have a debt that we can never repay, so now we live as slaves of righteousness, presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice.

Be Edified!