Redemption
Hello Bride of Christ,
How do you determine value? What are some criteria you use to determine the value of something?
Is it location like real estate?
Is it popularity like the item is trending?
Is it the quality tied to brand?
Is it familiarity because you grew up with it?
Is it price / the cost?
There are so many different perspectives and measurements we can use to determine the value something has in our opinion. It is this value we calculate whether consciously or unconsciously will drive how we associate and use the item. Things with lesser value are often disregarded or taken for granted. That is why today I want to take a deeper dive into this concept of redemption the bible talks about often and its value.
"In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" Ephesians 1:7
In the book of Ephesians Paul writes in his thank you note to the faithful saints in Ephesus about this redemption in the context of it being one of the many spiritual blessings God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ blessed them with. Like much of scripture, although this was written to a specific group of people at the time, its content transcends time and applies to all who are faithful in Jesus Christ. And because of this, we can see the blessings given to the saints in Ephesus as a blessing given to us the Bride of Christ - the Church.
So what is redemption?
In the English language we use this one word, "redemption" to communicate the concept of buying something back. In the bible, redemption can be found 20 times. I do not know about you, but when someone tells me something 2 times they get my attention... let alone 20! 11 of those 20 times can be found in the New Testament section of the bible, which means it was written in Greek. Unlike the English language, Greek is a little more specific with its use of words and, therefore, to describe and give the full value of redemption, the Greek language uses three different words.
Each word (agorazo, exagorazo, lytroo) draws its meaning from a marketplace transaction. In the marketplace, not only were typical things we would imagine being sold today like food, clothing, drinks, but back in the time of these writings slaves were sold in the marketplace. These slaves were either captives from war, people born into slavery, or a person that could not pay a debt. This redemptive purchase was to either set the person free or to change their ownership.
The Greek paints a picture of us with sin. We were held captive because we were born into it, fell into temptation, and now cannot pay the debt of sin which is eternal death and separation from God.
Redemption Value?
So as Paul writes "In Him (Jesus) we have redemption (been bought back) through His blood , the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" Ephesians 1:7 Paul is saying Jesus paid the debt of sin for us through giving His life to buy us back because redemption has two purposes: to Redeem from and redeem to.
We have redemption from the law and redemption to freedom from sin.
We have redemption from Satan and redemption to a new relationship with God.
We have redemption from all evil and redemption to a new life in Christ.
Bride of Christ, this spiritual blessing from God our Father is one of utmost value as it represents Jesus' great act of love towards us and empowers us to live freely under our loving and heavenly Abba Father. Remember "thus says the Lord, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." (Isaiah 43:1) May the revelation of this great redemption never grow dull or complacent in our hearts, but instead rise up in us as a loud praise! May the redeemed of the Lord sing, " Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessings!" (Revelation 5:12)
