2015.10.04
Ephesians 1: 3-10
Part 2
Redemption is In Christ
Last week we began the letter to the Ephesians…. Last
Sunday one of the brothers came up to me and said slow down… You see… the last
time I taught on Ephesians was 5 or 6 years ago… We went through rather quickly
that time… And my brother is right….
This is an awesome portion of the Word of God…
We should try to harvest
everything that we can as we get to know our Great God and Savoir the Lord
Jesus Christ… And so we're looking at the first
part of chapter 1 again this morning…. We will focus on verses 3 to 10…. We
will be looking at the theme of redemption…
The very important
concept of redemption is central to Christianity… And it is the theme of
the wonderful text that we will look at this morning…
Paul is teaching that the church is the body of Christ…
We should be doing exactly what Jesus did when He walked through the
world when He was here… And that's what
the book of Ephesians is saying….
Paul is teaching about how it should function in
practical terms... Let´s read Ephesians 1 v3-6…
Ephesians
1: 3- 6 NKJV
3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 4 just as He chose
us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and
without blame before Him in love, 5 having predestined us to adoption as sons
by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to
the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the
Beloved.
Ephesians 1: 3-6
slt 2000
3 Gepriesen sei der Gott und Vater unseres Herrn Jesus
Christus, der uns gesegnet hat mit jedem geistlichen Segen in den himmlischen
[Regionen] in Christus,
4 wie er uns in ihm auserwählt hat vor Grundlegung der
Welt, damit wir heilig und tadellos vor ihm2 seien in Liebe.
5 Er hat uns vorherbestimmt zur Sohnschaft für sich selbst
durch Jesus Christus, nach dem Wohlgefallen seines Willens,
6 zum Lob der Herrlichkeit seiner Gnade, mit der er uns
begnadigt hat in dem Geliebten.
The first amazing truth about redemption is that it was
planned before the foundation of the world…
v4…
"He's chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world." And
so we can say that verses 3 to 14 are a glimpse at the eternal plan of God…. in
forming the church…The key word is
election…. God the Father chose us from before the foundations of the world….
He chose us in Him… And it says in v5 that
…
v5…
He predestined us to adoption….
God´s predetermined plan is built on God's election… He
adopted us into His family… He did it in
order that we might inherit all things…
These are the elements… 1 God chose… 2 God Redeemed and
adopted us… and 3 He promised us an
ultimate inheritance…
Last week we discussed election
and that we have been chosen by God in His own sovereign will…
We see clearly that this redemption was
His choice… totally apart from us… We had nothing to do with it…
Redemption…
This is a great subject… Ephesians wonderfully explains it…
Another
place to study redemption is the Book of
Romans… Specifically Romans ch3 -
8…. But here in the first 2 chapters of
Ephesians we get a wonderful Readers
Digest Version… In both of these
places we see the big picture of
redemption…. What it is and what it
means to us…
Redemption
is an act of God by which He Himself pays as a ransom… the price for our sin
and rebellion… Basically it is deliverance from sin and from the penalty of
sin… by the payment of a price… Now 4 Greek words are used translate the concept of redemption…. The
first 2 are agorazo and exagorazo…
agorazo simply means marketplace… Exagorazo means is to buy out of the
marketplace...
The other words are perhaps even stronger… lutroo… and apolutrosis… which we usually translate as redemption…. It means to pay a price to free somebody from
bondage… Perfect…
The scripture is clear we are lost in sin and pride and
rebellion…. We are slaves to sin… Verse
7 tells us… "In whom we have apolutrosis." In whom we have “redemption”…
or “the purchase which sets us free”…
In
Romans ch 6… v23.. Paul tells us that
the wages of sin is death…
That´s Bad news…We have all sinned… We all stand
condemned by our own sin and rebellion… Without the Lord Jesus as redeemer we are
all dead men walking… But the good news
of the Gospel is that Jesus redeemed us….
What does that mean to us? It means that Jesus paid the penalty… The price for our sins…
He did this to make freedom available to everyone who is
willing to repent and cry out to Him for forgiveness and mercy… That's the whole point of redemption... It
was the Fathers plan and Jesus paid the price to set us free… turn to Galatians 1…v4…
Galatians
1: 4,5 NLT
4
Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to
rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5 All
glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
4 Er hat sich selbst für uns geopfert und ist nach dem
Willen Gottes, unseres Vaters, für unsere Sünden gestorben, um uns aus dieser
bösen Welt, in der wir leben, zu retten.
5 Dafür loben und ehren wir ihn in alle Ewigkeit. Amen.
Jesus
gave his life… Just as the Father
planned… In order to rescue us from this present evil world… All
glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
Turn to Colossians 1..v13..
Colossians
1: 13,14 NLT Neues leben
13
For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the
Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.
13 Denn er hat uns aus der Macht der Finsternis gerettet
und in das Reich des geliebten Sohnes versetzt.
14 Gott hat unsere Freiheit mit seinem Blut2 teuer
erkauft und uns alle unsere Schuld vergeben.
We can already see that there are several parts or
aspects to our redemption… I think that it is helpful to look at these ideas
from the greek words that are used
in Paul´s writings…
Biblical
aspects of redemption and salvation…
1
dikaiosis… It means acquittal in the court…. It is used when somebody was
acquitted of a crime…
In
the Bible it is used for when somebody is justified…. In justification the sinner stands before
God accused but he is declared righteous….
2
aphesis… to cancel a
debt... We translate it in the Bible, as forgiveness… the sinner stands before God as a debtor and receives a
cancellation of his debt… He is forgiven…
3 huiothesia… It
means in the Greek world – adoption...
The sinner stands before God as a foreigner and a stranger… but he is made a
son.... Becoming a son of God…
4
katallasso… means reconciliation…
In
reconciliation the sinner stands before God as an enemy but he is made friend….
5 apolutrosis… it means to redeem… to purchase… to set
free…. And in the Bible… it is translated redemption… In redemption the sinner stands before God as a slave… and he receives
his unconditional freedom…
Redemption…
The
wondrous miracle of salvation
includes all of these things… justification, forgiveness, adoption,
reconciliation and redemption… They are all are provided to us because Jesus
paid the price… Is this sinking in?
We are accused and condemned to die… but He bore our
punishment so we can be set free… We are debtors… Jesus paid our debt….
We are strangers but Jesus is the Beloved Son… And in
Him… and we adopted sons and daughters…
We are enemies of God.. but now in Jesus we can become friends of God….
We are slaves to sin…. but He has permanently purchased
our freedom…
All of these ideas are different aspects of the doctrine of salvation… Redemption is
just one way to view the meaning of salvation….
Now let's look at this as it unfolds in our text. First
of all we need a redeemer….
look at verse 6…
v6
to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the
Beloved…
This is a great verse… Let´s praise God for His grace…. we could translate it this way.. . Because
of God´s grace we have been pursued with grace… and we are accepted in Jesus
the beloved one… God has poured grace out on us in unlimited measures…
The Lord Jesus Christ paid the price for our sin and
rebellion… He bought us out of bondage to sin and the penalty of sin…. Death…
Then He made us all one in Him… So that we could represent Him in this lost and
dying world… He is the redeemer…. And there's no other redeemer… We as
believers become the redeemed of God… look at the next few verse…
ch1 v7,8…
Ephesians
1: 7,8 NKJV slt 2000
7 In
Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to
the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and
prudence,
7 In ihm haben wir die Erlösung durch sein Blut, die
Vergebung der Übertretungen nach dem Reichtum seiner Gnade,
8 die er uns überströmend widerfahren ließ in aller
Weisheit und Einsicht.
Not only do we see the redeemer in these verse but we also see the redeemed… Who are the
redeemed? It's the us and the we…. The us of verse 6 and the we of verse 7…. He
has made Us accepted… And so In Him we have redemption….
Let´s look closer at the redeemed...Who are the redeemed….
All of the really special people?.. you know the really nice people…. The good
people…? Who are the redeemed?.. Turn
with me to Ephesians chapter 2 verse 1… here's the us and the we….
Ephesians
2: 1 NKJV
slt 2000
1 And
you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once
walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the
power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among
whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
just as the others.
1 — auch euch, die ihr tot wart durch Übertretungen und
Sünden,
2 in denen ihr einst gelebt habt nach dem Lauf dieser
Welt, gemäß dem Fürsten, der in der Luft herrscht, dem Geist, der jetzt in den
Söhnen des Ungehorsams wirkt;
3 unter ihnen führten auch wir alle einst unser Leben in
den Begierden unseres Fleisches, indem wir den Willen des Fleisches und der
Gedanken taten; und wir waren von Natur Kinder des Zorns, wie auch die anderen.
v1…" And you He made alive, who were dead in
trespasses and sins… And you “plural”… all of the redeemed… That's the us
and the we from chapter 1…
We are now alive even though we were dead in sin… We were rotten sinners… There is some more
about us in v2 and 3…
v2… as
sinners and rebels to the law of God… we walked after the world…
the us, the we… The you all Plural… all of us were dead… dead
in trespasses and sin… walking according to the course of the world… Chasing
the world and all that it offers… children of disobedience…
v3…among
whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath,
just as the others… We were
totally lost and full of sin and rebellion…. That's the us, the we and the you…
Jesus said, "I
am not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance… Luke 5:32…
Sinners that´s us… We are the ones that He has redeemed…
Eph 2…v4…Reminds us again of God´s divine intervention…
Let´s look at verse 4…
Ephesians
2:4 NKJV
slt 2000
4
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us
4 Gott aber, der reich ist an Erbarmen, hat um seiner
großen Liebe willen, mit der er uns geliebt hat,
But God… What unbelievable grace and mercy… This is great Theology… The practical
implications of it are very important…
How thankful we
should be for our forgiveness… How forgiving we should be to others… What?
you refuse to forgive brother or sister so and so?
Shame dich… Jesus said that if we refuse to forgive we will not be forgiven…Matt. 6:15…
How patient the Lord has been with us… How patient we
should be with each other…
So far we have seen
Jesus our redeemer… And we have seen the redeemed…. Sinners everyone…. But sinners who have been saved by
grace…
Now
let´s look at the redemptive price…
Let´s go back to ch 1… verse7… the redemptive price….
Ephesians
1: 7,8 NKJV slt 2000
7 In
Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to
the riches of His grace 8 which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and
prudence,
7 In ihm haben wir die Erlösung durch sein Blut, die
Vergebung der Übertretungen nach dem Reichtum seiner Gnade,
8 die er uns überströmend widerfahren ließ in aller
Weisheit und Einsicht.
v7…
In him we have redemption through His blood...
That was the price… How did it happen? What was the price to buy us out of the
slave market of sin? What was the price to take us back and set us free from
the certain just reward for our sin and rebellion…. Death… ? How was that
bondage broken? How was that price paid?
The price was death… somebody had to die… And Jesus did…
This is simply a way of saying that He poured out His
life… Speaking of a sacrificial, substitutionary death for sin…
The Bible says that Jesus gave His blood…. It also says He
gave His life…. In another… He gave
Himself… Jesus Himself says…. No man
takes my life from me…. I lay it down…
It all means the same thing... He died for us… He took
our place… He was our substitute… We should have died for our own sins… That would be pure justice… but God's justice
is mingled with His mercy….
And so… God Himself provided a substitute… And the
substitute was Jesus... It was he
standing in our place…. To receive our righteous punishment that brought about
our redemption… We see this idea of substitution in every OT sacrifice…
The blood of bulls
and goats did not wipe away the sins of the people… They were temporary…
They were a picture of the coming once for all sacrifice by Jesus on the cross…
In Hebrews we read this…
Hebrews
10:14 NKJV slt 2000
14
For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.
14 Denn mit einem einzigen Opfer hat er die für immer
vollendet, welche geheiligt werden.
Think about that… perfected forever… Our position in
Christ is forever perfect… and yet… we are still being sanctified…
What
does it mean to be redeemed? What are the results?
Paul
presents two kinds of results... First … the forgiveness of
all our sins… verse 7…
v7… the
forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace… forgiveness…
What a wonderful word… That's
the awesome result of the cross… Forgiveness!
Israel recently celebrated the Day of Atonement… Yom
Kippur… the day of national forgiveness for sin…
There were two goats used… The blood of one goat was
sprinkled on the altar… The priest went up to the other goat and tired a
Scarlett thread on his horn… And then he put his hands on that goat's head… and
he confessed the people's sins on the head of that goat… And that goat was then
taken outside of the camp… and sent into
the wilderness where it could never find its way back again… it symbolized the
taking of sin and sending it away where it would never ever be seen again… My
friends… that is exactly the word used
here for forgiveness... It is the Greek
word aphiemi which means to send
away… never to return again…. Our sins have been sent away never to return….
Isn't that awesome?
What a lesson for us… God has sent way our sins forever…
In another place he says the he will remember them no more…
Here is another practical lesson for us… We need to let
this sink into our stubborn hearts…. Because of Jesus… We have been forgiven
everything…. And yet we often refuse to forgive each other… If we do forgive
them… Sometimes that old goat comes in the back door of our hearts… and we are
angry all over again… You´ll never change… You don´t deserve to be forgiven…
And it´s true… But then again… None of us ever derrve to be forgiven… Or we
say… ok… I forgive you but I cannot forget what you did….
Brothers and sisters…. Let´s forgive each other from our
hearts….. Don´t let that old goat get in the back door of your hearts…. It is
poison…
Now
listen…. Remember where we are as we read these verses… all of this was happening in the mind of God
before the world began… Your sins and mine were already in God's mind totally
forgiven before the world was ever created…
He forgave you of all of your sins…. Past present and
future…. And all of them were forgiven before we were born…. What a miracle…
David understood this…. He understood it before the
cross… Look with me in Psalm 103…
Psalm
103:12 NKJV slt
2000
12 As
far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from
us.
12 so fern der Osten ist vom Westen, hat er unsere
Übertretungen von uns entfernt.
That´s far… As far as God is concerned…. Our sins are
never coming back…. Not ever…
Let me show you another promise… from the
O. T.… turn to Isaiah 44:22…
Isaiah
44: 22 NKJV
slt 2000
22 I
have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, And like a cloud,
your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.”
22 Ich tilge deine Übertretungen wie einen Nebel und
deine Sünden wie eine Wolke. Kehre um zu mir, denn ich habe dich erlöst!
In this wonderful word Redemption… Erlösung… is total forever forgiveness… Our sins are blotted
out… forgotten… removed… sent away… All because as genuine believers… we are in Christ…
Are you in Christ this
morning? You say… no I have never repented of my sins and cried out to God for
mercy…..
Well the Bible is clear… today is the day… Repent today
and your sins will be blotted out… You
can be free from sin and guilt…. You can have your sins forgiven forever…
Oh…
What a great God!... What a Redeemer…! One more from the O.T… Micah
7..v18..
Micah
7: 18,19 NKJV slt 2000
18
Who is a God like You, Pardoning iniquity And passing over the transgression of
the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He
delights in mercy.
19 He
will again have compassion on us, And will subdue our iniquities. You will cast
all our sins Into the depths of the sea.
18 Wer ist ein Gott wie du, der die Sünde vergibt und dem
Überrest seines Erbteils die Übertretung erläßt, der seinen Zorn nicht allezeit
festhält, sondern Lust an der Gnade hat?
19 Er wird sich wieder über uns erbarmen, unsere
Missetaten bezwingen. Ja, du wirst alle ihre Sünden in die Tiefe des Meeres
werfen!
These verses make clear the wonderful truth that although
God Hates our sin and rebellion…. He has passed over… v18… and subdued our sins… v19… All because he
delights to show mercy…
Again…
All
of this in the mind of God before the world began…. Our redemption was already done…
When Jesus comes into our lives… He says to us what He
said to that terrible scared woman who was caught in the act of adultery…
"Woman, neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more… Paul reminds us
over and over in His letters that all of this good news is because we are in
Christ… turn to Romans 8 v1…
Romans
8: 1,2 NKJV slt 2000
1 So
now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And
because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you
from the power of sin that leads to death.
1 Also gibt es jetzt für die, die zu Christus Jesus
gehören, keine Verurteilung mehr.
2 Denn die Macht des Geistes, der Leben gibt, hat dich durch
Christus Jesus von der Macht der Sünde befreit, die zum Tod führt.
It´s all God´s grace and mercy because we are In Christ…
We belong to Him… we don't deserve it... We have been forgiven…
Today in our Culture… Humanists and Psychiatrists come along and tell us that we
can't be blamed for our sins...
We are the victim of genes or circumstances… or mothers or fathers or whatever…. Oh my..
my… It's not your fault... But what does the gospel do? It walks up and says -
Hey you…. you're guilty…. It´s not
anybody else…It´s just your fault…. you are a sinner… You need a Savior… When we repent and cry out for mercy we find
ourselves forgiven… Set free…
You say - That means because of Jesus… God accepts me as
I am... That's right, God accepts you
just as you are... There are no
second class Christians... We're all in Christ… All totally forgiven...
Unfortunately… Some of you are so “spiritual”… That you refuse to forgive yourself… I want
you to listen carefully now… If you can't forgive yourself you are saying that
you have a higher standard than God Himself… That ain´t right… That´s wrong… Since He
accepts me as I am… I can also accept me… Because of Jesus… We are forgiven
forever…
That is the first thing we receive in our redemption… Forgiveness
and all that that means for us… But there is more… Back to Eph 1… Look at verses
7,8 again….
Redemption
1
Forgiveness
2
Wisdom and prudence
The second one is wisdom and prudence…
v7,8...
the riches of His grace… "In which He's abounded toward us in all wisdom
and prudence."
We also receive wisdom and prudence from the LORD because
we are in Christ Jesus…
We need wisdom and prudence to walk in this new
life... He gives us these things also as part of His
plan… Let me clarify these words…. Grace
Abounded… to overflow… run over the top…
The first word…
wisdom… In Greek is sophia… it has to do with wisdom in eternal things like
life and death and God and man and
sin and eternity and time...
But the second
word is prudence… phronesis in the Greek… and it means
insight and understanding in ordinary things… day to day living…
As Christians we not only have forgiveness… God gives us the ability to understand Him and to walk
in this world on a day to day basis…. You
could translate these words as Wisdom and insight…. We receive not only great theological truth…. We understand that
we are seated in the heavenlies in
Christ…
More and more we learn how to walk this Christian life
out… As we study His Word… We know how to live our Christian lives….
So
by means of His wonderful abounding grace… He forgives our sin…. And
then He gives us the spiritual principles we need for living in messed up world
like ours….
He gives
us Spiritual discernment as we study
his Word… Our Redemption includes Wisdom
as we walk in this world… He Prepares the way for us as we move toward eternity
with the Lord Who has redeemed us… God has taken us into His confidence and
showed us His marvelous plan...
Close
The whole point of these letter´s is to build up and
disciple the believers with strong meat…. Solid Theology…. Theology not just to
fill our heads with knowledge…… But Theology as a foundation for our Christian
walk… A solid path with the way paved by the Lord Himself…. It is not based on
the jello… wackelpudding of emotions or feelings or intuition….
It is not based on some new revelation from recently
anointed Super Apostles and 21st century Prophets… No… It is based
on the Word of God… It is based on
His promises…
Paul is showing us that we do not belong to this world…
We are seated in heavenly places… He goes on in this letter to teach us how to
walk in this world… I want to read a few
final verses from Ephesians… A sneak peak of the coming teachings in this book…
Please turn to Eph 5…v1…
Ephesians
5: 1-7 NKJV
1 Therefore
be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has
loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a
sweet-smelling aroma.
3
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named
among you, as is fitting for saints; 4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking,
nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. 5 For
this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an
idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one
deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God
comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not be partakers with
them. 1 Gibt es nun [bei euch] Ermahnung in Christus, gibt es Zuspruch der
Liebe, gibt es Gemeinschaft des Geistes, gibt es Herzlichkeit und Erbarmen,
Ephesians 5: 1-7 slt 2000
1 Werdet nun Gottes Nachahmer als geliebte Kinder
2 und wandelt in der Liebe, gleichwie auch Christus uns geliebt
und sich selbst für uns gegeben hat als Darbringung und Schlachtopfer, zu einem
lieblichen Geruch für Gott.
3 Unzucht aber und alle Unreinheit oder Habsucht soll
nicht einmal bei euch erwähnt werden, wie es Heiligen geziemt;
4 auch nicht Schändlichkeit und albernes Geschwätz oder
Witzeleien, die sich nicht gehören, sondern vielmehr Danksagung.
5 Denn das sollt ihr wissen, daß kein Unzüchtiger oder
Unreiner oder Habsüchtiger (der ein Götzendiener ist), ein Erbteil hat im Reich
des Christus und Gottes.
6 Laßt euch von niemand mit leeren Worten verführen! Denn
um dieser Dinge willen kommt der Zorn Gottes über die Söhne des Ungehorsams.
7 So werdet nun nicht ihre Mitteilhaber!
Are you redeemed? If you are… I hope you're thankful...
God has given us everything we need in Christ Jesus… He planned it in the past…
He worked it out in the present… So that we can experience the fullness of joy in His presence forever… And
it's all ours through faith in Jesus Christ…. Anybody who comes to Jesus Christ
receives this gift of redemption… That's the gift we offer to you this morning…
Let's pray.
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