Sola Scriptura Ministries

4

Riches From The Son: Redemption

Eph. 1:7-12

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

We come now to the second “stanza” of Paul’s glorious “song of praise” (vs. 3-14). While verses 4-6 focus on the Father and speak of past ELECTION, verses 7-12 focus on the Son and speak of present REDEMPTION. We could put the matter this way: salvation was planned by the Father and provided by the Son.

The first words that strike us are, In Whom we have redemption through His blood. In only eight words, this statement summarizes the entire essence of the Christian message. But while one might be tempted to think that nothing else need be said, this statement demands careful consideration and exposition. Why? For two reasons. First, because it is here that we are at the very heart of the Gospel. Without redemption, there is no Gospel. Second, because of today’s denial of that very fact. As one commentator observes:

We are living in a time when there has been a wholesale attempt to reconstruct Christianity apart from its central focus on personal salvation. That is to say, it seems as if people today want a Christianity without redemption. But we cannot avoid the fact that at the heart of the teaching of Jesus and of the apostolic message is a God who redeems his people.¹

In other words, if you remove redemption, you no longer have Christianity. All you have is another religion, another philosophy, another creed, but you do not have Christianity. Neither do you have any hope of salvation. Redemption is at the center of the Christian message.

To examine the heart of the Christian faith, let us look at seven points: The Meaning of Redemption, The Obtainer of Redemption, The Recipients of Redemption, The Price of Redemption, The Time of Redemption, The Results of Redemption, and the Reason for Redemption.²

I. The Meaning of Redemption (v. 7c)

Redemption . . .

Redemption. What a word! Indeed, as we saw back in verses 4-6, when we think of “election” and “adoption,” we rejoice. But even more overwhelming is this word redemption. It is in this word our salvation lies. It is this word that is, indeed, the heart of our salvation.

In the days before Princeton Theological Seminary spiraled into the abyss of liberalism, professor and scholar Benjamin B. Warfield spoke the following in an address delivered in Miller Chapel in 1915:

There is no one of the titles of Christ which is more precious to Christian hearts than “Redeemer.” . . . [It] is a title of more intimate revelation than either “Lord” or Saviour.” It gives expression not merely to our sense that we have received salvation from Him, but also to our appreciation of what it cost Him to procure this salvation for us. It is the name specifically of the Christ of the cross. Whenever we pronounce it, the cross is placarded before our eyes and our hearts are filled with loving remembrance not only that Christ has given us salvation, but that He paid a might price for it.³

Much of the address that followed was not phrased in lofty theological terms, nor was it comprised of scholarly argumentation. Much of it consisted of quoting some of the great hymns of the faith that proclaim our Redeemer.

How right Warfield was! Redemption should be the most precious truth that the Christian embraces. I pray this study will bring us all closer to our Redeemer.

Before dealing specifically with the Greek word used here for redemption, we should briefly examine two others.

First, there is agorazo, which means “to buy.” This word is used in I Cor. 6:20: “For ye are bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

Second, there is exagorazo, which means “to buy out of.” We find this word in Gal. 3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.”

The source of both of these words is agora, which means “marketplace” and is the key to understanding redemption. The agora was the marketplace where goods were bought and sold,⁴ and it is this picture that Paul wants to paint. This is where we were outside of Christ¾in the marketplace, the slave market of sin. Both these verses vividly demonstrate that we were “bought at a price,” and therefore no longer belong to ourselves or our father the Devil, but are to “glorify God in [our] body and in [our] spirit, which are God’s (I Cor. 6:19-20).”

The word used in our text, however, is apolutrosis. The root lutroo means “to release on receipt of a ransom.” The prefix apo means “from,” which intensifies lutroo. One Greek authority tells us that this expresses the completeness of our redemption and is one that keeps us from further bondage in the future.⁵ In other words, redemption is a once for all transaction. We will never be enslaved again.

In our day we don’t readily understand the full force of the word redemption, as did Paul’s readers. When he uttered this word, they knew exactly what he was talking about, for this word was rooted in Greek and Roman culture. In New Testament times, there were approximately six million slaves. Slave-trading was a major business and was an accepted part of society. It was very common, in fact, for a person to have a relative or friend that had been sold into slavery. A slave could be freed only if someone paid the purchase price and then declared them free. There was no way the slave could redeem himself.

So Paul’s readers clearly understood what a slave was. A person sold into slavery had no will of his own, he was in bondage, he had nothing. Unlike many of us today, Paul’s readers completely understood total depravity because they completely understood slavery. As mentioned in the last chapter, some people think they have a problem with the doctrine of election, but what they don’t realize is that their real problem is with the doctrine of depravity that makes election necessary. Our nature simply does not want to accept the totality of our depravity. A slave was not “partly free,” nor did he have a “free will,” that is, a will of his own. No, he was a slave. Slavery was such a low position, that for all practical purposes, a slave was “dead.”

This is precisely the picture of depravity that is painted in Scripture. As Paul writes here in Ephesians, without Christ we “were dead in trespasses and sins” and lived according to “the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath” (2:1-3). In our day, sin has been redefined to mean virtually anything we want it to mean, such as “not perfect but still basically good” or “simply a low self-esteem.” But the picture in Scripture is one of a spiritual corpse that God must redeem and regenerate, and that is the work of God’s grace alone.

An interesting illustration of this appears in the Old Testament. As one expositor explains:

In the Old Testament there were two means of redemption—by power and by purchase. The book of Exodus illustrates redemption by power; the book of Ruth illustrates redemption by purchase. It is significant that the first time the kinsman-redeemer Boaz is introduced in the story of Ruth, we are told that he was “a mighty man of wealth” (Ruth 2:1). Only a rich man could redeem. Redemption is a costly business.⁶

What a wonderful truth! The only way to redeem man in His sin was by purchasing him, and the only One wealthy enough to pay that ransom price was God thorough His Son.

We should also note that the definite article (“the”) precedes redemption in the Greek¾In Him we have [the] redemption. This emphasizes two truths: there is only one redemption for sin, and there is ownership by the redeeming person. Many have the mistaken idea that as Christians we’ve been freed from sin and that our life is now ours to live. But the very opposite is true. Redemption always implies ownership. Jesus bought us and now owns us. We, therefore, live the way He wills, as Gal. 2:20 declares:

I am [i.e., have been] crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

How marvelous! Our dear Savior did not merely “rescue” us as liberal theology says, that is, “rescue us from ignorance, superstition, and social backwardness.” No, our Lord redeemed us. He bought us. We belong to Him. When you go to the store and purchase an item, does the item belong to itself? No, it belongs to you. You purchased it and own the right to use it in the way that you wish. Likewise, our dear Savior redeemed us and now owns us.

This thought is brought out wonderfully by a particular story that has been around for many years.

In a city on the shore of a great lake lived a small boy who loved the water and sailing. So deep was his fascination that he, with the help of his father, spent months making a beautiful model boat, which he began to sail at the water’s edge. One day a sudden gust of wind caught the tiny boat and carried it far out into the lake and out of sight. Distraught, the boy returned home inconsolable. Day after day he would walk the shores in search of his treasure, but always in vain. Then one day as he was walking through town he saw his beautiful boat — in a store window! He approached the proprietor and announced his ownership, only to be told that it was not his, for the owner had paid a local fisherman good money for the boat. If the boy wanted the boat, he would have to pay the price. And so the lad set himself to work doing anything and everything until finally he returned to the store with the money. At last, holding his precious boat in his arms, he said with great joy, “You are twice mine now — because I made you, and because I bought you.”⁷

Likewise, but infinitely greater, what a wonderful redemption we have in Christ! First He made us, and then he bought us.

II. The Obtainer of Redemption (v. 7a)

In Whom . . .

The words in Whom immediately draw our attention to the one who obtained our salvation, The Lord Jesus Christ. These words connect verse 7 to the words “in the Beloved” in verse 6.

All this reminds us never to forget one principle, namely, Christianity is Christ. This sounds obvious, but in our day is really not obvious at all. Christianity is not the teachings of Christ. Christianity is not creeds or doctrines. Christianity is Christ. It is the only faith in the world that rests solely upon the person of its founder. Other faiths might be named after their founder, but they have nothing to do with the person the founder was. A person can be a Moslem and believe the teachings of it without having to concern himself with the person of Mohammed. The same is true of Buddhism, Confucianism, Mormonism, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Christian Science, and all the rest. They can believe all the teachings but ignore the founder. In fact, in some cases, the last thing the followers want to be reminded of is the shortcomings of their founder.

But again, Christianity is Christ. It has to do with a personal, even intimate, relationship with the founder. The sum total of Christianity is in Christ’s person—not His ideas, His concepts, His philosophies, or His teachings—but Him, His person. For example, how can we possibly possess and live the “fruit of the spirit” (or the “Christian Graces”) in Galatians 5:22-23? Because they are found only in the person of Jesus Christ. Because of His indwelling Sprit, we are becoming more like Him—not more like some philosophy or ethical code—rather more like our Redeemer.

I teach New Testament history at a local community college and discuss in detail the subject of who Jesus was. As does Josh McDowell,⁸ I present that there are only three possibilities: Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic, or Lord. Contrary to the teaching of many, Jesus did claim to be God (Mk. 2:1-12; 14:60-64; Jn. 5:16-18; 10:31-33; etc.). If He wasn’t God, then He was either the most despicable liar who ever lived, or He was the most deluded lunatic that ever lived because He ultimately died for His claims. The only other alternative, which is the truth, is that Jesus Christ was precisely Who He said He was. And because of that, every person must answer that all-important, personal question: “What think ye of Christ?” (Matt. 22:42).

May we also consider a moment why Jesus came. Some say that Jesus came simply to tell the world that God was ready to forgive. They talk about God’s Fatherhood and His wonderful love and forgiveness, and then go on to say that God sent His Son to proclaim that forgiveness. They then take it once step further to say that God sent His Son to the Cross to proclaim His desire to forgive even such an act as that act. Salvation is then couched in some syrupy, sentimental statement such as, “Just believe in Jesus to receive God’s forgiveness” (whatever that might mean to the individual).

But that is not what Paul proclaims. The Cross was not the proclamation of forgiveness; it was the provision of forgiveness. God does not say, “I am prepared to forgive even Calvary,” rather He says, “I forgive through Calvary.” It is only in Christ on the Cross that we have redemption.

III. The Recipients of Redemption (v. 7b)

. . . we have . . .

May we also notice that the words we have are in the Present Tense. The work (or act) of redeeming us was done in the past, but we have it now and forever; it is a continuing reality. It is not possible to have redemption today and not have it tomorrow. How tragic indeed that many believers reject the security of the believer, for here is one of many proofs for that doctrine. We have been redeemed, and we shall always possess that redemption. How marvelous it is to know that we have been redeemed! How wonderful it is to know that our Redeemer will never put us up on the auction block again! Our Dear Lord came right down into the agora, bought us, and will one day take us home.

What a humbling, staggering thought it is to see that we are the recipients of redemption. Why is this so humbling and staggering? Because of what we read in chapters 2 and 4 of Ephesians: we were dead in trespasses and sins (2:1); we walked according to the course of this world (2:2); we walked according to the prince of the power of the air (2:2); we conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh (2:3); we fulfilled the desires of the flesh and of the mind (2:3); we were by nature children of wrath (2:3); we were without hope and without God (2:12); we were far off from God (2:13); we lived in complete futility (4:17); we were ignorant, blind, and without understanding (4:18); we were past feeling, beyond conscience (4:19); and we were lewd, unclean, and greedy (4:19).

That is why His redemption is so humbling and staggering. That is what He came to redeem. When we go down to the store, do we not buy things that have worth, things that in and of themselves have value? But think of it! Our Lord redeemed that which was worthless! Yes, He latter makes us “able ministers” (II Cor. 3:6) and gives us spiritual gifts to use in His service. But before that, we were worthless. Recall the words of our Lord in Mark 2:17:

They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

Why didn’t our Lord come to call the righteous to repentance? Because there were none!

So, we could easily paraphrase our text using an amazed tone of voice: “Think of it! In Whom we have redemption, in Whom even I have redemption.” We are, indeed, the recipients of a staggering redemption.

IV. The Price of Redemption (v. 7d)

. . . through His blood . . .

John Calvin makes an interesting comment that well introduces this principle:

It is true that the whole life of our Lord has become our ransom, for the obedience which He yielded in this world to God His Father was to make amends for Adam’s offence and for all the iniquities for which we are in debt. But Paul speaks here expressly of His blood, because we are obliged to resort to His death and passion as to the sacrifice which has power to blot out our sins.⁹

He’s right. Christ’s entire life was, in a sense, our ransom, but many stop there. They advocate Jesus as “a good example to follow” or speak of Him as “a good moral compass.” They tell us that Adam was the bad example and Jesus was the good example and then conclude that by following Jesus’ good example we can be “rescued” from sin. “If we just follow Jesus’ moral example and live a good life,” they say, “we will be delivered from our shortcomings, frailties, and low self-esteem.”

To demonstrate how long this trend has been developing, I read an incident that Martyn Lloyd-Jones recounted back in 1954, as he was preaching on this subject. He tells of reading an article in an evangelical magazine several years before titled “The Message of the Gospel.” He observed that

the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was literally not mentioned at all. He was depicted as Saviour, but only as the risen, resurrected Lord. According to that message it is Christ’s life that delivers us: the Cross was not mentioned. There was no mention of our Lord’s death, still less of His blood. The Cross was by-passed. The writer went directly to the risen resurrected Lord. The atoning, sacrificial, substitutionary death was absent from the article. But that is not the truth taught in Scripture. I will go further; that is not salvation.¹⁰

That last phrase cuts to the heart of the matter—today’s redefined “Gospel” is not the Gospel at all; it is not salvation.

In contrast, Paul specifically speaks of the blood of Christ, that is, not His life but His death that redeems us. It was His blood that paid the purchase price. Here, indeed, is the epicenter of our salvation.

Granted, no one likes to talk about blood. It truly is a sticky, messy, graphic thing; in today’s language, it really is gross. Most people abhor the picture of a bloody Savior. Occasionally they are willing to speak of His death but never His blood. They do not want to think of a Savior hanging on a cross with blood pouring out of His body and dripping into puddles on the ground.

Many decades ago a stately widow came up to the late Dr. G. Campbell Morgan. Holding a lorgnette (eyeglasses mounted on the end of a stick), she looked at Morgan and said, “Dr. Morgan, I don’t like to hear about the blood. It is repulsive to me and offends my esthetic nature.” Dr. Morgan replied, “I agree with you that it is repulsive, but the only thing repulsive about it is your sin and mine.”¹¹ Indeed, sin is the thing that is repulsive about the blood redemption; it was our sin that made it necessary.

Some hymnbooks even remove the hymns that speak of His blood. Some modern Bible translations do the same. Good News for Modern Man (Today’s English Version), for example, mistranslates haima (or haimatos) as “death” when it clearly means “blood.” This Greek word, in fact, forms the basis for several English medical terms, such as, hemoglobin, hemorrhage, hemostat, and others, all of which relate to blood. Today we want to “soften the blow” by changing the meaning so as not to offend our sensitivities.

In contrast, Paul specifically speaks of the Savior’s blood as the redemptive price, and does so quite often:

Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God. (Rom. 3:25)

But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (Eph. 2:13)

We are not made nigh (i.e. near) by Jesus’ “moral teachings” or His “ethical standards;” we are made nigh only by His blood. Peter also reminds us:

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot (I Pet. 1:18-19).

That verse reminds us of the Indulgences of Roman Catholicism. Centuries ago people could “buy” forgiveness of sins with money. In Martin Luther’s day, Johann Tetzel took the selling of indulgences so far that people could buy indulgences for sin they hadn’t even committed yet! In fact, the majority of Luther’s famous “95 Theses” that he nailed to the door of the Church at Wittenburg, thereby launching the Reformation, dealt with the condemnation of indulgences. What was the issue? Redemption as the source of forgiveness. How can we have forgiveness? Not by silver and gold, but by redemption.

Why emphasize the blood of Christ so often? Why not speak more of His life than His graphic death? Because, as Hebrews 9:22 declares: “Almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.” That is a dogmatic statement, indeed. The Greek for “remission” is the same word translated forgiveness in our text. Because of sin and guilt, blood must be shed for forgiveness. In the words of our Savior Himself: “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:28).

All this flows right out of the Old Testament sacrifices. The killing of the animal was not enough; the blood of the animal had to be taken and sprinkled on the mercy seat. Likewise, the blood of Christ was the “blood of the new testament, which [was] shed for many for the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:27), and it was the “offering . . . once for all” for our sin (Heb. 10:10). It went even further, however. The Old Testament sacrifices never actually cleansed the Israelites from sin, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins” (Heb. 10:4). The sacrifices were merely symbolic; they could only cover sin. The blood of Christ, however, cleansed us from sin. As Hebrews 9:12-14 declares:

Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

What a wonderful passage! Indeed, the blood of Christ destroys our works. It reveals them to be meaningless and nothing but “filthy rags” (literally, a “menstrual cloth,” Is. 64:6). Comparing the blood of Christ with our own works, one expositor writes this:

How different is the ground of our forgiveness from the natural expectation of the heart. How different from the miserable hope that men derive from the thought that they are not so bad as others. How different from the miserable hope they derive from the idea that they have amended their lives and reformed their habits, and are better than their former selves, and therefore trust that they are on this ground more acceptable to God. How different from any such miserable hope—if hope it can be called—which must ever be clouded by the consciousness of sin, by the feeling that, however imperfect and false, the standard of attainment be which we have raised, we must fall short of our own standard, and sink beneath its level, when measured even by our own conscience. True it is, indeed, that if a sinner believes the gospel his life will be totally changed; he will be different from those who believe it not, and different from what he was himself as an unbeliever; but this is the effect, not the cause, of his salvation; he is changed not to be saved, but because he is saved.¹²

Indeed, we see bloodstains on every page of the Word of God. May I interject, this reminds us once again of the no-lordship teachers who teach that sin is not really an issue. But these verses, like Ephesians 1:4, declare the point of salvation: to cleanse our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. It’s no wonder that John saw the twenty-four elders singing of the Savior:

Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth (Rev. 5:8-10).

In contrast to the hymnbooks from which the blood has been removed, surely there are no hymns in our hymnbook more precious than those that sing of His blood:

Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus.

There is a fountain filled with blood

Drawn from Immanuel’s veins;

And sinners plunged beneath that flood,

Lose all their guilty stains.

Redeemed how I love to proclaim it!

Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

Redeemed through His infinite mercy,

His child and forever I am.

V. The Time of Redemption (v. 7c)

redemption . . .

We return to this word once again to see the time when our redemption was secured. While this, too, seems obvious, it goes deeper than we at first think. Yes, it is obvious that Christ died in the past, but what is the depth of that truth? Did His death simply make redemption possible, that is, possible if we believe? If this is true, then the cross itself did not actually save us, rather it was our believing that saved us. This, of course, cannot be. But this is, indeed, what many teach. The truth is that Christ’s death did not provide potential redemption, rather actual redemption. It was the cross that saved us.

Our text, and its context, bears this out with tremendous force. As we know, all three members of the Godhead are present in this passage. First, the Father chose us before the foundation of the world (vs. 3-4), a choice that was not potential but actual. Second, the Son’s death redeemed us from our sins (v. 7), again a redemption that was not potential but actual. Third, the Holy Spirit applies the death of Christ (vs. 13-14), once again an application that is not potential but actual. So, at all three points the work of the Godhead is effectual, that is, each actually does something. The work of each is not something that is virtual, but something that is real.

Now consider the outworking of this. Was the sinner saved when the Father chose him? Yes, though not yet in the sinner’s personal experience. Was the elect sinner saved when Christ died? Yes, though not yet in the sinner’s personal experience. Is the elect sinner saved when the Holy Spirit applies the merits of Christ’s death? Yes, and this time it does happen in the sinner’s personal experience.

We see the same truth elsewhere. Galatians 3:13 strongly states this truth: ”Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.” The Greek for “hath redeemed” (exagorazo) is here in the Aorist tense, showing completed action in the past. By His death, Christ effectually secured our salvation, again not potentially, but actually. Was it our belief that saved us? No, it was Christ’s redemptive work that saved us. “But wait,” we might ask, “didn’t I still have to believe?” Yes, but that only made it applicable in your experience. The work itself, the reality itself, was already accomplished by Christ.

Consider the words of our Lord in Matthew 20:28 and Mark 10:45: “the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” These are the only two instances of the word lutron (“a ransom”) in the New Testament, “the price paid for redeeming captives” (we find a similar form in I Tim. 2:6). Clearly, the idea was not that the ransom was paid so that the captive might or might not go free. If this were the case, someone would surely want their money back! When you buy something, you know what you are buying, you expect to get what you pay for, and you expect that you will pay for it only once. Likewise, the once-for-all ransom immediately freed the captive. Christ’s ransom secured the freedom of those He knew from “before the foundation of the world” (v. 4). When our Savior uttered the words, “It is finished” (Jn. 19:30), what did He mean? He meant just that—it was finished. Christ paid the purchase price for our sin and at that moment He redeemed us, even though not yet in our personal experience.

Before moving on, notice again the words we have. As mentioned earlier, the Greek here is Present Tense. The work (or act of) redeeming us was done in the past, but we have it now and we’ll have it forever. This redemption is a continuing reality. What an assuring truth that is!

VI. The Results of Redemption (vs. 7e-11)

the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.

Our text declares that there are three results of the redemption we have in Christ: Forgiveness, Wisdom and Prudence, and Inheritance.

Forgiveness (v. 7e, 8a)

the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us . . .

It is significant that this is the first result. This is not an accident. The first and foremost result of our redemption is that our sins are forgiven. Primarily, redemption brings forgiveness. Further, it’s important to understand that redemption and forgiveness are not synonymous. It would be incorrect to say, “In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” There is much more involved in redemption than forgiveness. Redemption is the completed act, while forgiveness is the first result. Jesus made this clear in Matthew 26:28: “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” With that in mind, let us examine two principles: The Meaning and Magnitude of forgiveness.

The Meaning of Forgiveness

Back in 1981, shortly before his death, Nazi leader Albert Speer, the architect who built Nuremberg Stadium and other Nazi monuments, and who was made Hitler’s minister of armaments and directed Hitler’s war production using slave labor, was interviewed on the Good Morning America program as a promotion for his then new book, Infiltrator. Of the twenty-four war criminals convicted at the Nuremberg Trials, Speer was the only one to admit his guilt and spent twenty years in Spandau Prison. The interviewer read a passage from one of Speer’s earlier books: “You have said the guilt can never be forgiven or shouldn’t be. Do you still feel that way?” A profound look of sorrow came on Speer’s face as he responded, “I served a sentence of twenty years, and I could say, ‘I’m a free man, my conscience has been cleared by serving the whole time as punishment.’ But I can’t get rid of it. This new book is part of my atoning, of clearing my conscience.” The interviewer pressed the point: “You really don’t think you’ll be able to clear it totally?” Speer shook his head and said, “I don’t think it will be possible.”¹³

Tragically, Speer never knew that forgiveness is possible in Jesus Christ. While there certainly would still have been consequences for that sin, even something as horrendous as the Holocaust could be forgiven.

The Greek word Paul uses here for forgiveness (aphesis) literally means “release, pardon, or cancellation.” In Classical Greek it means “the voluntary release of a person or thing over which one has legal or actual control.”¹⁴ It’s interesting that while the word occurs seventeen times in the New Testament, it is used only twice by Paul (excluding Heb. 9:22 and 10:18), both times in Epistles that he wrote later in his ministry, here and Colossians 1:14. This demonstrates that Paul didn’t use this word in his earlier writings, and we’re left wondering why. Perhaps only now did Paul fully understand the real depth of forgiveness. Ponder a moment three aspects of our forgiveness.

First, in legal terms, forgiveness is a judicial release from the guilt and punishment of sin, which is death. Primarily, forgiveness is a legal transaction. This is a vitally important point, for we who were under the legal sentence of death according to the Law, are now forgiven by legal transaction. The Law can never save; it can only reveal guilt and condemn us, “for by the law is the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:20), and “no man is justified by the law” (Gal. 3:11). This is, in fact, Paul’s thrust throughout the first half of the Epistle to the Romans, to first show man’s quilt and then show God’s grace.

Second, in ethical terms, forgiveness is a release from the terribleness of sin that affects the conscience. Why is the “Lordship Salvation” debate so important? Because salvation changes the sinner ethically. The Christian no longer desires the things he or she used to desire.

Third, in personal terms, forgiveness is a cessation of God’s intended wrath upon the sinner. A vivid illustration of this is in the Old Testament scapegoat in Leviticus 16. That was The Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The High Priest chose two unblemished goats, one of which he killed and sprinkled its blood on the Mercy Seat. Verses 21-22 then describe what the High Priest did with the other goat:

And Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness: And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniquities unto a land not inhabited: and he shall let go the goat in the wilderness.

This is the thrust of Psalm 103:12, which declares that God has removed our sins from us “as far as the east is from the west.” That is, of course, a symbol of infinity. If you travel north, you will eventually round the pole and start going south. But if you travel west, you can continue on forever going west and will never go east.

What a wonderful picture that was, but as beautiful as it was, it was still only a symbol. This did not take sin away. It was not a perfect sacrifice. It was merely a symbol of what only God could do through the coming Messiah. Jesus Christ would not only be the perfect sacrificial lamb, but He would also be the perfect scapegoat. He would not only redeem His people with His blood, but He would also remove their sin forever.

Note further that “forgiveness” is a present and continuing reality, just as redemption is. As noted earlier, we have is present tense. Tragically, many Christians continue to be defeated by the memory of past sin and a lack of victory over present sin. Yes, sin should grieve us, and our desire is victory over it, but it should not depress us and rob us of joy. Such Christians forget (or have never known) that God placed all the sins of the elect—past, present, and future—on the head of His Son, Who then took them away “as far as the east is from the west.” The Prophet Micah declared hundreds of hears before Christ:

Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea (Mic. 7:18-19).

So then, what happens when we do sin? There are many teachers today who say we lose our salvation. If this were true, however, to be saved again we would have to be redeemed again. But according to Hebrews 10:10, 12, and 14 we are redeemed only once. Christ died only once for each of us. There are many terrible aspects of Roman Catholicism, but surely the worst of all is the Mass, which crucifies our Savior over and over again, and “[puts Him] to an open shame” (Heb. 6:6).

To illustrate, how many of us have ever gone down to the grocery store, purchased a cart full of groceries, but then came back to the store the next day and paid for them again? How foolish that would be. Likewise, just as we redeem items at the store only once, Jesus redeemed us only once, and praise be to God, that was enough.

Therefore, when we do sin, we are forgiven by confessing our sin: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn. 1:9). What a wonderful verse that is, one we need to claim every day.

The Greek for “confess” is homologeo. The root logeo means “to say,” and the prefix homo means “same,” yielding the literal meaning “to say the same words.” Therefore, to confess sin means “to say the same thing about sin that God says,” or in short, “to call sin, sin.” To confess is to join the ranks of David who said, “I have sinned” (Ps. 51:4). To confess means that we do not make excuses, we do not blame others, rather we “acknowledge” our sin (v. 3) with “a broken and contrite heart” (v. 17). When we do truly confess our known sin, God cleanses us from all sin. What grace that is! We no longer require redemption, only cleansing.

A great mistake that many make in their approach to I John 1:9 is that they apply it to the unbeliever, but this is a terrible error. In fact, all of I John was written to believers; the theme of the letter is “fellowship,” and one cannot have fellowship with God unless he is in Christ (1:1-4). Likewise, confession does nothing for the unbeliever, for he has not yet repented and believed. Nowhere in Scripture is a lost person told to confess his sins; he is told to repent, but not to confess. Only the believer can confess. Why? Because confession shows a relationship, a relationship of a child to a Father.

The Magnitude of Forgiveness

The magnitude of God’s forgiveness is according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us. Here is a statement that should not be hurried over; it should be prayed over and meditated upon. Think of it! God has provided adoption, redemption, forgiveness, and much more, but He has given it all according to the riches of His unmerited favour. Oh, may we never forget it!

Riches translate the Greek ploutos, from which we get English words such as “plutonic” and “plutocrat.” A little word history is valuable here. Originally, ancient secular Greek viewed riches as simply “an abundance of earthly possessions of every kind.” Later, however, a few centuries before Christ, the meaning divided into two aspects: riches in the material sense and riches in the abstract sense, as illustrated in concepts such as riches of wisdom, honor, mercy, and so forth. Plato (c. 427-347 BC) and Aristotle (384-322 BC) in particular judged riches by the effect they had on society. To them riches were to be rejected if they didn’t serve the community. Most significantly, while Aristotle considered wealth as always something material, Plato distinguished “material riches from true riches which consist of wisdom, virtue, and culture.”¹⁵

Now, I point out all that to say this: while Plato was most certainly pagan, he had the right idea. True riches, true wealth is not in material things but are, as Paul would write a few centuries later, in spiritual things. And this is nowhere greater than the wealth of true and total forgiveness of sin in the redemption of Christ.

Perhaps even more important, however, are the words according to. The Greek here is not ek meaning “out of.” Rather, the Greek is kata, which literally means “down” and shows domination. God has not given “out of” His riches, rather He has given according to or “dominated by” His riches.

To illustrate, the story is told of John D. Rockefeller that whenever he played golf in Florida, he gave his caddy a dime. He didn’t give according to his riches but “out of” his riches.¹⁶

Likewise, if our particular local church had a multi-millionaire in its ranks who gave twenty-five dollars a week to the ministry of our church, he would be giving “out of” his wealth. But if he gave two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, he would be giving according to his wealth. In other words, he would be using his wealth to make others rich. This is what God has done, but on a much grander scale.

That is the reason for the words wherein he hath abounded toward us. The Greek word translated abounded is perisseuo which shows “superabundance” and “to make overrich.” The modern idea here is that we have been “lavished” with riches.

There is a fascinating usage of this word in Romans 5:20: “. . . where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” In reference to sin, “abounded” is pleonazo (a form of perisseuo), but in reference to grace, “abounded” is huperperisseuo. The prefix huper means “above” and is the word from whence is derived our English word “hyper.” So Paul is saying here, “Where sin superabounded, grace superabounded above it.”

This fact is further illustrated by comparing man’s grace with God’s grace. Man is fickle indeed, and his favor is equally fickle; his favor can quickly be withdrawn, especially when he is “offended.” But God’s favor is given in superabundance. Furthermore, God’s favor can never be exhausted, so He lavishes it upon us.

All this brings us to a very important question of application: “Are we truly aware of our riches in Christ?” 19^th Century British preacher Alexander MaClaren challenges us with these words:

Too many of us are like some man who has a great estate in another land. He knows nothing about it, and is living in grimy poverty in a back street, for you have all God’s riches waiting for you, and ‘the potentiality of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice’ at your beck and call, and yet you are but poorly realising your possible riches. Alas, that when we might have so much we do have so little.

Further still, “Do we appreciate these riches?” Many Christians do not. Test yourself; does all that we have seen here generate joy, thanksgiving, and praise in you? If not, you do not truly appreciate these truths. And furthermore, because you do not appreciate them, you will live a miserable Christian life; you will never know victory; you will never be an effective-witness; you might even be a source of problems within your local church. Some Christians do not appreciate these because they have not been taught to appreciate them; this is the failure of many pastors who do not teach the depth of God’s Word through expository preaching. But there are other Christians who, no matter how often they are taught, still do not rejoice in these truths. Many believers utter complacent clichés such as, “I’m so glad I’m saved,” but they never really “grow in grace and knowledge”(II Pet. 3:18).

How then can we appreciate these riches? May we meditate on four principles that will teach us how to appreciate the riches that God has lavished upon us.

First, realize what these riches are. This, of course, is what we have been looking at in previous studies. But think again of God choosing us before the world began; who are we to be chosen? Think also of His adopting us; who are we to be part of the Divine family? Think again of His redeeming and forgiving us; why should we, whose sin nailed Jesus to the cross, be redeemed and forgiven?

Second, realize the value of these things by understanding the price paid for them. Here is a thought that has made a deep impression on my own spiritual life. Do we not appreciate and carefully guard something for which we paid a lot of money? Likewise, should we not appreciate the riches God has given because of what they cost to give? What was the cost? The precious blood of Jesus Christ. How shameful it is when we take all this for granted; how shameful that we do not constantly think of the cross and remember our Savior’s sacrifice!

Third, realize how God has given these riches; He has “lavished” them upon us. How stingy and selfish we are! We are by nature like the child who snatches a toy from another child and screams, “MINE!” But God has given, and continues to give, unimaginable and untold wealth. But even more than that, His wealth is inexhaustible. Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it this way:

The riches of God’s grace are inexhaustible, and although the saints of the centuries have been drinking out of this fountain, it is as full as it was at the beginning. Millions yet will drink of it, but it will be still bubbling up to the surface.¹⁷

May we add that even though millions have drunk and millions more will drink, not one drop is missing from the fountain; because His wealth is inexhaustible, it is never depleted. Our minds cannot comprehend of an eternal fountain or a God who can give but never be diminished, but that is, indeed, what God does for us.

Fourth, compare these riches with earthly riches. Every man and woman needs riches, but the majority of people reject the riches God provides. So, to satisfy that need, they go after “substitute riches” and “counterfeit riches.” But, if we honestly compare the riches we see in Ephesians 1 with the riches of the world, we will never again covet earthly riches over spiritual riches. Why? Because:

·           Earthly riches won’t last – God’s will;

·           Earthly riches never satisfy – God’s do;

·           Earthly riches can’t be taken with us – God’s can!

Oh, Dear Christian, do you really appreciate the riches of his grace that he hath abounded toward us?”

Wisdom and Prudence (vs. 8b-10)

us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

French philosopher André Maurois (1885-1967) said, “The universe is indifferent. Who created it? Why are we on this puny mud-heap, spinning in infinite space? I have not the slightest idea, and I am convinced that no one has the least idea.”

As I read that I was immediately reminded of the Huguenots of sixteenth century France. They held strong morals and possessed high integrity. To be “honest as a Huguenot” was said to have been the highest description of one’s integrity. Put simply, what the Puritan was in England, the Huguenot was in France. A conservative estimate says that by 1561 one-sixth of France was strong in Protestant Reformed theology and morality; other estimates say one-fourth.

But history then reveals that the Huguenots were forced to leave France in 1685 and hence settled in England, Prussia, Holland, South Africa, and the Carolinas here in America. (I had the joy of visiting a Huguenot Church in Charleston, South Carolina several years ago.) What’s noteworthy about that exodus is that it was a terrible economic blow to France, since most Huguenots were skilled artisans and professional men of the middle class (paralleled by the tax-paying middle class in America). Does that not explain the intellectual emptiness and moral debauchery that permeates France to this very day? André Maurois is only one example.

It was another French philosopher, Voltaire (1694-1778) who held up a Bible and said, “In 50 years I’ll have this book in the morgue.” Well, in 50 years he was in the morgue and the Geneva Bible Society owned his house and used it as a place to store Bibles that they first printed on his press.

We should also mention the empty ramblings of French Existentialist Jean Paul Sartre (1905-1980). In his book Being and Nothingness (1943), what has been called his “monumental philosophical treatise,” he presents the main tenets of his existentialist thought. In it he

delves into the nature of existence, rejects the supernatural as well as any preconceived notion of humanity or morality, and argues that existence is pointless, “contingent,” and absurd. Each object simply is and has a “being-in-itself,” and, by virtue of their abundance, all objects encroach upon people. The human being is distinguished from the rest of the universe by consciousness, “being-for-itself,” and by the freedom to form an identity.¹⁸

And so it has gone for centuries. Man has blathered on about “nothingness” and has been “ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (II Tim. 3:7). Man refuses the notion that even Shakespeare recognized, as Hamlet said to Horatio, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”¹⁹

In contrast, to man’s empty philosophies, the Apostle Paul declares that the second result of redemption is that God, through Christ, has given us wisdom and prudence—or, “knowledge and insight.” How profound this is! Only through Jesus Christ can we have true knowledge and insight. Men have been groping for millennia for these, when all they have to do is open the pages of God’s Word. To explain the rather deep truth of verses 8-10, let us again examine two principles.

The Meaning of Wisdom and Prudence (v. 8b)

Oddly, there has been some debate as to whom wisdom and prudence refer. Some say this refers to God and therefore shows that these are descriptive of God. But this is inaccurate for three reasons. First, this has no natural connection with grace; this doesn’t flow in the logical progression of the passage. Second, and right in the line with the first reason, grace is the only characteristic of God given or implied in the context. In other words, everything God gives is given according to His grace, not according to His wisdom and prudence. The context clearly speaks of what God has given us by His grace. Third, God does all things in perfect wisdom, so we do not need to say that in this verse. The same thought is truer still of prudence (insight); nowhere else in Scripture is God spoken of as being prudent. In fact, it would be insulting to say that God is prudent.

So, the thought here is that wisdom and prudence are given to us by God’s grace. Let us examine each of these terms and then correlate them.

First, there is wisdom. The Greek for “wisdom” sophia. This was a very important word to the ancient Greeks. It spoke of a quality or attitude rather than an action. Its basic meaning, according to Aristotle, was, “knowledge of the most precious things.” While Aristotle didn’t fully know what the most precious were, he did have the main concept right. It referred to deep knowledge and learning, “implying cultivation of mind and enlightened understanding.”²⁰

Second, there is prudence. The Greek here is phronesis. This too was an important word to the Greeks. Its basic meaning was “way of thinking, frame of mind, intelligence, good sense,” but it often had the fuller idea of “discernment and judicious insight.”²¹ It was being able to see beyond just the knowledge of a thing and see how that thing applied and how it was practical. Aristotle called this the knowledge of human affairs and of things in which planning is necessary. Plutarch called this practical knowledge of the things that concern us. We could, therefore, translate this “discernment” or “insight.”

Third, we should correlate wisdom and prudence. According to one Greek authority, there are times when these words are interchanged, but phronesis (prudence) is more practical than sophia (wisdom).²² This is further substantiated by the words being used together. Surely Paul is not being repetitious here; rather he is referring to not only theoretical knowledge, but practical application as well. To the Greek mind, if a man had both of these—knowledge and insight—he was thoroughly equipped for life. Again, the Greeks didn’t know where to find these, but they did recognize the basic concepts.

Paul, therefore, uses these two terms to show that the believer has been given both wisdom and insight to thoroughly equip him for life.

First, Paul uses sophia to emphasize that a result of redemption is a deep knowledge of things that really matter, that is, the truths of God, truths such as: life and death, God and man, righteousness and sin, heaven and hell, and so on. Does the world have knowledge of such subjects? No, but the believer does.

As Paul puts the matter in I Corinthians 2:9-10:

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

It is puzzling to me why so many Christians, and even pastors, who do not want depth, who prefer to stay in the shallows. But there is nothing more exciting than “the deep things of God.” The Greek literally reads, “the depths of (the) God.” “Depths” translates the Greek bathos, from which is derived such English words as “bath” and “bathysphere.” It’s used in its literal sense in the Parable of the Sower, where some of the seed “fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth” (Matt. 13:5). Used metaphorically, however, as it is here, it refers to “profoundness.” Paul uses it later in Ephesians 3:18, where he writes of his wish that Believers “may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height” of God’s love.

Second, Paul uses phronesis to emphasize how to make all this practical, how to make these things that matter most apply to daily life. Depth is important, but what good is deep knowledge if it is not practical?

The Manifestation of Wisdom and Prudence (vs. 9-10)

Here is a truly amazing truth. These two verses describe in greater detail the wisdom and insight God has given. God does not just give us wisdom and insight “in general,” but rather He gives both in specific ways.

First, the wisdom God has given (v. 9). This should not be confused with the “gift of wisdom” (I Cor. 12:8). In fact, that spiritual gift, and the others listed there, are past gifts. We say this because they were only needed before the completion of the Scriptures. Often people say that so and so has the “gift of discernment” (as listed in I Cor. 12:10). But this is wrong because the Word of God is the “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). We no longer need a special gift to discern truth from error, for the Word of God does this, and only when we know the Word can we discern. Others mistakenly say, “So and so is very wise; he must have the gift of wisdom.” But often this refers to “worldly wisdom,” being wise in the ways of the world. But true wisdom comes only from the Word of God, and if a person does not base his “wisdom” on the Word, he is not truly wise. We might add, this position concerning the gifts in I Corinthians 12 is the only consistent one. It prevents us from “picking and choosing” what gifts are for today and what ones are not. When the Word of God was complete (I Cor. 13:10), all these temporary things passed away (I Cor. 13:8).

So, the wisdom (or knowledge) spoken of here is the knowledge of the mystery of His will. Think of it! Who are we that God would make known to us the mystery of His will? The word mystery is musterion and means “mystery or secret.” In ancient Greek it was used of the “Mystery Cults.” These cults involved mysterious rites and rituals, such as fertility rites, baptisms, symbolic pilgrimages, animal and human sacrifices, and the like. There were the cults of Dionysus, Isis, Mithra, and many others, all of which were ultimately rooted in the ancient Babylonian worship of Ishtar. Tragically, much of these pagan things, and the customs that went with them, were melded with Christianity and remain even to this today.

But the main point here is that these cults had a “vow of silence.” The adherents to these cults were sworn to reveal nothing about their rites and rituals. There are many “secret societies” today that are simply carry-overs of ancient paganism. And this philosophy is the exact opposite of Christianity. Christ does not want His message “kept secret;” He wants it proclaimed to everyone. No Christian belongs in these pagan-oriented societies, for they are not “Christian” as they claim; they are pagan. A Christian should not be busy keeping secrets; he should be busy proclaiming Truth.

Some people even look at Christianity that way. Many view Christianity as vague, nebulous, indefinite, mystic, and most of all subjective, even existential. The redefining of the Gospel today is rooted in Existentialism and Relativism; everyone is left to define “their Christianity” in whatever way they choose.

The reason for all this view is in the wrong idea of mystery. People define it, as does some English dictionaries, as “something unexplained or inexplicable,”²³ or “whatever resists or defies explanation [such as] (the mystery of the stone monoliths).”²⁴ They view as true the old cliché, “Religion is caught, not taught.” In other words, you can’t define or explain religious experience or Truth; you just have to “catch it and go with it.” But that is not what the Bible teaches.

The New Testament usage of musterion pictures “that which was hidden, but is now Divinely revealed.” Never do we find the word mystery in the New Testament and then see Paul trying to keep it secret and hidden. A New Testament mystery is not incomprehensible to the human mind, rather it is undiscoverable by the human mind apart from God’s intervention. In other words, a mystery was something hidden from Old Testament saints but now fully revealed and explained in the New Testament. There are several “mysteries” spoken of in the New Testament. One of the most important ones is “the Church,” which Paul deals with at length here in Ephesians.

But the mystery Paul speaks of here is the mystery of bringing man back into fellowship with God. Here is the greatest mystery of all. And what a mystery it is! What a mystery that God would redeem a wicked, morally bankrupt race! What was once hidden from Old Testament saints, who had but a glimpse of redemption and forgiveness through the sacrificial system, God has now fully revealed exactly how He has brought us back into fellowship with Him. We have been dealing with this throughout our study thus far; we have seen how Christ redeemed us. Now may we understand that all this is the “mystery” that God has now revealed in His Word, predominantly in the New Testament. It was God’s will to save us, and He now makes that will fully known in Christ.

May we note also that all this was according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself. This phrase further couples the mystery as referring to our salvation (see verse 5). So, God has given wisdom, that is, knowledge of the mystery of our salvation. So many problems today arise because Christians simply do not understand their salvation. Many of God’s people today do not understand the Sovereignty of God, grace, justification, sanctification, and a whole array of other doctrines. That is why we are so shallow, so undiscerning. Everything is “touch-feely” and “warm and fuzzy” instead of being based in Truth. And again, most of the fault lies at the feet of pastors who do not teach them.

Second, the insight God has given (v. 10). Here is the practical outworking of the mystery. How important history is! The story is told of little Johnny who said to his father, “I don’t want to discuss the mark I got in history, because that’s all in the past.” Clever, but foolish.

Many of us, preachers included, fail because we do not love to study, or at best, only tolerate the study of History. A pastor friend of mine once told me that he once met another pastor who felt strongly that not only should pastors today have a degree in Theology but another in History. The point is well taken. While we might not agree that a degree is necessary, we should recognize that he should be trained in History. Why? Because we actually can understand little Theology without History.

It’s interesting that as one studies History, he finds that many historians and philosophers see no purpose or plan of History. They say such things as this: “There is no secret or plan to history”; History is made up of “irrationalities” of which no one can make any sense; there is no “harmony” in historical events; History is made up of “random events” in which we see “one emergency following another.”

G. N. Clark, in his inaugural lecture at Cambridge, said: “There is no secret and no plan in history to be discovered. I do not believe that any future consummation could make sense of all the irrationalities of preceding ages. If it could not explain them, still less could it justify them.”²⁵

In the introduction to A History of Europe, H. A. L. Fisher writes:

One intellectual excitement, however, has been denied to me. Men wiser and more learned than I have discovered in history a plot, a rhythm, a predetermined pattern. These harmonies are concealed from me. I can see only one emergency following another, as wave follows upon wave, only one great fact with respect to which, since it is unique, there can be no generalizations, only one safe rule for the historian: that he should recognize in the development of human destinies the play of the contingent and the unforeseen.

Shakespeare reflected this attitude in the character MacBeth, who pessimistically declared that history is “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing” (Macbeth, 5.5.19).

That is, indeed, a depressing view of History. In reality, the study of History is worthless if this view is maintained. But History shows us much. It shows us man’s triumphs and man’s tragedies. Most of all, History teaches us that man never learns from history; he never learns his errors; he makes the same mistakes over and over again. As philosopher George Santayana is famous for writing, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”²⁶ Equally correct was US Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., when he said during the case of New York Trust Co. v. Eisner in 1921, “A page of history is worth a volume of logic.”

I was reminded here of a reported incident during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, which came about when Soviet nuclear missiles were discovered in Cuba. Allegedly, John F. Kennedy, trying to prevent what could have easily turned into World War III, commented that he wished he could send a copy of the book The Guns of August to every one of his military commanders, for in it one reads of the inexplicable causes of World War I, a war that never should have started and which led inevitably to World War II. His point was that we should learn from History, but it seems we never do.²⁷

More importantly, what is in view here in verse 10 is the Divine view of History; we are told here exactly what God’s purpose is in History. The ages-old comment that “History” is short for “His Story” is true; it is what God is doing. There is specific direction in God’s purpose; that is, there is something in the future that is being viewed. Dispensation is oikonomia which literally means “the management of a household.” Times is kairos. Another word, chronos, speaks more of indefinite periods of time. For example, Acts 19:22 says that Paul “stayed in Asia for a season.” But kairos shows more definite periods such as “a decisive point in place, situation, or time.”²⁸ (See Acts 1:7 where both words are used in contrast.) Kairos can also refer to “epochs,” that is, larger specific periods of time. Fulness (pleroma) carries the idea of completeness. Putting all this together, what then is God’s view of history? God is working in the various periods of human history until these periods are completed with the Millennial Kingdom. The fulness, that is, the completion, of earthly history will be the Millennium. Most historians see no overall plan in history, but God does because it is His plan—“His Story.” What is His purpose?—the fulness of times, bringing us into Himself and into the rule of His Son.

Paul adds the phrase gather together in one all things in Christ. The Greek for gather together (anakephalaioo) actually means “to sum up again.” In other words, Christ is going to bring all things back to a previous state. What state?—before sin entered! Here is a direct reference to the New Heaven and New Earth (Rev. 21:1-8). When this is ushered in, there will be no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow, no more pain; sin will be gone. Here is God’s view, God’s purpose.

Some have used this verse in Ephesians to teach “universal redemption”; that is, everyone and everything shall be redeemed. But this verse teaches no such thing. The context clearly shows who the redeemed are-those who believe in the blood. Yes, “every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord” (Phil. 2:10-11), but not all those will be believers. Plus, before the New Heaven and New Earth, there will be the Great White Throne Judgment where the lost will be condemned forever (Rev. 20:11-15). So, only the redeemed will have a part in the future restoration.

And once again we see those glorious words in Christ. We reminded once again that Christianity is Christ. Expositor Kent Hughes writes these insightful words:

From my perspective, “in Christ” far outstrips the term “Christian” in describing Christianity. Aside from the fact that “Christian” is only used three times in the New Testament (Acts 11:26; Acts 26:28; and 1 Peter 4:16), that title allows for an ambiguous interpretation. It can mean one who has a specific cultural affinity, or the “western tradition,” or one who lives on one side of barbed wire and is killing those on the other side. But “in Christ” invites no such abuse, because it demands reflection on a dynamic, living relationship. No wonder Paul loved it. “For to me, to live is Christ,” said Paul (Philippians 1:21).

Indeed, we hear many a person today claim to be “a Christian,” and many even call America a “Christian nation.” But these terms are used to mean anything the speaker wants them to mean. In contrast, there is no mistaking what it means to be in Christ.

To summarize. the second result of redemption is wisdom and prudence—knowledge and insight. The wisdom (knowledge) God has given is the knowledge of the mystery of His will—bringing us back into fellowship. The prudence (insight) God has given is His showing us how He works with man in a practical way throughout History. God is working through History and is working all things “after the counsel of His own will” (v. 11). God’s purpose will never be thwarted. In a very practical way we are a part of God’s plan and purpose. The Church Age is the most important age to date. We who are members of Christ’s Body are to serve Him and strive for the unity of the Body. We truly are a part of God’s working in history. Oh, may we see what God is doing and that we are a part of it! May we hold to this reality and be used of God!

Martyn Lloyd-Jones closed his sermon on Ephesians 1:10 with this wonderful challenge:

God forbid that we should abuse the Scriptures by reducing them to the level of our ideas or contemporary events. Look at the ultimate, look at God’s grand and glorious purpose. Do not be over-particular in your interpretation of contemporary history, do not waste your time in attempts to fix “times or seasons.” What matters is God’s plan, God’s eternal scheme, this “dispensation,” this “economy,” this purpose of which we are a part, which is being worked out since the beginning of “the fulness of times.” Think of and live for the ultimate restoration of that glorious harmony which is coming, when we with our whole being shall praise “the Lamb that was slain.” He has redeemed us. Let us sing, “Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Revelation 5:13). Let wars come, let pestilences come, let hell be let loose, “nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” That is the Christian message for today. Thank God for it, and rejoice in it.²⁹

His point is an important one. Instead of looking at “times and seasons” and trying to plumb today’s headlines with some obscure prophecy in Ezekiel, let’s rejoice in what God is doing and will ultimately do, bringing the creation back to Himself and bringing ultimate glory to Himself.

Inheritance (v. 11)

In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

The third result of our redemption is that we have obtained an inheritance. To fully understand this result, let us once again examine two principles.

The Expression of Our Inheritance (11a).

The words we have obtained an inheritance translate a single word in the Greek, eklerothemen. This unique word is used only here in the New Testament. In Classical Greek, from the time of Homer (8^th Century BC Greek poet), the noun root kleros referred to “the fragment of stone or piece of wood which was used as a lot.” Lots were drawn to discover the will of the gods. Since land was divided by lot, probably in the framework of common use of the fields, kleros came to mean a share, land received by lot, plot of land, and finally inheritance.³⁰ Similarly, in the Old Testament, the same basic concept of casting lots (the Urim and Thummin) was used to discover God’s will (Num. 27:21, I Chron. 24:5f, etc.) and to divide land (I Chron. 6:54-81).

So the idea Paul conveys here is that the lot of inheritance has fallen upon us, not by chance, but by the sovereign will of God.

Also, because eklerothemen is in the Passive Voice (the subject being acted upon), it can also be translated “we were made a heritage” (as it is in the Revised Version and the American Standard Version). So, instead of saying that we obtained an inheritance, this says that we were made Christ’s heritage. Now, while this does fit grammatically, and even theologically, it does not fit contextually. And may we interject, the NIV misses the point by a mile with the mistranslation, “in Him we were also chosen;” that is not what the text says.

Our Authorized Version is correct here. Verse 14 explicitly speaks of our inheritance, which the Holy Spirit guarantees. Paul’s point in the entire passage (vs. 3-14) is to outline our riches in Christ. Specifically, the idea of inheritance really carries us back to being predestined to adoption in verse 5; the believer cannot be predestined to sonship without being predestined to inheritance. Inheritance was, in fact, a primary reason a sonship. Paul also says in Romans 8:17, we are “joint-heirs with Christ.” As Charles Hodge put it: “We have not only been made sharers of the knowledge of redemption, but are actually heirs of its blessings.”³¹

There’s a beautiful picture of this from 17^th Century Scotland. The Presbyterian Covenanters wished to worship the way they wanted but were persecuted by the Scottish dragoons—heavily armed mounted soldiers—empowered by the Anglican regime of King Charles II. One day a Scottish lass was making her way to one of the secret meetings of the Covenanters and was caught by a troop of dragoons. The leader demanded to know where she was going so early on a Sunday morning. She knew the danger she was in and the danger she would cause her fellow Believers if she revealed the location of the meeting. Also knowing she couldn’t lie, she finally said, “My Elder Brother has died and they’re reading his will. I want to be there to see what he has left for me.”³²

Indeed, what a wonderful truth to know that we are joint-heirs with our Elder Brother.



The Energy of Our Inheritance (v. 11b)

From whence does this inheritance come? We note here two things that Paul reemphasizes from earlier in the chapter.

First, predestinated according to God’s purpose. As we recall, predestination has to do with FINAL DESTINY; it involves the final destiny of believers. Our final destiny has been “predetermined” or “foreordained.” We have been “foreordained” to final adoption (1:5), and “foreordained” to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

With this in mind, we can now understand the use here in verse 11. Paul said in verse 10 that everything would be united in Christ. So, following this flow of thought, the final destiny that is, to be His heritage.

Second, all this is according to the counsel of [God’s] own will. This, too, points back to verse 5. There we discovered adoption was motivated out of “the good pleasure of his will.” But the expression here is a bit different. While the word will is the same as in verse 5 (thelema, “a desire which proceeds from one’s heart or emotions”), verse 11 adds the word “counsel.” This is the Greek boule, which speaks more of conscious deliberation and consideration that is free from emotion. We conclude then that the emotional nature is governed by deliberate reasoning. Why? Because God has specific purposes to accomplish. God does not act arbitrarily; He does not act according to whim. Rather, He acts with purpose, deliberate purpose.

Commentator William Hendriksen makes this wonderful summary statement on this passage:

Neither fate nor human merit determines our destiny. The benevolent purpose—that we should be holy and faultless (verse 4), sons of God (verse 5), destined to glorify him forever (verse 6, cf. verses 12 and 14)—is fixed, being part of a larger, universe-embracing plan. Not only did God make this plan that includes absolutely all things that ever take place in heaven, on earth, and in hell; past, present, and even the future, pertaining to both believers and unbelievers, to angels and devils, to physical as well as spiritual energies and units of existence both large and small; he also wholly carries it out. His providence in time is as comprehensive as is his decree from eternity. Literally Paul states that God works (operates with His divine energy in) all things.³³

This brings us back to consider once again one of the most important thoughts of our study of Ephesians, namely, What is God’s ultimate purpose? What is His ultimate purpose in human history? This purpose is revealed in verses 3-14, but in short: GOD’S ULTIMATE PURPOSE IS TO RESTORE THE UNITY BETWEEN MAN AND GOD SO THAT MAN CAN GLORIFY HIM. Does not verse 7 make this clear? “In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” We were totally depraved; now we have redemption through His blood. We shall come back to this in verse 12.

But it is interesting to note that the more emotional thelo (the verb form of thelema) is used much more often than boulomai (the verb form of boule). In fact, boulomai is used only 37 times, whereas thelo is used 207 times. Why is that? Some Greek scholars say the words are “almost entirely interchangeable,”³⁴ but this seems unlikely. It is preferable to say that God not only acts with deliberation and specific purpose, but He also acts with emotions. God does not want us to view Him as a cold, calculating force. Rather, He wants us to view Him as a loving Father who chose us with emotion and real heart-felt desire. Think of it this way: Indeed, God chose us with deliberate purpose, but part of that deliberate purpose was that He loved us.

VII. The Reason for Redemption (v. 12)

That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

What is the reason for our redemption? Why has God done so much for us? Let us take each of these final clauses.

First, That we should be to the praise of His glory. That is the final end!

There has been some question as to whether this clause or the next clause should go first. Some maintain that the second clause (who first trusted in Christ) should go first. In fact, the NASV reads, “To the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ should be to the praise of His glory.” But we must disagree with that translation. The order in our Authorized Version better fits the flow of the passage. In light of the previous verse, may we put it this way: We have received an inheritance so that we can praise His glory.

It is interesting to point out that the Jews had the mistaken idea that God chose them for their own privilege. How many Christians have the same idea? But this was not the primary reason God chose Israel. As Isaiah the prophet declared: “This people have I formed for myself; they shall show forth my praise” (Is. 43:21). Primarily, God chose them so they could praise Him. Likewise, God chose us in Christ primarily so we will praise Him.

This is the second time Paul uses the phrase to the praise of His glory in his “Song of Praise.” Moreover, this phrase ends each of the three “stanzas” (vs. 6, 12, 14). There is a subtle and glorious difference, however, between the phrase here and the one back in verse 6. One expositor puts it this way:

How wonderful a purpose this that we should be not merely to “the praise of the glory of His grace” [v. 6], but “to the praise of His glory” [v. 12]. “The praise of the glory of His grace” contemplates the low, sinful estate of those whom He raises up to manifest it in, but “the praise of His glory” contemplates the wonderful condition into which they are brought and seated with Christ.”³⁵

In other words, “the praise of the glory of His grace” (v. 6) is the before; “to the praise of His glory” (v. 12) is the after. As wonderful as it is to contemplate the glory of God’s grace manifestly, it is even more wondrous to contemplate just His glory intrinsically.

Does not all this again show God’s ultimate purpose?—TO RESTORE THE UNITY BETWEEN GOD AND MAN SO THAT MAN CAN GLORIFY HIM. Indeed, everything COMMENCES with Christ, CONTINUES in Christ, and CULMINATES in Christ. Paul was captivated by the thought of Christ’s glory. May we also be thus enthralled. May we say with Paul, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (I Cor. 1:30-31). We have not one single thing to glory in ourselves. All that we are, all that we have, and all that we can become is to the praise of HIS glory.

Second, who first trusted in Christ. Actually the word we refers to this clause and describes the Jews. The word trusted is not the word that means “to believe” (pisteuo), but is the word proelpizo. This word is found only here in the New Testament and means “to hope before,” that is, to rest in the hope of a person event before it becomes a reality. So, what Paul is saying is that we (the Jews) were the first to hope in “the Christ” (that is, “the Messiah” as the definite article is present in the Greek text). Before the Messiah came, the Jews were the first to rest in the hope (or certainty) of His coming. Tragically, they are still looking for the coming of Messiah.

Why does Paul bring this up? The reason Paul mentions this is because in verse 13 he uses the words in Whom ye also trusted.” Ye speaks of Gentiles. The Jews were the first to hope in Christ; the Gentiles were second. Paul does all this to show the unity of Jew and Gentile in this age. This is a point he stresses often in chapters 2 and 3. Therefore, we all, whether Jew or Gentile, are to be to the praise of His glory. Oh, what marvelous riches we have in the Son: Forgiveness, Wisdom and Insight, Inheritance. Why has all this been given? So we can be to the praise of His Glory.

The story is told of a sailor who many years ago purchased a large cage full of birds and then went to the riverside below London Bridge. He then took one bird after another from the cage and let it fly. When a companion rebuked him for spending his money so foolishly, he said quietly: “Wait a little. I have reason for this—to give happiness to these birds!” When the cage was finally empty, he turned triumphantly, with a bright eye, and said: “I was once a captive myself in bondage, in a strange land. I vowed, if I got freedom, to give liberty to the first captives I found at home. The birds have got it, and my heart rejoices in the deed!”³⁶

May this likewise challenge us that redemption truly demands our greatest gratitude.

I would like to close this study in the same way I began it, by quoting B. B. Warfield. While proclaiming the centrality of the doctrine of redemption in the opening of his address, he closed the address by pointing out that even in his day (1915) this doctrine was not only under attack by liberals, but was also neglected even by Evangelicals (whatever that term had come to mean). He closed with these words:

I think you will agree with me that it is a sad thing to see words like these die . . . And I hope you will determine that, God helping you, you will not let them die thus, if any care on your part can preserve them in life an vigor. But the dying of the words is not the saddest thing which we see here. The saddest thing is the dying our of the hears of men of the things for which the words stand . . . The real thing for you to settle in your minds, therefore, is whether Christ is truly a Redeemer to you , and whether you find an actual Redemption in Him,—or are you ready to deny the Master that bought you, and to count His blood an unholy thing? Do you realize that Christ is your Ransomer and has actually shed His blood for you as your ransom? Do you realize that your salvation has been bought, bought at a tremendous price, at the price of nothing less precious than blood, and that the blood of Christ, the Holy One of God? Or, go a step further: do you realize that this Christ who has thus shed His blood for you is Himself your God? So the Scriptures teach.³⁷

In our own day of the redefining of the Gospel, that is, indeed, a pointed reminder. How many are there today who profess Christ but are truly in Christ? How many claim to be “Christian” but deny blood redemption and forgiveness of sin only in Christ? How many speak of “knowing Jesus” but deny that He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life?

1 Sproul, p. 26.

2 See Chapter 5 of the author’s book, Salvation is of the Lord for a lengthy eighth aspect of the cross, “The Extent of Redemption.”

3 B. B. Warfield, The Person and Work of Christ (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing, 1950), p. 325.

4 See a picture of the ancient agora in the Appendix.

5 Richard Trench, Synonymns of Greek New Testament, p. 290.

6 John Phillips.

7 Cited in Hughes.

8 Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands a Verdict.

9 Sermons on Ephesians, p. 53.

10 God’s Ultimate Purpose, p. 165.

11 Cited in J. Vernon McGee.

12 R. J. McGhee in The Biblical Illustrator.

13 Gleaned from several sources: Grolier Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, and Hughes.

14 New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. I, p. 697.

15 Cited in Colin Brown, Vol. 3, pp. 840-841, based on the writings of Aristotle (Politics, 1, 9, p. 1256b-1258a, 8; 2, 9, p. 1269a, 34f) and Plato (Republic 7, 521a; 8, 547b; Phaedo 279c).

16 Cited in J. Vernon McGee.

17 God’s Ultimate Purpose, p. 178.

18 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia.

19 Hamlet, 1.5.191.

20 Zodhiates, p.1300.

21 New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. II, p. 616.

22 Kittel, p.1277.

23 Random House Webster’s Dictionary.

24 Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

25 Cited in Barkley.

26 Santayana, The Life of Reason, Vol. 1., 1905.

27 Ken Gewertz, “We’ve Been Through the Worst: Historian David McCullough on the Uses of History in a Time of Crisis” (Harvard Gazette, October 31, 2002); also dramatized in the docudrama, The Missiles of October, 1974.

28 Kittle, p. 389.

29 God’s Ultimate Purpose, p. 209.

30 Brown, Vol. 2, p. 296.

31 Ephesians, p.37 (emphasis added). The full text of Hodge is worth repeating: “This view is supported by the following considerations (emphasis added):

“1. Though the verb is in the passive, the above rendering may be justified either by the remark of Grotius, ‘As the active form signifies giving a possession, the passive may signify accepting it,’ or by a reference to the use of the passive voice in such passages as Romans 3:2 and Galatians 2:7. Verbs which in the active have the accusative and dative, in the passive have the dative changed into the nominative.

“2. The inheritance which the apostle speaks about in the context, as in verses 14 and 18, is what believers enjoy. They are not themselves the inheritance; they are the heirs. Therefore, in this place it is more natural to understand him to refer to what believers attain in Christ than to their becoming the inheritance of God. As the Israelites of old obtained an inheritance in the promised land, so those in Christ become partakers of that heavenly inheritance which he has secured for them. Frequent references to this analogy are made in Scripture, which leave little doubt about the meaning of this passage.

“3. The parallel passage in Colossians 1:12 also serves to determine the sense of the clause under consideration. What is there expressed by saying, “who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light” is here expressed by saying, ‘We were made heirs.’ The word also belongs to the verb, and not to the pronoun implied in the form of the verb. The sense is not ‘we also’—i.e., ‘we as well as others,’ but ‘we have also obtained an inheritance.’ We have not only been made partakers of the knowledge of redemption, but are actually heirs of its blessings.”

32 Adapted from John Phillips.

33 Hendrickson, p. 88 (emphasis in the original).

34 For example; Brown, Vol. III, p. 1016. But, as text indicates, this seems unlikely. It makes little sense to view these as synonymous when Paul uses both in the same context.

35 F. W. Grant, p. 325f.

36 J. G. Angley, The Biblical Illustrator.

37 The Person and Work of Christ, p. 347.