7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:7-10)
Two themes jump out of this passage. The first is the theme of our redemption, which Paul describes in superlative terms. He says we have received this out of the riches of God’s grace, and it has been lavished upon us, both terms conveying the idea of a luxurious, abundant outpour of the love and mercy of God upon us.
Second, is the theme of the mystery of God’s will, which Paul says is the purpose of God, outlined in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. We will explore these two themes in this article.
Stirring up by way of a reminder
Have you ever stopped to wonder at the vastness of God’s grace? One of the greatest tragedies we face as believers living in an age of Marvel movies and technological marvels is that we fail to be stirred by the wonders of the gospel. We are not moved when we hear terms like ‘Redemption’, ‘Forgiveness of our sins’, and ‘Riches of God’s grace’. Our emotions are not stirred. Why is this? Because we have heard them over and over to the point, they no longer stir us up. As you read the opening passage, how did you feel? Were you moved as you read about our great salvation in Christ? Were your emotions stirred? One of the reasons the Apostles wrote their letters was to stir the affection of their readers for God. This is not only true with Paul but with Peter as well. Both in 2 Peter 1:13 and 3:1, the Apostle made it clear that his goal was to stir them up by way of reminder. That is precisely my goal with this article.
Paul spent three years pastoring the church at Ephesus and instructing them in the things of God. He probably taught them all the great truths outlined in this epistle during that time. However, due to the human tendency to forget and our emotions to be consequently dulled, Paul sensed the need to write a letter of reminder and encouragement to his brothers and sisters in the faith. Most commentators agree that Paul addresses two main themes in this letter: 1) Christ has reconciled all of creation, and 2) He has united the church in Himself.
What is striking is the volcanic nature of Paul’s melodious outburst of praise as he introduces the major themes of his letter.
He declares, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places”. The crux of what is causing the Apostle to burst into Apostolic praise is summed up in our opening verse: the glorious truth of our redemption and the mystery of God’s will.
The glorious truth of our redemption
“In him, we have redemption through his blood...” (Ephesians 1:7). Pause for a moment and let that sink in. Redemption. A word so familiar, yet do we comprehend its staggering depth?
The Greek word for redemption means to ‘buy back’ or ‘ransom’. In a salvation context, it refers to Christ’s death on the cross that paid the price required to purchase the elect from the slave market of sin. The ESV Study Bible notes, “Forgiveness of our trespasses explains the nature of redemption. Christians are freed from slavery to sin and guilt. This was effected by Christ’s blood, which means his death was an atoning sacrifice.”
In verse 4, Paul tells us that our salvation was never an incidental plan – God planned it before the foundation of the world. This, in and of itself, is staggering! Somewhere before the beginning of time, there was a counsel between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each person of the Trinity covenanted to do certain things in the magnificent plan of redemption. The Father thought up the plan of Salvation (Eph. 1:3-6). The Son took it upon Himself to carry out this plan, to take on human flesh and be born as a child, suffer and die a shameful death on a tree (Eph. 1:7-12). The Father, on His part, pledged to grant forgiveness to all those who would believe in the Son and the work He did on the cross (Eph. 1: 3-6). On His part, the Spirit partook to apply the work of salvation to the believer (Eph. 1:13-14).
It is a contemplation of this great plan of salvation — planned way back in eternity, even before the fall, that led Paul to burst out in uncontrollable praise.
John the Apostle is another person who was deeply stirred as he contemplated our salvation. In 1 John 3:1, he declared:
See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
You can tell the Apostolic astonishment reverberating in John’s voice. That we should be God’s children? Amazing love, how can it be! Considering that we were enemies of God who hated Him in our minds (Colossians 1:21), isn’t it amazing that He would send His Son to die in our place? Romans 5:7-8 argues that it is rare for someone to die for a righteous person, how much less for one to give up his life for his enemies? That is how staggering it is that Christ should die in our stead.
And not only that, having blotted out our wrongdoings via Christ’s blood, He welcomed us into His family as His children. And that is not all. As His children, God has poured His Spirit into our hearts as a deposit and guarantee of an even greater inheritance awaiting us in heaven (Ephesians 1:13-14, 2 Corinthians 1:22).
The mystery of His will
In the New Testament, the word mystery means a heretofore unrevealed truth, now made plain. This definition is supplied by Paul himself. In 3:4-6, he says:
When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Another place where he uses this term is 5:32, where he says, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.”
Putting the two together, the marvellous truth being conveyed here is that all believers are equal before the Lord as His children and citizens of His eternal kingdom. We are His earthly body, of which Christ is the head. The Holy Spirit, the lifeblood of this body, fills us with unique, powerful gifts for the whole body’s benefit so that we can go on doing the things Jesus did while he was on earth, namely, to expand His kingdom here on earth.
Paul further explains that God wants to extend His kingdom until such a time that all the cosmos is once again united under the headship of Christ. His goal is for a day when people of all nationalities, tongues, and nations will sit with Him at a banquet table as members of His family – the people who have been redeemed with His blood.
And He desires not just the Apostles but you and I to be ambassadors to carry this message to those who have not heard it yet. In this letter to the Ephesians, Paul’s words nearly leap off the page with enthusiasm and awe as he reflects on his calling to such a profound purpose (Ephesians 3: 1-2, 7-9, 6:19-20), as he does in his other letters (2 Corinthians 3:5-6, 2 Corinthians 2:16).However, the New Testament teaching is that all believers have been called to a ministry of reconciliation, i.e., we are all God’s ambassadors on a mission to reconcile the whole world to God via the gospel (2 Corinthians 5:17-20). Consider the magnitude of this honour – You and I, ambassadors of Christ!
Conclusion
Charles Spurgeon, the nineteenth-century preacher, once told of a minister who called on a poor woman wanting to help her out of her financial straits. Money in hand, he knocked on the door repeatedly, but she did not answer. Eventually, he left. Later, as he related the incident to her at church, she said: “Oh dear!’, ‘I heard you, sir, and I’m so sorry I did not answer. I thought you were the man calling for the rent.’
Like this woman, most believers fail to grasp and, therefore, miss out on the riches we have in Christ. A lack of appreciation of the meaning of our redemption, as discussed above, means that we deprive ourselves spiritually and are consequently malnourished and impoverished. We are not able to exclaim with Paul, “Blessed be God!”. Our worship and passion for missions are stifled.
The questions lingering for us now are: Are we stirred by the reality of our redemption? Will we stand as vigorous ambassadors of Christ, awed by His love and propelled to proclaim His marvellous grace to those who don’t yet know Him?
Thank you Jesus for your great love
Amen!