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The Light
Dr David Wood
LETTER TO THE EPHESIANS
REDEEMED
Praise be to the Lord
Jesus Christ we are redeemed!
Ephesians 1:7 (KJV)
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Romans 3:23-25 (KJV)
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus:
25 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;
We are the redeemed!
The bill is paid in full! As the song goes, “We owed a debt we could not pay
and He paid a debt He did not owe”. Praise His name that debt is paid and I am
free from the curse, I am free of the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).
Galatians 3:13-14 (KJV)
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:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
The curse entered the
earth by way of the original sin by mankind in the Garden of Eden. With sin
came death and all the bitterness of a natural life on the earth. Now down
through time God has provided a way for those who would walk in covenant with
Him to have a degree of freedom from the curse and it was good but now we have a
more excellent way in Christ Jesus. All that was lost in the Garden has been
restored. The only thing missing, yet to come is the redemption of our bodies
(Romans 8:23). This letter to the Christians at Galatia told them that they
were redeemed from the curse so that the blessing of Abraham could come on them.
Galatians 3:14 (KJV)
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through
Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Well what is the
blessing of Abraham? First Paul is saying that this blessing is to come on the
Gentiles (non-Jewish persons) through Jesus Christ. Salvation, a blood covenant
relationship was made available to the whole world not just the children, in
their generations, of Abraham. Remember John 3:16.
John 3:16 (KJV)
16
For God so
loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
God loved the whole
world, everyone and wanted them all back, so Jesus came, emptied himself of all
that made Him God (Philippians 2:7) so that He could pass Adam’s test, go to the
cross and shed innocent blood to purchase our total redemption from the hand of
Satan. He went into hell and got the keys of hell and the grave and took His
blood to the mercy seat of Heaven for an everlasting redemption.
Hebrews 10:12-13 (KJV)
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for
ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
So first of all the
blessing of Abraham is entrance into a blood covenant with Jehovah God by the
blood of Christ. Second it is a supernatural empowerment for prosperity in
every area of life not just financial. For this to be actuated you must do it
God’s way. A third aspect is that we are sealed unto God by the Holy Spirit.
Just as the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Godhead encompassed Adam so
does He encompass us. He, the Holy Spirit, is our teacher and our guide. He is
that quiet inner voice that prompts us to remain on the right road, God’s way.
Fourth we have the promise of the Spirit through faith. The promise is what
brought Jesus into the earth and regained all that the devil stole from us.
Dominion or authority has been restored by the sacrifice of Jesus and given unto
us (Matthew 28:18-20). Jesus also purchased back power in the earth, the
ability to subdue (Luke 24:49). Subdue not only the physical earth but the
world system and our spiritual enemies. With the sacrifice of Christ, which
brought salvation which is rescue from the entire curse, came the restoration of
our spirits back to fellowship with God. With the baptism of the Holy Spirit we
receive power, access to miraculous ability and abundance. Fifth, when we were
born again we received all of God’s, Our Father’s, spiritual organs which are
the fruit of the spirit. These endue us with great power. Remember love never
fails (1 Corinthians 13:8) and when patience has its perfect work we will be
lacking in nothing (James 1:4).
Now let us return to
our original text.
Ephesians 1:7 (KJV)
7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace;
In Jesus we have been
redeemed from all of the curse. We have been set on the solid Rock, which is
Christ Jesus. His blood has set sin aside for ever, praise His name! Sin is
not the issue only what we did with His blood, with His free gift. And this
free gift of salvation was provided “according to the riches of his grace.”
Well just how much grace do you figure God has? God is infinite so I believe we
could safely say that His grace is infinite. Sin has been completely
overwhelmed and washed away.
Romans 5:20 (KJV)
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
His grace is
graciousness toward us. But it is so much more. Grace is a free gift; it is
the favor of God. But the word, the act of providing grace brings with it the
idea of acceptance, benefits, liberality, and thankfulness. I believe the
thankfulness is on the part of God who is thankful that we are redeemed. What a
loving God. But this act of grace also means to be cheerful, calmly happy or
well-off. Sounds a lot like the Hebrew word, shalom, or peace which speaks of
wholeness in every area of life especially spirit, soul and body.
3 John 1:2 (KJV)
2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in
health, even as thy soul prospereth.
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