Ephesians Devotionals
Bob Morris
The Blessings: (Part 4: Ransom); Ephesians 1: 7-8
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us.
There are many metaphors that help us understand what God has done for us in Christ through his death. One of the most striking is “redemption”. It is the picture of paying a price – a ransom - for something previously owned. Unlike ransoms currently being paid for slaves in the Sudan or Côte d’Ivoire, this is not just a humanitarian gesture to liberate people unfairly enslaved by some oppressor. The precedent for this metaphor is Israel’s experience described in the Old Testament. Where they once belonged to God, they had become enslaved in Egypt, quite beyond their control. In another case they had become enslaved in Babylon, this time due to their own willfulness. In either case, they had rightly belonged to God, but they were helpless to change their lot until God himself redeemed them and made them his people once again. “But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deut. 7: 8; compare with Isa. 48: 20).
Leviticus had detailed rules for the price to be paid for the redemption of a slave. At the Exodus, there was blood to be shed. But nothing can compare to the price God paid for us – the death of the One he loves. That is how much he loved us and loves us still. That is also a measure of the heinousness of sin. The marvel is, the price of our redemption is also its means. The Levitical sacrifices were instituted as a vicarious means of becoming acceptable to God. But the animals had to be sacrificed repeatedly. They were only an audio-visual (or “shadow” as the writer of Hebrews (10: 1) labels them) of the final reality to come in Christ Jesus.
Paul earlier talked of God’s glorious grace. Here he speaks of the riches of God’s grace which he lavished on us. John writes, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God” (John 3: 1). The point is that God’s love and grace beggar adequate words to describe them. It seems impossible to exaggerate the wonder or the extent of what God has done for us in Christ. But try we must as we offer the good news to people God loves and for whom Christ died, but who don’t yet know it.
A writer in Christian Week told of having been offended when she walked into a store and faced a sign saying “Extravagance is good”. In the context of the temple of Mammon (the mall), she was highly offended, but the more she reflected on the word “extravagance” in the context of God’s grace, the more she appreciated the fact that extravagance was a wonderful thing.
Gracious Father, thank you for your extravagant generosity toward us. Help us to live lives characterized by generosity to others.
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