Lesson for January 31, 2021
The Book of Ephesians
Chapter 1: 7-12
Verses 7-10
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.” Propitiation, redemption, reconciliation, imputation, justification all combine so that God is able to bless us to the maximum without compromising His divine character. We are pursued by grace at the point of salvation.
The Greek word for redemption is “apolutrosis,” which is the strongest of all Greek words meaning to be released for the payment of a ransom. Jesus Christ purchased believers from the slave-market of sin by meeting the ransom price for Adam’s original sin, inherent sin and personal sin on the Cross. There are actually three Greek words for redemption: “agorazo” meaning “to buy,” “exagorazo” meaning “to buy out of or remove from sale” and “lutroo” meaning “to release on receipt of ransom or payment.” All these definitions apply to what Christ did for us on the Cross. Believers are also redeemed from the obligation of keeping the Mosaic Law, which was falsely distorted into a system of salvation and spirituality by religious Jewish leaders. The Mosaic Law was never designed to provide salvation but did expose mankind’s sinfulness and need for a Savior. (Romans 7)
There are several definitions for sin in the Word of God: “falling short of God’s righteousness” (Romans 3:23), “transgression,” which is overstepping God’s law (Psalm 51:1-4), “trespasses,” which is deviation from God’s righteousness (Ephesians 2:1), “disobedience,” which is rebellion against God’s law (I Timothy 1:9-10), and “unbelief in Christ as Savior,” which is the only unpardonable sin. (John 8:24). Christ redeemed us from all categories of sin.
Christ, Our Kinsman Redeemer
The Old Testament practice of the “kinsman redeemer” is a perfect example of how Christ redeems us from the Mosaic Law and from sin. Certain requirements had to be met in order for a person to free someone from slavery. The redeemer had to be a relative, he had to be able to redeem by meeting the purchase price and he had to be willing to redeem the person in slavery.
By His taking on humanity, Jesus Christ became a “kinsman” (relative) to all mankind. (John 1:1-3,14) In order to meet the purchase price, Christ had to be perfect (no sin of His own to pay for). He was born of a virgin therefore He had no sin nature, and He lived a sinless life, which qualified Him (able) to meet the purchase price for our sin. (Matthew 1:23, I Timothy 3:16; Romans 5:8; II Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 2:9-11, 4:15: I Peter 1:18) Christ volunteered (willing) to redeem us. He was obedient to the Father’s plan for salvation and gave His life freely. Christ even restricted the use of the power of His deity (Doctrine of Kenosis) and used the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish all of this for us. (Philippians 2:5-8; Romans 5:19, Luke 22:42, 23:46)
The results of redemption are freedom from the curse of the Law, (Galatians 3:10, 24-25; Romans 6:14; Colossians 2:14-17), adopted into God’s family (Galatians 4:4-7), redeemed from the power of sin (Romans 6:11-14; Titus 2:14), redeemed from the presence of sin in the eternal state (Romans 8:23; Ephesians 1:14; Philippians 3:21), forgiven for all sin (Colossians 1:14), given an eternal inheritance (Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 9:11-15), justified (declared righteous) (Romans 3:24), sanctified (set apart to God) (Ephesians 5:25-27), victorious over Satan (Colossians 2:14-15; Hebrews 2:9-18) and given a mediator with God, Jesus Christ (I Timothy 2:5-6).
Through His blood is a reference to the spiritual death of Christ on the Cross. Never in human history has one principle, one doctrine, been so abused by misinterpretation of the Scripture. The blood of Jesus Christ is mentioned quite frequently in the New Testament and the blood of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. With regard to the doctrine of the blood there are several things that must be kept in mind. First of all, Jesus Christ did not bleed to death on the Cross. His physical death means we too conquer death at salvation and indicates the fact that salvation was completed, thereby conquering physical death and providing for us a resurrection body in eternity. Salvation was completed while Christ was alive on the Cross. (John 19:30)
The blood of Christ was represented by animal blood in the Old Testament. Blood is said to be the seat of animal life: “The life of the flesh is in the blood” – Leviticus 17:10-14. This is not talking about people it is talking about animals. Animal blood was used in the Old Testament sacrifices to represent the spiritual death of Christ on the Cross. (Leviticus Chapters1-3) Therefore, we have a representative analogy between the blood of animals in the Old Testament and the spiritual death of Christ on the Cross. In the New Testament whenever the blood of Christ is mentioned it is referring to His spiritual death as the reality of the animal sacrifice type under the Mosaic Law. (Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 10:19; 13:20; I Peter 1:2)
The doctrine of redemption was communicated in the Old Testament by means of animal sacrifices, (Hebrews 9:22) Christ did not die physically on the Cross by bleeding to death. (John 19:30,33,34) The physical death of Christ occurred as an act of His own volition, not by bleeding. (John 10:18) After His work of salvation was completed, Jesus Christ dismissed His spirit into the presence of the Father. (Luke 23:46; Matthew 27:50) When Christ died physically His blood was still in His body. (John 19:34) Therefore the blood of Christ is a part of a representative analogy between the physical death of the animal in the Old Testament sacrifice and the spiritual death of Christ on the Cross bearing our sins. (II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:24.)
The blood of Christ depicts four doctrines of soteriology: a) Expiation – Revelation 1:5. Expiation means that Christ paid the penalty of sin and the blood of the animal dying physically represented Christ dying spiritually for our sins; b) Redemption – Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14; 1 Peter 1:18,19; c) Justification – Romans 5:9 where we are said to be justified by His blood; d) Sanctification – Hebrews 13:12, we are sanctified by His blood. All of these refer to the spiritual death of Christ on the Cross making it possible for us to be free from the penalty of sin [expiation], liberated from the slave-market of sin [redemption], receive the righteousness of God [justification], and be set apart unto God forever [sanctification]. The blood of Christ is also the basis for the Rebound Technique. (I John 1:7-9)
The Greek word for forgiveness is “aphesis,” which means forgiveness, remission, pardon. Basically, the word connotes the cancellation of an obligation. It also connotes dismissal from punishment or forgiveness of guilt. All of these were accomplished on the Cross when Christ was bearing our sins. The Greek word for sins is “paraptoma” and is not usually the word used. It is used for sins against God, sins in the sense of being all against God. When this word is in the singular it refers to Adam’s original sin, as in Romans 5:15, but the plural indicates the sins of the entire human race, as in Romans 4:25; 5:16; II Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:13. Ephesians 1:7; James 5:16. So, it should be translated “the cancellation of sins.” Our sins were cancelled when Christ bore them on the Cross and God the Father judged them on the Cross in Christ.
According to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us means God in His grace gave the greatest He had to redeem us – His Son Jesus Christ. The Greek word for riches is “ploutos,” which means wealth or abundance. Unlimited divine resources are part of God’s plan under the concept of grace. The whole character of God, the power of God, the genius of God, the faithfulness of God, all meet in providing a perfect plan for us. The wealth of grace is a description of that perfect plan. God’s wealth of grace is the source of cancellation of our sins on the Cross. Grace is the pattern in salvation and there is no blessing apart from this principle. Under grace everything depends on Who God is.
In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of His will is a reference to the Bible doctrine in the soul of the believer. Wisdom is the Greek word “sophia,” which means spiritual insight into things through knowledge and application of Bible doctrine. Insight is the Greek word “phronesis” and it means objective thinking or Divine Viewpoint Thinking. (II Corinthians 10:3-6)
He made known means to reveal. God the Father has revealed His plan and His grace through Bible doctrine contained in the Bible and through no other source. The mystery of His will refers to the doctrine of the Church Age, which was hidden from the Old Testament prophets but was revealed through the Church Age apostles. (Ephesians 3:1-7; Colossians 1:27-28)
The Greek word for mystery is “musterion,” which is derived from Attic Greek when a person was being initiated into a Greek fraternity in the ancient world. There is a verb that goes with it, also from the Attic Greek, “mueo,” which means to initiate or to instruct in the basic doctrines of the fraternity. Therefore, the doctrines of the fraternity are known only to those who have been initiated and not to the outsiders. Jesus used this meaning with the disciples in Matthew 13:11and Mark 4:10-11.
In the epistles of the New Testament, the word “mystery” refers to Church Age doctrine. (Ephesians 3:2-6) Mystery doctrine of the Church Age was not revealed in the Old Testament. (Romans 16:25-26; Colossians 1:26-27) Part of the mystery doctrine, includes the blindness of Israel during the Church Age, and is part of divine discipline toward Israel. (Romans 11:25) The mystery doctrine of the Church Age was part of the divine decrees in eternity past according to I Corinthians 2:7.
Pastor-teachers are responsible for communicating accurate Church Age doctrine. This is called the stewardship of the mysteries. (I Corinthians 4:1) The Rapture of the Church is a part of the mystery doctrine. (I Corinthians 15:51) This means that the Rapture of the Church was not revealed in Old Testament times. Mystery doctrine is always related only to the dispensation of the Church. (Ephesians 1:9; 3:2) Mystery doctrine is understood through the function of the study and application of Bible doctrine. (Colossians 2:2; I Timothy 3:9)
According to His kind intention which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times.His kind intention is one word in Greek meaning according to the standard of good thinking. Obviously, God’s thinking is perfect, and it pleased Him to reveal the mystery doctrine in the Church Age to us. God predetermined the time for revealing the mystery doctrine based on how He set up human history into dispensations through divine decrees. A dispensation is period in history where God’s policies and principles are administered in various ways. By doing this, God is proving to Satan and the fallen angels that He fair and just, because regardless of the dispensation, people will choose the salvation solution offered by God in Christ.
The mechanics of the baptism of the Holy Spirit are unique to the Church Age. The baptism of the Holy Spirit places believers into union with Christ. This is the doctrine of the mystery. God’s plan for the Church Age is related to positional sanctification. In this way, the Father’s plan centers around His Son because all believers at the point of salvation are entered into union with Christ. (Colossians 1:2-27)
The summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. God revealed the mystery doctrine at the perfect time in history looking forward in His omniscience to the future time when His Son Jesus Christ would rule upon the earth. This time is called the Millennium and Jesus Christ will rule the earth with perfect justice and righteousness and we will rule with Him. This is the fullness of times when all things in the heavens and on earth are brought into subjection to His authority and peace is the order of the day. The Second Coming of Christ at the end of the Tribulation ends the rulership of Satan on the earth and begins a new dispensation – the Millennium, where Satan is no longer on the scene. During the Millennium, Satan will be bound for 1000 years and will no longer be able to deceive the human race.
Verses 11-12
“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory.” Inheritance implies a family relationship and eternal is a permanent, everlasting relationship. This is certainly the case for every Christian. At salvation, every believer becomes a child of God. One of the amazing things is that as children of God, we also become heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. This means that we share in Christ’s inheritance. The Bible declares that it has not even entered into the mind of man what God has prepared for him. (Galatians 3:26; 4:26; Romans 8:17)
In eternity past, when God was designing a plan for your life, He included as part of His plan an inheritance. God was thinking of you in eternity past and predesigned a magnificent plan for your life on earth. He has also designed a plan for you for the eternal state. God’s plans are always a matter of His grace. For the believer in Christ, God has become your Father, not merely your Creator. This family relationship is entered into by faith in Christ at salvation. Therefore, it is not something for which we have worked, nor is it something that we deserve. In other words, this family relationship is based on the grace of God. Therefore, our inheritance is also based on God’s grace. As our Father, God desires only the best for His children. It is a divine decree from our Heavenly Father that we have an inheritance, and His decrees must be carried out. (Galatians 4:4-7)
Inheritance implies a family relationship even in the case of Jesus Christ. As the second Person of the Trinity, Jesus is the Son of God. It is this family relationship that Jesus has with God the Father that guarantees that He will have an inheritance. As a matter of fact, Christ is the inheritor of all things according to Hebrews 1:2. It is this inheritance that the believer, as a child of God, shares with Christ because of his union with Him. Eternal inheritance means exactly that – it lasts for all eternity. Our inheritance begins at salvation but will not be fully realized until we enter the eternal state. After the believer is evaluated at the Judgment Seat of Christ, his “escrow blessings” (those kept in his escrow account) will be conveyed to him to enjoy for all eternity. It is the realization of these greater blessings in eternity that should be a motivating factor in the life of every believer. This knowledge becomes part of our personal sense of destiny and the hope (full confidence) of a future filled only with peace and happiness.
In God’s grace, He has provided for every believer for the eternal state. For those believers who execute the Christian Way of Life, the rewards will be greater. Nevertheless, all believers will be blessed in eternity and all believers will enjoy happiness forever. Personal sins are not going to be an issue when you stand before the Lord Jesus Christ to be evaluated, because your sins were dealt with on the Cross. Only what you did or did not do with your Christian Way of Life will be evaluated.
Everything that we have had in the first eleven verses explains some of the principles of provision. It doesn’t explain the details of our provision, it explains the principles by which God keeps His own character intact and provided for us in eternity past and makes the same provision available in time. In verse twelve we see why. We have been given all these spiritual assets to bring praise and glory to God. The believer continues on earth after salvation as a definite part of the Father’s predetermined plan and provision of grace. It is the Father’s plan for us to continue on the earth after salvation. The believer continues on earth after salvation as a part of the Father’s predetermined plan and provision of grace.
There are certain things that the Father can provide now on earth that will not be provided in eternity. Time on earth is the only time that believers will ever suffer, will ever have problems or difficulties, or ever be involved in the Angelic Conflict. So, the believer continues on earth after salvation as a part of the Father’s predetermined plan. The provision of grace demonstrates the Father’s ability to protect, to preserve and to bless believers in Satan’s world system and to bless them under maximum pressure. The ultimate in living on this earth as a believer is the function of spiritual maturity and the super-grace life which is to the praise of the Father’s glory. The Father is glorified to the maximum by believers living in super-grace. Since God provides for maximum blessing in the super-grace life, God receives all the praise.