In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph 1:7 KJV).
The letter to the Ephesian Christians is one of the spiritual mountaintops in the NT. Incarcerated in a Roman prison, Paul’s spirit soars in these verses as he considers what grace has done, both in his life and in the lives of the Ephesian believers. In this epistle, he lists many of the “things that accompany salvation” (Heb 6:9). Among other things, Paul addresses adoption into God’s family, acceptance by God, the guarantee of eternal life, the granting of an eternal inheritance, the riches of God’s grace, that we each have been made a masterpiece of God, divine persons dwelling within every believer, knowing peace with God, and that we have immediate access to God.
If you have never been saved by God’s amazing grace, you need go no further than Ephesians 1:7 to see how wonderful God’s salvation really is. This is the crux of what you are missing.
The theme of this verse is redemption, which means “being bought back and set free.” As sinners, we are all “sold under sin” (Rom 7:14) – captives by it, slaves to it, bound under it and prisoners of it. But God offers a full pardon and full freedom from the penalty of sin because of what His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, did on the cross at Calvary.
The price paid to redeem sinners was the precious blood of Christ. He was and is the Lamb of God, who is able to “take away the sin of the world” (Joh 1:29). He had to give His life, and He did so willingly, capably and lovingly. Only a Man without sin could pay God back for the great debt of man’s sin. The Bible states that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness for sin (Heb 9:22). In the greatest act of love ever seen, the Lord Jesus shed His blood at Calvary so that you and I could be redeemed back to God.
The result of faith in this finished work is the forgiveness of sins. This may be the most wonderful four-word phrase in all the Bible. Every sin we have ever committed is against God. Because of this, only God can forgive our sins. No church, no religion, no work of man will ever put sins away. But through faith alone in the work of God’s Son, He promises to forgive every sin – past, present and future. There is simply no greater peace than knowing that when this life is over, a sinner saved by grace can meet God, with all sins having been forgiven.
The cause of this great forgiveness is the riches of God’s grace. Grace means being given that which I do not deserve. As sinners, we only deserve the eternal judgment of God. But His grace is such that, through the cross, having poured His wrath against sin onto His blessed Son, God offers a full and free salvation to any who accept the Savior.
Do you long for peace with God and to know that your sins are all forgiven? Cease trying to please God, and trust alone in the One who has pleased God through what He accomplished at the cross.
