In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:
In Christ believers possess rescue from guilt through his shed blood, which is the pardon of their sins. The One in whom this rescue is found is God's dear Son, and belonging to Him means being delivered from the power of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God's Son. That Son is the divine, pre-existent Maker Himself, by whom all things were created and hold together, become flesh to ransom the world. He accomplished this rescue at Calvary by bearing human guilt as substitute and surety, giving His life to break Satan's grasp, expose the usurper's claim, and reassert God's ownership over souls and bodies. Sinners receive this pardon by accepting Christ as personal Saviour with complete surrender and obedient faith, however great their sin, and those received live cleansed and thankful lives, walking worthily in good works and joy.
Wording and Immediate Context
In Christ believers possess redemption through his blood, and that redemption is the forgiveness of sins. The sacrifice atones for every sinner, so that greatness of sin is no barrier to pardon for the one who returns to God with full purpose of heart. All that is required to receive it is complete surrender of thoughts and purposes, will, and all that one has and is, to be used as He directs.
The “in whom” is God’s dear Son, and this redemption belongs to being delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s Son. It is the privilege of every Christian to be thus delivered and transferred into the Son’s kingdom. Those who cast their helpless souls upon Christ have the right to have evidence that their sins are forgiven.
Those so delivered are made fit by the Father to share the inheritance of the saints in light. This fitness is part of possessing the higher life, even the life of God, marked by faith in Christ Jesus, love to all the saints, and hope laid up in heaven. It is known in the grace of God in truth and is present truth to be given to souls ready to perish in the darkness of error.
Sacrifice and Saving Work
Redemption was accomplished at Calvary, where Christ bore the guilt of transgression and carried human sins and sorrows, where Deity suffered in the ransom given for the world, and by that death the church was purchased. Rescue comes through His death at the cross where mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace embraced, and the life revealed in that sacrifice shows an infinitely perfect character. By giving His life for the life of sinners He secured forgiveness, exposed the falsity of Satan's claim to rule the world, and reasserted God's supreme ownership. He planted His cross between heaven and earth to dispute Satan's right to souls and bodies, wrestled with and overcame the powers of darkness, and Satan as prince of the world was cast out.
His death shows matchless love for sinners, rescues people from Satan's grasp and sets them free through His atoning sacrifice, so that those He has bought belong to Him. He gave up His life as substitute and surety, stands before God as Advocate and is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. He was more than a martyr, becoming the atoning sacrifice who suffered the penalty of transgression as surety and substitute for sinners. His complete humanity and perfect divinity provide the ground for reconciliation with God, and as Mediator bearing the marks of crucifixion He joins sinners to the Father and pleads their cause.
In place of sins Christ gives His own righteousness and clothes the believer with it, and this clothing is not a covering that leaves sin unchanged. One who cannot bear even slight temptation without exhibiting passion is not wearing it, while those truly clothed with Christ's righteousness hold passion under control. Christ alone could take away the world's sin, and He died for humanity while people were still sinners.
Redeemer's Divine Identity
The One in whom redemption through blood, even forgiveness of sins, is found is the divine, pre-existent Son, God made flesh who humbled Himself to death on the cross. He is the image of the invisible God, in whom God's divine character is revealed, and His work of redeeming humanity displays God's love and wisdom. That same saving work belongs to Him as the image of the invisible God and firstborn of every creature, the Creator of all things and the One by whom all things hold together. Rescue from sin and pardon come only in Him through His sacrificial death, for He existed before all things as the eternal Creator God Himself become man.
He is the firstborn of every creature and before all things, by whom all things in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible, including thrones and dominions and principalities and powers, were created by Him and for Him, and by whom all things consist and hold together. This truth of His righteousness and love for the world is the grand and heavenly theme that revives and quickens to new life. The Maker of the world lived unrecognized and unhonored and often homesick in the world He Himself had made, suffering loneliness of spirit, because He is both Creator and Redeemer. His mediatorial work is the central theme for contemplation, in which are infinite wisdom, infinite love, infinite justice, and infinite mercy, with depths and heights and lengths and breadths that require eternity to fully know.
Receiving Forgiveness by Faith
When sinners accept Christ as their personal Saviour they have redemption and forgiveness of sins through His blood. That redemption delivers from the power of darkness and translates into the kingdom of His Son, making fit to share the inheritance of the saints in light. Its greatness makes the recovery of souls from sin a revenue of goodness to men and of glory to God.
All that is required to receive it is complete surrender to God of thoughts and purposes, will, and all that one has and is, to be used as He may direct. That surrender is surrender of the human will to God with prompt, willing obedience to His commands. It matters not how great the sin, for he who returns to God with full purpose of heart is assured of pardon and peace, since the sacrifice of Christ atones for every sinner. The sacrifice is offered as assurance of God's mercy to the repentant sinner, making forgiveness available.
Those who cast their helpless souls upon Christ have the right to have evidence that their sins are forgiven. This assurance requires positiveness in faith, gained by living day by day in communion with God in order to know what He is to those who seek Him. The forgiveness is part of Christ's victory for humanity and is to be received through faith, and through faith in Christ's merits. Received in that way it is lived out as His teachings shape daily life, so that sinners may return their allegiance to God by obeying His law.
Life of the Redeemed
Redemption through blood for forgiveness belongs to God's great plan and calls for earnest thanksgiving, gratitude, praise and appreciation to the Father and divine Giver both in the home and in the church. Praise glorifies God, and the thankful believing soul is surrounded with a fragrant atmosphere. Expressing appreciation of the Lord's goodness reflects bright beams of light. The greatness of the gift makes the recovery of souls from sin a revenue of goodness to men and of glory to God. God's promises to the redeemed never fail when they constantly watch unto prayer.
Those who receive this redemption are to be cleansed and purified through the washing of the Word. They are to be sanctified in body, soul and spirit, having learned the excellent way. It is the privilege of everyone to be grounded and settled in the faith. No one who exercises faith which works by love and purifies the soul will be moved away from the hope of the gospel.
Receiving this truth in the heart opens the way to Jesus as light and life. It begins a refining, sanctifying transformation that ennobles character. The religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent. It bears fruit in good works that bear heaven's endorsement. That religion countenances no littleness and no mean transactions, giving true Christians a nobility that allows none of the cheap, covetous actions that disgrace the doer. Those in responsible positions are therefore to make straight paths for their feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way.
The redeemed are to be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. They are to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, be fruitful in every good work, and increase in the knowledge of God. They are to be strengthened with all might in spiritual, mental and physical power unto patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. They are to refuse to be dwarfed by overwork and to plan wisely so as to bring forth fruit that brings forth more fruit unto eternal life. This higher life, even the life of God, is known in the grace of God in truth, with faith in Christ, love to the saints and hope laid up in heaven. Old and young thus translated are to learn to converse in the language spoken in God's kingdom, with words heard with pleasure by the heavenly Father, and not with cheap, nonsensical remarks spoken to create levity.
Those redeemed are to live as subjects of his kingdom, talking of deliverance and not bondage, and acting with joy and not discouragement. They rejoice in his blood and in forgiveness, loving Christ as Saviour with his love burning in their hearts. They turn their minds away from dark pictures to think on things that give light. They deny self and overcome as he overcame, and by faith are cleansed through his blood to praise his redeeming power and love. They believe and practice the truth as the Word of the living God and walk in the bright light from heaven on God's required pathway, with angels constantly serving and bringing wonderful opportunities.
This redemption is the saving power of Jesus and a great practical essential truth to be stamped upon the soul, taught so people understand its power and live by it. It is to be studied again and again and set before people as always fresh, with Christ crucified openly presented, so that all who receive him and hold the beginning of their confidence firm to the end become sons of God, members of the royal family, and heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ to the incorruptible inheritance reserved in heaven. It is to be presented first in plain simplicity to bring people to the waters of life and to meet them where they are, before condemning customs or raising controversy. It is to be kept as the heart of Christian teaching and the grand theme of Christ's righteousness and love that revives to new life. It belongs to his supreme work of reconciling people to God and presenting them holy and blameless, which missionary effort is meant to accomplish, and it is present truth to be given to souls ready to perish in darkness and in the darkness of error for their saving.
In Christ believers possess rescue from guilt through his shed blood, which is the pardon of their sins. The One in whom this rescue is found is God's dear Son, and belonging to Him means being delivered from the power of darkness and brought into the kingdom of God's Son. That Son is the divine, pre-existent Maker Himself, by whom all things were created and hold together, become flesh to ransom the world. He accomplished this rescue at Calvary by bearing human guilt as substitute and surety, giving His life to break Satan's grasp, expose the usurper's claim, and reassert God's ownership over souls and bodies. Sinners receive this pardon by accepting Christ as personal Saviour with complete surrender and obedient faith, however great their sin, and those received live cleansed and thankful lives, walking worthily in good works and joy.
Wording and Immediate Context
In Christ believers possess redemption through his blood, and that redemption is the forgiveness of sins. The sacrifice atones for every sinner, so that greatness of sin is no barrier to pardon for the one who returns to God with full purpose of heart. All that is required to receive it is complete surrender of thoughts and purposes, will, and all that one has and is, to be used as He directs.
The “in whom” is God’s dear Son, and this redemption belongs to being delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s Son. It is the privilege of every Christian to be thus delivered and transferred into the Son’s kingdom. Those who cast their helpless souls upon Christ have the right to have evidence that their sins are forgiven.
Those so delivered are made fit by the Father to share the inheritance of the saints in light. This fitness is part of possessing the higher life, even the life of God, marked by faith in Christ Jesus, love to all the saints, and hope laid up in heaven. It is known in the grace of God in truth and is present truth to be given to souls ready to perish in the darkness of error.
Sacrifice and Saving Work
Redemption was accomplished at Calvary, where Christ bore the guilt of transgression and carried human sins and sorrows, where Deity suffered in the ransom given for the world, and by that death the church was purchased. Rescue comes through His death at the cross where mercy and truth met together and righteousness and peace embraced, and the life revealed in that sacrifice shows an infinitely perfect character. By giving His life for the life of sinners He secured forgiveness, exposed the falsity of Satan's claim to rule the world, and reasserted God's supreme ownership. He planted His cross between heaven and earth to dispute Satan's right to souls and bodies, wrestled with and overcame the powers of darkness, and Satan as prince of the world was cast out.
His death shows matchless love for sinners, rescues people from Satan's grasp and sets them free through His atoning sacrifice, so that those He has bought belong to Him. He gave up His life as substitute and surety, stands before God as Advocate and is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. He was more than a martyr, becoming the atoning sacrifice who suffered the penalty of transgression as surety and substitute for sinners. His complete humanity and perfect divinity provide the ground for reconciliation with God, and as Mediator bearing the marks of crucifixion He joins sinners to the Father and pleads their cause.
In place of sins Christ gives His own righteousness and clothes the believer with it, and this clothing is not a covering that leaves sin unchanged. One who cannot bear even slight temptation without exhibiting passion is not wearing it, while those truly clothed with Christ's righteousness hold passion under control. Christ alone could take away the world's sin, and He died for humanity while people were still sinners.
Redeemer's Divine Identity
The One in whom redemption through blood, even forgiveness of sins, is found is the divine, pre-existent Son, God made flesh who humbled Himself to death on the cross. He is the image of the invisible God, in whom God's divine character is revealed, and His work of redeeming humanity displays God's love and wisdom. That same saving work belongs to Him as the image of the invisible God and firstborn of every creature, the Creator of all things and the One by whom all things hold together. Rescue from sin and pardon come only in Him through His sacrificial death, for He existed before all things as the eternal Creator God Himself become man.
He is the firstborn of every creature and before all things, by whom all things in heaven and in earth, visible and invisible, including thrones and dominions and principalities and powers, were created by Him and for Him, and by whom all things consist and hold together. This truth of His righteousness and love for the world is the grand and heavenly theme that revives and quickens to new life. The Maker of the world lived unrecognized and unhonored and often homesick in the world He Himself had made, suffering loneliness of spirit, because He is both Creator and Redeemer. His mediatorial work is the central theme for contemplation, in which are infinite wisdom, infinite love, infinite justice, and infinite mercy, with depths and heights and lengths and breadths that require eternity to fully know.
Receiving Forgiveness by Faith
When sinners accept Christ as their personal Saviour they have redemption and forgiveness of sins through His blood. That redemption delivers from the power of darkness and translates into the kingdom of His Son, making fit to share the inheritance of the saints in light. Its greatness makes the recovery of souls from sin a revenue of goodness to men and of glory to God.
All that is required to receive it is complete surrender to God of thoughts and purposes, will, and all that one has and is, to be used as He may direct. That surrender is surrender of the human will to God with prompt, willing obedience to His commands. It matters not how great the sin, for he who returns to God with full purpose of heart is assured of pardon and peace, since the sacrifice of Christ atones for every sinner. The sacrifice is offered as assurance of God's mercy to the repentant sinner, making forgiveness available.
Those who cast their helpless souls upon Christ have the right to have evidence that their sins are forgiven. This assurance requires positiveness in faith, gained by living day by day in communion with God in order to know what He is to those who seek Him. The forgiveness is part of Christ's victory for humanity and is to be received through faith, and through faith in Christ's merits. Received in that way it is lived out as His teachings shape daily life, so that sinners may return their allegiance to God by obeying His law.
Life of the Redeemed
Redemption through blood for forgiveness belongs to God's great plan and calls for earnest thanksgiving, gratitude, praise and appreciation to the Father and divine Giver both in the home and in the church. Praise glorifies God, and the thankful believing soul is surrounded with a fragrant atmosphere. Expressing appreciation of the Lord's goodness reflects bright beams of light. The greatness of the gift makes the recovery of souls from sin a revenue of goodness to men and of glory to God. God's promises to the redeemed never fail when they constantly watch unto prayer.
Those who receive this redemption are to be cleansed and purified through the washing of the Word. They are to be sanctified in body, soul and spirit, having learned the excellent way. It is the privilege of everyone to be grounded and settled in the faith. No one who exercises faith which works by love and purifies the soul will be moved away from the hope of the gospel.
Receiving this truth in the heart opens the way to Jesus as light and life. It begins a refining, sanctifying transformation that ennobles character. The religion of Christ makes all who possess it truly benevolent. It bears fruit in good works that bear heaven's endorsement. That religion countenances no littleness and no mean transactions, giving true Christians a nobility that allows none of the cheap, covetous actions that disgrace the doer. Those in responsible positions are therefore to make straight paths for their feet, lest the lame be turned out of the way.
The redeemed are to be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. They are to walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, be fruitful in every good work, and increase in the knowledge of God. They are to be strengthened with all might in spiritual, mental and physical power unto patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. They are to refuse to be dwarfed by overwork and to plan wisely so as to bring forth fruit that brings forth more fruit unto eternal life. This higher life, even the life of God, is known in the grace of God in truth, with faith in Christ, love to the saints and hope laid up in heaven. Old and young thus translated are to learn to converse in the language spoken in God's kingdom, with words heard with pleasure by the heavenly Father, and not with cheap, nonsensical remarks spoken to create levity.
Those redeemed are to live as subjects of his kingdom, talking of deliverance and not bondage, and acting with joy and not discouragement. They rejoice in his blood and in forgiveness, loving Christ as Saviour with his love burning in their hearts. They turn their minds away from dark pictures to think on things that give light. They deny self and overcome as he overcame, and by faith are cleansed through his blood to praise his redeeming power and love. They believe and practice the truth as the Word of the living God and walk in the bright light from heaven on God's required pathway, with angels constantly serving and bringing wonderful opportunities.
This redemption is the saving power of Jesus and a great practical essential truth to be stamped upon the soul, taught so people understand its power and live by it. It is to be studied again and again and set before people as always fresh, with Christ crucified openly presented, so that all who receive him and hold the beginning of their confidence firm to the end become sons of God, members of the royal family, and heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ to the incorruptible inheritance reserved in heaven. It is to be presented first in plain simplicity to bring people to the waters of life and to meet them where they are, before condemning customs or raising controversy. It is to be kept as the heart of Christian teaching and the grand theme of Christ's righteousness and love that revives to new life. It belongs to his supreme work of reconciling people to God and presenting them holy and blameless, which missionary effort is meant to accomplish, and it is present truth to be given to souls ready to perish in darkness and in the darkness of error for their saving.