In Whom

Ephesians 1:7-14 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace; 8 Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; 9 Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in himself: 10 That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him: 11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the Earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.

Last week we saw that God defines His Church as “SAINTS” and as “THE FAITHFUL IN CHRIST JESUS”. Every Christian is a “SAINT” because he or she is set apart from the lost world by the will of God, by the New Birth, and by the finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. I just heard the other day that the so called Catholic Church made Carlo Acutis, a 15 year old who died from Leukemia in 2006, the first “Millennial Saint”. The CNN Report stated:

“ The saint-making ceremony was the first presided over by Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, with thousands of young people in St. Peter’s Square. Large crowds gathered Sunday at the Vatican city, waving signs and flags bearing Acutis’ photograph. Jubilant observers applauded following the teenager’s canonization by Pope Leo. The canonization of the youthful saints comes at a time when the Catholic Church, led by an all-male hierarchy where senior figures are usually over 60, is exploring new ways to engage younger generations.”

This has no foundation in Scripture, but is man made religion and idolatry. It is God Who makes saints. It is God Who saves. It is God Who “blesses us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 1:3). It is God Who “makes us accepted in the Beloved” (Ephesians 1:6), in His Son Jesus, not a Pope or a Priest nor even a Pastor. True Christians gather not to “make a saint” or “canonize a person”.

True Christians are to be “to the praise of HIS GLORY” (Ephesians 1:12), not to our glory. We magnify Jesus!

We Magnify Jesus, Our Redeemer

Ephesians 1:7 In Whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Word Study: Four times in this chapter the Apostle uses the phrase “In Whom” (en hos), or “in this Specific Person”. In Jesus Christ and in no other we have “REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD”. This is the first thing mentioned because – though all parts of salvation are important – redemption is key.

The word translated “REDEMPTION” is the Greek apolytrōsis. The word means “to pay a ransom or a fee to liberate a slave or to free a kidnapped victim”. The Blood of Jesus Christ is the purchase price that REDEEMS or BUYS BACK a person from enslavement. You ask the question, “What do you mean by enslavement?” The Scripture explains. When our forefather Adam disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, Adam was the Federal Representative of all mankind. What he did, or did not do, reflected on us all. The Bible says that when Adam heeded his wife and the serpent rather than God, that,

Romans 5:12 (KJV) Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Adam brought spiritual death into the world. Adam brought a slave master into the world. His children – that’s us – were born physically alive into this earth but spiritually dead. The children of Adam – every one of us – are born enslaved to sin and desire. People ask the question, “Why does a good God – if there is a good God – allow evil into the world?” Our Good God did not do this. Adam did this. We did this. Sin is in the world because we are enslaved to sin. Our Lord Jesus said this:

John 8:34 (ESV) … Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who PRACTICES {poieō, to make, serve as normal} sin is A SLAVE TO SIN.

From the cradle every person is enslaved to sin. You have all heard of the young Ukrainian girl Iryna Zarutska who was stabbed to death by 34 year old Decarlos Brown. She sat down in front of this man, a man arrested and charged some 14 times – but released without bail. Iryna had just gotten off work, and was going home. This horrible man stood up behind her, and stabbed her in the neck three times, then calmly walked off the train saying “I got that White girl”. Why did Brown stab this girl? The Bible says he is a slave of sin. Following the stabbing, rather than condemn the act and the actor as criminal, Mayor Vi Lyles offered sympathy to the poor homeless man who murdered another. Why did the Mayor do what he did? Mayor Vi Lyles is a slave to sin. God’s response to murder has been, since the Ark of Noah hit dry ground,

Genesis 9:6 (ESV) Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.

God made all life precious. When a man or woman chooses to murder another, according to God they forfeit their life. I am hearing news reporters trying to minimize what Brown did to this young lady. The news reporters are enslaved to sin. I hear that certain Governors of states do not want crime reduced in their cities, and threaten insurrection if ICE officials or National Guard enter their areas of power. Why would someone NOT want crime diminished. Because these Governors, flamboyant and vocal, are slaves of sin. Those without Christ, enslaved to sin, are described by the Apostle as:

2 Peter 2:17-19 (ESV) These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. 18 For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. 19 They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

People are born into this world physically alive, but slaves to sin and desire. The Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth to redeem us from slavery. When you realize that you are lost and without hope, bound in chains of darkness, and God lets you see the light of the Gospel, you come surrendered to Christ. You MUST REPENT, giving yourself to Jesus.

Romans 6:6-11 (ESV) We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10 For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

The Christian is not enslaved to sin, but is bound to Christ. When you come to Jesus your old self dies. You are now the possession of God, the Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. When you were lost, you were a chattel slave, forced to serve your desires and the darkness. This is what is wrong with the world. But once saved by Grace, Jesus Christ by His Blood REDEEMS YOU from the slave market of sin. You are now to “consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus”. Sin is not your Master. Christ is your Master.

Illustrate: The Cross of Calvary is a picture of slaves. The Chief Priests and Pharisees sought false witnesses against Jesus (Matthew 26:59-63) in order to have Him executed. Why? This was a very violation of the Ninth Commandment, the Law these people claimed to love. They sought false witnesses because they were slaves to sin. WhenPilate found Jesus innocent and sought to release Him, the crowd cried out “Release Barabbas the guilty, but crucify Jesus!” (Luke 23:18-25). Why did they do this? They were enslaved to sin. When Pilate washed his hands and rendered an unjust verdict(Matthew 27:24), he acted as so many of our Judges have done recently. He violated the Law of Rome because Pilate was enslaved to sin.

Beloved, you are either chattel enslaved to sin, or are a willing bondservant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 6:16 tells us, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

Are you a Christian? Then you are not enslaved to sin, but are a servant of Jesus Christ. You love to serve Him Who saved you.

“You are not your own – you are bought with a price – His Blood (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).

Illustrate Two Slaves: Do you want to see a picture of a pretend Christian and a Real Christian? On the day that Jesus died on Calvary, two sinners hung next to Him. Simply called malefactors (kakourgos) or “evil doers”, the man to Christ’s left said:

Luke 23:39 (AP) IF you are the Messiah, save Yourself and us!

This is what passes for “Christian” in many churches today. God is no more than our Servant, and He our slave. That is not Christian – it is idolatry.

Though nailed to the Cross, this man cared nothing for Jesus. He just wanted Jesus to get him down off of that cross, to take away HIS suffering. Those who are enslaved to sin rarely care to serve others unless they are serving themselves. Everything they do is about satisfying their master Sin. But on Jesus’ right hand there was another criminal, a REPENTING criminal. He said to his companion:

Luke 23:40-41 (AP) … even now, don’t you fear God? We’re dying! We deserve this. But Jesus is dying with us, and He doesn’t deserve this!

That’s the very definition of REPENTANCE, the first step in salvation. When you REPENT, you don’t justify your actions. You are honest with yourself, and with God. Following REPENTANCE, this man looked to Jesus and said:

Luke 23:42 LORD, remember me when You come into Your kingdom

Though this man was bound to a cross with nails, his heart ran to the Redeemer. The Bible promises that “Jesus shall SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SINS” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus told this man, “Today you will be WITH ME IN PARADISE”.

Jesus Not Only Redeems Us From Our Slavery To Sin. He Redeems Us From The Wrath Of God.

Ephesians 1:7 In Whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;

Jesus not only redeems us from the slave market of sin, but He redeems us from the wrath of God. People who are enslaved to sin think little of it. They minimize sin. But God hates sin. Sin has scarred His perfect creation. God watches His creation. The Bible says:

Psalm 7:11 (ESV) God is a righteous judge, and a God who feels indignation every day.

Sin makes us minimize God but maximize our desires. I wonder about the young girl who was stabbed in the neck. I hope she was a child of God. I hope as she struggled to breathe, and collapsed on that filthy train floor, that she was crying out to the Lord Who saved her. If she was a child of God, she left this life in misery, but entered eternity and glory and peace because of the Blood of Christ.

I pray she was a Child of God by faith in Christ.

In our minds, we think there are “good” people and there are “bad” people. It is true there are moral and immoral people. But are there any who are just “good” without Christ? No, absolutely not. All are born into this world enslaved to sin. All are born into this world NOT good. Only God is intrinsically good. We are not!

It is the Blood of Jesus Christ that brings the forgiveness of sins. Not the forgiveness of SIN, but of SINS. Even after salvation we err. But we are no longer enslaved to sin, but to Christ. And His Blood keeps on forgiving our sins.

Romans 5:8-10 (ESV) … God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

People are fond of saying, “God is love”. And God is love. He proved it by sending His Son to the Cross to make payment for our sins. But it is equally true that “God is wrath”. God despises sin. God despises those who dally with sin. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 5:5 (ESV) The boastful shall not stand before your eyes; you hate all evildoers.

Psalm 11:5 (ESV) The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

The Bible tells us that “the WICKED shall not stand in the Judgment” (Psalm 1:5). God’s wrath, like a sword, hangs over every sinner who rejects the ransomed Blood of Christ. Our Lord Jesus Christ told Nicodemus:

John 3:16-18 (KJV) 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. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Those who come to Christ and believe on Him are redeemed from the wrath of God. But to those who reject Christ. To those who “do evil because they hate the light, and will not come to the light lest they repent” (John 3:20), they are under condemnation right this moment. I am sure that that poor Ukrainian girl had no idea she was going to die on that train that day. She had no idea a slave to sin would come up behind her, and take her life so flippantly.

I pray she was a child of the King. I pray that she had given her life to Jesus. For if she did, then as she breathed her last the life that God gave her, she has still. Beloved, we have the riches of His Grace. RICHES. What a glorious thing it is to be in Christ, to be saved by Grace, to serve Him as Master and not sin. One of my favorite preachers C.H. Spurgeon wrote:

“Another man with unforgiven sin about him stands afar off and if he thinks of God at all it is as a consuming fire. But the forgiven Christian looking up to God, when he sees the mountains and the hills, and rolling streams and the roaring flood, he says “My Father made them all;” and he clasps hands with the Almighty across the infinite expanse that sunders man from his Maker. His heart flies up to God. He dwells near to Him, and he feels that he can talk to God as a man talketh with his Friend.”

We do not know when our final day on this earth is. Perhaps it will come suddenly. My dear sister Kathy Oliver died abruptly, on her kitchen floor. But Kathy now plays and sings with the choirs of Heaven. If you are in Christ, you are NOT CONDEMNED. NO CONDEMNATION. NO CONDEMNATION. God is your Father because Christ is your Redeemer. You are a Child of God headed toward Glory. The Riches of His Grace makes us right with God. Listen to what the Word of God has to say.

Micah 7:19 {God} will … cast all {our} sins into the depths of the sea.

Where did our sins go on the day of our redemption? They were cast into the depths of the sea. Not in the shallows, where they might be dredged up again, but in the great deeps. The Prophet says:

Isaiah 38:17 … for thou {o God} hast cast all my sins behind thy back.

God has thrown my sins behind His back! Can you tell me where God’s back is? God has cast our sins behind His back, so they are gone forever. If you are in Jesus Christ then because of the riches of His Grace you cannot be condemned.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

The slave of sin walks after the flesh. The bondservant of Christ walks after the Holy Spirit. We “walk in the Light, as He is in the Light” (1 John 1:7)

The Redeemed Have Obtained An Inheritance

Ephesians 1:11-12In whom also we have OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE {klēroō, Aorist Passive Indicative}, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.

The Bible tells us that every Christian who is truly born again of the Spirit has an inheritance that one day we will receive. Every Christian has a future inheritance:

1 Peter 1:3-5 (ESV) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, He has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, [4] to an inheritance {klēronomia} that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, [5] who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We all have a place in Heaven, an INHERITANCE that Jesus guards for us. He gives it to us by promise. “I go to prepare a PLACE FOR YOU. And if I go to prepare a PLACE FOR YOU, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there you will be also.” (John 14:2-3). That is a wonderful inheritance waiting for us. However, this is not what our text is talking about. We read:

In whom {I Jesus} also we have OBTAINED AN INHERITANCE {klēroō, Aorist Passive Indicative}

This is not looking toward a future inheritance. God tells us that we HAVE OBTAINED an INHERITANCE. We as Christians have it right now. We who are saved are part of the Kingdom of God on this earth. We will one day receive Heaven as our reward (Colossians 3:24; Hebrews 9:15), but God is in our midst RIGHT NOW. He is with His Church, with His people. As Kingdom people “we should be to the praise of his glory”. We are members of His Kingdom on this present earth. We live our lives to serve Jesus, to bring glory to God.

God gave Himself for us on the Cross. We gave ourselves to Jesus at the point of salvation. And God the Holy Spirit gave Himself to each born again believer.

Ephesians 1:13-14 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.

An “Earnest” {Greek arrabōn} is a downpayment made in promise of a future purchase. God “sealed us, and has given us the EARNEST OF THE SPIRIT in our hearts” (2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 5:5). We are not to live broken and in the darkness like this lost world. We are to live in the power of God’s Spirit, according to His Word. We are His people, not Satan’s. Shine for Him! Amen and Amen.