Ephesians 1:7

Turn your Bibles to Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

We finished a kind of year-long series in the Book of Acts last week,

and next week Ruben is going to start preaching through the Book of Ruth for us over September and October,

and Andrew Quay is going to preach Genesis 4 to 11 in the evening,

so you'll hear from me a little bit less.

I'm going to preach some one-offs over the next while.

We've found, haven't we, in the Book of Acts looking at long chapters.

We've done that, and we're going to go from one extreme to the other.

I want us to look at one verse this morning.

We're going to squeeze the juice out of the orange and look at one verse.

It's Ephesians chapter 1, verse 7.

Ephesians 1:7

In him we have redemption. That's the word.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of his grace.

In lots of ways I want to look at one word, redemption.

What is your problem?

What's your problem? Said the cyclist to the driver.

What's your problem? Said the woman on the tube to the man sitting opposite him.

What's your problem? Said the parent to the child.

What's your problem? Said one football player to another.

It's a great question, isn't it? What is your problem?

What is your problem? What is your greatest need?

That's the first point. There's six points this morning.

There possibly might be seven, but I haven't decided yet.

But there's six points and they should be appearing on the screen before me one at a time.

What is your greatest need? The need for redemption.

There's lots of answers people gave, don't they?

Sometimes we go to the doctor and we say to the doctor, I've got a pain here.

Here is the problem.

And he examines our wrist maybe and he looks at our wrist and he says, no, that's actually just a symptom.

Your problem isn't there. Your problem is there or your problem is there.

Your presenting symptom shows a deeper problem.

The problem is really here.

And I think when we come to God, we can often be like that.

When we come to God, you might think you know exactly what you need this morning.

But when we put ourselves into the hands of God, we discover there is something different.

There is something deeper.

There is something far more radical that God intends.

And when he implies in this verse, the Apostle Paul, when he writes about the need for redemption,

that the deepest need of your heart and my heart is tied to this little word that is often used, sins.

It's the word transgressions in the verse.

In him we have redemption.

Through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, the forgiveness of our transgressions.

The word transgression is rebellion.

It is deliberately breaking God's law.

It is a do not touch the wet paint and putting your hands on the wet paint.

Do not step on the grass deliberately, consciously going onto the grass.

Transgression is deliberate breaking of God's law.

It is going over the border of what God says is acceptable and unacceptable,

of what is legitimate and illegitimate.

It speaks of our disobedience to God's will and to God's law.

And so this redemption produces two things.

Can you see it?

The Apostle speaks, doesn't he, of forgiveness.

That's the thing that we're probably most familiar with this morning if we've been in church.

That when someone transgresses God's law, trespasses God's will and commandments,

they are guilty in the eyes of God of transgression, of rebellion.

They bear, in relation to God, a burden of guilt.

Sometimes we feel that.

Sometimes we don't.

Often, most often, people are not burdened by guilt.

And so guilt is not so much something that you feel, but something that you have, something that you bear.

When you disobey God's law, when you trespass his commandment, when you trespass his will,

you are guilty.

I am guilty.

In the sight and presence of God.

There are lots of people in London today, lots of my friends, they have no sense of guilt.

That doesn't mean they're not guilty.

It doesn't mean that they're not sinners.

It does not mean that they do not need forgiveness.

It's simply that they're unaware of their burden of guilt.

They think, maybe you think, that your greatest need is something different.

Maybe it's happiness.

Maybe it's relationship.

Maybe it's prosperity.

Money.

But here the apostle is diagnosing your greatest problem and mine.

The deepest need of the human heart.

For which the greatest blessing of the Christian faith is the answer.

And that is forgiveness.

From God.

Forgiveness from God.

You might not have realised that.

I've come into church this morning unaware of that.

That your greatest need is for forgiveness.

And Paul says that in Jesus Christ,

in the good news, in the gospel,

not only do we have forgiveness because we bear the burden of our guilt,

and one day that will be apparent to us.

One day we will hear the judgment of God on your life and on my life.

We will hear guilty before God.

And we'll have no plea.

We'll have no excuse to make.

But there's another factor in this kind of need of redemption.

And it's not just the need of the burden of our guilt being lifted

by the proclamation of God's forgiveness in Christ.

The other need is that we are not only guilty as sinners,

but we are slaves to sin.

We're slaves of sin.

That's what the word kind of redemption contains, doesn't it?

It's got this picture within it of slavery.

Of being slaves to the very thing that's made us guilty.

And that's contained within this whole thought,

this whole concept of redemption.

The whole idea of redemption, it's a Bible word in many ways.

It's pictured for us in the Bible supremely by the people of Israel

that were slaves in Egypt, hundreds of years after Joseph.

And throughout the whole of the Bible,

that is the picture of human beings enslaved.

It's the picture of life without Jesus Christ,

of being enslaved to the sin that we're guilty of.

You might have believed the delusion that human beings,

we are free.

You might think, no, no, no, no.

We are free.

I am free.

I am free to choose whatever I want.

And yet, whenever we're willing to look at humanity

and to look at our lives,

we will discover our humanity and we are in chains,

in bondage,

a slave to our sin.

You'll know that in your experience.

We discover that far from being able to change,

our pattern of life is we are in bondage.

Here's a man who's got furious temper.

Furious temper that gets out of control.

He sees the damage that it causes.

He sees the heartbreak it brings to other people.

And he recognises that.

And so he says to himself,

I will change.

And for a time he can.

But what's the real story?

The real story is that ultimately,

he finds that the chains of his temper

still bind him.

And so every so often,

maybe a little bit more rarely,

but every so often,

it breaks out again.

Or it shows itself in other forms.

Well, we can apply that to every sin.

That we are in bondage to.

And that is why we need redemption.

We do not just need forgiveness.

We are like someone when they've committed some crime

against the law of the land.

They're not only declared by the judge to be guilty,

but we're locked up.

We're put inside.

And it's no good going to that prisoner

when they're locked up inside

and saying,

I've got good news from you.

You've been delivered from your guilt.

You've been delivered from your guilt.

Your guilt has been removed.

What would the prisoner say?

The prisoner would say,

I want to be free.

I want to be set loose.

I want to be released.

And there's a spiritual parallel for that,

obviously, isn't there?

And so number one,

the need of redemption.

Number two,

the nature of redemption.

The word simply means

being set free

by the paying of a price.

Being set free by the paying of a price.

Let me explain it to you.

Its background is in the ancient world

as well as in the Bible.

And so when two countries go to war,

when two armies go to war

and one army is victorious over the other army,

they conquer the other army,

they would take some of the best of the soldiers.

They would take some of the cream of the conquered army.

And the defeated army,

the best of the defeated army,

would be taken away.

And they would be made slaves in a foreign land.

And then what would happen was

there would be negotiations

between the defeated party and the victors.

And the defeated party might agree

to buy back some of those

who'd been taken into slavery

in this foreign land.

It mattered greatly to the people of their country.

Those soldiers that had been taken captive,

they were valuable.

And so a ransom price is agreed.

And that ransom price is paid.

And the captives would be released

and be brought back.

In the Old Testament,

the great picture is

that picture of Israel in Egypt.

Of God's redemption of a people

in the land of Egypt.

The Exodus.

And the people at the start of Exodus,

just hundreds of years after Joseph,

they are in bondage to Pharaoh.

They are in a situation, aren't they,

of utter helplessness.

And they cry out to God

and God comes down.

And clearly only God can do it.

God comes down

and releases

the people of Israel.

He says,

I am the Lord your God

who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

They couldn't save themselves.

God puts out his strong arm

and his mighty hand

and it is costly to God

to redeem them.

There's a lamb,

a perfect lamb,

a spotless lamb

who was slain

and he is the ransom price

to which his people were delivered.

And God sets a pattern,

doesn't he, in Exodus?

A pattern from which

his people have learned

all through the ages

that he was the redeemer.

You cannot save yourself.

You cannot redeem yourself.

That's what it says.

But that God

delivered his people

at a ransom price.

The Apostle Peter says

to the church there,

he says,

you have been redeemed

and not with ordinary wealth,

not with silver and gold,

but by the precious blood

of Jesus Christ.

a lamb without blemish

and without spot.

And that is the nature

of redemption.

It is deliverance.

It is freedom.

It is forgiveness.

Paul ties the two together,

doesn't he,

in Ephesians chapter 1

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

and verse 7.

In him we have redemption

through his blood,

the forgiveness of sins.

But redemption

is more than forgiveness.

The two

are not completely matching.

They complement each other.

They don't exhaust each other.

We've got to put them

alongside each other.

There is redemption,

deliverance from bondage,

and all that it involves,

and forgiveness,

freedom from guilt,

and reconciliation to God.

The need for redemption,

the nature of redemption.

Thirdly, let's look at

the source of redemption.

Where does this redemption

come from?

What is your problem?

What is your problem?

What is your deepest need?

Where is your deepest need met?

Where does deliverance

from sins bondage

and forgiveness

from its guilt come from?

Paul answers it,

doesn't he,

in the first two words.

Can you say it?

Verse 7.

In him.

In Christ,

we have redemption.

And that's the source of it.

Doesn't come from

any other source.

Deliverance from sins bondage

and forgiveness

from sins guilt

come from being

in Christ.

It does not come

from any other source.

It doesn't come

from the psychologist

or the counsellor.

No

true

guilt

has ever been lifted

by the psychologist.

There's such a thing

as false guilt

and the psychologist

can certainly help

with that.

The counsellor

can certainly help

with that.

But the guilt

of sin

that comes from being

under the judgment

of a holy God

can only be lifted

in Jesus Christ.

It's the only place.

Paul says

it's in him.

You go to him.

It's because

as Ephesians 1

is teaching

every blessing

of the Christian gospel

has been given to us

in Christ.

You'll not find it

anywhere else.

It's the exclusive

nature of the Christian gospel.

The exclusive

nature of the Christian message.

You don't find it

in any other religion.

You don't find it

in any other source.

You don't find it

in any other

kind of life coach

or self-help source.

It is in Christ.

That's where you need

to go this morning.

God has

in his

marvellous

wisdom

and grace

arranged

to deal

with his people's bondage

and to deliver us

from guilt

in Christ.

Christ.

And so the great

and vital thing

for you this morning

for every man

and woman

and boy and girl

who is alive

is to be

in Christ.

That's the great need.

To be united

to him.

As a branch

is to

the vine

as a branch

is to the tree

as a limb

is connected

to the body

so that

from Christ

we might receive

redemption.

The forgiveness

of sins.

It's why

saving faith

is

so vital

isn't it?

It's not

faith

that saves us

but it is

faith

that connects us

to the Lord Jesus Christ.

It is by

saving faith

this morning

by you

reaching out

by you

entrusting

by you

resting

by you

relying

on the Lord

Jesus Christ

and being

united

to him

you receive

redemption

that is in

Jesus Christ.

The need

for redemption

the nature

of redemption

the source

of redemption

the ground

of redemption.

How can God

do this?

On what

ground

does God

redeem

those who are

in bondage

to sin

and under

sin's guilt

and sin's judgment?

Well the answer

is in verse 7

again

it's at the end

of the verse

isn't it?

It is

in accordance

to the riches

of his grace.

According

to the riches

of his grace

which he lavished

on us

he poured

upon us

with all wisdom

and with all

understanding.

Here is the

why.

This is the

basis on which

God can redeem

you and I.

God does not

redeem by saying

you do this

and I will

provide that.

God

he doesn't say

to us this

morning

you achieve

this level

and I will

let you in.

You get the

grades

and we'll

give you

access to the

course.

That's not

what he does.

He says

I will bring

you redemption

I will bring

you forgiveness

and he does it

by free

unmerited

grace.

it is a gift

of God.

We can

neither

attain it

as a prize

nor can we

earn it as a

wage.

We are given

it as a gift

and in his

lavish grace

undeserved

kindness

this is what

God has done

for us

in Jesus

Christ.

It's

illustrated

isn't it

in the book

of Exodus

again that

supreme

picture of

redemption

the people

of Israel

they are

in Egypt

and the

people of

Israel

could not

get out

of the

land

of Egypt.

The people

of Israel

could not

free themselves

they are

enslaved

until God

comes down

and frees

them.

And God

does something

wonderfully

unique

doesn't he?

It is his

work of

redemption

to achieve

their deliverance.

And that's

why Christians

we are obsessed

with amazing

grace.

Amazing

grace.

And it is

by grace

alone

by faith

alone

in Jesus

Christ

alone

that we

are redeemed

from the

bondage

and the

guilt

and the

power of

sin.

Number five

the means

of redemption.

The means

of redemption

so the

need of it

the need

of redemption

lies doesn't

it in our

sin

and our

rebellion

and that's

produced

our guilt

and it's

put us

in bondage

that's the

need.

The nature

of it is

deliverance

upon the

payment of

a ransom

price.

The source

of redemption

while it's

all in

God

the ground

of our

redemption

is his

undeserved

kindness

and the

means

you notice

what is the

means by

which we're

saved?

It's in the

middle of

verse 7

we have

redemption

through his

blood.

In him

we have

redemption

through his

blood.

so remember

the very

meaning of

the word

the very

meaning of

the word

of redemption

throughout the

Old Testament

as well as

in the world

in which

Paul lived

was the

freeing

of someone

or something

by the

payment of

a price.

Pawn shops

isn't it?

So cash

converters

you ever

got a

cash

converters?

There's not

many nods

but take

your goods

cash

converters

it's on

Xbridge

Road

and you

go in

and you

hand over

your

Xbox

or your

Playstation

and

cash

converters

gives you

money

for it.

But the

great thing

about cash

converters

is when

you've got

enough money

you can

go and

you can

buy it

back.

When

you've got

enough money

when payday

comes you

can go

back and

you can

buy it

back.

You can

go in

and redeem

it.

And the

way that

you

redeem

the

item

is by

paying

the

price.

Sometimes

people did

that didn't

they in

old days

with quite

expensive

things and

so there

was a

considerable

price to

be paid.

The whole

idea of

redemption

there's this

concept of

the payment

of a

price.

God has

paid the

ultimate

price

hasn't he

in the

blood of

his

son

Jesus

Christ.

That is

the price

of

redemption.

If you

are trusting

in Jesus

Christ

if you

have put

your

faith

in the

Lord

Jesus

if you

are

connected

to him

savingly

you've

been

ransomed

!

redeemed

by the

precious

blood

of Jesus

Christ.

lots

and lots

of people

have

difficulty

with

this

and they

will say

I don't

understand

why

God

demands

this kind

of ransom.

You might

say when

people do

something

nasty to

me or

when people

do something

to me

that offends

me and

they need

my forgiveness

I simply

say out of

my kindness

and out of

my benevolence

I forgive

you and

let's forget

about it.

Why can't

God be as

magnanimous

as I am?

Why can't

God be as

kind as I

am?

Why does

God demand

that a price

be paid?

Why does

God demand

a ransom?

It's barbaric.

The answer

to this

we could spend

all day

talking about

this but

the answer

is that

I am

merely

a private

individual

against whom

you may

have offended

or sinned.

I'm a

fellow sinner

and the

arrangement

that comes

between you

and I

affects

no one

but ourselves

and so I

may say

to you

I forgive

you and

there's

nothing

there's

no more

to that

and you

might say

the same

to me

but when

we sin

against God

let me ask

that you

get this

really

really

clear

when you

sin against

God

you do

not sin

against

God

as though

he were

a person

like you

a private

individual

like ourselves

it's a

verse

little phrase

in Psalm

Psalms 50:21

50 verse

21

and the

psalmist

says this

where God

says this

he says

you thought

that I was

one like

yourself

you thought

that I was

one like

yourself

in many

ways

that is

the great

sin

of the

Christian

church

in the

UK

and that

we think

that God

is just

a bit

of a

glorified

version

of

ourselves

a bit

bigger

a bit

better

maybe not

better

but a bit

bigger

you thought

that I was

one like

yourself

but God

is the

sovereign

Lord

of the

universe

and in

his being

and in

his nature

he is

perfectly

holy

different

other

and

perfectly

righteous

utterly

holy

and an

offense

against

God

and his

law

is an

offense

against

the

character

and the

holiness

of God

and it

is an

offense

against

the

moral

structure

of the

universe

it's

difficult

to illustrate

this

you get

a shadow

of it

a faint

shadow

and this

is not

a perfect

illustration

but you

think of

a judge

in

court

there's

somebody

brought

before

the

court

who

has

committed

a

terrible

and

horrific

crime

he's

hearing

a

terrible

terrible

case

this

judge

but it

is

summing up

he says

listen

it is

August

it's

holiday

time

the

sun

is

shining

let's

just

forget

about

you

can

go

free

and I

forgive

you

what

has

just

happened

what

would

happen

there

would

be

up

there

would

be

up

someone

was

raped

and

battered

a

woman

and

the

judge

says

just

go

free

he

cannot

do

that

can

he

because

the

offense

is

not

merely

an

offense

against

him

as

an

individual

it

is

an

offense

against

the

legal

structure

of

the

land

you

get

a

measure

of

that

but

you

multiply

that

by

infinity

and

grasp

what it

means

for

God

in

his

holiness

to

associate

with

sin

to

associate

with

sin

unless

it

has

been

dealt

with

grasp

the

problem

that

God

faces

grasp

God's

most

profound

dilemma

how

can

he

be

as

the

apostle

Paul

puts it

in other

places

just

and

the

justifier

how

can

he

be

the

acquitter

of

those

who

put

their

trust

in

his

son

how

does

he

do

that

he

does

it

by

himself

he

gives

the

ultimate

price

by

paying

the

full

price

of

our

redemption

by

the

blood

of

his

son

his

only

son

he

does

it

by

pouring

out

his

judgment

on

his

son

in

order

that

you

and I

might

be

redeemed

by

that

blood

that's

the

means

of

redemption

!

Now

what's

the

outcome

of it?

This

is

the

last

point

in

fact

let

me

give

you

the

seventh

point

we're

not

too

bad

on

time

alright

the

means

of

redemption

the

outcome

of

redemption

let

me

give

you

the

seventh

point

it's

the

assurance

of

redemption

the

wonder

of what

I'm

talking

about

this

morning

is

this

isn't

something

that

we

hope

we

might

have

this

isn't

something

that we

can

say

well

at

the

end

of

life

I

hope

this

will

be

we

can

say

it

here

and

now

in

him

do you

see

the

tenses

we

have

redemption

in

him

we

have

redemption

there's

an

absolute

certainty

isn't

there

what's

the

outcome

of it

this

last

point

the

outcome

is

this

that

in

him

we

have

deliverance

from

sins

bondage

we

have

forgiveness

of

sins

from

sins

guilt

in

other

words

this

we

are

free

we

are

free

in

the

deepest

most

glorious

sense

possible

and that

is the

freedom

that

we

desperately

need

but I

want to

finish by

pointing out

to you that

when the

new

testament

speaks about

redemption

and we

are free

we are

also

slaves

we are

free and yet

we're also

slaves when

we've been

redeemed

you are

redeemed

says the

apostle

do you

not know

that you

have been

redeemed

and you

are not

your own

you've been

bought with a

price

and so the

result of the

outcome of

redemption is

this it is

freedom and

slavery

freedom from

sin and all

its punishments

and all that it

does to us

but slavery

to Jesus

Christ

and the

glorious

paradox of

living as a

Christian of

living the

redeemed

people is

this we

are free

slaves and

in the

service of

Jesus Christ

there is

perfect

freedom and

so we live in

a culture

which is

desperate to

be free

desperate to

find freedom

and the

truth is

this it is

to be found

in nowhere

else this

morning in

this universe

than in

glad

bondage to

Jesus Christ

that's where

freedom is

found

freedom is

found in

being enslaved

to Jesus

in glad

bondage to

Jesus Christ

who has

bought us

at such a

price

and so our

children who

are here this

morning who

go back to

school this

week and

our teenagers

who go back to

school this

week I want to

say to you

this I want to

say to you

remember who

you are

when you leave

the house on

Tuesday or

Wednesday morning

remember who

you are

you have been

redeemed

you are not

your own

you belong to

Jesus Christ

you are free

free to serve

him

we have

people leaving

us going for

a year out

starting out as

students let me

speak to you

and I want to

say this to

you remember

that in the

service of

Jesus Christ

there is

perfect freedom

you'll be free

from your

parents

but in the

service of

Jesus Christ

is perfect

freedom that is

where you'll find

freedom

you'll find

freedom in

giving yourself

to serving

Jesus Christ

and his

people

and for all

of us who've

trusted in

Jesus Christ

for all of us

who've been

redeemed do you

realise what's

happened to

you

do you not

know that

you've been

redeemed

you are not

your own

you are

forgiven

you are

free

and so

live like

it

what about

under the

preaching of

God's word

this morning

you have

realised that

you are not

savingly attached

to the Lord

Jesus Christ

your faith is

not in him

you're not

resting in him

you're not

relying on him

and you are

not redeemed

what is your

problem

what is your

problem

it is this

your greatest

problem

is that

you're not

forgiven

and you're

in bondage

to sin

and you've

not been

redeemed

why stay

like that

why stay

like that

this morning

why not

come in

humility

to the

one person

who can

deal with

your greatest

problem

the Lord

Jesus Christ

who offers

you full

forgiveness

and freedom

from your

guilt

and you

can cry

to him

from where

you are

you don't

need to

do anything

you can

admit to

your guilt

you can

be honest

before him

and you

can ask him

to forgive

you

and you

can rejoice

that Jesus

Christ has

come into

this world

to save

sinners

like we

heard in

our

assurance

of pardon

and he

will redeem

you

let's

rest in

him

and rely

on him

let's pray

together

let's종

Thank you.