As we think about the Son Who Saved Us, we will be stretched to comprehend the redemption and riches of our salvation.
We Have A Pardon In Jesus. He speaks of the “redemption through His blood” (Ephesians 1:7) and he speaks of the “forgiveness of sin” (Ephesians 1:7). Thank God for the rich, royal, ruby, red blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are redeemed by His blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. Jesus was butchered on a cruel Roman cross, he experienced excruciating, unfathomable pain that we might be saved. Oh, how we ought to praise Him today!
He not only redeemed me with his blood, but he forgave my sins. In the Old Testament, when they would have the high day of atonement, the high priest would take two goats-one goat would be slain-and the blood of that goat would have its blood poured out there on the altar and as a sacrifice for sin.
The high priest would take the other goat and he would lay his hands on its head and confess the sins of the people over its head. Then, that goat was called a scapegoat.
Have you ever heard the expression a scapegoat? He was called the scapegoat. The sins would be put on that goat and then he would be led away way out in the wilderness and he would be let go, never to return. The idea of forgiveness literally means to “bear away.”
The Bible says, “He hath removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). It is impossible to measure the distance between the East and the West. This is how far God has removed our sins from us. The Bible says that, “God hath buried our sins in the depth of the sea” (Micah 7:19).
The apostle Paul praises the Father who selected us. “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4) He praises the Son who has saved us, and we have redemption and forgiveness. Our Lord has pardoned us!
Second, We Have A Purpose In Jesus. A person who knows the Lord Jesus Christ is the only one who truly understands where he or she is going. We are the only ones who understand what this world is all about. We are the only ones who can make rhyme or reason out of this world. We have the key that unlocks the mystery of history.
Paul writes:
“Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: 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” (Ephesians 1:9-10).
God has a plan, and that plan will not be stopped. Do you know what’s going to happen? We are on course to knowing, “Jesus Christ in the fullness of time.”
Now, remember Jesus is never ahead of time. He’s never late. He’s going to harmonize everything. Do you know why everybody is so stressed? More than a hundred years ago, when a person missed a stagecoach, he or she said “Well, you know, there will be another one along in a couple of months.” Yet, today, we get all bent out of shape if we miss a section in a revolving door! It seems like this world is all stressed out with no place to go.
Do you know why there is so much stress today? It is because everything is out of its place. The devil is out of his place; he belongs in Hell. Jesus is out of His place because he has not yet come to take the kingdoms of this world to become His kingdom. The Church is out of place because she belongs with the heavenly bridegroom. Sin is out of place because that belongs in Hell with the devil. Israel is out other place because she needs to be regathered and brought back and put in the land.
However, God is working on a plan. It is called, “Jesus in the fullness of time.” There is coming a time, when everything is going to be in tune with Jesus. Then, everything is going to be in tune with everything else. Heaven will be in tune with the earth. The spiritual will be in tune with the material. God will be in tune with man and man will be in tune with man.
In Christ, we have been pardoned and we have a purpose. Yet, Paul is not finished.
Third, We Have A Possession In Jesus.
We read: “In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worked all things after the counsel of his own will” (Ephesians 1:11).
We are going to receive an inheritance. Presently, we have a down payment that Paul calls an “earnest of our inheritance…”(Ephesians 1:14). This down payment is the Holy Spirit in our hearts. In the future, we will receive our full inheritance. The riches of His grace will become the riches of His glory.
We were adopted into the family of God. That’s the reason the Bible calls us, “…heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ…” (Romans 8:17). Do you know what a joint heir is? We share and share alike. We’re heirs of God and joint heirs of Jesus Christ.
Jesus, who has saved us, gave us a pardon, a purpose and a possession. In Eph. 1:12, we read, “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ” (Ephesians 1:12).
Paul is still not finished praising the Lord for who He is and what He has done. So far, we have learned about the Father who selected us and the Son who saved us.
Now, Paul gives praise to the Spirit Who Sealed Us. We read:
“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, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:13-14).
We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. The seal is an official stamp. It is a document that is put on us by God the Holy Spirit. Ranchers brand their cows with a red-hot branding iron and they burn that into the flesh. Ownership is established through the branding of the cattle. Well, much deeper than that is the seal of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and in our lives, that tells us that we belong to Jesus Christ.
Take a moment to think about what God has given to us. We were chosen in the past; we are secure in the future; and, we are accepted in the present! That’s what we have in the Lord Jesus. Paul found it hard to stop writing because he was praising the Lord for all He had given to him.
When a seal was put on a document after transaction, it meant the full price had been paid. It meant that ownership had been transferred. Our salvation is signed, sealed, and delivered!
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