July 31, 2024
Praying Friends,
The main storyline of the Bible is God’s amazing plan of redemption. It was planned, prepared, and settled long before it was enacted in real life. Redemption originated in the heart and mind of God and it all centers on His Son, Jesus Christ.
What Paul says to the Colossian believers is absolutely beautiful. “In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14 NIV).
The focus is on Jesus. Paul said, “In whom.” All that is before Jesus looked forward to Him, and all that comes after Jesus up to this point looks back and onward to Him. Redemption encompasses all of eternity!
What came before the incarnation of Jesus was setting the stage and getting ready for the main event of His being here. The creation of the world, the fall of man, the selection of Israel, and the words of the prophets were all getting ready for the coming of the Savior of the world.
When the right time came, He arrived. “But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship” (Galatians 4:4-5).
His life, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension all contribute to the wonder of the redemptive strategy that gives it weight and value. His sinless life, His atoning death, His victorious resurrection, and His honored position next to His Father are all essential to redemption being what it is.
Redemption also stretches into the future and proclaims that Jesus will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, forever and ever. Every knee will bow in full submission to His greatness and authority.
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9-11).
The world will never be the same because of Him! Our hearts and lives will never be the same because of Him! Today we worship the Lamb and look forward excitedly to when we will see Him face to face.
Redemption is designed to reveal the attributes of God. One of those attributes is grace. Paul says, “In whom we have redemption.” We are the happy recipients of redemption. Paul is including himself, the Colossian believers (Jew and Gentile), and every other believer in our Lord Jesus Christ.
As we focus on ourselves, we realize that it took the grace of God to include us in His family. We were Gentile sinners. We were on the outside. Ephesians 2:11-12 explains:
Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands)—remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
It is just as important to see what is not in the text as what is there. It does not say, “In whom we will have redemption.” We have it right now.
We live in “the already but not yet.” We have redemption as a gift that gets better with time and will come to full realization in life after death.
The word “redemption” here in this passage is the Greek word, ἀπολύτρωσις (apolutrōsis), meaning “a releasing effected by payment of ransom” (Thayers Word Dictionary). The great impact of redemption on our lives is that we have been released from the bondage of sin through the payment made by our Savior on the cross. The debt has been paid and we have been set free.
The added statement in our verse is that we have “the forgiveness of sins.” God has wiped the slate of our sins clean. He has, in the language of Isaiah, blotted them out or swept them away. “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you” (Isaiah 44:22).
May God enable each of us to live our days with devotion and worship as we enjoy the immensity of our redemption in Christ.
Thank you for praying each Wednesday for our prodigals and for revival among us.
Love in Christ,
Bryan and Rachel