01.02.07 - Redemption

7. Redemption: Redemption is the doctrine which expresses our current freedom from the bondage of sin as a result of Christ’s work on the cross in paying the price for our lives. As a result of our common birth in Adam’s line all human beings are born spiritually dead, possessing a sin nature with the necessary consequence that we all commit sin as well. From the point of view of the teaching of redemption, mankind is portrayed as held in bondage by this sin, with no way to escape or gain freedom absent the work of Christ on our behalf.

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.” John 8:34-36 NIV

What then? Do we [Israelites] have an advantage? Not at all. For we have already brought forth the charge that both Jews and gentiles, all [of us], are under sin’s control. Romans 3:9. For we know that the Law is spiritual. But I am fleshly, sold [into bondage] under [the power of] sin. Romans 7:14.

Redemption is a Latin word meaning, etymologically, to “buy back” (re- emo). In the Old Testament, we find two roots expressing this idea (padhah, ôãä and ga’al, âàì), both of which are used for literal redemption (though it can be argued that the underlying symbolism of redemption from sin is always present: cf. Exodus 6:6; Exodus 13:13; Deuteronomy 7:8; Leviticus 27:13; Psalms 49:7-8), and are also both used for explicit redemption from sin as well. In the latter case, their usage is so synonymous as to be virtually indistinguishable in expressing God’s deliverance of believers from the bondage in which we are held without His deliverance:

Let Israel keep waiting on the Lord, for with the Lord is mercy, and with him is abundant redemption (padhah) For He himself will redeem (padhah) Israel from all her iniquities (i. e., sins). Psalms 130:7-8.

I have wiped away your transgressions like a cloud and your sins like vapor. Return to Me, for I have redeemed (ga’al) you (i. e., from your sins)! Isaiah 44:22. In the New Testament, there are two very closely conceptually related ways in which Christ’s work as it is directed towards releasing us from sin is described, and these are reflected in the Greek vocabulary:1) [the more common] metaphorical ransoming us from an otherwise implacable force [root: lytr-, λυτρ-] (e. g., Matthew 20:28; Luke 1:68-69; Luke 2:38; John 8:31-38; Romans 3:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 Timothy 2:6; cf. Acts 7:35), and 2) buying us out of slavery [root: -agoraz-, ἀγοραζ-] (e. g., 2 Peter 2:1; Galatians 4:5). These two ideas are obviously very similar, and it is not uncommon for versions of the Bible to translate all the words involved in this concept the same way regardless of the Greek root actually employed (i. e., with some form of the English words “redeem” or “redemption”).

Christ bought us free (i. e., “redeemed” us: exagorazo) from the Law’s curse, having become a curse on our behalf. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone [who is] hanged upon a tree” (Deuteronomy 21:23). Galatians 3:13. In whom (i. e., Christ) we possess our ransoming [from sin] (i. e., “redemption”: apolytrosis), the forgiveness of our sins. Colossians 1:14. In all of these cases, the coin that pays the ransom or redemption price is “the blood of Christ” (cf. Romans 3:24; Galatians 4:5; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 1 Corinthians 7:23; Hebrews 9:15; Revelation 5:9), that is, the spiritual death of Jesus which paid the penalty for our sins, accomplishing propitiation. In whom (i. e., Christ) we possess our ransoming [from sin] (i. e., “redemption”) through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions according to the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7.

Thus the blood of Christ cannot be separated from any detailed discussion of redemption, since it is the blood of Christ which redeems us from sin (cf. Hebrews 9:12). We are “slaves”, headed for death and condemnation, headed for the fires of hell, with no way, no means to prevent either our imminent physical death or the eternal death that will inevitably follow – unless someone intervenes. God is just, and cannot overlook sin. But God is also merciful, and in His great mercy He devised a way for us to be saved, sinners though we are. He sent His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh into the world to be judged for sin in the flesh that we might be saved (Romans 8:1-4). That is how Jesus paid our redemption price – with His own blood. Without this payment we were lost and already condemned in principle, and held in bondage at a price which we had no means to pay ourselves since the Father’s justice could be assuaged by no less than a perfect substitute, a Lamb without spot or blemish, our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. But, blessedly, the Father’s justice is satisfied with the ransom price Jesus paid for us on the cross in regard to sin, so that all who put their faith in Him have been redeemed. For you know that it was not with perishable things [like] silver or gold that you were ransomed from the futile manner of life passed down to you by your ancestors, but [you were redeemed] with precious blood, like that of a lamb without spot or blemish, [that is, by the blood] of Christ. 1 Peter 1:18-19. As the passage above and indeed all redemption passages suggest, while the price has been paid for all mankind (i. e., propitiation and atonement are universal since the Blood of Christ avails for the payment of all human sin), the act of actual redemption is accomplished only for those who seek it. For redemption is directed towards sin, and sin only releases its grasp through faith. That is to say, only believers are redeemed, even though God has made the offer of free redemption through Jesus Christ available to all. This explains not only why redemption passages are addressed to believers, but also why some passages where this doctrine is taught emphasize the special relationship of believers to Jesus Christ that obtains as a result of redemption (cf. 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Peter 2:1):

Don’t you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you (whom you have from God), and that you don’t belong to yourselves? You were bought at a [precious] price. So glorify God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:23) And they sang a new song, saying, “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain and have purchased with your blood for our God [men] from every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will rule upon the earth!” Revelation 5:9-10 (cf. Revelation 14:3-4)

It should not be surprising, therefore, that the doctrine of redemption, while usually referring to our present position in Christ and spiritually released from sin, also occasionally looks forward to our ultimate status as part of His Bride, the physical release through resurrection from this body of sin in which we now dwell, and the eternal rewards that accompany it: When these things (i. e., signs and wonders of Luke 21:25-27) begin to happen, stand up and raise up your heads, because your redemption is near (i. e., the resurrection which occurs at Christ’s return). Luke 21:28. And not only the created world, but we too who have received the Holy Spirit as a foretaste [of the good things to come] agonize within ourselves as we eagerly await our adoption, that is, the redemption of our body (i. e. resurrection). This is the hope with which we were saved. Romans 8:23-24 a

[The Spirit] who is a guarantee of the inheritance that is ours in the [future] redeeming of what we have been working for (i. e., our resurrection and reward) bringing praise for His glory (in eternity). Ephesians 1:14. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for a [future] day of redemption (i. e., the day of resurrection). Ephesians 4:30. In sum, under the concept of redemption God in Christ purchases us out from under the charges, penalties, and entanglements by which we are held by sin. Redemption is the work of Christ, the suffering Servant, who fulfilled His mission by ransoming us from the bondage of sin and death by giving up His life in exchange for ours, a boon which must be accepted in faith to be effective. For the Son of Man also did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom on behalf of many. Mark 10:45 (cf. Matthew 20:28) To the One who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood – and He has made us a kingdom, priests of His God and Father – to Him be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:5-6.