Ephesians Series: Ephesians 1:7b-Redemption Defined as the Forgiveness of Transgressions

Ephesians 1:3 The God, namely the Father of the Lord ruling over us, who is Jesus Christ, is worthy of praise. Namely, because He is the one who has blessed each and every one of us by means of each and every kind of Spirit appropriated blessing in the heavenlies in Christ. 4 For He chose each and every one of us for His own purpose because of Him alone before creation in order that each and every one of us would be holy as well as uncensurable in His judgment. 5 He did this by predestinating each and every one of us for the purpose of adoption as sons because of His love through Jesus Christ for Himself according to the pleasure of His will. 6 This was for the purpose of praising His glorious grace, which He freely bestowed on each and every one of us because of the one who is divinely loved. 7 Because of whom, each one of us are experiencing that which is the redemption through His blood, namely the forgiveness of our transgressions according to His infinite grace. (Lecturer’s translation)

The prepositional phrase dia tou haimatos autou (διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ), “through His blood” is used in a figurative sense as part of a representative analogy between the physical death of the animal sacrifice in the Mosaic Law and the spiritual and physical deaths of Jesus Christ on the cross.

In fact, the expressions “His blood,” “blood of Christ” or the “blood of Jesus” that appear in Scripture do “not” refer to the literal blood of Christ but are part of a “representative” analogy between the physical death of the animal sacrifice in the Mosaic Law and the spiritual and physical deaths of Christ.

Therefore, the prepositional phrase dia tou haimatos autou (διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ), “through His blood” here in Ephesians 1:7 indicates that the blood of Jesus Christ, which is a reference to His spiritual and physical deaths on the cross, were the means by which the Father redeemed Paul and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle from the slave market of sin.

Paul defines that this redemption which was provided by means of the blood of Christ is the forgiveness of transgressions.

The noun aphesis(ἄφεσις), “forgiveness” pertains to removing the guilt and punishment resulting from sin or breaking God’s laws.

It speaks of the act of freeing the sinner from guilt and punishment due to committing sin or in other words, breaking God’s laws.

Here in Ephesians 1:7, the noun aphesis is used of the Christian experiencing the forgiveness of their sins because of exercising faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and because of their resultant union and identification with Jesus Christ.

The plural form of the noun paraptōma (παράπτωμα), “transgressions” refers to the deliberate violations of God’s laws by the apostle Paul and the recipients of the Ephesian epistle prior to their justification.

The believer is both object and the subject of forgiveness.

The Scriptures present three major subdivisions: (1) the forgiveness of God: At the moment of conversion, the believer received the forgiveness of their sins in the positional sense.

Paul teaches in Ephesians chapter two that the Father graciously forgave all the transgressions of the Ephesian Christian community “for His own benefit” or in other words “for His own glory” since it manifested His character by doing so.

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (NASB95)

In Colossians 1:14, Paul describes for the faithful believers in Colossae what the Father did for them by stating that they are, as an eternal spiritual truth experiencing the redemption, namely the forgiveness of their sins because of their union and identification with Jesus Christ.

The Christian’s union and identification with Jesus Christ is the reason why they are experiencing this redemption and specifically experiencing the forgiveness of their sins.

Colossians 1:14 In union with whom, we, as an eternal spiritual truth, are experiencing the redemption, specifically the forgiveness of our sins. (Lecturer’s translation)

So in Colossians 1:14, Paul is teaching the Colossians that they are presently experiencing redemption, namely the forgiveness of their sins as a result of their union and identification with Jesus Christ.

Now, in Colossians 2:13, Paul asserts that when the Colossians were dead spiritually in their transgressions and the uncircumcision of their human bodies, the Father made them alive together with Christ while simultaneously forgiving all their transgressions.

Colossians 2:11 Furthermore, because of your faith in Him, each one of you was circumcised by means of a circumcision which was not performed by human beings, by means of the removal of your body composed of that which is flesh, by means of this circumcision which is specifically your identification with the Christ. 12 Specifically each one of you were buried with Him by means of the baptism which is essential and superior. Correspondingly, by means of which each one of you were raised together with Him by means of your faith in God the Father’s exertion of power who caused Him to be raised out from the dead ones. 13 In other words, even though each one of you were spiritually dead ones because of your transgressions, specifically because of the uncircumcision, which is your flesh, He caused each one of you to be made alive together with Him. Simultaneously for His own glory, He graciously forgave each one of our transgressions for the benefit of each one of us. 14 Specifically, He caused the cancellation of that which was against each one of us, namely a certificate of debt which is according to a written code of laws, which was opposed to each one of us. To be more explicit, He eradicated it, removing this partition by causing it to be nailed to the cross. 15 Simultaneously, for His own benefit, He disarmed the angelic rulers as well as the angelic authorities. He caused them to suffer disgrace publicly by causing them to be led in a triumphal procession through Him. (Lecturer’s translation)

This epexegetical statement in Colossians 2:13 contains a concessive and a temporal clause.

The former emphasizes with the Colossians that despite the fact that each and every one of them existed in the state of being spiritually dead because of their transgressions, specifically because of the uncircumcision which is their flesh, the Father caused each and every one of them to be made alive together with His Son Jesus Christ.

The temporal clause emphasizes that while the Father was making them alive together with His Son, He also simultaneously forgave them each and every one of their transgressions.

(2) the forgiveness demonstrated between the children of God: Since the child of God has received the forgiveness of sins at the moment of their justification through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, they are now obligated to forgive others and especially, their fellow child of God.

This principle is taught in Colossians 3:13 and Ephesians 4:32.

(3) the forgiveness of sins demonstrated between the children of God and the non-believer: The Lord Jesus Christ during His First Advent set the example for the church age believer in regards to forgiving those in the non-Christian community who sinned against them.

Luke 23:34 Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive all of them, for they know not what they are doing.” (NASB95)

The Lord was generous in forgiving insults and injuries without being vindictive and becoming involved in petty resentfulness (cf. Lk. 11:1-4).

The forgiveness of sins is offered to the entire human race by God the Father based upon the merits of the voluntary substitutionary spiritual and physical deaths on the cross of His Son, Jesus Christ.

A sinner appropriates by means of faith alone in Christ alone the forgiveness of their sins.

God bases His forgiveness or receipt of His pardon upon the restitution for sins that Christ voluntarily made for the world.

From the earliest mention of forgiveness, the Lord has never discounted nor overlooked our sins.

He forgives us because Christ made restitution.

Though God made the restitution for us, it was still required to obtain God’s forgiveness.

To put it the opposite way: without the restitution payment of Jesus Christ, there would be no forgiveness!

Unbelievers are not judged according to their sins at the Great White Throne Judgment but rather are judged according to their self-righteous human good works, which do not measure up to the perfect work of the impeccable Christ on the cross (Rev. 20:11-15).

The unbeliever goes to the lake of fire because of his rejection of Christ as their Savior.

1 Timothy 2:4 and John 3:16-17 clearly indicates that God desires all people to be saved, therefore, He has made provision for all people to be saved through the Person and Work of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross.

Ephesians 1:7 comes to an end with the prepositional phrase kata to ploutos tēs charitos autou (κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ), “according to His infinite grace” is expressing the idea that the forgiveness of the church age believer’s transgressions is “in accordance with” or “according to the standard” of the Father’s infinite grace.

The noun charis(χάρις), “grace” refers to God the Father’s grace policy towards sinners, which manifests His attribute of love.

The noun ploutos(πλοῦτος), “infinite” refers to the infinite or unmeasurable unmerited spiritual benefits that were received by the church age believer as a result of their justification and resultant union and identification with Jesus Christ.