Ephesians 1:7-9 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:”
Sometimes, small words carry a great deal of weight. Consider the Strong’s definition for the Greek word rendered “in”: A primary preposition denoting (fixed) position (in place, time or state), and (by implication) instrumentality (medially or constructively). The pronoun “whom” refers to Jesus Christ (see verse 5). Our position as the children of Almighty God is fixed (secured) in Jesus Christ. It was ever that way in the mind and purpose of God and all legal requirements were met when Jesus declared from the cross “It is finished.” We have the earnest of our inheritance here and now as we live in the kingdom of God (heavenly places).
We are ransomed in full (see Strong’s definition for “redemption”) through the blood of Jesus Christ. Since the blood of Jesus is sufficient to ransom us in full, there is no need for anyone to assume He needs help to accomplish this. His blood, and His blood alone, is all that has ever been required to pay our sin debt. Furthermore, He not only paid the debt, but secured our forgiveness in the process. Why? Because it is according to the abundance (riches) of His divine influence on our hearts and its reflection in our lives (grace).
His grace has been superabundant in our lives. His grace has always been aimed at us. By His grace, we have a deep ability to rightly exercise knowledge (wisdom) in our thinking (prudence); in other words, by His grace, we have the mind of Christ abundantly! We are not simply wandering aimlessly through life fearfully waiting for the end.
He has made known unto us the mystery of His will. There is no greater mystery in my life than why He would love me enough to die for me. Why would He love me so much that, after dying for me, He would deign to come and live in me? Why would He ever love such a sinner as I am? This is indeed a mystery! However, He has revealed to us that it was according to His will to die for us, live in us, and love us.
As much as I cannot understand why it pleased Him to do this, the scripture is quite plain that it did please Him! Even knowing what it would cost Him, He determined that He would pay this debt that He did not owe. He determined that He would make this mystery known to us. He determined that He would abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence. He did it for us, but it was all through and of Him; He ransomed us in full!
May we, with joy and thanksgiving, offer up to Him all praise, honor, and glory for what He alone accomplished!