God has wiped out the barrier between man and Himself: Forgiveness. Eph 1:7; Col 2:13-14; 2Co 8Back to Eph 1:7
Eph 1:7-8 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished upon us.
/“through his blood” — dia[dia] plus the genitive of a(ima[haima] =metaphor for the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ.\
We have covered the blood of Christ as a metaphor for the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ on the cross. Christ did not bleed to death, but rather this metaphor refers to the animal sacrifices of the OT which all pointed to the one sacrifice that would satisfy the justice of the Father concerning all sin.
We now turn to the definition of what the blood of Christ really means:
/The blood is now actually defined: “the forgiveness of sins.” The word for “forgiveness” is a)fesij [aphesis] which means forgiveness, remission, pardon, or cancellation of an obligation. \
Basically the noun connotes the cancellation of an obligation. It also connotes punishment or forgiveness of guilt.
All of these were accomplished on the cross when Christ was bearing our sins. Remember that forgiveness of sins is in apposition or directly related to blood by means of the OT sacrifices.
Christ came to the Jews first. We are only the fortunate recipients of their rejection of Him. Therefore we understand that it is not the literal blood that saves us but it is what blood represents that saves us, namely the substitutionary spiritual death of the Christ.
He willingly gave Himself for separation and subsequent spiritual death so that all the sins of every person could fall on Him for judgment.
That is nothing that you or I can identify with, but we can identify with the result. You are forgiven of all sins against God, which is all sin in total… period!
The word for “sins” is not the normal word, harmatia:
/The word “sins” is paraptwma[paraptoma]and is not usually the word used. It is used for sins against God, sins in the sense of being all against God.\
When this word is in the singular it refers to Adams original sin, as in Romans 5:15, but the plural indicates the sins of the entire human race, as in Romans 4:25; 5:16; 2 Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:13. Ephesians 1:7; James 5:16.
/What this word means is that we have all sinned against God and would be accountable for it if the Savior had not arrived and taken it ALL!\
/Rom 4:25 He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification.\
/Rom 5:16 And the gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. \
/2 Cor 5:19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.\
/Col 2:13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,\ /So it should be translated “the cancellation of sins.” Our sins were canceled when Christ bore them on the cross and God the Father judged them on the cross in Christ.\
/Isa 53:10 But the Lord was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring [RFOG], He will prolong His days [resurrection], And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand [at His right hand].\
All sins have been judged and therefore the justice of God no longer has to consider them. He is satisfied so that sin is no longer a barrier between God and man. That is the doctrine of propitiation; the God-ward side of the cross.
Man no longer has to be concerned about his sin. That is the epitome of freedom. That is the doctrine of reconciliation; the man-ward side of the cross.
Turn to Col 2:8
Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
/Philosophy = human speculation. Empty deception = hollow delusion. Man seeks fulfillment through cosmic living and religion; salvation by man’s efforts.\
That’s what the philosophy of man boils down to; some type of pseudo salvation through man’s efforts. Man cannot deliver himself from any evil. And without God man is destined for evil and destruction.
/Gen 6:5 Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.\
Our founding fathers knew this and they based our declaration of independence and our constitution on the principle that God is needed in a free nation.
/ “From the day of the Declaration … they [the American people] were bound by the laws of God, which they all, and by the laws of the gospel, which they nearly all acknowledged as the rules of their conduct.” John Quincy Adams, Secretary of State, July, 4 1821.\
/ “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Thomas Jefferson, Declaration of Independence.\
A French jurist by the name of Alexis de Tocqueville visited the United States in 1831 and he became so impressed by what he saw that he went home and wrote one of the best definitive studies on the American culture and Constitutional system.
“The early American colonists brought with them in to the New World a form of Christianity which I cannot better describe than by styling it a democratic and republican religion. This contributed powerfully to the establishment of a republic and a democracy in public affairs; and from the beginning, politics and religion contracted an alliance which has never been seen dissolved.” “All the sects [denominations] of the United States are comprised within the great unity of Christianity, and Christian morality is everywhere the same… There is no country in the world where the Christian religion retains a greater influence over the souls of men than in America.”
“The philosophers of the eighteenth century explained in a very simple manner the gradual decay of religious faith. Religious zeal, said they, must necessarily fail the more generally liberty is established and knowledge diffused. Unfortunately, the facts by no means accord with their theory. There are certain populations in Europe whose unbelief is only equaled by their ignorance and debasement; while in America, one of the freest and most enlightened nations in the world, the people fulfill with fervor all the outward duties of religion.” (Democracy in America)
Col 2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
Col 2:9 For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
Col2:10and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
/ “complete” = perfect passive participle of plerow[pleroo] = to fully possess, fully influence, to fill up a deficiency, and to fill with a certain quality.\
Instead of being fully influenced and possessed by the darkness of the sin nature and being deficient and without quality or virtue before God, as a believer you possess the inheritance of Christ and you are influenced by God the HS, and you are no longer deficient of positional truth, and you have the quality of being in union with Christ.
This must be exploited by the CA believer so that he can break the barrier of maturity and bring maximum glory to God.
All of this was the work of God at salvation because your payment was made, i.e. the blood of Christ for the forgiveness of transgressions against God.
/Perfect = you are complete forever. Passive = God did the work through the cross. Participle = the purpose is to glorify God the Father.\
Col 2:11and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
Col2:12having been buried with Him in baptism [union with Christ], in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead [resurrection means you are justified].
/Rom 4:25 He who was delivered up because of our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification. \
Col 2:13And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
Col2:14having canceled out [the Greek word means to wash away or wipe away) the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
/So your sins are no longer an issue. Name and cite them and forget them.\
Ps 103:1 Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
/The Hebrew word for bless is barach. This is in the piel stem—intensive, so it means to adore. It is comparable to the filojlove of the soul.\
The intensity involves all of the training, all of the work, all of the learning, everything that goes into having a dynamic relationship with Christ which results in a dynamic testimony for the Lord Jesus Christ and fulfils the principle of ambassadorship.
/“O my soul” [nephesh] is the instrument. The characteristics of the soul form, as it were, a musical instrument inside of your soul, the real you.\
What is played on this instrument depends on what is found in the human spirit.
If the human spirit has Bible doctrine within it then you adore the Lord and you play pleasing music for Him. That is what it means to bless the Lord.
The Lord has provided for you the basis for reaching a lost and dying world. He has you here for a reason. You are a part of the plan of God, you are an extension of the angelic conflict.
“and all that is within me” – Bible doctrine. You cannot fulfil this command unless you have doctrine in the soul.
Ps 103:2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget none of His benefits;
Ps 103:3 Who pardons all your iniquities; Who heals all your diseases [this is not physical disease at all but mental flaws from arrogance and self-pity];
Ps 103:4 Who redeems your life from the pit; Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Ps 103:5 Who satisfies your years with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle [the Bible says that there is a youth in old age].
If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ you can have this perpetual youth. But where is this perpetual youth? It is in the soul. It is a soul which is free from kinks, free from mental attitude sins. It is the relaxed mental attitude that comes from knowing doctrine and from the filling of the Spirit. It is inner beauty, inner happiness, inner dynamics, and it belongs to the believer by way of the Word of God.
Skip down to verse 10:
Ps 103:10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
Ps 103:11For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
Ps 103:12As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Ps 103:13Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
Ps 103:14For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.
/Heb 8:12 "For I will be merciful to their iniquities, And I will remember their sins no more." \
Go back to Eph 1:
Eph 1:7-8 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 8 which He lavished upon us.
/“according to the riches” — kata[kata] plus the accusative plural of ploutoj[ploutos] plus the definite article to[to]. Ploutojmeans riches or wealth, it also means abundance. \
/“of his grace” — genitive singular of xarij[charis] to describe the plan of God. The principle: Unlimited divine resources are thrown into God’s plan under the concept of grace. \
The whole character of God, the power of God, the ingenuity of God, the faithfulness of God, all meet in providing a perfect plan for you and me.
/Grace is unmerited divine Providence motivated by the unfailing love of God.\
Eph 2:4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,
Eph 2:5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
Eph 2:6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus,
Eph 2:7 in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
/The unfailing love of God gives every believer in Jesus Christ these “surpassing riches that reflect God’s grace, which cannot be compared to any human wealth or success in life.\
In the CA, these “riches” include more spiritual assets than have ever been given in all human history. It will not be duplicated in future dispensations.
/Grace is the magnificent expression of God’s unfailing love, which is His policy of unmerited favor bestowed on fallen, sinful humanity.\
Since God’s unfailing love is eternal, grace as an expression of that love existed in eternity past. Therefore grace preceded all human life, all function of human volition, and all the works of mankind.
Since this is true man’s existence, unfallen or fallen, cannot influence grace.
This antecedent grace is, therefore, the expression of God’s love from eternity past that offers a relationship to mankind in time and eternity, apart from human merit, human works, or any other human resources.
Antecedent grace emphasizes that from eternity past the unfailing love of God designed the divine solutions for every situation man will ever face in this life, without exception.
Antecedent grace and unfailing love, as a part of the divine decree, are the initiatives of the plan of God for man.
The grace of God provides for mankind from birth through death. This means everything that man needs to stay alive as well as the redemption solution for new birth.
God offers throughout the life of every human being a personal relationship with Him through His impersonal unconditional love as expressed by His policy of grace.
Because of God’s unfailing impersonal love, everyone has an opportunity for that personal relationship with God through faith alone in Christ alone.
The wealth of grace is a description, then, of that perfect plan. The wealth or the abundance of grace is the source of cancellation of our sins on the cross. The pattern is set in salvation and there is no blessing in time or in eternity apart from this principle — God’s grace. Under grace everything depends on who and what God is.
Translation: “In whom [in Christ] we keep on having the redemption through his blood, the cancellation of sins, according to the wealth of his grace.”
Christ bearing our sins in His own body on the cross is the blood, is the coin of the realm, is the payment for our release from the slavemarket of sin.
|