WHAT DO WE HAVE IN JESUS?
- FIRST: In Jesus we have redemption. This redemption is not free, but “through his blood” shed on the Cross for you and I.
- SECOND: In Jesus, through that blood, in Jesus, we receive forgiveness of our trespasses. It’s important to point out that his forgiveness for our sins is according to the riches of his grace and not our own efforts, works, good deeds or simply a good life lived.
- THIRD: As those who are “in him”, we receive all this lavishly, not sparingly. According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, “Lavish” means “sparingly”, but in abundance, in access, or expending or bestowing profusely. There is a big difference between lavish grace and grace given sparingly. God’s paid the faire for our redemption, through his blood, his forgiveness of all our sins according to his riches and grace not sparingly, but “LAVISHED” upon us”.
- FOURTH AND LASTLY: We receive “in him”, numbers one through three in full “in God’s full wisdom and insight”. This means that God saw all He would give us from eternity, despite how badly we would treat him and one another on earth. This our hanging his only Son Jesus who He sent for our good on the Cross, nailing spikes through the Son’s hands and feet, and hanging Him on the Cross to die for the redemption of all mankind, not a selected few.
What does this mean for you and I and all who are “in Him”? If I had I to summ this up into one word, it would be “REDEMPTION”. Redemption is the cornerstone of the “Resurrection Day”-the “Easter” holiday celebration. The word “REDEMPTION” means “to buy back” or “ransom.” In ancient times, one could buy back a person who was sold into slavery. In the same way, Christ through His death bought us from our slavery to sin. “HIS BLOOD”, the blood of Christ is the means by which our redemption comes. The Old Testament and the New Testament both clearly teach that there is no forgiveness without the shedding of blood. Blood here is a vivid symbolic equivalent of death. It recalls the sacrificial system of the old covenant, which looked forward to the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ that took away the sin of the world.
IN CONCLUSION: Simply put, Jesus paid the tab for us, and in the end, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight. (EPHESIANS 1:7-8)