At the end of our previous study, our final reflection in considering Ephesians 1:6 was to dwell upon the embodiment of God’s grace in His beloved Son. In moving on now to the study of verses 7-10, we shall see how the glory of divine grace is expressed in the Lord’s sacrificial death and was a necessary preliminary to the ultimate consummation of God’s purpose with mankind.
In Ephesians 1:7-10 we can find an epitome of God’s saving work in the Lord Jesus. We recall Peter’s words when, in the earliest days of the proclamation of the Gospel, he had declared: “And in none other is there salvation; for neither is there any name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). We must never forget that for Paul an understanding of the principles of redemption had been a painful process. Responsible for the death of others, he had blood on his hands, directly or indirectly (see Acts 22:4,20). Yet all this dreadful record had been the consequence of a failure to understand, for he had acted “ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Tim. 1:13), a passage which we must inevitably remember in connection with the circumstances of the Apostle’s conversion. If his sins were great, he had no doubt about the total nature of the forgiveness he had received. When he had recovered from his blindness on the Damascus road, he unhesitatingly obeyed the words of Ananias: “Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins” (Acts 22:16).
The word “blood” is a simple one, but in the NT and in the OT it is a term of enormous significance. We cannot now consider all the relevant passages, but we need always to be reminded that we were redeemed, not “with corruptible things, with silver and gold”, but “with precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18,19). Now we need to go over some of the ground already covered. First, we think again of the significance of the expression “the foundation of the world”, which we interpreted as that divine constitution which came into being with Adam and Eve. God’s provision of skins to provide a covering to hide human sin foreshadowed the one identified by the Baptist as “the lamb of God” (see John 1:29,36), “foreknown indeed before the foundation of the world” (see, once more, 1 Pet. 1:18-20). It is he who by his sacrificial death provided a covering for sins (cf. Psa. 32:1,2).
For our understanding of the significance of blood, we can turn to the history of the deliverance of the Israelites. In bondage, oppressed by a cruel and arrogant king, they longed for freedom from the Egyptian yoke. God’s response was to send Moses. The king’s stubborn unwillingness to release the Israelites was eventually broken by the slaying of the firstborn of Egypt. When the angel of death passed over the land, the children of Israel were instructed to slay a lamb or goat without blemish, and to sprinkle its blood upon the lintel and doorposts of their dwellings. When the instructions were duly carried out, the Israelites were spared. Their obedience and faith were essential elements in God’s work of deliverance, and this was achieved though faith in the efficacy of the blood of the slain creatures. God thus became their redeemer, purchasing them to Himself (see Psa. 74:2).
Moreover, there is a powerful parallel between details in the institution of the first covenant with Israel and the inauguration of the new covenant. In Exodus 20-23 (a sequence of passages mentioned earlier in these studies), the LORD God lays down the ordinances to be observed by His people. These were incorporated in what is called the Book of the Covenant and they were duly read twice to the nation at Sinai (Exod. 24:3,7). The people responded on both occasions, pledging themselves to observe all the conditions in the book (vv. 3,7). The covenant was ratified by the shedding of the blood of oxen, slain by young men (v. 5). Half of the blood thus produced was sprinkled on the altar (v. 6) and the remainder on the people. At the conclusion of the ritual, Moses declared: “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words” (v. 8). There was thus established in the true sense a covenant between the LORD God and His people. We take special note of the expression, “the blood of the covenant”.
It is impossible to miss the echoes of all this in the NT. In the upper room, before his death on the cross, knowing full well that his blood was to be shed, Jesus declared to his apostles after he had taken the cup and given thanks: “Drink ye all of it. For this is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many unto the remission of sins” (Matt. 26:27,8; cf. Mark 14:24). Luke adds “new” before “covenant” (22:20). Thus was fulfilled the great prophecy of Jeremiah who was contemporary with the violation of the covenant made at Sinai but who also spoke of the establishment of a new covenant (Jer. 31:31). That the blessings of the new covenant far outweigh those of the old is a theme developed at length in the Letter to the Hebrews, for our Lord was indeed, as compared with Moses, “the mediator of a better covenant, which hath been enacted (‘founded’, NIV) upon better promises” (8:6).
There is one all-important difference between the Passover arrangements and the institution of the covenant at Sinai when compared with the new covenant: on both occasions the Israelites did not partake of the blood; indeed, in the Law they were expressly forbidden so to do, for, they were told, the life was in the blood (Lev. 17:10-12). “The life was in the blood”; while it is true that the liquid in our veins and arteries is our lifeblood and we can consult the haematologist to learn much about ourselves, we look for a deeper Biblical significance. With this in mind, we read the words of our Lord after he had taken the cup, containing the wine which he appointed as the symbol of his blood: “Drink ye all of it” (Matt. 26:27), and then we recall the statement which so shocked the Jews and tested the allegiance even of the apostles : “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye have not life in yourselves” (John 6: 53). As often as we eat the bread and drink the wine in memory of our Lord’s death, the immense privilege we enjoy should be in our minds and hearts, for his indeed is the blood of the everlasting covenant (Heb. 13:20).
As for the term “redemption” in Ephesians 1:7, we must recognize there is a great difference between ransom and redemption in the context of what the Lord achieved by his death; the meaning there is rather release, deliverance. The notion of ransom carries with it the idea of one party who holds another and will not grant release until the necessary terms have been met. When we reflect upon the circumstances of the Israelites leaving Egypt, we realize that no ransom price was given to their masters; the latter, in fact, paid a far greater price than did the Israelites. The second part of verse 7 states the redemption brought by the Lord, through his blood, results in the forgiveness of our sins. The price paid by our Lord with his death on the cross was no requirement necessary to placate an angry God: the forgiveness is freely granted by God Himself (cf. 2 Cor. 5:18,19).
The Apostle goes on to say (in Eph. 1:7) that this forgiveness is an expression of the “riches of his grace”; and in so doing Paul is striving to bring home to his readers the wonder of divine grace. There are certain terms which recur in the letter. They are woven into the very fabric of the epistle and they must be regarded as of the utmost importance; there is none more significant than “grace”. We encountered it in the opening salutation, and it occurs a total of 12 times in Ephesians and some 22 times in Romans, a much longer epistle. In common with other letters, in Romans 1:7 there is a mention of grace in the opening salutation and at the end of the letter (16:20). Likewise, in Ephesians 6:24, Paul prays grace will be with all who “love the Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love” (NIV; see also for example, 1 Cor. 1:3 and 16:23). In our present passage we have already noted above how Paul speaks of the “riches” of divine grace. Here again we encounter a recurrent word; “riches” will come to our attention in five passages. When we reflect upon man’s preoccupation with riches and the efforts he exerts to obtain them, we see the contrast, so often tragic, between human endeavour and what is freely available in the Lord Jesus. It is the Lord himself who refers to “the deceitfulness of riches” (see Matt. 13:22, and also 1 Tim. 6:10).
In verse 8 (of Eph. 1) Paul reinforces the concept of divine grace by affirming that God has made it abound towards us in “all wisdom and prudence”. Here the Apostle reminds us of what is available if we allow God’s grace truly to enter into us, allowing it to influence us in the depths of our being. We then develop wisdom and prudence. The latter (prudence) has a practical connotation and denotes the exercise of wisdom. The two words are, however, closely allied: in Luke 1:17 the angel’s use of “phroneesis”, normally rendered by “prudence”, is there exceptionally translated “wisdom”, both in the RV and NIV. In the familiar passage in 1 Corinthians 1 the Apostle at some length demonstrates the contrast between the wisdom of this world and that which is accessible to us in the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul had travelled in the world; at the time he wrote to the Corinthians he had visited Athens. There he had found many altars and had been “greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols” (Acts 17:16, NIV). Turning our backs on a world filled with such “wisdom” as that found in Athens, we need look no further than our Lord for the supreme manifestation of God’s wisdom (see 1 Cor. 1:30).
Which of us does not at times feel keenly a lack of wisdom in what we say and do? Let us not forget what James, so often very practical, says on this subject: “But if any of you lacketh wisdom, let him ask of God, who giveth to all liberally and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (James 1:5). In the companion letter to Ephesians, Paul exhorts the disciples: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…” (Col. 3:16), an exhortation that we should take to heart. It reminds us that in the teaching of our Lord, if it is accepted and practiced, we can find an inexhaustible source of wisdom.
Paul had become by God’s grace a champion and an exponent of the gospel. In that gospel God revealed the mystery of His purpose with Jew and Gentile. As the term “mystery” occurs a total of six times in Ephesians and four times in Colossians, it is important to understand its precise connotation. The word has OT associations: it is found in the LXX version of Daniel 2:18,19 and apparently in the apocryphal Book of Enoch. The wise men of Babylon could not even reveal to Nebuchadnezzar the contents of his dream; Daniel in due course was able, with God’s aid, to unravel the mystery and reveal its meaning. In the NT there is no better guide to the understanding of the word “mystery” than the Lord himself: in Matthew 13 and Mark 4, together with Luke 8, we have parables relating to various aspects of the kingdom of God. To the disciples he declared, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven…” (Matt. 13:11; cf. Mark 4:11, Luke 8:10). Clearly the Lord is explaining aspects of the kingdom. Although the apostles were convinced Jesus was the Messiah, much concerning his mission was hidden from them. However, after the resurrection, he explained to the faithful eleven that what had befallen him had been foretold in Scripture and then “he opened their mind, that they might understand the scriptures” (Luke 24:44,45). This throws a flood of light upon the meaning of the term “secrets” and shows they can be disclosed to minds open in humility to receive instruction. The Lord himself is supremely the great opener, providing the key to the understanding of the divine purpose. This purpose is brought out in Colossians 1:26,27; there the Apostle speaks of the mystery which has been hidden but is now revealed to the disciples. There is therefore a consistency in the two letters, impressive indeed in so many respects.
The term we must particularly get hold of is “purpose” (v. 9). This (see v. 10) is a “dispensation” (RV), “plan” (RSV); the corresponding Greek word normally means “stewardship”, and Robinson comments: the term “is here used in its wider sense, not of household management, which is its primary meaning, but of carrying into effect a design”.” Accordingly, our Lord is here seen as the agent used by his Father in the execution of His purpose. The comprehensive nature of this purpose can be seen; it embraces “all things” in him (the Christ), “the things in the heavens, and the things upon the earth; in him” (RV). The effect of this will be “to sum up” (RV), or “unite” (RSV, RV) all things, and this will be achieved in the fulness of time. This shows, and in this knowledge we must rejoice, that our troubled world history is but a stage in the fulfilment of the divine purpose. There is doubtless an anticipation of the uniting of the things in the heavens and those upon the earth in the prayer the Lord taught his disciples: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth” (Matt. 6:10), a consummation anticipated in Revelation 11:15. Hebrews 2 with its citation of Psalm 8 reminds us of the divine purpose in Christ with which we have been so much concerned. It prophesies that “all things” will eventually be subject to him, Christ, and adds: “But now we see not yet all things subjected to him” (v. 8); this thought is developed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:25-28. As we hope in due course to see, the thoughts embodied in Ephesians 1:10 will come up for further consideration when we come to 3:9.
We shall see in our study of verse 11 and the following verses the place graciously granted to the Lord’s disciples in God’s grand design.
“The Biblical notion of ‘redemption’ [is that of] buying another’s freedom by a payment… The meaning is clear, the metaphor vivid, and the truth moves the heart to gratitude like that of the liberated slaves. The whole idea gained added weight from the practice of showing public benevolence, or gratitude to a pagan god, by buying a slave into freedom in the name of the god, to whom henceforth the slave would ‘belong’. Paul makes great use of this idea of belonging to the Christ who bought us at a price of his life, to set us free.
“The prosaic minds of literalist theologians, however, refuse to treat the New Testament language as an inspired attempt to express the inexpressible in a figure of speech. They reduce the glowing metaphor to a precise definition, and argue about the amount of the ransom, to whom it was paid, and whether, since Jesus rose again, it was ever paid in the end! So with the other great attempts to say what Jesus’ death meant for the apostolic believers — acquittal after being found guilty (a legal metaphor, ‘justification’); removal of causes of ill-will and restoration of peace (a political metaphor, ‘reconciliation’); forgiveness of debt (a commercial metaphor); the domestic figure of a Servant of the Lord doing for men what they could not do for themselves; the defeat of the Prince of this world, and triumph over the powers of evil (a military metaphor)…
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One