The Son Saves

Ephesians 1:7-10

Main Idea: Christ reveals to us the mystery of God’s plan to redeem sinners and reconcile all things.

I. The Son Redeems (1:7-8)

Paul continues his list of “every spiritual blessing” we have by focusing on the work of the Son. In Christ, we have “redemption,” which is the idea of liberating those enslaved or in bondage. Biblically, the backdrop for “redemption” comes in the Israelite’s exodus from Egypt where they were “redeemed” by the mighty hand of God.

John 8:31–34: So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.

This redemption has three realities:

Redemption is through the blood of Christ. The blood of the lamb in the Exodus story that saves guilty sinners foreshadows the blood of the cross shed by the “Lamb of God” (Jn. 1:29)
1 Peter 1:18–19: “… you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.”
Redemption is for the forgiveness of our sins.
Redemption is according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us.“In matters of God’s grace, hyperboles are understatements.” ~ Eugene Peterson

In Christ, we have true freedom from guilt, bondage, and condemnation. He has “paid our bill” in full, we owe him nothing, and we have been welcomed in. John 8:35-36: The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

II. The Son Reveals (1:9)

Through Christ, God has made known the ‘mystery’ of God’s will. ‘Mystery’ is not the idea of intrigue or secretive information but rather something previously hidden but now revealed. Christ’s coming, person, and work are the “hinge” point of history & redemption.

Luke 24:25–27: And he said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.

The way the mystery is revealed to us is not through cryptic religious practices (like many religious cults of Paul’s day) or to the religious elite, but to “us” in the church who have humbly placed our faith in Jesus Christ. He opens our eyes to see what has been there all along, but we were blinded to because of our sin.

III. The Son Reconciles (1:10)

The cosmic plan of God the Father centered on Jesus Christ does not just involve the salvation of individual sinners; one day “all things” will be “united in him” (lit. ‘under one head’). Jesus will “sum up” all things (spiritual & physical) in himself, reconciling what had been fractured under his rule & reign.

“In the fullness of time, God’s two creations, his whole universe, and his whole church, will be unified under the cosmic Christ who is the supreme head of both.”
~ John Stott

Though this world is marked by death, sin, suffering, sickness, and the mundane, we can live with hope because of the plan and the promise that one day Jesus will set right all that has gone wrong. We can live with an infectious hope that Jesus is ruling right now as King and history itself will culminate with his rightful exaltation.

Acts 17:6b–7: “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also… saying that there is another king, Jesus.”