Intro to Ephesians 1:11-14

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/15/2018 9:05 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                             Focus:  Intro to Eph. 1:11-14

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 1:11-14

 

            Message of the verses:  “11 also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, 12  to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. 13  In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation-having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, 14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”

 

            “11 Furthermore, because we are united with Christ, we have received an inheritance from God, for he chose us in advance, and he makes everything work out according to his plan. 12 God’s purpose was that we Jews who were the first to trust in Christ would bring praise and glory to God. 13 And now you Gentiles have also heard the truth, the Good News that God saves you. And when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own by giving you the Holy Spirit, whom he promised long ago. 14 The Spirit is God’s guarantee that he will give us the inheritance he promised and that he has purchased us to be his own people. He did this so we would praise and glorify him (NLT).”

 

            John MacArthur entitles this fourth chapter in his commentary on Ephesians “Divine Inheritance Guaranteed,” and as we can see the word inheritance is used two times in these last verses that make up the longest sentence (in the Greek) that is found in the New Testament.  We began looking at this sentence (Eph. 1:3-14) on the 19^th of October and now we will begin to look at the remaining verses as we work our way through verses 11-14.  There is so many truths found in this sentence that it is difficult, at least for me, to not only understand them, but to put them into my mind in order to better understand how they apply to my life.  In a word they are “overwhelming.”

 

            In the beginning of his commentary on this section he talks about a Christian camp he attended where there was a young man who had a deformed hand and leg, who stood far away from everyone as games were played and other things done at the camp.  MacArthur talked to the young man who was very bitter to what God had done to him, and so he prayed for wisdom on what to say to this young man.  He told him that what he was living in at this time was not really him, but just the shell that God had given him while on planet earth.  He went on to talk about a rich inheritance that God offers him if he would accept the forgiveness that Christ offers Him if he would receive Christ as His Savior.  The young man did and after that his life was changed, as he even was not embarrassed to play ping-pong with MacArthur.

 

            I have a number of quotes from MacArthur’s introductory commentary which will review what we have been studying and preview what we will be studying in this section.

 

            “In this passage Paul shows us the awesome and wonderful potential of Christian believers.  That for which every person in one way or another yearns, the Christian already possess or is one day assured of possessing.  The apostle gives us a glimpse of the glorious blessings God has planned for and promised to those who come to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.”

 

            MacArthur goes on to talk about human nature and how we as humans break promises either on purpose or for some other reason, and yet God never breaks a promise that He makes.  The promises that we see God make in the Bible will be fulfilled, perhaps not when we want them to be fulfilled, but He will fulfill all of His promises.

 

            “At the completion of this longest sentence in the Bible (Eph. 1:3-14), in which Paul pours out his heart in praise to God for His immeasurable grace, he presents to us the Father’s guarantee of His divine promise to His children.  They are certain to receive the full, undiminished inheritance of Jesus Christ.  Just as we have been blessed ‘with every spiritual blessing,’ chosen ‘in Him before the foundation of the world,’ ‘predestined…to adoption as sons,’ given ‘redemption through His blood,’ and shown ‘the mystery of His will’ (vv. 3-5, 7, 9)—so we have also obtained an inheritance.

            “Our inheritance is the aspect of salvation which is primarily future.  We were elected, or predestined, before the world or time existed; we have been redeemed in this present age; and we will receive our completed inheritance in the ages to come, when we enter fully into the Father’s eternal heavenly kingdom.

            “Here we are shown the ground, the guarantee, and the goal of our incomparable inheritance in Jesus Christ.”

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am looking forward to look at the inheritance that God has for me, understanding that most of it will happen during the time after I leave this earth, hopefully at the Rapture of the church as seen in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to give our family a good day as we celebrate my wife’s father’s 101st birthday.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “He asked Solomon what he wanted God to give him” (1 Kings 3:5).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “What has been put in subjection under the feet of Jesus?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

11/15/2018 9:59 AM

 

 

 

 

The Redemptive Reason (Eph. 1:9b-10)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/14/2018 10:22 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                                     Focus:  “The Redemptive Reason”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 1:9b-10

 

            Message of the verses:  “according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him 10  with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth.”

 

            I am going to also use the Phillips paraphrase version of the Bible to look at these verses, but I have to use all of verse nine:  “9 For God has allowed us to know the secret of his plan, and it is this: he purposed long ago in his sovereign will 10 that all human history should be consummated in Christ, that everything that exists in Heaven or earth should find its perfection and fulfillment in Him.”

 

            Sometimes I like to look at the Phillips paraphrase version of the Bible as it seems to me that that Bible makes it more understandable.  I suppose that not all paraphrase Bibles are as accurate as Phillips and that is why I like looking at it and in the case for these verses I can see things that were a bit more difficult to see in the NASB95 version.

 

            As we look back at the verses prior to these we may want to ask a question, and that question may have many parts as we sort of review what we have been studying.  We may want to ask why has God done so much for us?  We have seen many things that God has done for us through Christ and may wonder why.  I suppose that if we answered that He loves us that that would be a good answer, but is there more to this answer? For as we have seen He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing, has chosen us in Christ before the foundation of the world, has made us holy and blameless, and predestined us to adoption as His children. He has redeemed us through His blood, and has lavishly given us forgiveness, and also given us wisdom and insight as we saw yesterday, and He has done all of this according to the infinite riches of His grace.

 

            We are looking at the “Redemptive Reason” in this section and so I desire to know what that reason is. John MacArthur writes “God redeems men in order that He might gather everything to Himself.  The time of that gathering will be the millennial kingdom, which will be ‘an administration suitable to the fulness of the times.’  When the completion of history comes, the kingdom arrives, eternity begins again, and the new heaven and new earth are established, there will be a ‘summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things upon the earth.’  Jesus Christ is the goal of history, which finds it resolution in Him.  The paradise lost in Adam is restored in Christ.”

 

            As we look, especially at the Phillips paraphrase Bible we can see that what MacArthur wrote helps us make sense of it a little better.  If I see this correctly what I see is things were made to bring glory to the Son as was all planned in eternity past.  All believers are a part of this wonderful plan that began in eternity past and will continue in eternity future when all believers, (the bride of Christ) will be with Him in the New Jerusalem as seen at the end of the book of Revelation.  This was God’s plan all along that is to provide bride for His Son.  A picture of this is seen in the parable from the 25^th chapter of the gospel of Matthew.

 

            MacArthur adds “When every trace of evil has been disposed of, God will establish an incomparable unity in Himself of all things that remain.  That is the inevitable goal of the universe.

            “Macbeth pessimistically declared that history is ‘a tale told by and idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing’ (Shakespeare, Macbeth, 5. 5. 19).”

 

            I am studying for my Sunday school class over the last two weeks things that Antichrist, and also the False Prophet will be doing in the latter part of the tribulation period.  I suppose that if you look at the quote from Macbeth and apply it to man you could see it when what is unredeemed man gets a chance to rule the world during the last three and a half years of history as we know it.  But as Paul Harvey used to say “The rest of the story” will be seen when the Lord returns to rid the earth of Satan, Antichrist, and the false prophet and then bring in the millennial kingdom.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Bible is a book of hope for all who believe what it tells, that is to realize that you are a sinner from birth because of your father Adam, but hope when you become a child of God through the next Adam, the Lord Jesus Christ. 

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to give me wisdom to complete my Sunday school lesson in a way that will bring glory to the Lord.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Matthew and John.”

 

Today’s Bible question:  “What did God ask Solomon in a dream?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

11/14/2018 10:57 AM

 

 

 

           

 

           

PT-4 "Redemptive Results" (Eph. 1:7b-9a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/13/2018 12:20 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                                 Focus:  PT-IV “Redemptive Results”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                              Reference:  Ephesians 1:7b-9a

 

            Message of the verses:  “the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will,”

 

            I have to say that as we continue to talk about forgiveness that I for one, have not totally understood all of what goes into our forgiveness as it is vast to be sure.  Paul says in the last part of verse seven that “the forgiveness of our trespasses” is “according to the riches of His grace.”  He is speaking of God’s grace and like His love, holiness, power and all of the rest of His attributes it is boundless.  It goes far beyond our ability to comprehend or to describe, and yet we know that it is according to the riches of that infinite grace that God provides forgiveness.  I think that I do not ever want to make light of this forgiveness that God has given to me through His Son, My Savior, The Lord Jesus Christ.

           

            John MacArthur writes “If you were to go to a multimillionaire and ask him to contribute to a worthy ministry, and he gave you a check for twenty-five dollars, he would only be giving out of his riches.  Many poor people give that much.  But if, instead, he gave you a check for fifty thousand dollars, he would be giving according to his riches.

            That is a small picture of God’s generosity.  His forgiveness not only is given ‘according to the riches of His grace’ but is ‘lavished upon us.  We need never worry that our sin will outstrip God’s gracious forgiveness.  ‘Where sin increased,’ Paul assures us, ‘grace abounded all the more’ (Rom. 5:20).  Our heavenly Father does not simply give us subsistence forgiveness that will barely cover our sins if we are careful not to overdo.  We cannot sin beyond God’s grace, because as wicked and extensive as our sins might be or become, they will never approach the greatness of His grace.  His ‘forgiveness’ is infinite, and He lavishes it without measure upon those who trust in His Son.  We therefore not only can enjoy future glory with God but present fellowship with Him as well.”

 

11/13/2018 2:49 PM

 

Now we want to move to “Wisdom and Insight” which is the second result of redemption for the believers.  I have mentioned that one of the reasons that I like reading John MacArthur’s commentaries is that many times he digs into the Greek language to help me understand more deeply the different words that are found in the Word of God.  “Sophia (wisdom) emphasizes understanding of ultimate things—such as life and death, God and man, righteousness and sin, heaven and hell, eternity and time.  Paul is speaking of wisdom concerning the things of God.  Phronesis (insight), on the other hand, emphasizes practical understanding, comprehension of the needs, problems, and principles of everyday living.  It is spiritual prudence in the handling of daily affairs.”  As you read this quote you may come to the same idea that I came up with and that is that it seems to me that God has given us the things we need to understand things of His and also things that we need to live our Christian life here on earth. 

            The next quote comes from a French Philosopher Andre Maurois, and once I write the quote if you believe the opposite of what he writes that will be the right way to look at it.  “The universe is indifferent.  Who created it?  Why are we on this puny mud-heap, spinning in infinite space?  I have not the slightest idea, and I am convinced that no one has the last idea.”  Well as we think of the great wisdom that God has given to us, those of us who are His children, we do know who created it and if we dig deeply into His Word we will understand that one day this entire universe, everything that God has created will come to an end as seen in 2 Peter chapter three, and so since we know this truth then as Peter says, we should be ready to tell others about it so that once this universe is un-created that we will be in heaven with God.

 

            We as believers know these things if we will only dig into His Word each day to continue to learn more of how Great God is.  Jesus said “"I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants (Matthew 11:26).”  I suppose that one of those wise and intelligent ones is that French Philosopher, Andre Maurois.  James says “if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him (James 1:5).”

 

            MacArthur concludes “When God takes away sin, He does not leave us in a spiritual, moral, and mental vacuum where we must then work things out for ourselves.  He lavishes wisdom and insight on us according to the riches of His grace just as He lavishes forgiveness on us according to those riches.”

 

            This is the last SD under this sub-section.  It has been a long time looking at some very important issues and I hope that all who read these SD’s on “The Redemptive Results” will take the time to think about the richness that we have been given, or should I say that have been lavished upon us from God through Jesus Christ.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I am thankful for the wisdom and insight that has been given to me from my Savior.  It is difficult for me to comprehend all that God has given to me through His Son, but the more that I learn of what I have, my prayer is that I hope that the Lord will cause me to have a better understanding of all I have in Christ so that I can live a life that is pleasing to Him.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  I pray that the Lord will allow me to get over the problems that I have with my colon, and that I will learn things He is teaching me through these problems.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Melchezedek” (Hebrews 7:1-2).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “Which two apostles wrote a Gospel?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

11/13/2018 3:16 PM

 

 

           

 

PT-3 "Redemption Results" (Eph. 1:7b-9a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/12/2018 11:33 AM

 

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  PT-3 “The Redemption Results”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                            Reference:  Ephesians 1:7b-9a

 

            Message of the verses:  “the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will,”

 

            We have been talking about sin and how the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross took care of our sins that we have committed long before we even committed them and they remain forgiven forever.  John MacArthur writes the following important truth:  “Because we continue to sin, we need the continued forgiveness of cleansing; but we do not need the continued forgiveness of redemption.  Jesus told Peter, ‘He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean’ (John 13:10).  Even though we continue to sin, Jesus ‘is faithful and righteous to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9).  He forgives all our sins in the sweeping grace of salvation.  That does not mean we will no longer sin, nor that when we do our sins have no harmful effect.  They have profound effect on our growth, joy, peace, usefulness, and ability to have intimate and rich communion with the Father.  Thus the believer is called on to ask for forgiveness daily so that he may enjoy not just the general forgiveness of redemption, but the specific forgiveness of daily cleansing, which brings fellowship and usefulness to their maximum.  That is the issue in our Lord’s teaching on prayer recorded in Matthey 6:12, 14-15.”  This last quote from MacArthur is very important to understand as some believers wonder about this important truth.  Some think that the Christian faith tells us that we can sin all we want because God will forgive us.  God will forgive us, but as mentioned in the quote there are great consequences for our sins.  Think about when David committed adultery with Bathsheba, and then killed her husband to cover up the fact that she was with child.  Nathan came to David and told him that God would forgive him of his sin, but the consequence of the sin caused many problems with David and his family as four sons died and David came close to losing his kingdom when Absalom tried to usurp his father’s kingdom, but was killed in the process. 

 

            There are no second class Christians as God has forgiven all of the sins of every person who has or will come to Christ for salvation.  The reason that He can do this is because we are in Christ once we become believers and so God can say “I am satisfied with you because I am satisfied with My Son, to whom you belong.  When I look at you, I see Him, and I am pleased.”

 

            I have to say that it is very hard for me to accept myself as I know that my thoughts are not always what they should be, nor my actions what they should be, but God accepts me and so I ought to accept myself in Christ just as God sees me.  John MacArthur writes “We accept ourselves as forgiven and as righteous because that is what God Himself declares us to be.  To think otherwise is not a sign of humility but of arrogance, because to think otherwise is to put our own judgment above God’s Word and to belittle the redemption price paid for us by His own beloved Son.  A Christian who denigrates himself and doubts full forgiveness denies the work of God and denigrates a child of God.  If we matter to God, we certainly ought to matter to ourselves.” 

 

            We may know people who have friends in high places, like knowing Presidents, kings or other high officials, but all believers know and are known by the Creator of the Universe.  The following poem is from the pen of Philip Bliss who is quoted in MacArthur’s commentary:

 

“I am so glad that our Father in heav’n

Tells of His love in the Book He has giv’n.

Wonderful things in the Bible I see;

This is the dearest, that Jesus loves me.

 

Oh, if there’s only one song I can sing,

When in His beauty I see the Great King,

This shall my song in eternity be;

“Oh, what a wonder that Jesus loves me!’”

 

            We will end this portion of this SD for now, but I truly have to agree with what Philip Bliss wrote in this poem that is now a song that I have sung many times as I too contemplate the truth that Jesus loves me.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  “To think otherwise is not a sign of humility but of arrogance, because to think otherwise is to put our own judgment above God’s Word and to belittle the redemption price paid for us by His own beloved Son.”  This quote says volumes to me.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To begin to think of myself as God thinks and looks at me, that is in Christ.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Israel” (1 Kings 20:3).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “To whom did Abraham give tithes?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

11/12/2018 12:11 PM 

PT-2 "The Redemptive Results" (Eph. 1:6b-9a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/11/2018 11:51 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  PT-2 “The Redemptive Results”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Eph. 1:6b-9a

 

            Message of the verses:  “the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.  In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will,”

 

            We ended our last SD with a quote from John MacArthur’s commentary as he wrote about Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement. This was a beautiful and meaningful ceremony, but it did not actually remove the children of Israel’s sins, and they knew this truth very well.  As mentioned it was like a photograph, a picture of what only God Himself in Christ could do.  MacArthur writes “Aphiemi (from which ‘forgiveness’ comes) basically means to send away.  Used as a legal term it meant to repay or cancel a debt or to grant a pardon.  Through the shedding of His own blood, Jesus Christ actually took the sins of the world upon His own head, as it were, and carried them an infinite distance away from where they could never return.  That is the extent of the forgiveness of our trespasses.” 

 

            The tragedy is that there are many believers who still believe that God still holds their sins against them which we have seen in our study of the portion of Scripture in Ephesians 1:6b.  One of my favorite verses in the Psalms comes from Psalm 103:12 which says “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”  I have always said that I am glad that the Psalmist did not say as far as the North is from the South, which of course is a measured amount of 12,500 miles where once you begin to go East you continue to go East, or West you continue to go West.  Isaiah 44:22 says “"I have wiped out your transgressions like a thick cloud And your sins like a heavy mist. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.’”  Notice that all of these verse are from the Old Testament, meaning that they were true even before the Messiah came to earth in Israel.  It was hundreds of years before the Jewish Messiah came that the prophet Micah said “18 Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. 19 He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:18-19).”

 

            As we look at as far as the East is from the West along with “the depts. Of the sea” we know as well as ancient Israel knew that these represented infinity, as God’s ‘forgiveness’ is infinite; it takes away our trespasses to the farthest reaches of eternal infinity.  John MacArthur quotes Shakespeare’s King Richard III (5.3.194) the king laments,

 

“My conscience hath a thousand several tongues,

And every tongue brings in a several tale,

And every tale condemns me for a villain.”

 

            This is not true of Christians, which is something we should all be thankful for.  It happens when Jesus comes into our lives as our Saviour and our Lord, for He says to us what He said to the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way” (John 8:11).  Romans8:1-2 are the verses we will close this SD with and they say “1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Daughter of Herodias” (Matthew 14:8).

 

Today’s Bible question:  “Ahab was the king of what country?” 

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

11/12/2018 12:22 AM

PT-1 "The Redemptive Results" (Eph. 1:7b-9a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/10/2018 10:27 PM

 

My Worship Time                                                            Focus:  PT-1 “The Redemptive Results”

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                             Reference:  Ephesians 1:7b-9a

 

            Message of the verses:  “the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace 8 which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight 9 He made known to us the mystery of His will,”

 

            In today’s SD we begin to look at the first portion of “The Redemptive Results,” and I suppose that it may take us a few days to finish this sub-section, for it is a long one.

 

            We will begin by looking at one of two aspects that speak of our redemption, and that would be forgiveness.  This makes a lot of sense when you think about it for the primary result of redemption for all believers is forgiveness which is one of the central salvation truths of found both in the Old and New Testaments.  Now in order for you to receive the forgiveness that God offers you through the death of His Son you have to understand that you are in need of forgiveness, that you are a sinner and that you can do nothing on your own to receive forgiveness, for that has to come from God.  Jesus said the following to His disciples at what is called the “Last Supper”  “for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.”  Now just a word about the “My blood” portion of this verse as we have already spoken of the fact that this speaks of Christ’s death, but when a believer takes the elements of communion the “juice” is not really the blood of Jesus Christ.  Our Pastor spoke of this just last week explaining that his wife always has a picture of their two sons in her purse and so when she talks to someone she says “these are our two sons” knowing that they were only pictures of their two sons.  The same is true with the blood and bread as they are pictures of the blood and body of our Lord.

 

            Because of the hour is very late I want to close this SD with a quote from John MacArthur’s commentary as he writes about Yom Kippur.  “Israel’s greatest holy day was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  On that day the high priest selected two unblemished sacrificial goats.  One goat was killed, and his blood was sprinkled on the altar as a sacrifice.  The high priest placed his hands on the head of the other goat, symbolically laying the sins of the people on the animal.  The goat was then taken out deep into the wilderness, so far that it could never find its way back.  In symbol the sins of the people went with the goat, never to return to them again (Lev. 16:7-10).”  Once again I relate this to our Pastor’s wife with the pictures of her two sons in her purse.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Genesis 3:15.”

 

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said “"Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.’”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

11/10/2018 10:48 PM

The Price of Redemption: "Christ's Death" (Eph. 1:7a)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 11/9/2018 9:47 AM

 

My Worship Time                                             Focus:  The Price of Redemption (Christ’s Death)

 

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Ephesians 1:7a

 

            Message of the verse:  “In Him we have redemption through His blood”

 

            We begin another sub-section from John MacArthur’s commentary, and I mentioned in our last SD that when Christ’s blood is mentioned that is speaks of His death because Levities 17:11 ’For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement.’”  As we see in this verse that the life is in the blood and that is why the Lord required in the Old Testament the sacrifices of different animals to pay the price as a substitute for people.  This did not save them from their sins, but it looked forward to the coming Messiah who would shed His blood to permanently pay the price for redemption of those who will accept this free gift of salvation.  There are many Christian songs that speak of the blood of Jesus Christ and I am not saying that they are wrong in their meaning, what I am saying is that the shedding of His blood showed that He died, and because He died those who will accept His sacrifice will live as we live in Christ which we have already discussed

 

            John MacArthur begins by writing “The price of redemption is ‘His blood.’  It cost the ‘blood’ of the Son of God to buy men back from the slave market of sin (cf. Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22).”  Hebrews 9:22 states “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”  To further make the point that the blood signified the death of Christ all we have to do is look at the OT sacrifices and remember that the priest had to kill the animals in order to get the blood to put on the altar, as they never just took some blood from and animal and then set it free, it had to die, and so with Christ, He had to die in our place.

 

            MacArthur goes on to write “Shedding of blood is a metonym for death, which is the penalty and the price of sin.  Christ’s own death, by the shedding of ‘His blood,’ was the substitute for our death.  That which we deserved and could not save ourselves from, the beloved Savior, though He did not deserve it, took upon Himself.  He made payment for what otherwise would have condemned us to death and hell.”  “Metonymy is a figure of speech in which a thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept.”

 

            For the remainder of this SD we will look at some more verses that speak of Redemption.

 

“For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins (Heb. 10:4).”

“By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Heb. 10:10).”

He “gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma (Eph. 5:2).”

“For this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins (Matthew 26:28b).”

“12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Heb. 9:12-14).”

“18  knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19  but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19).”

 

            I pray that these verses will help us all understand how we are redeemed and then will give us more opportunity to praise the Lord for taking our place on the cross to pay for our sins in order to save us.

 

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I have to say that I understand the gospel and the fact that Jesus took my place on the cross, and it is my desire to let others know this life-changing truth in order for more to be saved.

 

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord to allow me to better understand my Sunday school lesson for this week so that I can teach it in a way that will be understandable and helpful for those in the class.

 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “In word, conversation, charity, spirit, faith, purity” (1 Timothy 4:12).”

 

Today’s Bible question:  “What Scripture gives God’s first promise of a Saviour?”

 

Answer in our next SD.

 

11/9/2018 10:50 AM