THE THIRD PART: 24 CRUCIAL LINES IN THE BIBLE
The All-inclusive Christ
Message Eight—Redemption through Christ’s Ministry in the Stage of Incarnation
Scripture Reading: Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7; Gal. 3:13; 4:5; 1 John 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; Titus 2:14
I. To redeem is to purchase back at a cost—Rom. 3:24; 1 Cor. 6:20: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
A. We were chosen and predestinated by God and originally belonged to God, but we became fallen and lost through sin; thus, we need redemption—Eph. 1:4-7. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
B. Man once was His possession, but man became fallen, sinking in sins and many things that were contrary to God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory, thereby falling under the threefold demand of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
C. Redemption deals with our sins by fulfilling God’s requirements—Rom. 3:23-24; 8:4: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
1. The requirements of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory were so great upon us that it was impossible for us to fulfill them. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
2. Since we were unable to pay the price, God paid it for us through Christ’s death on the cross, redeeming us at a tremendous cost—1 Pet. 1:18-19. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
3. Christ died on the cross to redeem us; His blood obtained eternal redemption for us—Gal. 3:13; Titus 2:14; Heb. 9:12; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
II. God has justified us by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus—Rom. 3:24: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
A. Justification is God’s action whereby He approves people according to His standard of righteousness; God does this on the basis of the redemption of Christ. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
B. Since Christ has paid the price for our sins and in His redemption has fulfilled all the requirements on us, God, because He is just, must justify us freely—5:1; Hymns, #1003. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
III. We have redemption in the Beloved through His blood—Eph. 1:6-7; Col. 1:13-14: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
A. The Beloved is God’s beloved Son, the Son of His love, in whom He delights—Matt. 3:17; 17:5; Col. 1:13-14: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
1. In the Beloved we were graced, made the object of God’s favor and pleasure—Eph. 1:6. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
2. As such an object, we enjoy God, and God enjoys us in His grace in His Beloved, who is His delight; in the Beloved we too become His delight. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
B. In the Beloved “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses”—v. 7: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
1. Christ’s death accomplished redemption unto the forgiveness of our sins—Col. 1:14. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
2. Redemption is what Christ accomplished for our offenses; forgiveness is the application of Christ’s accomplishment to our offenses—Eph. 1:7. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
3. The forgiveness of sins is the redemption that we have in Christ through His blood; apart from the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins—Heb. 9:22. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
IV. The blood that has redeemed fallen human beings is the blood of Jesus, the Son of God—Acts 20:28; 1 John 1:7: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
A. As a man, the Lord Jesus had genuine human blood to shed for our redemption, and as God, He has the divine element that gives His blood eternal efficacy. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
B. The Lord Jesus died on the cross as the God-man; the blood that He shed was not only the blood of the man Jesus but also the blood of the God-man: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
1. In 1 John 1:7 the name Jesus denotes the Lord’s humanity, which was needed for the shedding of the redeeming blood. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
2. The title His Son denotes the Lord’s divinity, which is needed for the eternal efficacy of the redeeming blood. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
3. The blood of Jesus His Son indicates that this blood is the proper blood of a genuine man shed for the redeeming of God’s fallen creatures, with the divine surety as its eternal efficacy; for this reason, the redemption accomplished by the God-man is eternal—Heb. 9:12. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
C. By His blood the Lord Jesus has released us from our sins and has purchased us for God—Rev. 1:5; 5:9. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
V. Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law—Gal. 3:13: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
A. In His work on the cross, Christ became a curse on our behalf and redeemed us out of the curse of the law: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
1. When Christ took away our sin on the cross, He redeemed us out of the curse. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
2. Not only did Christ redeem us out of the curse; He even became a curse on our behalf—v. 13; John 19:2, 5. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
B. Because Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf, we may receive the greatest blessing, which is the Triune God—the Father, the Son, and the Spirit—as the processed, all-inclusive life-giving Spirit dwelling in us for our enjoyment—Gal. 3:14. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
VI. Christ has redeemed us from the custody of the law so that we might receive the sonship—4:4-5: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
A. Christ has redeemed us from the custody of the law so that we might receive the sonship and become the sons of God—3:23; 4:4-5. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
B. Christ’s redemption brings us into the sonship of God so that we may enjoy the divine life for the fulfillment of God’s eternal purpose to have many sons for His corporate expression—vv. 4-5; Heb. 2:10; Rom. 8:29. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
VII. The blood of Christ has redeemed us from our vain manner of life, a life that had no meaning and no goal—1 Pet. 1:18-19: (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
A. In order to pass the time of our sojourning in fear, we need to have a deep realization concerning the redemption of Christ—v. 17. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
B. Christ’s redemption has separated us from our vain manner of life, and now we may be holy in all our manner of life—v. 15. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)
VIII. Christ gave Himself on our behalf not only to redeem us from all lawlessness but also to purify to Himself a people for His own possession—a people privately possessed by God as His unique, peculiar treasure, His own possession—Titus 2:14; Exo. 19:5; 1 Pet. 2:9. (2008 MDC, msg. 2)