Everett Henes: The riches of God’s grace

One of the key concepts in Christianity is also one of the least understood. One of the main ways that Christianity is distinguished from every other religion is redemption. Redemption is key to Christianity. The fact that we must be redeemed is distinct, but also the way that we are redeemed is distinct. We are redeemed, the Bible says, by the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul writes, in Ephesians 1:7-8, “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.”

If redemption is in anything other than the blood of Christ, then it is not Christian redemption. It is important to note that the transaction was between the father and the son (as opposed to the son and Satan) and that our free redemption was not really free. It’s free to us, but it cost the one who redeemed us. This leads to an important question: why was blood necessary in the first place? That is a good question, and the answer takes us through the Old Testament sacrificial system.

It begins in the Garden of Eden, after sin entered the world. God made the first sacrifice to clothe Adam and Eve in garments of skin. In Old Testament Israel, sacrifices were given on a regular basis to atone for the sin of man. Animals were offered up as substitutes. From the earliest times in Genesis, after the flood, it was recognized that the life of a thing was in its blood. Genesis 9:4, “But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.” The reason that blood was necessary is because blood represents life (Leviticus 17) and in the sacrifice you were substituting the life of the animal for the life of the person who had sinned. These were temporary sacrifices because they had to be offered over and over again. Hebrews 10:4 declares that the blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin.

What was necessary was a once for all sacrifice that would never need repeating. What was needed was a sacrifice that could atone for all the sins of all of God’s people across all of time. Christ came as both the priest and the sacrifice and offered himself up for his people. Hebrews 9:12, “he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.” It was still the same principle, life for life, and so blood was necessary.

The sacrifice of himself upon the cross led to the forgiveness of our sins; we are redeemed from our slavery and bondage to sin. Literally, God has purchased us for his own possession. “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” (Revelation 5:9)

At one time, then, we did not belong to God. Redemption insinuates that we did not belong to God but had to be purchased by him. And while it is a legal transaction that takes place, guaranteeing our salvation, look at the words that Paul uses. We have been forgiven of our sins according to the riches of his grace. When we speak of Christ’s death on the cross, we must declare that there is no sin too grievous that it is outside of God’s redeeming love. The riches of his grace are greater than the debt of any sin we might commit.

We cannot really imagine having such riches but even what we can imagine having we certainly would not naturally do what Paul says next. God not only has what is called “riches of grace,” but he has lavished these riches upon us. This is a difficult word to translate. Some translations might simply say ‘to make abound.’ It is difficult to quantify what is being said but the idea is that he has poured out upon us more than we could ever imagine or need. The picture is like that of the overflowing cup in Psalm 23. Paul uses the same word in 2 Corinthians 8:2 where he talks about the overflowing of wealth. The riches of God’s grace have been lavished upon us such that nothing can separate us from the love God, which is in Christ Jesus.

— Pastor Everett Henes, the pastor of the Hillsdale Orthodox Presbyterian Church, can be reached at pastorhenes@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Everett Henes: The riches of God’s grace