Lessons # 107 and 108
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual delivery not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GW = God’s Word, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New American Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+AMP = Amplified Bible, UBS = United Bible Society +
+ HCSB = Holman Christian Standard Bible +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
+ 4. Text is based on 1984 edition of the NIV +
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Revealed Righteousness – assertion, facts, and reasons (Rom 3:21-24)
21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Recall that the message of the section of Romans 3:21-24 we have been considering is that God’s revealed righteousness that is independent of the law and obtained through faith in Christ, is necessary because all humans do not meet God’s approval. This message is derived from the facts and reasons for revealed righteousness from God the apostle gave in this section. We have considered six facts the apostle presented in our section regarding the righteousness from God. The first fact the apostle conveyed is that the righteousness he was concerned with beginning in Romans 3:21 is focused on God and not on humans as in the phrase a righteousness from God. The second fact about the righteousness from God is that it is independent of the law, that is, that it does not involve carrying out the requirements of the law. The third fact is that it has been revealed. The fourth fact is that it has been testified in the past in the OT Scripture. The fifth fact is that it is available through faith in Jesus Christ and made available because of His faithfulness. The sixth fact the apostle communicated about this righteousness that is his focus is that it is available to anyone who believes in Jesus Christ without exception. It is this fact that the apostle stated in the clause of Romans 3:22 to all who believe. The apostle having stated that there is no difference among humans regarding how to receive this righteousness and that it had to be received by faith in Jesus Christ, explained why no difference exists in how it is received. His first reason, which is also the first reason the revealed righteousness from God is necessary, is that all humans are sinners. This he stated in the first clause of Romans 3:23 for all have sinned. Furthermore, Apostle Paul conveyed that a result of all humans having sinned is that God does not recognize any naturally born human as being righteous or as having met His righteous demands as that is what is meant in the verbal phrase of Romans 3:23 fall short of the glory of God. It is for this reason that revealed righteousness has become necessary. There is another reason that the revealed righteousness is necessary, it is with this we continue our study this morning.
A second reason revealed righteousness from God is necessary, which is also a second reason there is no difference among humans as to how it is obtained, is because justification is by grace through redemption that is accomplished by Christ Jesus. It is this reason that is given in Romans 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. The word “and” is not in the Greek text but a way the translators interpreted the literal Greek involved in our verse. For, a literal translation from the Greek reads being justified freely (by) his grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus.
We indicated that the word “and” does not appear in the Greek text, but a way the translators of the NIV rendered the literal Greek. You see, the expression “are justified” is translated from a participle of a Greek verb (dikaioō) that may mean “to render a favorable verdict,” that is, “to vindicate” as it is used by Apostle Paul to indicate that Jesus Christ was vindicated by the Holy Spirit as we read in 1 Timothy 3:16:
Beyond all question, the mystery of godliness is great: He appeared in a body, was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.
The word may mean “to be free” as it is used of believers in connection with sin as we read in Romans 6:7:
because anyone who has died has been freed from sin.
The word may mean “to declare, pronounce, righteous and therefore acceptable” as it is used negatively in Romans 3:20:
Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
In our passage of Romans 3:24, the word means “to be justified,” that is, “to declare righteous and so acceptable to God.” For now, we simply note the meaning of the Greek word, but we will consider the concept of justification in a greater detail once we finish our interpretation of the verse we are considering. That aside, we should note that the apostle used a passive voice implying that it is God that acts on the recipients of justification, a fact the apostle directly asserted in verse 26 of our present chapter of study as well as in Romans 4:5:
However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Furthermore, as we indicated, the apostle used a participle that is in the present tense in the Greek so that literally the Greek reads being justified.
The problem is how to interpret and so to translate the literal Greek to make sense with the assertion given in verse 23, especially the sentence all have sinned. There are two possible ways to interpret and so to translate the literal reading being justified. The first interpretation is to understand that being justified is an additional thing that happened to the fact that all have sinned. The way to translate the Greek participle to make sense in the English, since there is no parallel to this in the English and also it is difficult to translate, is simply to render the participle with a finite verb and join it with what preceded with the conjunction “and.” It is this interpretation and translation that is reflected in the NIV and such other English versions as the ESV, the NCV, and the NJB, so we have the reading and are justified. A second interpretation is to take the participle to convey the main assertion that all have sinned is true in spite of the fact of being justified. Such interpretation may be translated into the English using the word “although.” However, what is involved in the action of the participle contrasts with the fact that all have sinned. Therefore, it is best to use an English conjunction that reflects contrast. It is this interpretation that is reflected in the English versions, such as the CEB, the CEV, the NET and a few others, that used the conjunction “but” in their translation. For example, the NET reads But they are justified. Either translation makes sense in our verse and so this may be a case where both interpretations are needed to fully convey what the Holy Spirit wants us to hear from this passage. In effect, the Holy Spirit wants us to recognize that justification is an act of God that occurs along with the assertion that all are sinners and its truth that is applicable to some individuals does not change the fact that all humans are sinners before God.
Regardless of how the Greek participle is translated in the English, there is still the problem with what is stated. The NIV and many of our English versions did not specify who is justified since the NIV simply reads and are justified. The NET provided the recipients of the action of justifying with the pronoun “they” that in the context must refer to “all” of verse 23. The NCV, not minding how its translators rendered the Greek verbal phrase being justified, used the word “all” to identify the recipients of the action of justifying and so did the TEV although the word “all” does not appear in the Greek text, it is implied. The implied word “all” requires us to make a comment about it. There is no doubt that the Greek requires that we interpret those that are justified as “all” mentioned in verse 23 but we should be careful to understand that the apostle is not saying that there is universal justification. In effect, the apostle is not saying that since all have sinned that all humans would be justified and so be saved. No! The “all” should be interpreted to mean the elect of God and not all humans. This is because there is no such thing as everyone being saved. Furthermore, the apostle had already qualified the recipients of righteousness from God as those who believe in Christ because of what he declared in Romans 3:22:
This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe.
Hence, those who are justified are those who believe in Christ not every human being as may imply universal justification of all humans.
God justifying those who believe in Christ is something that He does based on His goodness and His plan of salvation. No one coerced Him to act but He willingly, out of His own kindness, justifies some people. So, it is not that surprising that the apostle wrote in Romans 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace. The word “freely” is translated from a Greek adverb (dōrean) that may mean “without reason, undeservedly,” that is, “to be without contributory fault”, as the word is used in the Lord Jesus’ quotation of OT Scripture to indicate the world hates Him as recorded for us in John 15:25:
But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’
The word many mean “in vain, to no purpose” as Apostle Paul used it to state that if justification could be obtained through the Law, Jesus’ death on the cross has no purpose as stated in Galatians 2:21:
I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”
In our passage of Romans 3:24, it has the sense of “for free,” that is, “without payment.” Hence, justification is free because of God’s grace, so the apostle wrote and are justified freely by his grace.
The word “grace” is translated from a Greek noun (charis) that refers to God’s unmerited favor in some contexts but that is not a blanket meaning. For example, the Greek word is used in description of Jesus Christ in His early human development in Luke 2:40:
And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
Clearly, since the recipient of God’s grace is the Lord Jesus Christ, grace in this passage of Luke could not possibly mean God’s undeserved favor to sinners. So, here grace means “blessing” or God’s favor in a general sense of His beneficent disposition toward someone. It can also mean favored status indicating that Jesus enjoyed favored status with God. Thus, it should not be difficult to accept that it is the context that helps in understanding the Greek word translated “grace.”
Grace in the NT as a word used in connection with a person may refer to that which is attractive or appealing in someone that draws favorable reaction from others. It is this meaning that is used to indicate how appealing the teaching of our Lord Jesus was to the audience that heard His teaching, so our Greek word is translated “gracious” in Luke 4:22:
All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.
It is with this same meaning of grace that Apostle Paul used our Greek word in his instruction regarding believer’s speech or communication as recorded in Colossians 4:6:
Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
The instruction let your conversation be always full of grace means that believer’s conversation should always be pleasant. Thus, the word “grace” here means “charming, pleasant, attractive.”
Another meaning of the Greek word translated “grace” is that beneficent disposition toward someone, that is, favor, help or care, goodwill shown or received by another. Grace as a favor that one grants to another without any obligation on the part of the one who grants the favor is reflected in what is given to believers in Christ Jesus as stated in 2 Timothy 1:9:
who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time,
Grace in this verse is that special favor that God granted us in Christ Jesus.
Another meaning of the Greek word translated “grace” is exceptional effect produced by generosity. Thus, when God enabled the Macedonian believers to be generous towards their fellow believers, especially, those in Jerusalem, that enablement or action of God on them is described by Apostle Paul as His grace in 2 Corinthians 8:1:
And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
The same enablement or action of God that caused the Corinthians to be generous towards others is described as grace in 2 Corinthians 9:14:
And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you.
So, in both passages grace refers to enablement or God’s action on believers that causes them to be generous towards others. Of course, it is in this sense of enablement that results in power that the word “grace” is used by the apostle to report what the Lord said to him in response to his prayer request for Him to remove the “thorn in his flesh” as reported in 2 Corinthians 12:9:
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
The enablement that God gives that is also described as grace may in fact be understood as “gift.” It is in this sense of “gift” that the word grace is used in the exhortation of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Peter for believers to serve each other in keeping with their spiritual gifts in 1 Peter 4:10:
Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
The phrase God’s grace in its various forms may be read God’s gift in its various forms. Still another meaning of the Greek word translated “grace” is “thankfulness, gratitude” as a response to generosity or benevolence, as the word is used in describing what is expected of believers who are filled of the Spirit and the word of God in Colossians 3:16:
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
The phrase with gratitude is literally in grace.
Our considerations of the various meanings assigned to the Greek word rendered “grace” indicates that when the word is used in connection with God, the primary meaning of the word refers to His undeserved love and limitless kindness toward people. However, as we have stated, it is the context that determines the specific meaning that is applicable. In our passage of Romans 3:24, the word has the sense of “grace,” that is, “goodwill freely disseminated (by God); especially to the benefit of the recipient regardless of the benefit accrued to the disseminator.” That aside, God’s grace is both the means and the basis of His justifying work as implied in the verbal phrase of Romans 3:24 are justified freely by his grace. In other words, we are saying that justification is because of God’s grace and grace is also the means by which He does it. It is difficult to separate the basis and means of His justification as it relates to grace since the Greek syntax associated with the word “grace” allows both possible interpretations in our passage. If anything, the focus may be on the basis or cause of justification as far as grace is concerned since the issue of means or instrumentality is given in the verse we are considering.
All the same, the means or instrument of God’s justifying act is redemption that was accomplished by Christ Jesus as stated in the last clause of Romans 3:24 through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Literally, the Greek reads through the redemption in Christ Jesus. The word “through” is translated from a Greek preposition (dia) with a basic meaning of “through”, but it has other nuances. The word may mean “by” used in different ways. The meaning “by” may be used a marker of the instrument by which something is accomplished. The meaning “by” may be used as a marker of the means between two events. The word may mean “because” as a marker of reason something happens. In our passage of Romans 3:24, it is used with the meaning “through” as the instrument for the justifying act. The instrument is given in the phrase through the redemption. Before we consider this phrase, let me state that the verbal phrase came by Christ Jesus or literally in Christ Jesus is to be understood that redemption is accomplished through the death of Christ on the cross. This interpretation will become clearer as we consider the phrase through the redemption. I will consider the word “redemption” and its associated doctrine by reviewing completely what we studied on this subject about 10 years ago in our study of Ephesians with modifications as applicable to our passage of study of Romans 3:24.
The word “redemption” is translated from a Greek noun (apolytrōsis) that originally meant “buying back” a slave or a captive, that is, a prisoner of war, by paying a ransom. The word appears only once in the Septuagint where it is translated as a verb in most of our English versions in connection with the recovery of Nebuchadnezzar from his mental illness or madness as recorded in Daniel 4:34:
At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His dominion is an eternal dominion; his kingdom endures from generation to generation.
The expression my sanity was restored is more literally the redemption came to me.
The word in the NT is used in two ways. It means “release, set free” so it is used for martyrs who refused release in return for denying of their faith in Hebrews 11:35:
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection.
In this passage, the translators of the NIV handled the Greek noun as a verb since the expression refused to be released of the NIV is more literally not accepting release. Another meaning of the Greek noun in question is “redemption, deliverance.” It is this meaning of the word that is used primarily in the NT. It seems that there is the attempt to retain the basic meaning of the word as redemption based on payment of a ransom, as indicated by the fact that the translators of the NIV used the meaning “ransom” to translate our Greek word in Hebrews 9:15:
For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
However, despite the use of the word “ransom” in the NIV, majority of our English versions used the meaning “redemption” or “deliverance” in this passage. Thus, our Greek word has the sense of “redemption” or “deliverance” or even “restoration.” To understand the further meaning of our word (redemption) we need to consider its usage in Ephesians 1:7, a passage we will focus on because “redemption” is mentioned in Ephesians 1:7:
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace
There is no agreement among scholars as to how the word “redemption” is to be understood in its appearance in Ephesians 1:7. Two general approaches have been advocated in consideration of our Greek word in this passage. A first approach is to take it as a metaphor and the second is to consider it not as a metaphor but as a word that simply means freedom. This second approach while it makes sense is unlikely because if the apostle meant “freedom” he would have used a Greek word (eleutheria) that means “freedom” since he used that Greek word to describe the freedom that Christ brought to us, as recorded in Galatians 5:1:
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
For this reason, it seems to me that it is the approach that takes the Greek word in Ephesians 1:7 as a metaphor that is the correct one.
Be that as it may, the approach that takes the Greek word as a metaphor has its problems because those who take the word as a metaphor interpret the metaphor in two different ways. The first interpretation is that the word refers to the freeing of a slave or captive by the payment of a ransom. The implication is that the metaphor indicates Christ redeemed us by dying for us as a slave is redeemed by the payment of a ransom. A second interpretation is that while the metaphor is that of freeing from slavery but that there is no ransom paid for redemption. It is suggested by some that the apostle’s view of redemption is colored by the subject of redemption in the OT. There is the redemption of one who enslaves self to others because of economic situation, but the person retains the right of redemption, as given in Leviticus 25:48–49:
48 he retains the right of redemption after he has sold himself. One of his relatives may redeem him: 49 An uncle or a cousin or any blood relative in his clan may redeem him. Or if he prospers, he may redeem himself.
This situation notwithstanding, it is indicated that primary in the apostle’s mind is the deliverance or redemption of Israel from slavery in Egypt as narrated in Deuteronomy 7:8:
But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
The redemption or deliverance of Israel from Egypt did not involve any ransom but the display of God’s power. Thus, it is argued that the redemption the apostle had in mind involved no ransom price.
Which of these two interpretations of the metaphorical approach is correct? The approach that indicates no payment of ransom avoids the problem as to whom the ransom was paid but has problems with facts that support the approach of payment of ransom. The Scripture indicates severally that salvation involves ransom. In the gospels, we are informed that Jesus gave His life as a ransom, for example, in Matthew 20:28:
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Apostle Paul indicates that a price was involved with believer’s salvation in 1 Corinthians 7:23:
You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.
In another passage, the apostle concords with the assertion in the gospel, of Jesus giving Himself as a ransom for us in 1 Timothy 2:6:
who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.
In addition to these passages, the idea of paying a price is indicated in the phrase through his blood of Ephesians 1:7. Based on these passages, I believe that the position that takes the approach that our Greek word that is rendered “redemption” is a metaphor of being freed or released through a ransom is one that the apostle intended. However, the emphasis is on the result of redemption and not on the ransom paid as the apostle probably did not intend for us to press on every detail of the metaphor.
In any event, in keeping with the basic meaning of the Greek word translated “redemption” of being set free or being released, redemption requires an object or objects from which one is to be set free or delivered. It happens that the Scripture presents to us different objects in connection with redemption.
Redemption could refer to being set free or delivered from physical and spiritual assaults of all the forces of evil or deliverance from suffering and tribulation as well as the consummation of our salvation. It is in this sense that the word “redemption” is used in the Lord Jesus’ address to His disciples in Luke 21:28:
When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.
Redemption could refer to deliverance or being set free from bodily decay or limitation of the body. In this sense, the word redemption has the sense of the transformation of the body as implied in the assertion of the Holy Spirit through Apostle Paul in Romans 8:23:
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
It is difficult to understand the phrase the redemption of our bodies if it does not mean that our body will be set free from decay and from its limitations. The way our body is set free from decay or its limitations is for the body to be completely transformed. This is exactly what the Holy Spirit says will take place with respect to our bodies in Philippians 3:21:
who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Redemption also refers to deliverance or being set free from the bondage of sin or guilt. This deliverance, or being set free from sin, is indeed described as forgiveness of sins as the Holy Spirit asserted through Apostle Paul in Colossians 1:14:
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
It is in this sense of redemption that involves forgiveness of sins that the Greek word translated redemption is used in, Ephesians 1:7 since the assertion given in it is similar to the one that relates redemption to forgiveness of sins here in Colossians. Anyway, we need to note few facts regarding redemption as presented in the Scripture.
First, redemption has a present aspect and a future aspect. The present aspect of redemption is evident in Ephesians 1:7 we cited in the sentence we have redemption. The word “have” is translated from a present tense of a Greek word (echō) that means “to have or possess.” The present tense implies that redemption is a present reality to those who are believers in Christ, those who have been adopted into the family of God. There is a sense in which we can say that redemption is part of our experience even as we deal with sin. Believers at the present time should experience daily deliverances from sin so that we can say we have a present redemption from sin. Although redemption is our present possession but there is still redemption that is in the future. That there is a future aspect to redemption is evident from the fact that we indicated that our bodies will be transformed in the future as part of our redemption. Of course, the apostle in his epistle to the Ephesians also conveys the sense that redemption is yet a future event, as he stated in Ephesians 1:14:
who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Later in the same epistle, the apostle conveys that redemption is still a future event because he wrote that believers were sealed for the day of redemption in Ephesians 4:30:
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
The day of redemption, no doubt, involves the time when we enter the fullness of our inheritance that God has promised us. Notwithstanding that, we have received redemption at the present, but we must wait for final redemption in the future.
Second, redemption is involved with the act of God putting believers in right relationship with Himself or, as some put it, the act in which God pronounces men acquitted or not guilty in His sight, that is, justification. This fact is stated in the passage of our study, that is, Romans 3:24:
and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Third, redemption is achieved through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. This fact is stated in the passage of Ephesians 1:7 we cited since we are told that redemption is through the death of Jesus Christ in the phrase through his blood. The Greek preposition (dia) rendered “through” in Ephesians 1:7 is used as a marker of means or instrument. This means that the phrase his blood refers to the means or the instrument by which redemption is accomplished. This “means” or “instrument” of bringing about redemption is not something that we can fully understand. It is for this reason that we indicated we should not press hard on every detail of the metaphor of redemption in Ephesians 1:7 as the means of redemption does not necessarily mean that ransom was paid in the sense that a captor is compensated to free a slave. No! The Holy Spirit simply tells us that the blood of Christ is the means or instrument for achieving redemption. Of course, the phrase his blood presents much difficulty to many believers.
The problem with the phrase his blood is that many Christians are ignorant of what this means simply because of such songs as “what can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus” or “there is power in the blood of Jesus.” Or because we see the term “sprinkling” associated with the blood of Jesus Christ in 1 Peter 1:2:
who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Furthermore, we read of blood of Jesus purifying us from sin in 1 John 1:7:
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
Because of passages in the Scripture such as these, many Christians take blood in a literal sense implying that the literal blood of Jesus is what washes away their sins or that there is power in the literal blood of Jesus. Those who think that way really do not give serious thought as to what it is that they believe. For, one thing, the blood of Jesus that dropped on the ground of Golgotha dried up or clotted immediately so that there is no physical blood that could wash a person’s sins. Even if that blood did not dry up or clotted, it was not sufficient to keep washing away sins of people. Besides, sin is not a physical item as it is a rebellion against God. When we commit a physical act that indicates sin, it is not so much the physical act that is the sin as it is the rebellion against God who has commanded against the physical act. We are saying that sin is immaterial in that we cannot touch the actual thing called sin. We are only aware of physical acts but not the sin itself. We may view sin as the radio waves that we send to God when we disobey Him. Sin is that which registers before God that a person has rebelled against Him and so it is not a physical thing like the stain on clothes. So how can a physical thing like blood wash our sin that is an act of rebellion against God? My point is that people who think of blood of Jesus in terms of His physical blood are not being realistic in their thinking, if at all they are doing so.
We should understand that blood is not always used in the Scripture in a literal sense but often in a figurative sense. Blood is figuratively used for the tangible center of life force of either an animal or a human being. That it is the center of life of animals is evident in Leviticus 17:11:
For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life.
It is because blood is considered the center of life’s force of creatures that shedding of blood is the same as taking a person’s life or killing of an individual. This concept that shedding of blood is the same as taking a person’s life or killing someone can be easily noted in the argument of Reuben with his brothers who wanted to kill Joseph, according to Genesis 37:21–22:
21 When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. 22 “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the desert, but don’t lay a hand on him.” Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father.
You notice that in verse 21, Reuben stated let’s not take his life and in verse 22 he issued the command don’t shed any blood. Thus, it should be clear from this passage that shedding of blood is the same thing as killing or taking a person’s life. The fact that shedding of blood is the same as killing is also evident in Jesus’ denunciation of the people of His generation. He said that their forefathers killed the prophets in Luke 11:47–48:
47 “Woe to you, because you build tombs for the prophets, and it was your forefathers who killed them. 48 So you testify that you approve of what your forefathers did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.
Later in the same passage He indicated that the people would be responsible for the bloodshed of their forefathers with respect to the prophets, as we read in Luke 11:50:
Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world,
By comparing these two passages in Luke 11, it should be clear that shedding of blood is the same as killing or murdering a person.
Be that as it may, our concern is with the use of the word “blood” with respect to Jesus Christ. Any time the word “blood” is used in connection with Jesus Christ that indicates something that occurred in the past, then blood refers to His death. When the Jewish authority persecuted the apostles, they were afraid that through their preaching they would be blamed for the death of Christ, but they did not use the word death directly instead they spoke of the guilt of His blood as narrated in Acts 5:28:
“We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
It is true that Jesus’ blood refers to His death, but it is no ordinary death but His sacrificial death on the cross for our sins. Thus, when Peter used the phrase sprinkling by his blood that we encountered previously in 1 Peter 1:2, he meant the forgiveness and cleansing from sin brought about by the death of Christ on the cross. We are saying that the phrase his blood in Ephesians 1:7 refers to the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross. In case, you are not fully convinced that the mention of the blood of Christ is the same as His death, let us look at two passages that are concerned with the subject of reconciliation to give rest to any doubt as to the meaning of the blood of Jesus Christ. Apostle Paul says that God reconciled us to Himself through the death of God’s Son, that is, Jesus Christ, in Romans 5:10:
For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
The same apostle spoke of the idea of God reconciling Himself to all things but this time he used the same phrase his blood that we have in Ephesians 1:7 in Colossians 1:20:
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
If reconciliation mentioned in Romans 5:10 is through the death of Jesus Christ, certainly it is the same reconciliation that the apostle had in mind in Colossians 1:20. But instead of using the word “death” in association with Christ he used the word “blood” that was shed on the cross. Therefore, there can be no doubt that the blood of Jesus Christ refers to His death on the cross. The point then is that the blood of Christ should not be thought of in a literal sense but in a figurative sense to refer to His sacrificial death on the cross. In any event, the fourth fact we stated is that redemption is achieved through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross since the apostle used the phrase his blood in Ephesian 1:7. We have established that the phrase his blood refers to Jesus’ death on the cross for our sins. Hence, the Holy Spirit wants us to recognize that redemption, whether we look at it from our present status or as a future event, it is only possible because of the death of Jesus Christ. You should continue to praise God for your redemption made possible through the death of Christ on the cross.
Fifth, redemption involves forgiveness of sins. This point is clearer if we read again the first clause of Ephesians 1:7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. The Greek syntax enables us to recognize that the word “redemption” is related to the word “forgiveness” because both words are the direct objects (i.e. accusative) of the verb have in the Greek. Before I make further comment on this relationship from the Greek syntax let me use our English translations to show that redemption is related to forgiveness of sins. If we ignore for the moment the phrase through his blood then the clause reads In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. This resultant clause is the same as we find in a passage we previously cited, that is, Colossians 1:14:
in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
It is difficult even in the English to understand the relationship in this sentence between redemption and the phrase forgiveness of sins if the phrase is not understood as an appositional to the word “redemption” although the phrase “that is” which signals an appositive is not used. An apposition in English grammar refers to a relationship between two or more words in which the units are grammatically parallel and have the same referent or simply a word or word group that renames the word before it. So, from the English translation of Colossians 1:14 the phrase forgiveness of sins refers to redemption. Anyway, the fact is that redemption involves forgiveness of sins. With this we end our consideration of the “redemption” that is achieved through the death of Christ on the cross as we have demonstrated. This being the case we are correct to state that the sentence of Romans 3:24 redemption that came by Christ Jesus is to be understood as a reference to the death of Christ on the cross as the means by which our redemption is accomplished. Let me close with a reminder of the message of the section we have considered which is that God’s revealed righteousness that is independent of the law and obtained through faith in Christ, is necessary because all humans do not meet God’s approval.
04/17/26