Redemption and Mystery: Why Your Life Isn't Random

Introduction

You've probably stood in a grocery store line before and, to kill time, opened a little game on your phone. The preacher, for his part, plays the New York Times "Connections." The idea: group words into four categories. Except that on this particular day, nothing made sense, every category seemed like a stretch, and you end up wondering who on earth came up with this thing.

He carries that experience into something much deeper. Many people in this world feel like they're living through one giant game of Connections. Events seem random. You wonder why you're here, why things happen, whether anyone is actually in charge of anything. That's why so many people bring their questions back to faith.

Ephesians 1:7-10 comes like a balm for the soul in moments like that. This passage reminds us that there is meaning, and that you can trust the one who is directing everything. The preacher sees here the second great blessing in Paul's prayer, one that unfolds in two movements: a blessed transformation that then creates a wise people to take part in God's purposes.

Message Outline

1. A blessed transformation that begins with redemption (v. 7)

• The text opens in verse 7: "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." The preacher warns right away: "redemption" is a word we hear so often in church that we no longer feel its weight. Yet this word carries real weight.
• A basic Bible dictionary defines it this way: "release from a captive condition, or even slavery," and also "liberation, acquittal, deliverance."
• To make the idea concrete, he uses the image of a journalist. There are journalists sent into conflict zones who, simply doing their job, get kidnapped and held in terrible conditions, deprived of water and everything they need. What do their captors do? They demand money or some political concession from a government in exchange for their release. The poor journalist can do nothing but wait. Until the day things finally work out, when freedom is granted: he's handed over to agents of his government, put on a plane, given a shower, food, and reunited with his family and friends. That's redemption. Being set free, being bought back.
• Biblical language, then, describes a situation in which a ransom has to be paid. "Redemption through his blood", there's a payment, a price. And that opens up a very specific context. Paul describes himself as "a Pharisee of Pharisees," deeply rooted in Judaism. The blessing he writes, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places", has the flavor of a rabbinic blessing, much like a Sabbath prayer: "Blessed are you, Lord, creator of heaven and earth, for this day of rest."
• So when Paul speaks of a ransom paid by blood, he's echoing something very specific from the old covenant: the covenant God made with Moses and the people of Israel in the wilderness, with a Law that defined the terms of life. "If you want to live, here is what you must do." A law that showed the difference between right and wrong.

2. A ransom paid : but to whom? (v. 7, continued)

• A very good question: to whom is the ransom paid? In the Middle Ages (and this idea still circulates today), people said it was paid to the devil. It's one explanation, and it can sound clever: the devil supposedly stood on the other side, holding some kind of power over death.
• But Calvin and other Reformers pointed out a fundamental problem: does the devil really have power over God? Can he really tell God, "This one is mine, you can't touch it"? The answer is no.
• So to whom was the ransom paid? To God's justice, as expressed in his Law. The problem is that humanity, in what it has thought and done, has displayed this sinful nature, this separation from God. The ransom paid is the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus who, through his own body, becomes the sacrifice, as John the Baptist named him in John 1:29: "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" That doesn't mean Jesus merely resembled a lamb, but that he was going to become what was needed to take away our sins.
• The preacher quotes an old theologian: "Redeemed not by power, nor by truth, but by blood, that is, by sacrificial death." So we have redemption through his blood and the forgiveness of our trespasses. We have been redeemed, set free from the captivity that once enslaved us.

3. Forgiveness according to the riches of his grace (v. 7-8)

• What you experience when you turn to Christ is God's forgiveness of your sins. And the preacher insists: God's forgiveness, compared to human forgiveness, is immense.
• Human forgiveness often sounds like: "Fine, okay, I forgive you, but deep down I'm still holding on to something." Or: "I forgive you, but I don't know if I really love you anymore." Or: "I forgive you, but I'll be keeping an eye on you." Or else it's naive: "I forgive you, everything's forgotten, let's just carry on like nothing happened." God doesn't do that.
• The text says it plainly: "We have the forgiveness of trespasses, according to the riches of his grace." Forgiveness rests on something solid. In the cross, there is enough grace, enough riches, to absorb the whole debt.
• In fact, in the Lord's Prayer, "forgive us our trespasses" translates a word that, in the original, means "our debts." Now a debt carries shame with it. It's shameful to owe someone, especially when you have no way to pay it back. You avoid calling that person. You carry the weight alone. There's also a sense of powerlessness in that weakness, being unable to do anything yourself about debts that keep piling up. In Jesus Christ, God forgives sins, debts. That's why, on the cross, in John 19:30, Jesus says: "It is finished." What he's declaring is also this: it is paid in full.

4. Grace is not turning a blind eye to evil (v. 8 + Titus 2)

• We need to redefine grace. Yes, grace is "unmerited favor", that's absolutely true. But sometimes we hear it as a pass that grants access to anything, a kind of "anything goes." We tell ourselves: "God is a God of grace anyway, he'll forgive," as if grace didn't take evil seriously.
• It's exactly the opposite. Grace sees evil clearly and changes it. On the cross, Jesus does not close his eyes to evil. He sees it in its full horror, in its fullness, he carries it on himself, and he pays the whole debt.
• Grace is so abundant that it also teaches us what is good and beautiful. The preacher opens to Titus 2:11-12: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world." Grace shapes you into a life that pleases God.
• That's also what Ephesians 1:8 says: God "made [this grace] to abound toward us in all wisdom and understanding." The preacher confesses: "I'm a pastor, and I'm sorry to say it, but sometimes I file grace away in my neat theological box labeled 'means of salvation.' I'm saved by grace, through faith. Full stop." Forgetting how deeply it touches all of life, in wisdom and understanding.

5. A new way of knowing God: wisdom and understanding (v. 8 + Eph 4)

• With this verse 8, you realize that grace changes the way you know God. You now know him in wisdom and understanding.
• Biblical wisdom isn't a pile of knowledge. That's why the book of Proverbs is so practical: here's how to live, here's what to do. Biblical wisdom is something visible in a person's life, a life radically changed by redemption. You now live wisely in this world.
• The preacher contrasts this with Ephesians 4:17-18, where Paul writes: "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardening of their heart."
• What happens in your mind, the way you think, is closely tied to what you do in your day. By grace, you're taught through the Bible, God's Word, a better way to live, unlike those who don't know God and have no access to this transforming spiritual information. Your mind becomes clearer.
• The preacher quotes G. Campbell Morgan: "The man who is possessed by the grace of God has a clearer mind for thinking than a man who would think apart from sin." Redeemed, forgiven, filled with his grace, with wisdom and understanding for life, how could you not be transformed after that?

6. A wise people to take part in God's purpose (v. 9)

• This transformation creates a people. A wise people who take part in God's purposes. So what is God's purpose? The preacher smiles: "I'm glad you asked, because the answer is right there in verse 9."
• Ephesians 1:9: "having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself." The Father hasn't left you in the dark in this world. He's the one who directs the hearts of kings, who steers the currents of history toward the return of his Son.
• The way he acts, his wisdom, helps you understand that someone is in charge. It remains mysterious in the sense that you can't see it, but it's also revealed in Scripture. His kingdom is present, his kingdom is coming. This kingdom is unknown to the world, and often badly misrepresented by the world.
• Ask someone who doesn't know Christ to describe the kingdom of God, and you'll sometimes get little angels or little winged babies on clouds. Throughout history, you also see people who tried to build the kingdom of God on earth themselves, empires where much blood was shed to establish a "bastion of justice." Look at all the harm done because of movements like that, with rhetoric that's sometimes ugly and oppressive. No, there's something better than that.
• When things go wrong, you recognize the good pleasure of Christ's purpose. The preacher brings up the well-known verse: God can turn evil into good. And that's not just something you know, doesn't it give you something in this life, when everything is going wrong? Christ's hand is invisible, but powerful in this world, turning evil into good.

7. Mystery: not a secret, a sacrament

• It's a mystery hidden from those who don't know God. Careful with the word "mystery": in the biblical sense, it's not a treasure hunt reserved for a select few insiders. Here, it refers to those who belong to the kingdom and know its ways and its movements, because they personally know the King.
• That's why the Church Fathers, like Augustine, used this word "mystery" for what we today call a sacrament. It was the same word.
• Take the Lord's Supper, this ordinance given by the Lord. What does someone who doesn't know Christ see when they watch? They see people eating a small piece of bread and drinking from a small cup. If you don't know the story behind it, it really does look strange.
• But what's actually happening? We proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. What Augustine meant to convey by "mystery/sacrament" is that we do something physical that points to a mystery in the heavenly places. Christ really died for our sins. His body was really broken, once for all, thank God. His blood, the blood of the covenant, really was shed. It's a mystery, and this is the wonderful part: we experience the mystery, we live it.
• Sometimes it becomes so much a part of your life that you barely even notice it anymore. It's like a good pair of shoes. At first, you look at them. After a while, you walk without even thinking about them. And if they're really comfortable, you eventually forget they're even there. It's a bit like that with the mystery of the kingdom: it's there, you live it, it's all around you, and you're part of it, because you've been redeemed, because your sins have been forgiven, because his grace fills you.

8. Where is all this heading? Toward one head: Christ (v. 10)

• All of this is heading somewhere. Verse 10: "that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth."
• This is what helps you understand the good pleasure of God's purpose. Be careful: this doesn't mean you know the future. The Christian isn't reading tarot cards. He isn't here to guess what's coming. When people read the Bible alongside the newspaper, they sometimes make serious mistakes trying to predict events or misinterpreting things. The Bible wasn't written for that.
• What's the final meaning? Christ is the final meaning. One day, everything will be gathered together in him, at the consummation of all things. What do you see? The Head, the head of the Church, the risen King, the head of all humanity who took our humanity upon himself, the perfect Judge. The creation around us, even the beautiful buildings, all of it passes away. You know that, because when everything is gathered together in him, God has already reserved new heavens and a new earth. And the description Revelation gives us goes beyond anything you can imagine. It's perfectly true, truer even than what you see here, because it's eternal. God will walk among his children, with nothing left from sin to separate us: all of that will be over.
• It's this knowledge that produces a wisdom for living. Knowing this mystery in which you take part: what grace God has shown you, what joy it is to know him.

Key Takeaways

• Redemption isn't a polite religious word: it's being bought back from captivity, at a price. The price is the blood of Jesus. The ransom wasn't paid to the devil, but to God's justice.
• God's forgiveness isn't the vague, lukewarm, or naive forgiveness we offer each other. It is according to the riches of his grace, there's enough there to absorb the whole debt, once for all.
• Grace isn't a pass that closes its eyes to evil. It sees evil, carries it, and shapes you to live differently (Titus 2:11-12).
• This grace is poured out on you "in all wisdom and understanding": it changes the way you think, and therefore the way you live, the opposite of the darkened understanding described in Ephesians 4.
• God's purpose is revealed, not hidden from insiders. He is steering history toward one single point: gathering everything, in heaven and on earth, under one head, Christ.
• Your life isn't a game of Connections. If you're in Christ, you're going somewhere with him.

Personal Application

1. Does the word "redemption" still carry weight for you, or has it become just a churchy word in the background? Go back to the image of the kidnapped journalist finally set free: what, in your own life, corresponds to "being set free, being bought back"?
2. Where this week have you offered someone forgiveness "the human way" (I forgive you but I'm keeping an eye on you, I forgive you but I'm nursing a quiet grudge, I'm acting like nothing happened) rather than a forgiveness fed by the grace God has shown you?
3. What area of your life are you tempted to keep off-limits from grace, as if it only applied to your initial salvation and not to how you think, work, and love day to day?
4. When things are going wrong right now, do you look at your life as a game of Connections that makes no sense, or as a path where Christ is the one leading? What would concretely change if you took verse 10 seriously?
5. Is the Lord's Supper, for you, a slightly strange ritual, or a mystery you actually live? What could you do this coming Sunday to receive it while remembering Christ's death for your sins until he comes?

Scriptures Cited

• Ephesians 1:7-10 · "in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence... to an administration of the fullness of the times, to sum up all things in Christ."
• John 1:29 · "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!"
• John 19:30 · "It is finished."
• Titus 2:11-12 · "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we would live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world."
• Ephesians 4:17-18 · "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God."
• Romans 8:28 · "All things work together for good for those who love God."

Further reading

• Home Group Themes: 30 Ideas
• Welcoming New Participants in a Small Group
• How to Lead a Bible Discussion

Frequently Asked Questions

Who was the ransom of redemption paid to?

The preacher revisits an objection raised by Calvin and other Reformers. To say the ransom was paid to the devil, as was often taught in the Middle Ages, is to grant the devil a power over God that he simply doesn't have. The ransom answers to the demands of God's justice, as expressed in his Law. The blood of Jesus, "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), pays a very real debt: ours.

Does grace mean God turns a blind eye to evil?

No, it's actually the opposite. On the cross, Jesus does not close his eyes to evil: he sees it in its full horror, he carries it, he pays the entire debt. Grace sees evil and changes it. Titus 2 says it teaches you to deny ungodliness and to live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present age. A grace that changed nothing about your life wouldn't be the grace Paul is describing.

Does "mystery" mean God hides his plan from most people?

No. In biblical vocabulary, "mystery" isn't a treasure hunt reserved for a chosen few. It's a plan God reveals to those who belong to his kingdom, because they personally know the King. The Church Fathers, like Augustine, actually used this same word to speak of the sacrament, such as the Lord's Supper: something physical that points to a very real heavenly reality.