Ephesians 1:7-8
7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding,
“To speak of Jesus’ blood was an important first-century way of speaking of Christ’s death. His death points to two wonderful truths—redemption and forgiveness. Redemption was the price paid to gain freedom for a slave (Leviticus 25:47-54). Through his death, Jesus paid the price to release us from slavery to sin. Forgiveness was granted in Old Testament times on the basis of the shedding of animals’ blood (Leviticus 17:11). Now we are forgiven on the basis of the shedding of Jesus’ blood—he died as the perfect and final sacrifice. (See also Romans 5:9; Ephesians 2:13; Colossians 1:20; Hebrews 9:22; 1 Peter 1:19.)” (Life Application Study Bible 1976)
“Grace is God’s voluntary and loving favor given to those he saves. We can’t earn salvation, nor do we deserve it. No religious, intellectual, or moral effort can gain it, because it comes only from God’s mercy and love. Without God’s grace, no person can be saved. To receive it, we must acknowledge that we cannot save ourselves, that only God can save us, and that our only way to receive this loving favor is through faith in Christ.” (Life Application Study Bible 1976)
Work Cited
Life Application Study Bible. Zondervan, 2011. p. 1976.
New Wine Fellowship 