51: What is Redemption?

What does the Bible mean when it says we have redemption through His blood? In this episode, we explore the meaning behind the word “redemption” in Ephesians 1:7—how it connects to slavery, rescue, and freedom. From the Exodus to the cross, we trace the theme of deliverance and what it means to be set free in Christ. Redemption isn’t just a religious buzzword—it’s the story of God rescuing those in Him from eternal death, and offering new life through Jesus.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
(Music)
Welcome to the Ready for Eternity
podcast, a podcast and blog dedicated to
inquisitive Bible students exploring
biblical truths that might not be fully
explored in typical sermons or Bible
studies. My name is Eddie Lawrence.

(00:23):
Redemption is one of those churchy words
that we hear a lot, but we may not always
stop to think about what it
means. What is redemption?
In Ephesians chapter 1 verse 7, Paul
wrote, "In him we have redemption through

(00:45):
his blood, the forgiveness of our
trespasses, according to the riches of
his grace." Paul emphasizes redemption in
this verse, but we might miss something
critically important if we're not paying
attention. Christ redeems those who are
in him. Just like the other blessings in

(01:06):
this chapter, redemption doesn't belong
to a group God arbitrarily selected.
Instead, God chose everyone who is in
Christ. And those who are in Christ are
those who have chosen to obey the gospel
and place their trust in Jesus. But what

(01:27):
exactly is this idea of redemption? What
does the word actually mean? Like other
churchy words, we hear it in sermons and
Bible studies all the time, so much so
that we might not stop to ask what it
really is. The word redemption comes from
the Greek word apollutruses. Greek

(01:49):
dictionaries define it as, "To release or
set free, with the implied analogy to the
process of freeing a slave. To set free,
to liberate, to deliver, liberation,
deliverance." In other words, redemption
is essentially a rescue. It's a fairly
simple concept that tends to be obscured

(02:10):
by repetition. There's even a term for
that, semantic satiation. This refers to
a psychological phenomenon where a word
or phrase, through repetition, loses its
meaning or impact. The word becomes a
mere sound, detached from its deeper
significance, often because familiarity

(02:32):
breeds an assumption of understanding
rather than genuine clarity. Redemption
in everyday life shows up in small and
familiar ways. Think of a vending
machine. You insert a few coins, press a
button, and the machine releases a can of
coke. That's redemption in miniature, a

(02:54):
transaction that results in something
being set free. It's a simple exchange,
but the logic aligns with the original
sense of the word. We pay a price, and
that liberates something. The same word
appears again in phrases like redeeming a
coupon. But here, the connection to the

(03:14):
original idea grows thinner. The stakes
are lower, the meaning diluted.
Originally, redemption carried the weight
of release or rescue, something or
someone set free from bondage or debt.
But when we redeem a coupon, the process
becomes more transactional, more routine.

(03:37):
Instead of liberation, the word now
signifies a discount, a piece of paper
for a product. In this context, redeem
becomes shorthand, a word stripped of its
deeper, more profound connotations.
People reduce the language of deliverance
to the language of commerce. Let's look

(04:00):
at some biblical examples of redemption.
One of the clearest biblical examples is
the Exodus, where God frees the
Israelites from slavery in Egypt. In this
narrative, God hears the cries of his
people and acts decisively to deliver
them from Pharaoh's oppressive rule.

(04:20):
Through a series of miracles, including
the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14,
God redeems the Israelites, setting them
free to journey to the Promised Land.
This act of redemption isn't just rescue.
It's a dramatic display of God's power
and faithfulness. As God tells Moses in

(04:43):
Exodus 6, 6, "I am the Lord, and I will
bring you out from under the yoke of the
Egyptians, and deliver you from their
bondage. I will redeem you with an
outstretched arm, and with mighty acts of
judgment." The Exodus becomes the
foundation story of the Jewish nation,

(05:06):
forever tying redemption to the idea of
freedom from bondage. Another example of
redemption in the Old Testament is found
in the law of land redemption in
Leviticus. If a person fell into poverty
and had to sell their ancestral land,
they, or a close relative,

(05:27):
had the right to redeem it.
Leviticus 25, 25 says, "If your brother
becomes impoverished and sells some of
his property, his nearest of kin may come
and redeem what his brother has sold."
This kinsman-redeemer would buy back the
land, restoring it to the family. This

(05:49):
law wasn't just about financial
transactions. It was about preserving the
dignity and heritage of the individual.
Redemption here meant more than
ownership. It symbolized the restoration
of what they had lost, a return to what
was rightfully theirs, and a way to
safeguard the family's identity. Jesus

(06:12):
has redeemed those who are in him. What
does this mean exactly?
Redemption means Christ freed us from
eternal death. Sin's penalty is eternal
separation from God, according to Romans
6. Through his death and resurrection,
Jesus paid the price for our sins.

(06:35):
This act reconciles us to God and grants
eternal life. Redemption is liberation
from sin's guilt and penalty, made
possible through Christ's sacrifice. He
has rescued us from the punishment that
we deserved and replaced that punishment
with eternal life. What was the price

(06:58):
Jesus paid and to whom was it paid? Paul
says our redemption was
through the blood in Ephesians 1.
Blood is probably not meant literally,
but as an idiom expressing that it was
Jesus' death that redeemed us. The price
of our redemption was Jesus' life.

(07:20):
However, the best word to explain how
this release occurred may not be the word
price. Who did Jesus pay a ransom to?
This redemption, or ransom as it's called
in Matthew chapter 20 verse 28, Mark 10,
45, and 1 Timothy 2, 6, was not a price

(07:42):
paid to the devil, as the Ransom Theory
of Atonement says. On this, Ben
Witherington comments, Paul says nothing
of a ransom paid to Satan. As God owes
Satan nothing, Christ is redeeming the
lost persons from the bondage of sin by
paying the price for that sin for them.

(08:03):
In the New Testament, the blood of Christ
represents His life given up through His
violent death and sacrifice. In
Ephesians, when it says through His
blood, it uses a metaphor from sacrifice,
not to suggest a literal cost, but to
show how Christ's death is the means of

(08:26):
redemption. This doesn't mean the blood
is a ransom price paid to anyone, but
rather it symbolizes the costly nature of
our salvation. Jesus' sacrificial death
is the key event that secures our
redemption. The term ransom in the New
Testament symbolizes Christ's sacrificial

(08:47):
death to free us from sin, not a literal
payment or transaction made with Satan.
The New Testament authors use the word
Ransom metaphorically. It's like a
ransom, to express how Christ's death
liberates us from the bondage of sin.

(09:08):
It's similar to how a ransom frees
someone from captivity. However, it
wasn't a direct payment to Satan, but
rather a means of securing our redemption
through Christ's sacrifice. In
conclusion, redemption is a powerful act
of liberation Christ achieved for those

(09:28):
who are in Him. Through His death and
resurrection, He freed us from eternal
death. Just as the Exodus and the Kinsmen
Redeemer laws illustrate freedom,
Christ's sacrifice offers ultimate
deliverance. His blood, His life given

(09:48):
for ours secures our redemption. This
redemption isn't a transaction,
but a divine rescue that grants us
eternal life. Thanks for listening to the
podcast. We hope this episode has
deepened your understanding of Scripture.

(10:09):
If you found this content valuable,
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more biblical studies, visit our website
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(10:30):
Twitter. That's all for now. Keep
studying your Bible, growing closer to
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eternity. See you next time.