“Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Spirit hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with His own blood.” Acts 20:28
It has been said that, “…No word in Christian vocabulary deserves to be held more precious than Redeemer, for even more than Savior, it reminds the child of God that his salvation has been purchased at a great and personal cost, for the Lord has given Himself for our sins in order to deliver us from them.” From Paul’s own words, the meaning of “redemption” is that of being purchased, bought, not with gold or silver, but with the precious blood of Christ, shed on Calvary. Redemption means that a price has been paid, whether for the purchase of goods, land, or other material objects, or one’s soul. With regard to the soul, Scripture tells us that it is precious, and no man can purchase the soul of another, and certainly not his own soul, saving it from its lost condition. There must be the intervention of One who alone has the power and the provision of that which is necessary to act to purchase, but also, purchase with a viable, sufficient, even unquestionable means. In the case of the soul, there is but one “means” of the redemption. It is Christ by His precious blood, for no demon or devil would respect anything else. Only by the righteous authority, power, and declaration of God, is Christ’s blood applied to the sinner to redeem him. It is for this reason that the Apostle Paul is so very clear: “Much more then, being NOW justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath through Him.” (Romans 5:9) The question then arises that if we are redeemed by the blood of the sacrificial Lamb of God on Calvary, what is to be our reaction to such an irrevokable, unchangeable transaction, whereby the believer has been, “…delivered…from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son: in whom we HAVE redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” (Col. 1:13,14) There is no other viable or acceptable response than the total yielding of ourselves to God, every aspect of our being, to love, worship, and serve Him for ever. Perhaps a stanza of an anonymous hymn can help us frame our true, sincere response:
“What language shall I borrow, to thank Thee, dearest Friend, For this Thy dying sorrow, Thy pity without end? O make me Thine forever; And should I fainting be, Lord, let me never, never outlive my love for Thee.”
The measure of the blessing of God associated with being redeemed is certainly “beyond what we could ask or think.” Not only does that blessing bring the believer into completeness of standing before God, being justified, but it brings the believer into living union with Christ, by the Spirit. Where death reigned before, now there is a well of living water from which the believer drinks. There is also, because of the indwelling Christ by the Spirit, rivers of living water in the heart, ready to gush forth accordiing to God’s wisdom. The believer, by the redemption of his soul, has come to belong to Christ for time and eternity, living by the very life of Christ. It is a perpetual union with Christ in the body of Christ, which calls forth, not only devotion, but the obligation of a debt owed. It is a debt that cannot be paid fully, but it does mean going forward to apprehend that for which the believer was apprehended by Christ, to also grasp and understand his calling, yielding to it, loving and serving the Redeemer. Paul summarized the response like this: “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1 Cor.6::20)
Dear Father, Give us Thine abundant grace to live a life of devotion to Thee, ever remembering what Thou hast done for us. We would love and serve Thee this day, and forever. In Jesus’ name, Amen.