Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are at Ephesus, and who are faithful in Christ Jesus: 1:2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Who is the stated author of the letter?
Paul (Ephesians 1:1,) "I, Paul" (Ephesians 3:1)

What do we learn about Paul (see also Ephesians Study 1)?
He is an apostle (apostolos from apo = from + stello = send <> One sent forth from another who is in authority. He is sent with a commission, the necessary credentials, the sender's authority and the implicit responsibility to accomplish a mission or assignment). He is sent out by Christ Jesus (see Acts 9:15). He did not chose to be an apostle but he became one by the will (thelema = God’s gracious disposition. His choosing Paul as an apostle was not due to any good or merit in Paul, but is the result of His own pure goodness, originating wholly in the freedom of His own thoughts and loving counsel = His "will") of God.

Who is his target audience?
In this letter it is the saints.  (See word study on saints)

Ray Stedman in his usual pragmatic expositional style writes that...

Saints is a word at which we all shudder a little. We don't like to be called saints because we have such a plaster idea of what a saint is. We think of them as being unreal -- so beatific, so holier-than-we, so unlike ordinary human beings. But the saints of the New Testament are not that way; they are people like us. Saints are people who are beset with struggles and difficulties, who have disturbances at home, and problems at work, and troubles everywhere else. They're normal people, in other words!  But one thing is remarkable about them: They are different. That is really the basic meaning of this word saint. In the Greek it is a word derived from the word for holy. And holy means distinct, different, whole, belonging to God and, therefore, living differently. That is the mark of the saint. It isn't that he doesn't have problems, only that he approaches them differently. He handles them in a different way. He has a different lifestyle. That is what Paul is talking about here. Their characteristic is that they are faithful, which means, of course, that they can't quit. That's what a Christian is -- a person who can't quit being a Christian. A true Christian just can't stop!  (Read the entire sermon Ephesians 1:1-14: God At Work)

Where is he writing from?
Prison, most likely in Rome (see Acts 28:11-31, Ephesians 3:1, Ephesians 4:1, Ephesians 6:20).

I love what Pastor Stedman's introductory remarks to his series on Ephesians...

I hope that, as we begin this doctrinal portion of Ephesians, your heart will be anticipating tremendous truth. I would like to urge you to read this letter through once a week during the time that we are engaged in studying these first three chapters. Read it through in various versions, and in different ways. Read it through at one sitting the first week, and then the next week take a chapter a day. Other weeks read it in some of the paraphrases. Let this truth come to you afresh in new and different language. I can guarantee that if you will do this faithfully until we finish our study you will never be the same person again. This truth has the power to change you, and it will!

I think that, of all Paul's letters, the letter to the Romans and this one to Ephesians have affected me most profoundly. Both are attempts at a systematic and rather exhaustive setting forth of the whole Christian view of life and of the world. Others of Paul's letters deal with specific problems, and they are very helpful when we are involved with those same problems. But these two deal with the whole sweep of truth, the great canvas of God's painting of reality. Ephesians has changed my life again and again:

It was from this book that I learned how the body of Christ functions. The truth of the fourth chapter was strongly in my heart when I came to Palo Alto, as a young man fresh from seminary, and began to pastor a small group of people meeting here. It was the conviction that the ministry belongs to the saints, and that the business of a pastor is to help the people find their ministries and to prepare them to function in them, and to discover the excitement of living as Christians where they are, which was formative in the early years of Peninsula Bible Church and is still so strongly emphasized here. It was from this letter that I learned, as a young man, how to handle the sex drive which God had given me, as he has given it to all of us, and how to live properly in a sex-saturated society. This letter is most practical in that way. It teaches us how to come to grips with life as it is.

This letter taught me profound truths about marriage and about family life. I'm still learning in this area, and have a lot more to learn, but I've already learned a great deal about this subject from the letter to the Ephesians. It was this letter which taught me better than any other passage of Scripture how to understand the strange turbulence I often found in my own heart, the spiritual attacks to which I was subject, and how to deal with my fears and anxieties and my depressions -- where these were coming from, and what to do about them. So this is a great and practical letter, and I urge you to become familiar with it and to make it second nature to know the truth of Ephesians. Let me share with you the experience of another person in this respect. This is from the introduction to a book by Dr. John McKay, for many years the president of Princeton University:

I can never forget that the reading of this Pauline letter when I was a boy in my teens exercised a more decisive influence upon my thought and imagination than was ever wrought upon me before or since by the perusal of any piece of literature. The romance of the part played by Jesus Christ in making my personal salvation possible, and in mediating God's cosmic plan, so set my spirit aflame that I laid aside, in all ecstasy of delight, Dumas' Count of Monte Cristo which I happened to be reading at the time. That was my encounter with the Cosmic Christ. The Christ who was, and is, became the passion of my life. I have to admit without shame or reserve that as a result of that encounter I have been unable to think of my own life or the life of mankind or the life of the cosmos apart from Jesus Christ. He came to me and challenged me in the writings of St. Paul. I responded. The years that have followed have been but a footnote to that encounter.

So I would suggest that, if you feel the need for change in your own life and for deepening your relationship with our Lord, you would do well to expose yourself in a very personal way to these teachings from the letter to the Ephesians. (Read the entire sermon Ephesians 1:1-14: God At Work)

Ephesians 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love

How does Paul begin this letter?

He begins with by giving them a greeting that includes in a sense a prayer for them, a prayer for grace and peace. Note that "grace" is like a bookend in this great epistle the last verse reading....

Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with a love incorruptible. (note Ephesians 6:24)

Observe the order, grace before peace. Know grace, know peace but no grace, no peace!

Grace (charis - see word study) is often defined as unmerited favor, which it surely is, but it is far more than that. Think about the recipients. They had received "unmerited favor" when God saved them ("by grace you have been saved through faith" - note Ephesians 2:8). So as ones who have already been saved by grace, it is quite likely that Paul intends an additional meaning to this grace he speaks to them. Like all "saints", they were still in the world (see Acts 19 for what their world was like - idolatry, magic, demon possession, focus on materialism, etc) and so they needed grace to make it daily. And so grace (still unmerited of course) takes on a different hue or shade of meaning, and speaks of that strength God provides to assist saints to live a supernatural life in a natural world. It is transforming grace, grace that gives strength when the circumstances overwhelm us, when unexpected interruptions jump on us, when God gives us one of those little "pop tests" of life, etc, etc. Paul describes this aspect of grace in his last known letter to Timothy (also written from prison)...

You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. (see notes 2 Timothy 2:1)

Do you see it? What is inherent in grace? Is it not that unmerited favor from God which is present in Christ Jesus and which gives needed strength to our inner man. This is the "shade" of grace we all need for daily living.

Peace (eirene - see word study) is from the verb eiro which means to join together what has been divided and so to set at one again. It is that attribute given by God to us in Christ so that our spirit might be at rest in all the changing circumstances of life

Here's one of the best illustrations of peace I've ever read and interestingly enough it's from the perspective of a primitive (Gentile) tribesman...

Jim Walton was translating the NT for the Muinane people of La Sabana in the jungles of Colombia. But he was having trouble with the word peace. During this time, Fernando, the village chief, was promised a 20-minute plane ride to a location that would have taken him 3 days to travel by walking. The plane was delayed in arriving at La Sabana, so Fernando departed on foot. When the plane finally came, a runner took off to bring Fernando back. But by the time he had returned, the plane had left. Fernando was livid because of the mix-up. He went to Jim and launched into an angry tirade. Fortunately, Walton had taped the chief's diatribe. When he later translated it, he discovered that the chief kept repeating the phrase,  

Jim asked other villagers what having "one heart" meant, and he found that it was like saying,

"There is nothing between you and the other person."

That, Walton realized, was just what he needed to translate the word peace. To have peace with God means that there is nothing--no sin, no guilt, no condemnation--that separates us. And that peace with God is possible only through Christ (see note Ro 5:1). Do you have "one heart" with God? With your spouse? With your children? With your fellow men?

What does Paul do in verse 2?
He stops for a moment of praise - a blessing to God. Some would call this a "doxology".

He offers a blessing (blessed = eulogetos from eu = well, good + logos = word <> means well spoken of, one worthy of praise and honor. <> English = "eulogy") to God the Father and Son.

Comment: Paul knows he is getting ready to unveil some of the most incredible truths ever written by anyone and it leads him as it should to an anthem of praise. Praise isn't so much something we do, as it is a response from within our spirit and inner man as His Spirit reveals to us the awesome nature of our God. And when He does, the natural outflow that simply cannot be contained is an eruption of praise to the greatness of our majestic God.

Why? What has God done?
The One Paul blesses has blessed us with every spiritual blessing.

Where is that blessing?
In heavenly places.

What is the source of the blessing?
Being in Christ Jesus.

Where is Christ in Ephesians 1:20? Where are we as saints according to Ephesians 2:6? Christ is in the heavenlies (and it is not figurative language but a reality) and we are seated with Him there (not physically of course but still very much a reality, albeit unseen and surely also a bit poorly understood). Where are all spiritual blessings? Are they not where He is and where we are seated with Him? Interesting truths to ponder. Remember God wants us to experience in everyday life the reality of every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. That experience begins with a proper understanding of what Paul described as sound (literally "healthy") doctrine. So although the first 3 chapters of Ephesians are primarily doctrine, they are far from dry, dreary and disinteresting discourse! They are the very foundation stones on which the Spirit of God will build and enable us to partake in a real, albeit supernatural way, "every spiritual blessing"...so that we might possess in our experience what we already possess by virtue of our position (of being "in Christ" and "seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus").

What is the theme of Ephesians 1?
Every Spiritual Blessing in Christ

As Ray Stedman says of the spiritual blessings Paul begins to unveil that they...

"are the things that make life worthwhile. Without these great facts, life is unbearable to man, desolate, dull, boring, and we can hardly stand ourselves or each other. This is a list, if you like, of the incompetencies of man. Man cannot provide these. No political party can introduce them. They come from God, and God alone -- God at work. No one else can give them to us. It is absolutely impossible that we ever should achieve them by ourselves. They are the gifts of God."

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Ephesians 1:4 What is the first spiritual blessing Paul describes?
Chosen

What is meaning of the Greek word for "chose"?
The verb eklego means literally to select out, single out or choose out of.  Eklego in it's original Classic Greek use expresses in every case the idea that a part has been claimed from a greater quantity, by an independent act of decision for a particular purpose, and that the remainder has been passed over, but not necessarily rejected. Eklego means to choose out for oneself, but not implying rejection of those not chosen.

Who chose us?
God the Father

Where?
In Him (Jesus Christ)

When?
Before the foundation of the world (you may want to stop and ponder this time phrase)

Why did God the Father chose us?
That we would be holy (same word for saint = hagios) and blameless (literally without spot - same word describes Jesus the Lamb as spotless in 1 Peter 1:19) before (literally directly in front of His face or eyes!) Him (Coram Deo = Before the Face of God!)

JOHN 15:16

John 15:16 "You did not choose (eklego) Me, but I chose (eklego) you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you

What do you learn about divine choice from John 15:16?  
Jesus chose the 12 disciples, not vice versa. The common practice in Jesus' day was for the disciples to chose which rabbi they would sit under. We did not chose God. He chose us (think about this as a manifestation of God's grace - unmerited favor).

What was His purpose?
That the disciples (and we) should bear fruit (e.g., spiritual fruit such as godly attitudes in Gal 5:22, 23, righteous behavior as in Php 1:11, praise Heb 13:15, and especially leading others to faith in Jesus as Messiah and Son of God Ro1:13-16). Their fruit would remain.

What is the privilege of those chosen?
Free access to God in prayer

What is the context (especially Jesus' following statements about what they would experience in the world - and that their Lord would soon be crucified) and how does that help you understand Jesus' telling them they are chosen?
The following verses predict hatred and persecution from the world. Jesus counters what He knows will cause them to suffer and doubt and reminds them that they are chosen for accomplishing an eternal purpose.

Think about it - if God chose me, then I am His responsibility!

1PETER 1:1-2

1 Peter 1:1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens, scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen (eklektos from eklego) 1:2 according to the foreknowledge (indicates God planned beforehand and not that He observed beforehand or just that He was aware of what was going to happen) of God the Father, by the sanctifying (setting apart) work of the Spirit (He makes those who are "chosen" holy by setting them apart from sin and unto God), that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace be yours in fullest measure. (See notes 1 Peter 1:1; 1:2)

What does Peter explain about God's choice of believers?
The choice was according to the foreknowledge of God - not just that He knew it would happen but that He set about a plan to make it happen.

How was God's choice accomplished?
It involves the sanctifying (setting apart) work of the Spirit.

What is the purpose of God's choice?
(1) It's purpose is that we would obey (literally means to "hear under" picture of listening and submitting to that which is heard) and

(2) that we might be sprinkled with His blood (difficult to be dogmatic - Three times in OT blood was sprinkled on men: [1] Cleaning of lepers Lev 14:1-7, [2] Consecration family of Aaron to priesthood, Ex 29:20-21 and [3] Covenant ratification - Mosaic covenant between God and Israel - using Scripture to interpret Scripture this could allude to an element of all three - NT believers are cleansed from sin, consecrated priests to God all upon entering the New Covenant in Christ's blood). (Comment: 1Peter repeatedly emphasizes suffering and persecution of believers as a result of fact that they were Christians and Peter is writing to encourage them. He begins his "encouragement" with the truth that they are chosen. It follows that God's means for this doctrine to be one that encourages and not that divides believers!)

1CORINTHIANS 1:26-30

1 Cor 1:26-30 For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen (eklego) the foolish things of the world (in order) to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world (in order) to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base (low born) things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, (in order) that He might nullify (make of no effect) the things that are, 29 (in order) that no man should boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD."

How many times does Paul state God has chosen?
Three times

According to 1Corinthians 1:26-31 what is God's purpose for choosing?
To shame the wise and strong ultimately so that no man can boast about salvation.
The choosing is not something that man can boast in

What is the basis for His choosing us in Christ Jesus?
It is by His doing that we are "in Christ Jesus"

Ephesians 1:5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,  1:6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

What is the spiritual blessing described in this verse?
Predestined to adoption as sons

What does the Greek word for "predestined" mean?
Predestined (proorizo from pró = before + horízo = to determine, as by setting a boundary or limit <> from horos = boundary, limit) literally means to mark out beforehand or set the the limits or boundaries in advance of any place or thing. Though proorizo meant simply to plan in advance, in the New Testament it attracted a special meaning. Here the idea is a divine decree of God, whereby He determined in advance that something should happen.

Wuest commenting on proorizo adds that...

 The genius of the word is that of placing limitations upon someone or something beforehand, these limitations bringing that person or thing within the sphere of a certain future or destiny. These meanings are carried over into the New Testament usage of the word. Thus, the “chosen-out” ones, have had limitations put around them which bring them within the sphere of becoming God’s children by adoption (see note Ephesians 1:5), and of being conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus (see note Romans 8:29). (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Eerdmans)

Who predestined us?
God the Father

When did this happen (from the context)?
Before the foundation of the world

What was the purpose?
Adoption as sons (Click excursus on "Adoption as sons")

How did He accomplish this adoption according to this verse?
Through Christ Jesus (we were chosen in Him, we were predestined to adoption through Him). Our "adoption papers" won't be revoked because of some legal snafu. Beloved, you are FOREVER adopted into the family as one of God's sons or daughters. This should give you security in regard to the assurance of your salvation in Christ.

Where were Gentiles spiritually before being adopted? (see Ephesians 2:12 )
"separated from Christ...having no hope, without God in the world" -- and yet now the Father has "adopted [us] as sons...to Himself"! Glory! (See notes Ro 11:33-36).

Romans 5 says Gentiles (and that is most of us) were "helpless" (see note Romans 5:6), "sinners" (see note Romans 5:8), "enemies" of God (see note Romans 5:10)

Colossians says we "were formerly alienated and hostile in mind engaged in evil deeds."  (see notes Colossians 1:21)

Understanding who we once WERE helps us appreciate who we now ARE in Christ! It presents such a striking contrast to what we are now that it overwhelms our hearts with gratitude and a deep desire to walk in a manner worthy of our high calling as sons of God who desire to be pleasing to our Father Who choose us even before the foundation of the world!

What motivated the Father to adopt us as His own sons even before the earth came into existence?
The kind intention (eudokia from eu = good, well + dokeo = think <> literally "good pleasure". The delight which God has in blessing His children is found in the fact that what He does for them is dictated by what is good for them) of His will (Comment: Note that Paul says it was "according to" His kind intention. It was proportionate to His kind intention. It was in conformity with His kind intention.)

What is the result of sinners now being God's sons? How does the phrase "to the praise of the glory of His grace" relate to those who are predestined to adoption?
It brings praise to Him and gives a proper opinion (glory) of His grace.

The point is that God's purpose for predestining to adoption as sons is to result in praise of the glory of His grace. Predestining us to adoption is not just for us (which it is), but it is also and ultimately for Him, for from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

What is the practical application of this truth? What should our lives do to others around us?
When we walk worthy of the calling to which we have been called, others can see God's glory and His grace. And this should in turn cause them (and us) to praise God just as Paul did in these passages.

(See related study on letting your light shine before men so that they see your good works and glorify your Father Who is in heaven - notes Matthew 5:14; Matthew 5:15; Matthew 5:16)

What is a "short definition" of grace from this verse?
That which the Father freely bestows on His sons and daughters who are in the Beloved (Christ Jesus).

How much of this grace did we deserve?
None. It is freely bestowed independent of our merit or our works.

Acts 4:27-28

Acts 4:27-28 "For truly in this city there were gathered together against Thy holy servant Jesus, Whom Thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever Thy hand and Thy purpose predestined (KJV = "determined before") to occur."

What does this verse teach about the trial and crucifixion of Jesus? Was it an "accident", something that should never have occurred?
God's hand (authority) and His purpose predetermined that it would occur. (Comment: This indicates that Christ's mission, especially His death and resurrection, was not ultimately the result of human will but originated in the eternal counsel of God which decreed the event determining all its primary and secondary causes, instruments, agents, and contingencies.)

Acts 2:22-23

Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know--23 this Man, delivered up by the predetermined (horizo = marked out by a limit) plan (that which has been purposed and planned) and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.

Although this verse does not use the same verb "predestine", what is the truth that parallels that in Acts 4:27-28?
God knew crucifixion would occur.  Jesus Christ was delivered to death because God planned and ordained it

Romans 8:28-29

Ro 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren

Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, 1:8 which He lavished upon us. In all wisdom and insight

What does Paul emphasize is the source of the next  "spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" and what is it?
In Him - Redemption

How did He accomplish redemption for us?
Through His blood

1PETER 1:18-19

1 Peter 1:18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

What does Peter explain about Jesus' blood?
We were redeemed not with worldly wealth like silver and gold which perish

We were redeemed from our futile (empty, vain, worthless) way of life (inherited from our forefathers - from whom we received "Adam's virus" = see note Romans 5:12)

We were redeemed with Christ's precious (costly, of great value, indescribable worth) blood which was like a sacrificial lamb's blood in the Old Testament, such animals having to be unblemished (without blame) and spotless in order to be acceptable sacrifices.

From the preceding verses (context) in chapter 1 of First Peter we can see that this amazing truth about the preciousness of our redemption is given to motivate us to diligently pursue personal holiness.

Peter had just written that "as obedient children" we should not continually "be conformed to the former lusts (that governed us prior to salvation)...but like the Holy One Who called us" we are to "be holy" in all our behavior (see notes 1 Peter 1:13; 1:14;1:15; 1:16) adding that "if you address as Father the One who impartially judges according to each man's work, conduct yourselves in fear during the time of your stay upon earth knowing that you were not redeemed (lutroo) with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life (Christ saved us from a life of emptiness) inherited from your forefathers, but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ." (see notes 1 Peter 1:17, 1:18; 1:19) So Peter exhorts us to live holy lives motivated by a reverential awe (fear) of the fact that we will be impartially judged and also motivated by the costliness of the redemption price, the blood of Christ.

What is the meaning of redemption?
Redemption (see word study on apolutrosis) means to pay a price to set a person free and was used to describe the payment made to free prisoners of war or to liberate slaves from their masters. Before redemption we were held captive by Satan (our "father", cf John 8:44) to do his will and were enslaved to our old sin nature inherited from Adam. In Christ we have been ransomed by His blood (1Cor 6:20; Rev 5:9), are no longer under the curse of the law (Gal 3:13; 4:5) and have been released from the bondage of sin into the freedom of grace.

Illustration of Redemption: A missionary in West Africa was trying to convey the meaning of the word redeem in the Bambara language. So he asked his African assistant to express it in his native tongue. "We say," the assistant replied, "that God took our heads out." "But how does that explain redemption?" the perplexed missionary asked. The man told him that many years ago some of his ancestors had been captured by slave-traders, chained together, and driven to the seacoast. Each of the prisoners had a heavy iron collar around his neck. As the slaves passed through a village, a chief might notice a friend of his among the captives and offer to pay the slave-traders in gold, ivory, silver, or brass. The prisoner would be redeemed by the payment. His head then would be taken out of his iron collar. What an unusual and graphic illustration of the word redeem! Let Him take your head out of the enslaving collar of sin and set you free.

Redeemed–how I love to proclaim it!
Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed through His infinite mercy–
His child, and forever I am. – Fanny Crosby
(play hymn)

Christ was lifted up on the horrible Cross
That we might be lifted out of our deadly sin.

What is redemption closely associated with in  Ephesians 1:7 and in Colossians 1:14?
Forgiveness (see word study on aphesis from apo = from + hiemi = send) pictures sending away from and in Greek secular writings was a technical legal term for repaying a debt or canceling a debt.

This act of sending away of our trespasses and sins brings to mind the Old Testament ritual carried out once each year on the Day of Atonement when the high priest sent the scapegoat into the wilderness (read about it in Leviticus 16). The high priest would first kill one of the two goats and sprinkle its blood before God on the mercy seat in the Holy of holies (where the glory of the Lord dwelt and where only he could enter and then only on this one special day each year). The high priest would confess Israel’s sins over the live goat, and would have this goat taken into the wilderness to be lost. What a wonderful picture of God's incomparable, unmerited forgiveness of all of our trespasses and sins! Christ, the Lamb of God, was also the "Scapegoat", Who died to carry away our sins, so that they might never again be seen! Hallelujah! (see this same principle beautifully pictured in Ps 103:12; Mic 7:18 19).

COLOSSIANS 1:13-14

Colossians 1:13 For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

How does Paul explain redemption of Christ in Colossians 1:13; 1:14?
Deliverance and transfer

It involved a deliverance or rescue from the "right and the might" of darkness, from the power of Satan and our Sin nature, neither of which now have the right to force believers to do their evil will. As a way of life the evil one cannot grasp a believer in a way that exerts a modifying influence on his life. Redemption made possible this transfer from one kingdom (governed by Satan, the flesh and the world system) into the Kingdom of light ruled by Christ. In the ancient world the Greek word "transfer" was used to describe the displacement of a conquered people to another land.  Antiochus the Great "transferred" at least 2,000 Jews from Babylonia to Colossae (so the Colossians surely grasped the import of this liberating truth). The kingdom is not just future (it is that) but is also a present, practical reality for Paul explains that "the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." (not the externals but the eternals are to be given priority in Christ's Kingdom!) (see note Romans 14:17)

Ephesians 1:7; 1:8 What else does Paul explain about our costly redemption? What makes it possible?
According to the riches of His grace

The meaning of the little phrase "according to" is important to grasp. It does not mean a portion out of but a proportion of God's riches of grace. How rich is God in grace? Infinitely rich, right? So he provides for redemption and forgiveness not by giving a portion but a proportion!  Let's illustrate. If I am a billionaire and I give you ten dollars, I have given you out of my riches; but if I give you a million dollars, I have given to you according to my riches. The first is a portion while the second is a proportion. "

How did God provide His grace to believers?
He lavished it on us

The Greek verb for lavished (perisseuo from perissos = abundant) means our Father caused His grace  to superabound to undeserving sinners in superabundance! That's amazing grace! It's an oversized grace and more than enough to save and keep us saved for time and eternity. The same verb is used by Paul in his famous statement "where sin increased, grace abounded all the more" (see note Romans 5:20)

ROMANS 3:24

Romans 3:24  being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus

Romans 3:24 What else did redemption achieve  for believers?
Justification as a gift by His grace
Reminds us that redemption is in Christ Jesus

To justify (see word study on dikaioo) is a legal term borrowed from the courtroom in which the judge renders a legally binding verdict of "not guilty". The defendant is "acquitted".  In salvation dikaioo describes the legal act whereby God declares the believing sinner to be righteous or in right standing before Him on the basis of the payment of the price of redemption, the blood of Christ. Justification is not doled out piecemeal over a period of time through priests or ritual-observance. It is not subject to recall so that you have to get it over and over again. Justification is once for all time and is the believer's permanent state before God. Just as you may not be tried for the same crime again after being acquitted, God's justification means you will never be tried or condemned by Him again for your sins--past, present, or future! This is good news indeed beloved of the Father! Be careful to observe that justification is not an act of God that makes us righteous but is an act of God that declares us righteous.

ROMANS 8:23

Romans 8:23  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit (in other words, the first fruits is the presence of the indwelling Spirit), even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly  (see word study on apekdechomai  = pictures awaiting the return of Jesus with a sense of great expectation and anticipation - used 3 times in Romans 8! Romans 8:19, 8:25) for the redemption (apolutrosis) of our body

What does Paul teach about redemption in Romans 8:23?
Redemption has a future aspect = glorification of our bodies, when Jesus returns and resurrects all believers changing them in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Yes, believers have redemption through His blood as our present possession but we eagerly await the final culmination of this redemption.

Every believer has the first fruit (The first portion of the harvest was regarded both as a first installment and as a pledge of the final delivery of the greater harvest!) which is the indwelling Holy Spirit (compare to the Spirit as our "pledge" - see note Ephesians 1:14)

When we as believers experience the Holy Spirit enabling or empowering us to turn from darkness to light, from iniquity to obedience, love, worship, and service to the most High God, we have a foretaste of the future completed and perfected renewal He will work in us at the resurrection. Every time we see Him working His righteousness in and through us, we yearn all the more to be freed of our remaining sin and spiritual weakness. Because of our divinely-bestowed sensitivity to sin, we ourselves groan within ourselves over the dreadful curse of sin that is still manifested by our remaining humanness, and the many times we stumble in our thoughts, words or deeds. But glory to God, this condition won't last for long!

When was the price of redemption paid?
On the Cross - Jesus declared "It is finished" (John 19:30) which is the Greek verb "Tetelestai" which translated means "Paid in Full!"

When someone had a debt in ancient times and it was paid off, they would write "Tetelestai" on that certificate which means 'Paid in Full', the exact words Jesus declared in His moment of ultimate triumph over Satan and Sin! Tetelestai was used by various people in everyday life in those days. Receipts for taxes found in the the secular Greek writings have written across them this single Greek word "Tetelestai"! (A good document to have when the auditor comes!)  When a Roman citizen was convicted of a crime, the law of that day slammed him in prison, prepared a "Certificate of Debt" that listed all the crimes he was convicted of on it and nailed the certificate to his cell door for all to see. It remained nailed there so all would be assured that he served his full sentence, and "paid in full" the penalty for his crimes. When Jesus, dying for us on that awful Cross, announced His great victory cry with the Greek word "Tetelestai", it would have resonated with many watching this spectacle for it was a very familiar phrase. Tetelestai was the same word that the authorities stamped across the Certificate of Debt after a criminal had completed his prison term. It literally meant that he had "Paid in Full" for all his crimes. Then the criminal was given the certificate which he could produce to show that his debts and obligations had been "paid in full." He could never be a victim of "double jeopardy" or paying for the same crime twice.

In a similar way, when an artist completed a picture or a writer finished his manuscript, he might say “It is finished!” The death of Jesus on the Cross “completes the picture” (cf the truth in Ephesians 1:9; 1:10 - notes) that God had been painting since before the foundation of the world, the story that He had written from all eternity. It had been predestined, predetermined in the mind and heart of the Father. Because of the Cross, now we can look back and begin to understand all of the Old Testament rituals and ceremonies which pointed to this one day in time and eternity when the price of redemption for lost, helpless, hopeless and enslaved mankind was "Paid in Full"! Glory to God! Hallelujah!

Ephesians 1:9-10