Not only has Christ become righteousness to us from God, and not only has He become sanctification to us from God, but He has become redemption to us from God. The meaning of redemption is to buy back or to free by paying a ransom. There are three things which are indispensable in any act of redemption. The first is the person redeemed, the second is the redeemer, and the third is the price of redemption. All the redeemed ones were formerly sold under sin (Rom. 7:14); they were the slaves of sin. Now the Lord Jesus has paid the price of the blood (Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1 Tim. 2:6) and has redeemed us out of the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13). This shows us that the Lord is our Redeemer.
But we have to go on one step further. The Lord Jesus is not only our Redeemer, but also our redemption. If the Lord Jesus is only our Redeemer, He is still separated from the redeemed ones, in spite of the close relationship between the two—a relationship of grace, of saving our lives. The Lord Jesus has not only become our Redeemer but has become our redemption. This means that when we are redeemed, we are not only joined to a thing, but to a person. When we are redeemed, the Lord Jesus becomes one with us; the two become one. Our redemption is a person. When we have Him, we have redemption. Without Him we do not have redemption. If we want redemption, we need Him. Once we have Him, we have redemption because He is the redemption. Our redemption is not just a thing. Our redemption is a person who is joined to us.
Christ has become our redemption. Therefore, all those who have been washed by the blood can come boldly to God. While God judges the sinners, He can righteously pass over all those who are under the blood of the Lamb (Exo. 12:12-13; Rom. 3:25-26). All the redeemed ones have experienced a full redemption. In God's eyes, all He sees is Christ. It is as if He does not see any person; all He sees is Christ. Christ is the slain Lamb; His blood removes man's sin-record before God. When a man comes to God through Christ, God will no longer condemn him, because Christ has satisfied God's righteous requirement on man's behalf. He has borne sin's punishment on man's behalf. Once a man has Christ, he has redemption. When God sees Christ, He sees redemption.