Christ is also our Redeemer. In Him we have redemption (Rom. 3:24). The word “redeem” means to purchase back something which originally was ours but which has become lost. Thus, redemption means to repossess at a cost.
Originally we belonged to God; we were His possession. However, we were lost. God was not willing to give us up. He paid the price to have us back, repossessing us at a great cost. This is redemption.
Even after we had become lost, God desired to regain us. This was not easy for Him to do because our being lost involved us in sins and many other negative things that were against His righteousness, holiness, and glory. Because we were lost, we had many problems with God in relation to His righteousness, holiness, and glory. Many requirements were laid upon us, and it was impossible for us to fulfill them, for the price was too great. Christ paid the price for us, repossessing us at a tremendous cost. The Lord Jesus died on the cross to accomplish eternal redemption for us (Gal. 3:13; 1 Pet. 2:24; 3:18; Heb. 10:12; 9:28). His blood has obtained eternal redemption for us (Heb. 9:12, 14; 1 Pet. 1:18-19).
As believers, we may enjoy Christ as our Redeemer. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In whom we have redemption through His blood.” The phrase “in whom” refers to “the Beloved” in Ephesians 1:6, indicating that we have been redeemed in the Beloved, in the One in whom God delights. Therefore, in the sight of God redemption is something to be delighted in. Although it is accurate to say that we are redeemed in Christ, this is not as delightful as saying that we are redeemed in the Beloved. In God’s delight, the Beloved, we have redemption. We have been redeemed through the blood of God’s Beloved shed for us on the cross, and now we may enjoy the Beloved as our Redeemer.
In the book of 1 Corinthians Paul compares the believers at Corinth, and himself as well, to the children of Israel. He takes the history of the children of Israel as the background for this Epistle. This gives us the ground to say that the history of the children of Israel is a full type of our Christian life in the church. In 1 Corinthians 5:7 Paul says, “Our Passover, Christ, has been sacrificed.” If Christ was Paul’s Passover, then He must be the Passover for every believer. What happened to the children of Israel as a type should be our experience today. They experienced the Passover; we also have a Passover, a Passover that is Christ Himself. Christ is not only the Lamb but also the entire Passover. To be our Passover, He was sacrificed on the cross for our redemption and reconciliation to God. Thus, we may enjoy Him as a feast before God.
A further revelation of Christ as our Passover is found in chapter six of the Gospel of John. A verse near the beginning of this chapter says, “The Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near” (v. 4). This indicates that the Passover was the background for what is recorded in John 6. With the Passover feast as the background, the Lord Jesus fed the multitude with five loaves and two fishes and then went on to speak concerning Himself as the bread of life and also of our need to eat His flesh and drink His blood (vv. 35, 51, 53-55, 57). The Passover in verse 4 signifies Christ as the redeeming Lamb of God who shed His blood for our redemption and gave His flesh for our feeding. At the Passover people slay the redeeming lamb, strike its blood, and eat its flesh (Exo. 12:3-11). This typifies Christ as the redeeming Lamb of God who was slain so that we may eat His flesh and drink His blood, thus taking Him in as the life supply for us to live by. In the Lamb of God there are two elements: the blood for redeeming and the meat, the flesh, for feeding. Today we may enjoy Christ in the way of redeeming and in the way of feeding as well. As the Lamb, the center of the feast of Passover, He is for our enjoyment. As we feed on Him, we take Him as our life supply.
We the believers were fallen sinners before God. God sent Christ to save us from our sins and from our fallen state. He was born to be our Savior (Luke 2:11), and His name was called Jesus, meaning Jehovah our Savior, for He shall save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). He also saves us from God’s condemnation, death, and eternal perdition (John 3:18; 5:24; 10:28). Furthermore, He also saves us in our daily life (Rom. 5:10), and He would save us to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25). We should experience and enjoy Him as such a Savior.
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