6
REDEMPTION THROUGH HIS BLOOD
lf righteousness is essential to man's acceptance with God, it can only be ours because of the redemption that is
in Christ Jesus (Rom. 3:24). The false and misleading charge which we are meeting in this booklet is that by
insisting as we do, upon the importance of the prison epistles, we are in danger of neglecting the Fundamentals of
the Faith. We have already seen that the Inspiration of Scripture, Salvation by grace through faith, and Justification
through faith, are most fully stated in these epistles of the Mystery, and we now turn to the related fundamental
`Redemption by the blood of Christ'.
Apolutrosis, the Greek word translated redemption, is used specifically of the redeeming work of Christ five
times in the New Testament, of which number of occurrences two are found in the prison epistles, which is a very
large percentage indeed. Four other occurrences refer to the future, one of which occurs in Luke 21:28, one in
Romans 8:23, and two in Ephesians, namely in 1:14 and 4:30. Consequently there are more references
proportionately to redemption by the blood of Christ in the prison epistles than in any other section of the New
Testament.
Critics of Dispensational Truth speak as though we teach that the glorious doctrines of `spiritual' blessings and
`heavenly' places were independent of the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, but this is false. Let us put the
matter to the test, and commence reading Ephesians. We do not read more than six verses before we come to the
words:
`In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace;
wherein He hath abounded towards us' (1:7,8).
Here, be it observed, redemption is not left unexplained. It is definitely said to be `through His blood'. Next it is
declared to be `the forgiveness', or the setting free from sins. Thirdly, this redemption and this forgiveness, is
because of the abounding grace of God. This doctrine is repeated in Colossians 1:14, where the deliverance extends
to the authority of darkness and effects a translation into the Kingdom of the Son of God (Col. 1:13). The prison
epistles teach that the believer:
is `Redeemed' by the blood of Christ (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1: 14),
is `Made nigh' by the blood of Christ (Eph. 2:13),
has `Peace' by the blood of Christ (Col. 1:20).
Again we say, a close adherence to the prison epistles does not and cannot mean a neglect or disbelief in the
fundamentals of the faith. The charge that has been circulated is shown to be false, and can have but one origin,
even though they who circulate the report may think that they do God service.
CHRIST
THE CROSS OF
Closely allied with the redemption of Christ, is the doctrine of the cross. If it be true that `the cross is the
touchstone of the faith' then the prison epistles stand out prominently in their testimony to this vital truth. It may
come as a surprise to some to learn that the cross is never mentioned in Romans, except in the reference `the old
man is crucified with Him' (6:6). It therefore follows that they who hold to the teaching of the prison epistles must
emphasize the teaching of the cross, more than they who make Romans their standard! Paul's epistles fall into two
groups. Those written before Acts 28, and those written after. There are three epistles of each group that reveal the
doctrine of the cross; 1 Corinthians, Galatians, and Hebrews on the one side, and Ephesians, Philippians, and
Colossians on the other. The glorious truth associated with the cross of Christ in the prison epistles is as follows:
Reconciliation. The word used in Ephesians 2:16 is more complete than that found in the earlier epistles of Paul,
and speaks of `the two' who have been `created one new man' and as `one body' reconciled to God `by the cross'.
`Peace' is associated with this full reconciliation in Colossians 1:20 and such is its depth, it goes down to those
who were once `alienated and enemies ... by wicked works' (Col. 1:21).