FRIDAY May 17th
1 Corinthians 1:30–31
‘And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”’
The final word in these verses reminds us that Jesus has become from God our redemption. Oftentimes, theologians seem to argue or discuss the order of events in our being saved, but to me the wonder is that we can be saved and have been saved as we have come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul brings us to the point of reminding us that it is Christ Jesus who is our redemption.
In Ephesians 1:7, we read ‘In him we have redemption through his blood’. This automatically nullifies the means of redemption as being from any other person or through any other means. I say, and you if you have come to faith can say ‘Christ Jesus is my redemption’, or ‘I am only saved because of what Christ has done for me’. And to any who may read this devotion who have not come to a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, you cannot and will not be redeemed until you have come to Jesus. He alone is our redemption or means of redemption from God.
I am reminded again of the words of the hymn I mentioned a few devotions ago, ‘Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, redeemed by his infinite mercy, his child and forever I am. Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, redeemed, redeemed, his child and forever I am.’
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6:20 ‘for you were bought with a price’, we have been redeemed, purchased at a cost, the cost was the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This means that redemption is not only about being set free from the sin that entrapped us and had we remained in it would have condemned us, but it also means that we now belong to Jesus. He has purchased us to be his own possession through the shedding of his precious blood. I quote Ephesians 1:13-14 from the NIV ‘And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.’ The ESV reads ‘In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, *to the praise of his glory.’ (with a footnote that says * until God redeems his possession)
To conclude these verses, because of the message of the cross, and our coming to see it and accept it as the power of God unto salvation, we have been born again, Christ Jesus who died and who rose again, has become to us from God, our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption. It is in him we live and move and have our being, he is all we need! The hymn that gripped me as a youngster still grips me today, and I will quote it in full.
Jesus Christ is made to me, all I need, all I need,
He alone is all my plea, He is all need.
Wisdom, righteousness and pow’r, holiness for evermore,
My redemption full and sure, He is all I need.
Jesus is my all in all, all I need, all I need
While He keeps, I cannot fall, He is all I need.
He redeemed me when He died, all in I need, all I need,
I with Him am crucified, He is all I need.
To my Saviour will I cleave, all I need, all I need
He will not His servant leave, He is all I need.
He’s the treasure of my soul, all I need, all I need
He has cleansed and made me whole, he is all I need.
Glory, glory to the Lamb, all I need, all I need,
By His Spirit sealed I am, he is all I need.
Oh, the precious blood of Christ, all I need, all I need,
It’s the perfect sacrifice, he is all I need.
Chas. P. Jones