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We find the word "ransom" applied to Christ here.
Matt 20:28 "Even as the Son of Man came not be be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
1 Peter 1:18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
What is a ransom? It is the release of property or a person in return for payment of a demanded price. So, how does this apply to Jesus' death on the cross; and beyond that to those he ransoms?
First we need to know what this ransom is paying for, and second, why it is necessary for Jesus to do this. It will bring into play some other terms that we will deal with in more detail in later posts. Or this might be a good time to ask any questions one may have about them.
Peter tells us in the above quote that we are ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers. Let's look at another passage in Eph 2:1-3 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience---among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
I should point out here, that the epistles (letters) were being written to Christians. They already were believers, the letters were sometimes written to specific churches or persons, and were sometimes circular letters passed from church to church. So the above passages are telling of the condition of all mankind, including themselves, before they came to faith in Christ. He goes on to tell them and us, that God changed this in the believer bringing them from one place to another, radically different place. He describes the first condition as being dead, and the second as being brought to life. (4-7) But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved---and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
So the ransom that Jesus paid is what makes the above possible. But why does a ransom need to be paid? What is the debt that we owe that we are unable to pay?
Sin, of course is the answer. We know that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins. But why is it called a debt and what about the cross is satisfying that debt?
The reason our sin is described as a debt goes back to the creation of mankind who was made in the image and likeness of God. As such we have the implicit command to conduct ourselves accordingly in all we do, think, and say. We are his representatives on earth. Through the fall of Adam, and the gaining of the knowledge of evil as well as the good, we lost all ability to do that. And yet we still owe God that responsibility of obedience to his ways.
One of the attributes of God is that he is perfectly, righteously, just. Sin has brought a curse that his justice demands be fulfilled against sin. It is this justice that Christ meets for us in the ransom. Death and the wrath of God, that we surely face unless someone satisfies that justice in our place.
2 Cor 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us---for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"---
1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When Jesus gave his body as a ransom for us, he was substituting himself for us. And in paying that ransom, and substituting himself in our place, he made atonement for our sins.
To say that he made atonement is to say he satisfied all the demands of a holy and just God that were against us as believers. That debt is paid in full and cannot be counted against us again. Instead, the perfect righteousness of Jesus is counted as ours through our union with him in faith. As such, we now pursue righteousness, as we learn from his word what it is, because he is our King and our Lord. We are said then to be justified, which is a legal term stating our full acquittal---not because of our own righteousness but in Christ and his righteousness. Jesus, through this work on the cross, fully reconciles (makes peace with) us and God.
By the ransom, substitution, and atonement of Jesus, he moves us from one residence (spiritually speaking) to another, as though reaching into a dungeon, breaking chains, and pulling a captive to freedom.
Col 1:9-14 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually asked God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Matt 20:28 "Even as the Son of Man came not be be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
1 Peter 1:18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.
What is a ransom? It is the release of property or a person in return for payment of a demanded price. So, how does this apply to Jesus' death on the cross; and beyond that to those he ransoms?
First we need to know what this ransom is paying for, and second, why it is necessary for Jesus to do this. It will bring into play some other terms that we will deal with in more detail in later posts. Or this might be a good time to ask any questions one may have about them.
Peter tells us in the above quote that we are ransomed from the futile ways inherited from our forefathers. Let's look at another passage in Eph 2:1-3 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the Spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience---among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
I should point out here, that the epistles (letters) were being written to Christians. They already were believers, the letters were sometimes written to specific churches or persons, and were sometimes circular letters passed from church to church. So the above passages are telling of the condition of all mankind, including themselves, before they came to faith in Christ. He goes on to tell them and us, that God changed this in the believer bringing them from one place to another, radically different place. He describes the first condition as being dead, and the second as being brought to life. (4-7) But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved---and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
So the ransom that Jesus paid is what makes the above possible. But why does a ransom need to be paid? What is the debt that we owe that we are unable to pay?
Sin, of course is the answer. We know that Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins. But why is it called a debt and what about the cross is satisfying that debt?
The reason our sin is described as a debt goes back to the creation of mankind who was made in the image and likeness of God. As such we have the implicit command to conduct ourselves accordingly in all we do, think, and say. We are his representatives on earth. Through the fall of Adam, and the gaining of the knowledge of evil as well as the good, we lost all ability to do that. And yet we still owe God that responsibility of obedience to his ways.
One of the attributes of God is that he is perfectly, righteously, just. Sin has brought a curse that his justice demands be fulfilled against sin. It is this justice that Christ meets for us in the ransom. Death and the wrath of God, that we surely face unless someone satisfies that justice in our place.
2 Cor 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us---for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree"---
1 Peter 2:24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit,
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When Jesus gave his body as a ransom for us, he was substituting himself for us. And in paying that ransom, and substituting himself in our place, he made atonement for our sins.
To say that he made atonement is to say he satisfied all the demands of a holy and just God that were against us as believers. That debt is paid in full and cannot be counted against us again. Instead, the perfect righteousness of Jesus is counted as ours through our union with him in faith. As such, we now pursue righteousness, as we learn from his word what it is, because he is our King and our Lord. We are said then to be justified, which is a legal term stating our full acquittal---not because of our own righteousness but in Christ and his righteousness. Jesus, through this work on the cross, fully reconciles (makes peace with) us and God.
By the ransom, substitution, and atonement of Jesus, he moves us from one residence (spiritually speaking) to another, as though reaching into a dungeon, breaking chains, and pulling a captive to freedom.
Col 1:9-14 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually asked God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
