Ephesians 1.7-10 (2)
Pray Psalm 119.145, 146.
I cry out with my whole heart;
Hear me, O LORD!
I will keep Your statutes.
I cry out to You;
Save me, and I will keep Your testimonies.
Sing Psalm 119.145, 146.
(Festal Song: Rise Up, O Men of God)
With my whole heart I cry; hear me, O LORD, I pray.
Your statutes I will not deny but keep them every day.
I cry to You, O LORD; save me, O LORD I pray:
Your testimonies and Your I keep and will obey.
Read Ephesians 1.1-10; meditate on verse 7, on the word “forgiveness”.
What does “forgiveness” suggest? What do you do when you “forgive” someone else? How do you experience someone “forgiving” you? How would you express “forgiveness” in other words?
Preparation
1. What does Paul equate with redemption?
2. How is this spiritual blessing available to us?
Meditation
One of the most important theological books of all church history was written by Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury (1022-1109). The book has the wonderful Latin title, Cur Deus Homo, that is, Why the God/Man or Why God Became Man.
The book is cast in a popular medieval form, as a dialog between a master—Anselm—and his student—Boso. Boso asks questions and Anselm answers by giving a certain amount of information then asking a question of his student. The conversation works to explain why God had to become a Man in Jesus Christ.
Well first, God didn’t have to become a Man; He chose to. So great is His love for us that coming among us as a man was the only way to achieve grounds for forgiving our sins. He chose to forgive our sins because, from the beginning, God wanted us to share in His glory and pleasure, and now sin had become an obstacle to that end. Sin created a mounting debt for each human being, a debt so great we could never pay it down with good works, since even our good works are tainted with sin. No, we need that debt to be forgiven. But God needs grounds for forgiveness because forgiveness involves justice and God’s justice and holiness must be satisfied before we can have fellowship with Him.
This is what Jesus accomplished. By fulfilling all the Law which we had broken and dying the death we deserved, Jesus cancelled our debt and opened the way through redemption to new life with God.
Anselm’s argument in Cur Deus Homo thus explains that God became a Man to pay a debt He did not owe to restore a debtor who could not pay. And because of this, we have forgiveness of our sins.
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.16
“If we say that we have no sin,
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar,
and His Word is not in us” (1 Jn. 1.8-10).
“Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O LORD my God,
and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You today
That Your eyes may be open…
That You may hear the prayer which Your servant makes…
And may You hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people…
when they pray…
Hear in heaven Your dwelling place; and
when You hear, forgive” (1 Kgs. 8.28-30).
“And forget not all His benefits:
Who forgives all your iniquities…” (Ps. 103.2, 3).
“…all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood,
through faith,
to demonstrate His righteousness,
because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,
to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness,
that He might be just and
the Justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3.23-26).
“And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors” (Matt. 6.12).
And the outcome? For the forgiven? And the forgiven forgivers?
Jesus, having obtained eternal redemption,
not through offering the blood of bulls and goats,
but through offering His own blood to wash us clean from our sins,
“Who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God,
to cleanse our conscience
“from dead works to serve the living God” (Heb. 9.12-14).
Forgiven to experience eternal life with God here and now and there and then.
Forgiven to serve the living God, purely and wholeheartedly, here and now.
And to perfectly serve, glorify, and praise Him completely, there and then.
Jesus paid a debt He did not owe
to bring forgiveness to debtors
who could never pay.
Jesus has made us alive together with Him, having forgiven all our trespasses (Col. 3.13).
“For Your Name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great” (Ps. 25.11).
Our sins are forgiven for His Name’s sake (1 Jn. 2.1).
Thank You.
Reflection
1. How often do you think we should thank God for the forgiveness of our sins?
2. How do you experience God’s forgiveness? Do you experience it every day?
3. Is there anyone who has sinned against you whom you need to forgive? Have you sinned against anyone, so that you need to seek forgiveness?
The reconciled and adopted believer, the pardoned sinner, gives all the praise of his salvation to his gracious Father. His love appointed this method of redemption, spared not his own Son, and brought believers to hear and embrace this salvation. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on Ephesians 1.3-8
Pray Psalm 119.147-152.
Give thanks to God for forgiving your sins. Every day. Ask Him to guard and keep you from sin today and to revive you that you may serve others with His grace.
Sing Psalm 119.147-152.
(Festal Song: Rise Up, O Men of God)
Before the dawn I rise; LORD, hear me when I cry.
I hope in Your unfailing Word and will until I die.
I seek You through the night to contemplate Your Word.
Bring my poor soul into the light; teach me Your Law, O LORD!
LORD, hear my plaintive voice, revive me by Your grace;
in justice let my soul rejoice before Your holy face.
Those who forsake Your Word draw near in wickedness;
yet You are near, O God my LORD! Your truth will save and bless!
Your Word has been from old, established by decree.
More precious than the finest gold, Your Word gives life to me!
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest this week: In our ReVision series on “The Kingdom Economy” we are looking at grace, which is the currency we use to make our way in the divine economy. In our Read Moore podcast this week, we continue our readings from the book, Such a Great Salvation. Our Crosfigell series on Brendan of Clonfert finds the saint preparing for his second voyage to visit The Promised Land of the Saints. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
And please prayerfully consider supporting The Fellowship of Ailbe with your prayers and gifts. You can contribute online, via PayPal or Anedot, or by sending a gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter.
