forgiveness – Ministry of Grace Church

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Ephesians 1:7 – Far, Far Away

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Will

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Truth to Learn

Our sin penalty is paid and our sins are sent-far, far away.

Behind the Words

The word “redemption” is from apolutrōsis. This compound word is made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and a form of the verb lutroō, meaning “to pay a ransom.” Apolutrōsis refers to the act of releasing captives from their captivity because of the payment of a ransom that has been paid for them.

“Forgiveness” is from aphesis, made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and hiēmi, meaning “to send.” Thus, aphesis refers to the sending away of sins from the sinner.

The word translated “sins” is paraptōma. This word is made up of para, meaning “to the side” and a form of piptō, meaning “to fall.” Therefore, paraptōma literally refers to “a falling by the wayside.” Some claim that this is an accidental sin as opposed to a deliberate sin (which they claim would be represented by the Greek word parabainō), but the consistent uses of these two words do not support such a claim. Paraptōma is always used to indicate deliberate acts of sin.

Meaning Explained

To begin with, in today’s verse we have to ask ourselves the question, “Who is being referred to by ‘Him’?” The answer is that it refers to “the Beloved One” from the previous verse; in other words, it refers to Jesus Christ.

As we pointed out in the previous verse, this opening passage of Ephesians portrays God the Father shining the spotlight on His grace. In the current verse Paul is explaining to us one of the characteristics of this grace. Because of the grace of God, we have redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ. Without God’s grace, we are captives of sin and, as Paul teaches in the book of Romans, we are in bondage to sin. We cannot free ourselves and we must obey our master (sin). However, by the grace of God, the blood of Christ (His death on the cross) is paid as the ransom to release us from the bondage of sin.

And, through the grace of God, our sins are forgiven. But what does it mean to have forgiveness? As we saw in “Behind the Words,” the Greek word is aphesis. Therefore, God does not simply “excuse” our sins, He sends them far away from us. Here’s how the psalmist expressed it:

He has not done to us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy over those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:10-12)

Also, the writer of Hebrews, in discussing the blood of Christ, says what God does with our sins because of His sacrifice:

"their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." (Hebrews 10:17)

Because of the blood of Christ and as a result of God’s grace, our sins have been completely removed from us. Not simply forgiven, but completely cast away and forgotten by God. And remember, this applies to ALL of our sins, past, present, and future.

Application

What a precious truth! Through God’s amazing grace He has chosen us, He has adopted us as His children, and He has cast our sins away from us and He no longer even remembers them. As a result, He sees us as sinless and righteous as His own Son, Jesus Christ!

In God's service, for His glory,

Ephesians 1:7 – Far, Far Away

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Will

Ephesians 1:7 – Far, Far Away

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

Truth to Learn

Our sin penalty is paid and our sins are thrown-away.

Behind the Words

“Forgiveness” is from aphesis, made up of apo, meaning “from” or “away from” and hiēmi, meaning “to send.” Thus, aphesis refers to the sending away of sins from the sinner.

Meaning Explained

To begin with, in today’s verse we have to ask ourselves the question, “Who is being referred to by ‘Him’?” The answer is that it refers to “the Beloved” from the previous verse; in other words, it refers to Jesus Christ.

And, through the grace of God our sins are forgiven. But what does it mean to have forgiveness? As we saw in “Behind the Words,” the Greek word is aphesis; that is, God does not simply “excuse” our sins, He sends them far away from us. Here’s how the psalmist expressed it:

He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. (Psalms 103:10-12)

Also, the writer of Hebrews, in discussing the blood of Christ, says what God does with our sins because of His sacrifice:

“their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 10:17)

Application

What a precious truth! Through God’s amazing grace He has chosen us, He has adopted us as His children, and He has cast our sins away from us so that He no longer even remembers them. As a result, He sees us as righteous as Christ!

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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1 Peter 4:8 – Demonstrate Fervent Love

Posted on February 16, 2009 by admin

1 Peter 4:8

And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”

Truth to Learn

Love means forgetting your own pain in order to help a brother or sister grow in grace.

Behind the Words

The expression “above all things” is translated from the Greek words pro pantōn. The word pro means “before.” It can refer to place, time, or importance. In this case, it refers to importance. The word pantōn means “all things.” Hence, Peter is literally saying “before all things,” that is, having more importance than all other things.

“Love” is translated from agapē, which in fact does mean “love.” But it is only one of several Greek words that are translated that way. The best way to describe this type of love is that it is the kind of love which is more concerned about the well being of the loved one than of self.

The word “fervent” is from the Greek word ektenēs, which literally means “stretched out.” As used here it means “continual or intense.”

The word translated “cover” is kaluptō, which means “to hide or cover.” The opposite of this is the Greek word apokaluptō, meaning “to uncover” or “to reveal” from which we get our English word apocalypse.

Meaning Explained

Since we know that our time is short, as stated in the previous verse, we need to be serious and dedicate ourselves to prayer. But, Peter tells us in this verse, of greater importance than even these things, we need to have fervent love for one another. Since Peter is writing this letter to Christians (1Peter 1:1, 2), it means that we are to love our fellow Christians with a self-sacrificing love, being more concerned for their well-being than our own. But it’s not just love, it’s “fervent love” that we are to have for one another.

Why are we commanded to have fervent love for each other? Peter says it’s because love covers (or hides) a multitude of sins. This is not to say that we are to ignore the sins of a brother or sister. It means that we are to love each other this way so that we will be gracious and forgiving of each other’s faults. We need to be more concerned about the well-being of our Christian brothers and sisters than our own selfish motives and feelings. If a brother of sister is living in sin, we have a responsibility to approach him or her in a loving (agapē) manner with his or her ultimate good in mind. It also means that when a brother or sister sins against us, we need to be more concerned for their spiritual well-being than our own bruised selfish pride. Again, it doesn’t mean that we ignore the offense; rather, it means that we approach the offender in a loving (agapē) way to let him or her know that they injured us, having already forgiven them and freed them of any blame.

Keep in mind that love is an action verb, not just a feeling. In light of what Peter just told us in the previous verse (“the end is near” and “be watchful in prayer”), we should consistently demonstrate fervent love to our Christian brothers and sisters.

Application

When we approach a Christian brother or sister who is living in sin or who has offended us, we need to do it while standing in their shoes. We need to confront them lovingly the way we would want someone to treat us if the tables were turned.

In God’s service, for His glory,

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

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