Forgiveness According to the Riches of His Grace
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Listen to the "Verse by Verse" episode covering this scripture.
The word redemption means “‘buy back’ or ‘ransom.’ In ancient times, one could buy back a person who was sold into slavery. In the same way, Christ through His death bought us from our slavery to sin” (NKJV Study Bible, note on Ephesians 1:7). (Read more about this in our article “What Does Redemption Mean in the Bible?”)
The incredible love Jesus showed in being willing to pay our death penalty for us is described with the Greek word charis—grace.
“The Greek word for grace is probably equivalent to the Hebrew word chesed meaning ‘lovingkindness,’ a word frequently used by the psalmists to describe God’s character. In the [New Testament], the word charis usually signifies divine favor or goodwill, but it also means ‘that which gives joy’ and ‘that which is a free gift’” (NKJV Study Bible, Word Study: Grace, p. 1737).
Another way to express the meaning of God’s grace is that it refers to God’s great love in action toward us. Grace describes all of God’s wonderful free gifts, from forgiveness of sins to the gift of eternal life.
For more about forgiveness and grace, see “What Is Grace?”
