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Leaving LaodiceaThe Survival Manual for the Coming Underground Church Author: Steve McCranie
Have you ever felt like your spiritual life is lukewarm and lacking? If so, this podcast is for you. In Leaving Laodicea, we will explore truths that will allow us to embrace the Higher Christian Life or experience the "abundant life" (John 10:10) as Jesus called it. You'll find practical tips and tools on how to live a more victorious life in Christ. Leaving Laodicea is a podcast by Steve McCranie for those who are dissatisfied with the lukewarmness of their own spiritual lives and desire to grow spiritually by walking through Scripture with fresh eyes and discovering new insights into God's Word. So what do we do? We change, we commit, we refocus, we refuse to allow yesterday's failures to define our relationship with Christ today. So join us as we strive for the Higher Christian Life while we learn how to Leave Laodicea behind. Language: en Genres: Christianity, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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598 - The Gospel in One Verse, Actually One Word
Episode 598
Saturday, 13 July, 2024
The Trinity… Right Before Our EyesIn Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins,according to the riches of His grace.Ephesians 1:7Critics often point out that the word “Trinity” isn’t found in the Bible, and they’re right. But the truth of the Trinity is revealed throughout both the Old and New Testaments, and we can see it clearly in the first 14 verses of Ephesians. Consider the following:In the original Greek, Ephesians 1:3-14 is actually one long, complex sentence consisting of 202 words. In our English translations, this single Greek sentence is broken up into several sentences for better readability and understanding. And depending on the translation, it’s divided into anywhere from 3 to 7 sentences. When taken as a whole, these verses paint for us an incredible picture of the totality of God, in which each Person of the Godhead is active in our salvation.For example, the work of God the Father is primarily described in verses 3 through 6, where He planned our salvation even before time began. In Ephesians 1:7-10, we see the work of the Son who achieves salvation for us by His redemptive death on the cross, or “through His blood” (Eph. 1:7). And the final few verses, Ephesians 1:11-14, highlight the role the Holy Spirit plays in applying salvation to our lives. It couldn’t be more clear. But it was all “in Him” or “in Christ” that we were granted redemption and the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is the One responsible for all of this.Note: I have already discussed the “in Him” or “in Christ” aspect of this verse in an earlier post. So, let me encourage you to go back and look again at that to gain a deeper understanding of Jesus’ impact on all aspects of our Christian life, not just our salvation.And then, we move on to the incredible word, redemption.RedemptionRedemption is an essential core theme of Christianity. In fact, this one verse, Ephesians 1:7, summarizes the entire gospel, where it says, “In Him (Jesus, the Son) we have redemption (how) through His blood, (described as) the forgiveness of sins, (on what basis) according to the riches of His grace.” If John 3:16 is the first and most important verse kids learn in Vacation Bible School, then Ephesians 1:7 runs a close second.But how important is the idea of redemption to Christianity? It’s indispensable.B.B. Warfield (1851-1921), a prominent American theologian and professor at Princeton Theologica, emphasized the significance of Christ’s role as Redeemer when he said:“There is no one of the titles of Christ which is more precious to Christian hearts than ‘Redeemer.’ Whenever we pronounce it, the cross is placarded before our eyes and our hearts are filled with loving remembrance not only that Christ has given us salvation, but that He paid a mighty price for it.”That’s right. When we think of Christ as our Redeemer, we always picture Him as the Christ of the cross, whose blood provided for our redemption.Understanding RedemptionBut what exactly does “redemption” mean? In his book “Systematic Theology,” Wayne Grudem defines redemption as “Christ’s saving work viewed as an act of ‘buying back’ sinners out of their bondage to sin and to Satan through the payment of a ransom.” Okay, that makes sense. But is there more?The New Testament primarily uses two Greek words for redemption (and their derivatives). The first is agorazō and comes from the noun meaning marketplace, or agora. It means “to buy” or “to buy in a marketplace.” This word emphasizes the price Jesus paid for our salvation. In essence, He purchased or bought us back in the...
