GOD'S LAVISH OUTPOURING TO US: GRACE
by Tim Thomas
October 15, 2005
Ephesian 1:7-10
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Amplified Bible
7In Him we have redemption (deliverance and salvation) through His blood, the remission (forgiveness) of our offenses (shortcomings and trespasses), in accordance with the riches and the generosity of His gracious favor,
8Which He lavished upon us in every kind of wisdom and understanding (practical insight and prudence),
9Making known to us the mystery (secret) of His will (of His plan, of His purpose). [And it is this:] In accordance with His good pleasure (His merciful intention) which He had previously purposed and set forth in[3] Him,
10[He planned] for the maturity of the times and the climax of the ages to unify all things and head them up and consummate them in Christ, [both] things in heaven and things on the earth.
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3Some commentators interpret "in Him" to mean "in Himself," while others see it as "in Christ."
New International Version
7In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment -- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
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These verses continue the theme of grace from verse 6. It begins in verse 7 with one aspect of grace which God bestowed on us: our redemption. Redemption means that our freedom has been purchased and the price paid -- the price being the very blood of Christ, which was no small price! God's great sacrifice for us indicates not only His love for us but how valuable we are to Him. From whom or what was our freedom purchased? Elsewhere we are told that we were held captive by Satan. He held us captive as a result of our sins. Our redemption frees us from the bondage of Satan, and covers over the penalty for our sins. We are forgiven and set free!
Verse 8 says that God's grace was lavished on us. That means that God extravagantly poured it out upon us! We have not received a little bit of it, we have received a boatload!
The phrase "with all wisdom and understanding" is a little confusing here, because it can be interpreted as God having and using the wisdom in pouring out the grace, or it can be understood to mean that God has granted to us all wisdom and understanding. I prefer the latter understanding, because it seems to tie in better to verse 9, which talks about God making the mystery of his will known to us. It seems to me that the way you make a mystery know is to grant to others wisdom and understanding to figure out the mystery.
What is this mystery to which Paul refers? I believe that in context what this is saying is that God purposed from the very beginning to bring about a right standing with Him that comes through faith in the finished work of Jesus, rather than an earned righteousness based on doing good things and avoiding doing bad things. Who would have dreamed that this would be what God's plan was from the beginning? It is simply amazing, and is what distinguished Christianity from all of the religions of the world. Yet in Romans Paul argues that this is exactly what Abraham anticipated, in that he was declared righteous before circumcision or the Law was established.
God's magnificent plan was put into effect when the times reached their fulfillment, according to verse 10. This time began when Jesus came into the world, and we are still living in those times today. One of the results of Jesus's work is that He is bringing together all things under one head. This seems to be referring to uniting Jews and Gentiles, by providing one way of salvation, through faith in Jesus. Previously, the Jewish people had the Law and could relate to God through that, but the Gentiles were excluded. But now all can find a relationship to God through faith in Christ!
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