Redemption… Forgiveness. Colossians 1:14. This prayer includes worship, thanksgiving, and remembrance. Paul summarizes in one brief statement all that God, in His grace, has provided: Christ has rescued us from Satan's power, transferred us into His kingdom, offered redemption, and granted true forgiveness. Every part of this great salvation highlights the Lord Jesus Christ as the One who has the preeminence. The statement reflects His personal glory and reads like a hymn of praise and worship. He is supreme in the Gospel. He is preeminent in redemption and everything that flows from that great work. In our prayers of intercession, it is helpful to be specific about the current need, the expected outcome, and the blessings that follow.
Redemption is paying a price or ransom to free someone from slavery. Those who are freed are liberated from bondage to sin through forgiveness by the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, which purifies us from all sin. Redemption takes effect the moment a person accepts the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. That does not happen until a person, aware of their sin, recognizes they are the guilty one whose sins have condemned them to a lost eternity. When that person repents of their sins to God, faith in Christ as the One who paid the price for sin with His life becomes real for them personally. God can legally forgive the sinner and accept them as a person “in Christ,” God’s Beloved Son.
By God’s grace, we have been forgiven, redeemed, transferred into His kingdom, and delivered from the power of darkness. God empowers us to do His will by giving us wisdom, worth, fruitfulness, knowledge, strength, patience even in suffering, joyfulness, and holiness. These are the things Paul prayed for the saints at Colosse to experience. The cost that no mortal can reach has been paid! The highest price has paid our debt in full. Who can imagine spotless, innocent blood being shed so that a sinful man would not be lost? The sacrifice Jesus made to free us, who were bound by sin in life and destined for hell, is so far beyond mere human understanding that there is no comparison. But God reveals in the holy scriptures the reason and method by which redemption can be achieved so that God's righteousness can be satisfied.
Over the years, God has clearly stated that death is the penalty for sin and that there is no other acceptable way to receive forgiveness. However, there was One who was willing and able to meet the demands of a righteous God, so the Father sent His only unique Son to earth, born in a stable and living among humans. On His cross, He fully paid the price for our sins!
Forgiven! That word has a special ring. Forgiven! By God's grace, from everything Forgiven! At a cost beyond my ken Forgiven! Impossible by mortal men Forgiven! Not by works or authority Forgiven! By One who by faith's eye I see Forgiven! Not stained by human hands Forgiven! By the only unique God-Man Forgiven! Not just in pity, overlooked Forgiven! When the punishment for sin, He took Forgiven! By the only One who has that power Forgiven! From faith's beginning hour Forgiven! There is no other price to be paid Forgiven! By the precious blood that He shed