Thomas Emmanuel

Chapter 7
The Effect of Redemption 1: Status of the Believer

Thus far in our study we have seen that the work of Redemption is absolute necessity based on
the reality of God's purpose and man's contradiction to this purpose. This work of Redemption is
the only way to save humanity and all of creation as a whole(matter and angels)m, therefore it is
imperative for us to as well see what are the effects of Christ's accomplished work of
Redemption on man and all of creation.

Man comes into and receives Redemption and all its effect by our faith in the message. Romans
10:8-14. Paul explains here that a man who believes with his heart and confesses/affirms with his
mouth about the fact of Christ's death and resurrection for his Redemption is saved. He also
mentions that each man can only make this choice when the message is offered to him, therefore
the message must be preached abroad.

Redemption changed our status, we used to have a status under our former conversation under
sin and death’s reign and this was our reality before our faith in Christ but in Christ Jesus we
have been handed a new status, the scripture in its revelation as we have we earlier seen discloses
that Christ work in suffering the actual actual judgment of sin and death is the first phase in His
work of Redemption.This work of bearing of the judgment of sin is the basis upon which we are
now handed our new status as sin and death have no authority on us anymore. Romans 6:9-10.

The first of the status is the reality of our being forgiven and delivered of sin and sins as against
our former status of being under perpetual bondage under sin/death. Clearly our status as slaves
and men under bondage in sin is expounded in scripture as we have seen earlier. Romans 6:20.
The Lord himself expounded that conducts of sin define men under the bondage of sin. John
8:34, Romans 6:6-9,18,22. Christ's death and suffering set us free from the authority and
dominion of sin.

Christ's work fully paid the demand and judgment of sins and made us fully free, this is what
'forgiveness of sin’ means. The word 'forgiveness' translated mostly in new testament greek is the
word 'aphesis' and it come from another word 'aphiēmi' which also as its root in two other words
'apo' & 'hiemi', 'apo' is defined by strong's as a primary particle used to describe separation
while 'hiemi' is defined as to send, to let go, together both words would carry the implication of
sending something off, the word 'aphiēmi' would mean to seperate off, to put away, to remit, to
send off.

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Relative to our former status as men in bondage under sin we have been forgiven i.e. we have
been let loose from sin, we are now separated from the bondage and reign of sin and would never
again be under sin's or its power and dominion.

The scripture as well speaks of the reality of the forgiveness of our transgressions/offenses/
faults/sins. Romans 4:1-6, our conducts of sins are forgiven, they are covered, He does not and
can never see us again in our faults, we are seen from the standpoint of our conducts PAST,
PRESENT & FUTURE. All sins were all forgiven/set apart from humanity ones and for all,
Jesus has borne the judgment for all wrong done for everyone once and for all. Isaiah 53:4-5, 11.
He has borne the iniquities of many.

God has in His graciousness chosen to forgive all wrong done, not because humanity deserves it
but because that is God's character, He is just gracious. Micah 7:19, Ephesian 4:32.

It is important to emphasize that the sinful conduct of a believer who falls into sins is as well
forgiven in Christ's redemptive work, forgiveness of sins is not for some sins, it's not for past sins
alone, it is for all sins. 1 John 2:1-2.

The writer of Hebrews says God does not even keep our sins to His mind. Hebrews 10-16,17.

Paul further shows that God's graciousness in forgiveness is such that he doesn't charge our
wrong against us, He keeps no record of wrong done and this is the basis upon which He now
brings us back to himself, He reconciles us to Himself.

The second status of the believer today is that he is reconciled back to God, because we are
forgiven and set free; we are no longer enemies of God as we are no longer in sin. Romans
5:8-10. It is important to clarify that God was never in enmity with man, rather man's state under
sin turned him against God. We were the ones against God but he was the one yet seeking us out
to save us.

Christ has borne the judgment of sin and we are now free to come to God. We are no more
strangers, we can approach Him now and always. We are at peace with God. Romans 8:1. Seeing
God does not condemn us, nothing and no one should ever make us feel unworthy.Our
forgiveness has earned us an assurance to walk with God now and always. Romans 8:33-34.

The third status of the believer in Christ today is that he is blameless before God today and
always as against our former status of being made guilty under the law. The law through its
stipulation only made the state of the man under sin even more obvious as it constantly through

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its stipulations imputed judgment and declared any transgressor as guilty and worthy of the
consequence of such guilt. Romans 4:15, Gal3:19.

This made the situation such that a man under the dispensation of the law and under sin only
further abounded in sins. Romans 7:8-9,23. The law only brought more consciousness of sin and
never actually made any one just nor could it. Romans 3:20.

The more men under the law kept trying to fulfill the deeds of the law to be justified, the more
they saw how helpless they were as they stepped only deeper into conducts of sin as they were
not yet free from the bondage of sin and could not be free by their one effort. Romans 3:28, 3:20,
7:5.

Christ's suffering of death made it such that we are now free from the hold and demand of the
law. Never again to be found as transgressors of the law. Galatians 3:13. The demands of the law
are now fulfilled in us hence we cannot be found as transgressors of the law anymore. Romans
8:4, 10:4. The law and all its demands, practices ended with the reality of Christ whose
redemptive work the entire law was meant to foreshadow. We are therefore blameless before God
now and always. 1Corinthians1:8, 1Thessalonians5:23. It is God who makes and keeps us
blameless.

The fourth status we see is that we are now righteous as against our former status of being
unrighteous. We have previously seen that being righteous is never about any subjective conduct
of anyone but rather by God's objective predetermination, we saw that God gave us His life, all
that makes God righteous is not about any conduct necessarily, it is simply about His nature, it is
who He is. He is righteous and He alone defines righteousness. Therefore whoever He declares
righteous is the one truly righteous.

We saw that Paul explains in Galatians 3:19-20, that what makes a man righteous is God's life
that such a person receives. The scripture regards all that do not have the life of God as
unrighteous. Paul in 1 Cor 6:1-16 discusses the unbelievers (verse6) as unrighteous (verse1).
This is the tone of the scriptures, all unbelievers are unrighteous and all believers are righteous. It
is not about our conduct either moral or legal, it is simply about having God's life. God's
righteousness. Paul explains in 2 Corinthians 5:2, that righteousness is what we are made into. It
is not what we qualify for, it's simply a gift, God's gift of righteousness. Romans 5:17.

The resurrection of Christ brought about the new birth as we have seen earlier and thus as well
has its effects on us. The Spirit received at the resurrection as well changed our status.

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One of the status that changed upon our reception of the Spirit is our sanctification. We became
holy and sanctified men by the cleansing of the Spirit as against our former status as men
unclean. Ephesians 5:5.

We have been sanctified by the Spirit. The word sanctification used in the New Testament Greek
is the word 'hagiasmos' which comes from 'hagiaszo' which is from 'hagios' which means holy,
sacred based on what is done to it, such a thing is holy because it has been set apart amongst
others. It has been separated and consecrated unto uniqueness.

So we see that we are holy today not because of who we are but because of the Spirit in us. The
Spirit in us has made us clean, we are a holy nation. 1 Peter 2:9. We have been set apart in a
world full of unclean people due to their nature of sin and death. Our faith in Christ has made us
different, sacred, holy. So being holy is not primarily about conduct but who we are based on
God's working unto us. Hence we are called saints. Romans 1:7, 1Cor1:2. We who are sanctified
in Christ are the ones called saints. The Spirit is said to cleanse and wash us, this is the work of
sanctification. Titus 3:5.

Another status we see about the man in Christ is that he is no more damned to the condemnation
of eternal destruction, he is now eternally saved and secured. The scripture in the entirety of its
content does not shy off the reality of the assurance of our salvation, our salvation is discussed as
eternal and secure.

The Redemption that Christ wrought totally severs us from the possibility of ever suffering the
damnation of the lake of fire, it is totally impossible for one who has believed in the redemptive
work of Christ to perish. John 3:16, 8:51,52, 10:26-28. The death that the Lord spoke about here
is the eternal death at the end.

Christ's suffering of the judgment of sin and our identification in His death by our faith in the
message makes us partakers of His death. Colossians 1:3, 4.

If Christ has suffered this death, so have we, if Christ can never have to suffer this death
anymore, so would we never partake in the second death as well. Romans 6: 9-10. Rev20:6. No
believer can partake of the second death. Revelation 2:11, those of us who believe in the Gospel
of the son are those who have overcome and who the second death can never hurt. 1John5:4-5.

We are fully secured from death, even our faults cannot bring us into the condemnation of death
again, Christ has borne the worst of death and this is our assurance.

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The reality of the life of God we have now as well received is actually the eternal life of God by
His Spirit which eternally indwells us. For the believer to be damned he'd have to lose the eternal
life of God in him and also undo the suffering of Christ for all sins, all of which are impossible.
The life is in us forever. John 14:16. The reality of having the Spirit as well means we eternally
make up God's house. God dwells with us forever. Heb 10:17.

The last status of the believer is that he is now a child of God and an heirs of God's inheritance as
against our old status of being slaves to sin. The resurrection of Christ as we have earlier seen
brought about the birth of sons, wherein we are now found to be children of God. This is also
part of our new status. We are those brought forth by God. New creations. His workmanship
created in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:10.

This is our new identity in Christ. Men born of God and with the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:3-4.
Peter explains here that we have God's very nature. We are His children.

We would consider more on the reality of the Spirit's indwelling in the next chapter.