BFF is now on Facebook! Please visit and join us in releasing God's powerful Word to our generation!
God's peace can help us live above anxieties as we learn to trust in Him!
The Bible Teaching Commentary on Genesis: The Book of Foundations
Commentaries that specialize on training the teacher!
Redemption Through The Scriptures: Gaining a clearer picture of Christ and His saving work
The Meaning of Redemption
Paul J. Bucknell
Theme of Redemption | Glorious | Meaning | Attempts | Necessity | Disobedience | Choices | NT Insights | Payment
Study Questions | Video | Audio | Handout: pdf | Powerpoint: pdf | ppt
The Survey will use two surveys of this whole redemptive plan, one biblical and one thematically, that will poignantly illustrate God’s careful development of His glorious plan.
The Meaning of Redemption
God’s plan is a redemptive plan because it deals with the restoration of man’s fellowship with God by the creation of an escape from death’s curse (Romans 5:2) and the rediscovery of the spiritual life; it is the only means by which man can be restored to God. A bargain needed to be made so that we could come out from under Satan’s authority.
The literal meaning
Redemption literally means to purchase or buy; it is an exchange or the gaining of a certain favor or object. Redemptive transactions are made at stores all the time where, in exchange for cash (i.e. price), we can take home an item of our choice.
In English we rarely use the word ‘redeem’. When I was young, I went around with an eye on the ground looking for discarded bottles. When I found some, I would redeem them. I brought the bottles to a store, where the owner would collect the bottles and give me money for them.
The meaning is similar in the New Testament. Thayer’s Greek Dictionary defines redemption as the “payment of a price to recover from the power of another, to ransom, buy off.” The second definition, similar to the first is “to buy up, to buy up for one's self, for one's use.”[4] With each definition, there was both the exchange and the transfer.
God the customer
God, like a customer, was willing to pay a certain price to gain what He desired. What is it that He wanted? What was he willing to sacrifice in order to transfer the ownership of men and women from under the power of the evil one? These are important questions to ask when considering the idea of redemption; more questions will need to be investigated, though, for a better understanding. Why is the purchase desired? Why does the purchase need to be sought?
This great transaction stands at the centerpiece of time because it is the heart of God’s magnificent eternal plan. This is why so many churches have big crosses standing near their church buildings and why many people wear a cross around their neck.
Part of this book, Redemption Through the Scriptures, is on the web (see below), but the completed book with all the other teaching materials including: the full study guide and available videos, audios, and powerpoints are included in the Discipleship 3rd level library along with other third level BFF publications. These resources enable you to not only grow in Christ, be like Christ but also to have Christ's plan lived out through your life! Or check out the book!
The power of the cross
The power of the cross is not in the symbol itself, but in what it represents. The power rests in the clarity of knowing the truths behind Christ’s death on the cross. The cross reminds us of the purchase that was needed to secure our salvation and elaborately illustrates God’s great love and purpose for us. Remember, though, no matter how central and critical this purchase was to the plan of God, it was not the end of the plan; it was a means to the fulfillment of it.
Next => Man’s Attempts to Gain Salvation
info@foundationsforfreedom.net
Scriptures typically quoted from the New American Standard Bible unless noted:
(C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1988