ATTRIBUTES—-
REDEEMER
WHO IS GOD? REDEEMER
“Once you were dead . . . ” is some of the best news I have ever heard. Sound strange? Let me explain.
When I first read that phrase in Ephesians 2:1, it was hard to take in, but it resonated with what I felt was true. I knew that before I met Jesus, my sin made me feel good for the moment, but it left me aching inside—like I was dying.
Then I read the rest of this passage, and the next sentence that came alive to me was “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that . . . he gave us life” (Ephesians 2:4-5). God doesn’t leave us dead in our sins. He has made a way for us to be redeemed—or, to put it another way, remade.
These words about God’s character changed my life. God took my sinful, dead being, and in return, He gave me a new spirit, a new mind, and a new hope for a sinless body (2 Corinthians 5). God is a redeemer of spiritually dead people. This changed my whole worldview. Let it change yours, too.
WHO AM I? REDEEMABLE
We are dead people without God. Sin has its ugly grip on how we think, how we talk, how we act, and how we ultimately view ourselves and God. Sin corrupts us.
At the same time, we are not without hope. This is entirely because God has chosen to act in a miraculous way. Picture an artist who takes material that once had value but has become rusty, worn down, and in need of complete repair and turns it into a stunning work of art. That’s what God is like with us. He sees our value even though we are dead and broken.
If we accept His grace over our lives by believing in His Son, Jesus, as our Redeemer, a miracle happens: He makes us alive again! Ephesians 2:8-9 declares, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”
Belief in God redeems us and restores us to our intended value. God desires to remake us and display His grace in us as His masterpieces. No one is too far gone to believe in Him and be redeemed as part of His great work of grace.
WHAT DO I DO? ALLOW GOD TO MAKE YOU NEW
Being made new starts with allowing God to tell you who you are. The truth can hurt, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good for us. It can be hard for us (and our egos) to hear that we are dead spiritually when we feel very alive physically. But accepting God’s definition of our spiritual state opens up the door for us to receive the other half of the Good News: that God takes dead people and makes them alive. He doesn’t stop there, either. He continues to make us into what He intended when He first designed us—His masterpieces—so that we can display His redeeming work and power in a world that desperately needs examples of the way to change. No boasting here; He is the Redeemer, and we are His redeemed and cherished masterpieces.