"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth." (Rev. 5: 9-10).

                                       "Redeemed-- how I love to proclaim it! Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!
                                        Redeemed through His infinite mercy, His child, and forever, I am."

        This song by Fanny J. Crosby sings within, and how we praise God for the inworkings of His grace, and the tremendous redemption process.
        The word "redeemed" used in our text scripture comes from the Greek word "agorazo," meaning-- to buy, to acquire out of the forum. It speaks of a transaction of securing for oneself having paid the price to secure it.
         Peter writes, "Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9).
        The word "peculiar" used here, from the Greek "peripoiesis" and literally means: "for acquisition" or "purchased." We are a purchased people!"
        And this Paul also writes, "For ye are bought with a price." (1 Cor. 6:20).
        It is clearly stated, "Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold-- but with the precious blood of Christ." (1 Peter 1:18-19).
        Herein we would tread softly, and pray the Spirit to quicken His truth to us. Redeeming, the process of buying, the price paid, the ransom made-- all of this is using a natural situation to portray a spiritual truth. It was not a limited transaction of securing the freedom of some individual, but "Christ Jesus, gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1 Timothy 2:6). We begin to see inklings of this as an expanded working when God brought Israel out of Egypt. "Thou in thy mercy has led forth the people which Thou hast redeemed." (Exodus 15:13). A whole nation was set free as the strong arm of the Lord was revealed in this outworking. "Art Thou not He which hath dried the sea, the waters of the great deep; that hath made the depths of the sea a way for the ransomed to pass over. Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head." (Isaiah 51:10-11). Isaiah 35:10, reads that "The ransomed of the Lord shall return." Be it the ransomed, or the redeemed, the overall meaning is the same. But just consider this for a moment-- when we speak of a "ransom" today, we think in terms of giving a sum of money, or whatever consideration is required, to the one who did the kidnapping so that they will release, set free, the one taken captive. But when God ransomed Israel from Egypt, He did not give Pharaoh a dime for the release of Israel. Rather, just the opposite, we find that Israel actually gathered of the Egyptians "jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment...  and they spoiled the Egyptians." (Exodus 12: 35-36). Now, what kind of a ransom is this?
        God said, "I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour. I gave Egypt for thy ransom." (Isaiah 43:3). Rather than Israel giving Egypt a ransom, God worked it out so that Egypt paid Israel. This reversal of the process of paying a ransom is an awesome handiwork of God. It cost Egypt an enormous amount-- not only taking their silver and gold, but He also required of them their firstborn. "The Lord slew all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man, and the firstborn of beast." (Exodus 13:15). Egypt paid dearly for Israel to be set free. It certainly was a revelation of the way God worked-- so different from the earth realm. (Editor's note: God purposed before the foundation of time the ransom to be paid for the reconciliation of all mankind, His first born, Jesus the Christed or Anointed One).
        Later Israel was taught of an even higher ransom that was made-- which was typified with the sacrifice of the lamb, and the life-blood that was poured out, and pointed to the Christ who was yet to come, and who was the Lamb to be slain. It was His life, given to us captives, that we might be free.
        Now we come to an even more awe-inspiring, wonderful working of God. We see the transition going from the lamb slain, to Christ being that Lamb for us. But nowhere in the Scriptures do you find any ransom paid to the world or to the devil. It matters not who the adversary was, God did not give satan anything as He ransomed His people. And just as Israel spoiled the Egyptians, so also Jesus Christ "spoiled principalities and powers..." (Col. 2:15). He "entered into a strong man's house, and spoiled his goods." (Matthew 12:29). But what happened to the "goods?" They now belong to the Redeemer-- and He freely shares with His people. The uniqueness of how God can take the negatives and turn them into positives blends with the truth that HE does work all things together into our good, and for His praise. He causes the rain to fall on the just and the unjust-- and "I have seen the travail, which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it." (Eccl. 3:10). All creation groans, but much of what they endure is for the sake of the called-out who are being processed by these things. God's primary work in these days is to bring forth the first fruits, to have a people for His name, and then "After this I will return, and will build again..." (Acts 15:16). Thus it becomes "every man in his own order." But regardless of the "times" involved in all of this tremendous plan of the ages, the end is secure in Christ. "And He is the propitiation (mercy seat) for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." (1 John 2:2).
        He poured out His life for US-- to cleanse us, to save us. And just as Israel was given all the goods needed for their trip to the promised land-- Egypt paid for their way home-- so also we are strengthened and enriched, so as to be able to "press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 3:14). He sets us free, and then imparts all that is needed so that we might return home into Him. His POURED-OUT-LIFE is given to us, that we might have deliverance from all that snared us in the world. The ransom is given to us-- we are redeemed, set free, blessed with His abundant grace.
        "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Cor. 6:2). How precious is His love and mercy to us. He sought us out, imparted His graces to us, and with the enablement of His life we rise up to walk in newness of life. Then we note that having been bought, we now belong to Him. "Ye are bought with a price; be ye not the servants of men." (1 Cor. 7:23). Once Israel was freed from Egyptian tyranny they no longer were slaves to Egypt, no longer had to make bricks, etc. And now that we belong to Christ, we no longer have to serve the lusts of our flesh, nor the passions of man, but we give ourselves unto Him, to serve Him as He enables us. We focus upon Him, His will be done!  And we are to glorify Him in our body, and in our spirit, for they are His.
        Now we note the word "glorify." The Greek word is "doxazo." Doxa comes from the root "dokeo," to think. To glorify God requires a RENEWED MIND, to think as He thinks. "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8-9). How can we glorify God if all our thoughts keep Him limited to the ways and thinking of man? "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." (Romans 8:7).
        Carnal-minded, literally, minding the flesh. Certainly a recitation of carnal creed, a confession of fear and doubt, a negative rehearsal of gloom and despair, these things do not glorify our God. No wonder the Psalmist prayed, and day by day we find it our prayer also, "Let the words of my  mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my Strength, and my Redeemer." (Psalm 19:14).
        " Whoso offereth praise glorifeth Me; and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God." (Psalm 50: 23).
        Redeemed to glorify God, "in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."  Whatever our physical expression is, it is to glorify God. May we THINK HIS THOUGHTS so as we express them they bring honor and glory to Him. Likewise, in your spirit, let the mind of Christ flow out of our spirit, to exalt and magnify Him-- centered in, and focused upon our mighty Redeemer.
 Paul spoke of those "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: --(these) work all uncleanness with greediness. BUT YE HAVE NOT SO LEARNED CHRIST; if so be that ye have heard of Him, and HAVE BEEN TAUGHT BY HIM, as the truth is in Jesus. - And be renewed in the
spirit of your mind." (Eph. 4:18-21, 23). When we are taught by Him we learn that which glorifies Him. It is a working of the holy Spirit, and He instructs, disciplines, reveals, and imparts His wisdom and knowledge.
        "He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. - TEACHING US that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world." (Titus 2:14, 12). Only the pure can teach purity. In His redemption process there is this teaching of the holy Spirit, that we should glorify Him both in body and in spirit. To live in such a manner as to deny all uncleanness, and to live righteously. Such holy Spirit TEACHING is essential-- vital for living in this present world, and it is a fundamental part of being redeemed from all iniquity.
        It is said of our Lord, "Though He were a son, yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered. And being made perfect, He became the Author of eternal salvation." (Hebrews 5:8-9).
        Two points stand out: "learned obedience," and "made perfect." We touch on being made perfect first. The Greek word is "teleioo" and means, to carry to completion. It implies no moral imperfection, but the need to consummate the human experience of suffering, even by His death on the cross, to come to the GOAL FIXED BY GOD, resulting in our eternal redemption.
        Learned obedience. Greek, "manthano," meaning: to understand. Thayer's Lexicon gives "to be in the habit of, accustomed to," thus-- TO EXPERIENCE ITS KNOWING.
        In his notes, Wuest gives-- "Omniscient God knew what obedience was, but He never experienced it until He became incarnate in human flesh. Before His incarnation, He owed obedience to no one. None greater to whom He could have rendered obedience. As SON, He learned experientially what obedience was." Ever and always He was totally yielded to His Father's will.
        He did not have to learn TO obey! He said, "I do always those things that please Him." (John 8:29). No need for discipline because of an inclination to disobey. But GROWTH IN EXPERIENCE was an essential part of His humanity. And it is a vital part of learning for us, as we are taught by His Spirit to follow in His steps.
        We read that "Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds." (Acts 7:22). Learned-- here we have a different Greek word, "paideuo," meaning: to educate, train up, discipline, instruct, teach. Moses learned-- whatever the Egyptian processes were, he had "been there, and done that." But he was learned in Egypt's wisdom, and
this did not qualify him to be a deliverer for Israel. So, off to the backside of the desert to be taught by Israel's God. Well did he learn to pray-- "If I have found grace in Thy sight, SHEW ME NOW THY WAY, that I may know Thee. - And he said, I beseech Thee, SHEW ME THY GLORY." (Exodus  33:13,18). What a reaching out to KNOW GOD, and his prayer was answered, for we read: "He made known His ways unto Moses." (Psalm 103: 7). What an  experience, "While My glory passeth by, I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with Mine hand, and thou shalt see My back parts: but My face shall not be seen." (Exodus 33:22-23). For sure, the glory of the afterglow was awesome enough, but there was/is afar greater revelation yet to come. Through the centuries, following Moses's experience, God would lead His people onward-- until we come near the end of the Book, and read: "His servants shall serve Him, and THEY SHALL SEE HIS FACE; and His name shall be in their foreheads." (Rev. 22:3-4). Tremendous Spirit quickenings are needed if we are to go from "My face shall not be seen," to "They shall see His face." But whatever the processings, the sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed.
        It is a progressive inworking. We have been bought by His blood, by the outpouring of His life. "Redeemed from the earth. -These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were redeemed from among men." (Revelation 14:3-4). With this redemption working IN US, then we need to KNOW-- be taught-- be disciplined-- and come to KNOW HIM in whom we find our new life. Taught who we are in Christ. Taught His will and way. The revelation is fully God-given, not concocted, by some carnal mind. You don't come into a revelation by self-works, but it comes in a quickening, a divine impartation, a burst of light, and then we learn it experientially in our daily walk. Revelation opens the door of learning, not to exempt us from learning, but to have the holy Spirit teach us what God means by this which He reveals, and then He changes us from glory to glory.
        The SOVEREIGNTY of God-- what a revelation, suddenly you see, know it is true, and then you go on to learn in so many daily happenings how and why it is truth. It is the Spirit's unfolding, teaching, and working it into us. If we try to gain knowledge by our own efforts, we end up with earthy wisdom. Paul bear record to this when he was on Mar's hill. He found that "the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing." (Acts 17:21). Greece was the place for natural wisdom. "For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom." But the Word also declares "the world by wisdom knew not God." (1 Cor. 1:21-22). He did not say that earth's wisdom was no good. It has its place. God doesn't destroy our earth-wisdom, it was made to function in the earth, not in the spiritual. Keep it where it belongs. And let Greece exhaust herself, she still "knew not God." They erected an altar "to the unknown God," and this was their minute first step of faith. They believed there was a reality, but they had not found it. "Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, Him declare I unto you." Paul had a spiritual revelation as to the character and nature of God-- and of the resurrection. They did not accept the first, (i. e. who God is), so were unable to accept the latter (i. e. what God does), and in their ignorance they mocked the resurrection. What they needed was an outpouring of the holy Spirit to teach them. Thank God that day is coming when "I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh." (Joel 2:28). And then we will have a glorious Teacher of righteousness rain.
        Well are we admonished, "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection..." (Hebrews 6:1). The principles, literally, the beginnings, the first steps. It was sad to say-- "Ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles." I dare say, first principles do not develop you into a saint. LEARN THEM and then GO ON. "And this will we do, if God permit." (Heb. 6:3). There are times when we stand by the gate, but it does not open to us. "IF GOD PERMIT" is a solemn thought. One cannot advance any farther or faster than what God allows and works in us by His Spirit. Indeed, "Walk about Zion, and go round about her: tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces; that ye may tell it to the generation following." (Psalm 48:12-130). Recite your ten major doctrines, if you must. Count your high towers of creed and dogma. They are lofty concepts, and we can rejoice in them, but for an inflow of LIFE that possesses the height of Zion, we need the Spirit's awesome anointing.
        Calvary isn't an end only, it is a BEGINNING of a new creation life. First steps lead to second steps-- going from faith to faith implies growth and learning. "The statutes and judgments which I speak in your ears this day, that ye may learn them, and keep them, and do them." (Deut. 5:1). You cannot do what you have not heard-- and you cannot hear what He has not said. But when we are loosed, set free from the religious realms around us, and being redeemed becomes a reality within, then the holy Spirit will lead us on, and teach us HIS WAY. To be blood bought and Spirit taught is a work within that goes beyond our ability to articulate it-- we just praise Him.
        "When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, THOU SHALT NOT LEARN TO DO AFTER THE ABOMINATIONS OF THOSE NATIONS." (Deut. 18:9). The instruction was there, do not learn after the ways of the heathen, but as the years slipped by they "Were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works. And they served their idols; which were a snare unto them." (Ps. 106:35-36). How desperately they needed the holy Spirit to teach them to deny such ungodliness. The priests, the teaching rabbi, could be a law unto them, and list for them all the no noes, but they lacked the SPIRIT- LIFE which would empower them to live out the path of godliness.
        How often would the prophets admonish them, "Learn not the way of the heathen." (Jer. 10:2). But the voices they heard, and the actions they saw, were a snare unto them, and they did learn from the heathen things which were an abomination before the Lord. And to this day it is more of the same. They learn the music of the ungodly, and bring it into their gatherings. They hear the new-age creed and accept it as their beliefs.
        Someone designs a new system of works, religious exercises, and men rally around to form a new organization, and establish a kingdom of their own. But it only produces more bondage, and they need a much deeper work of God within-- and they yet need to be redeemed, ransomed from the snare of the "fowler, and from the noisome pestilence." (Psalm 91:3).
        Thank God, "It is written in the prophets, And they shall all be taught of/from God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned, cometh unto Me." (John 6:45). LEARNED OF/FROM THE FATHER! This is more than just learning about the Father, but learning OF HIM-- for they are taught of/by God. What He teaches will both LOOSE them from the old, and bring them into the new. "When He the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth." (John 16:13).
        "The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him." (1 John 2:27).
        Redeemed to become one of His own-- this is but the beginning of the process. Then follows the teaching, discipline, child-training, while we steadily grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. The anointing, the SPIRIT OF THE FATHER, will instruct-- and what does He teach? "Ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." (1Thess. 4:9). For years we have talked about love, written on it, preached it, looked at its three-fold dimensions as it relates to spirit, soul, and body. Yet for all of our analyzing, dissecting, and pondering on love, there is no one that knows anything about true love except in the measure that God teaches us to love. Only He who is LOVE BY NATURE can teach us to love.
        When man teaches, he begins with rule upon rule, and precept upon precept, while all the laws keep multiplying, until we are snowed under with rules and regulations. But when GOD teaches us His love, He has covered all the ramifications of the law, and summed it up with one commandment-- the outliving of His own nature. How we desire to be truly taught of God! Yet it is essential that we also be redeemed-- for only in the measure that we are loosed from self, the flesh, the bondages of the carnal mind, etc, can we truly learn of Him, and then live out that blessed life, His love life!

                                       He shed His blood, He gave His life, to ransom my poor soul.
                                       And far beyond what words can tell-- His love shall make me whole.
                                       What He redeems none can destroy, His pow'r rules over all,
                                       For He is God, and God alone hath purposed Adam's fall.
                                       Purposed the fall, and then the plan that man He would restore.
                                       Wherever sin did once abound, His grace aboundeth more.

                                       So hear again what He hath said, "salvation full and free--
                                       For Adam's race, and all mankind," He now hath promised thee.
                                       Redemption wrought by sovereign grace pre-empts what man can do,
                                       And self must bow before His throne, as He makes all things new.

                                       The ransomed of the Lord return-- the Father calls them near,
                                       To clothe them with His righteousness, while love casts out all fear.
                                       His blood hath bought, His Spirit taught, anew creation man,
                                       We stand in awe to see the sight-- finished what He began.

                                       Our heart o'erflows with praise to Him, how perfect are His ways,
                                       Rise up, O child of God, and sing, new hope for troubled days.
                                       Redemption is the Father's work, His love shall never fail,
                                       Out of the dark and barren night-- the dawning will unveil. AMEN!
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(1)Prinzing, Ray and Doris "Letters of Truth"  Boise, Idaho 83705, P.O. Box 5822

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