Ephesians 2:2-3 – …in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Luke 4:18 – The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed…
Slaves need freedom. To be set free from slavery, a redeemer is needed, which is a mega-theme of Scripture. The big idea is that all people are held captive by someone or something, unable to free themselves. Unless a redeemer steps in, they are helpless and powerless.
The word redemption and its derivatives (e.g., redeemer, redeem) appear roughly 150 times in the English Bible. The prototype for redemption is the Exodus story, where God by divine power delivered people from slavery to worship Him freely.
Eternal life does not begin the day we die. Eternal life begins the day we meet Jesus. When Jesus redeems us, we get a new ruler who loves us and blesses us so that we experience the fullness of life. Captives of the demonic realm need to be set free by Jesus. Jesus began His public ministry promising, “He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives…to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
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