In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. Ephesians 1:7-10
The good folks at biblegateway.com give us verse 7 to work with today, but Paul’s run-on sentence is just too darn good to break up.
I will focus on the word “trespasses.” The Greek word is παράπτωμα (paraptoma) which means our faults, transgressions, and offenses. The root word comes from the concept of falling away or trespassing, which should sound familiar as the Hebrew word for sin means to stray from the path or miss the mark. But who have we offended, transgressed against, or fallen off the path with?
When Jesus is asked what the most important commandment is, he answers with love God and neighbor (see Matthew 22:32-40, Mark 12:28-34, Luke 10:25-28). So, we can assume that our trespasses are perpetrated against God and neighbor.
Finally, if you don’t know what those trespasses are, there are plenty of lists about our thoughts and deeds that lead us off the path. In reality, there are more we commit on a daily basis than are even able to recognize or comprehend (think self-worship, lust, and gossip just name a few 😈). But through the riches of God’s grace through the cross, these wounds toward God and others can be healed.
Now that’s Something to Think About!
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