Paragraph 1:7–10
Paul continued to speak of the blessings that we have through Christ. God has redeemed us and revealed to us his plan to unite all things under the control of Christ.
1:7a
In Him: The pronoun Him refers to Christ. The phrase means “through Christ” or “by means of Christ” all these blessings come to us. (Compare 1:7a with Colossians 1:14 where Paul used the same expression.)
redemption: The word redemption means “to free a slave or a prisoner by paying a ransom.” Here Paul used this word in a figurative sense. It refers to our freedom from sin.
In many languages, it will be clearer to translate the noun redemption as a verb, for example:
God redeemed us
-or-
God freed us ⌊from the guilt and penalty of our sins⌋
See redeem in the Glossary for more information.
through His blood: The phrase through His blood refers to the death of Jesus. That is the reason the Good News Translation has translated it:
by the death of Christ (Good News Translation)
If you decide to keep the word blood here in your translation, you may need to complete the idea by saying:
by shedding his blood ⌊when he died⌋
-or-
the blood which he shed/bled ⌊when he died⌋
Notice that the Display meaning lines combine the phrase “in him” and the phrase “through his blood” as some English versions do (Good News Translation, God’s Word).
1:7b
the forgiveness of our trespasses: In this context the phrase the forgiveness of our trespasses means “that God chooses not to punish a person for the evil things that he has done and thought.” God cancels his guilt and treats him as though he had never offended God.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
release from sins
-or-
the taking away of sins
-or-
canceling sins/guilt
In some languages it may be necessary to translate the noun forgiveness with a verb. For example:
pardon sins
-or-
cancel sins
-or-
treat us as if we had not sinned
See forgive in the Glossary for more information.
To say that “God redeemed us (1:7a)” and that “he forgave our sins (1:7b)” are two ways to say almost the same thing. For example:
…we are set free, that is, our sins are forgiven. (Good News Translation)
1:7c
according to: The phrase according to introduces the reason why God redeemed us (1:7a) and forgave us (1:7b). He redeemed us and forgave us according to or because of his grace.
the riches of His grace: Paul used the word riches in a figurative sense to mean “abundant” or “great.” (Paul also used riches in a figurative sense in 1:18, 2:4, 2:7 and 3:16.) The word grace means “God is kind or generous to people even when they do not deserve it.” So the phrase the riches of His grace refers to the abundance of God’s grace/kindness.
Some other ways to translate the riches of His grace are:
• as an exclamation. For example:
How rich is God’s grace! (New Century Version)
-or-
God is so gracious and kind!
• as a rhetorical question. For example:
Isn’t God’s grace great?
See how you translated “grace” in 1:6a. See grace, Meaning 2 in the Glossary for more information.
General Comment on 1:7
In some languages, it may be more natural to reorder the parts of 1:7. One way to do this is:
7c God’s grace/kindness is very great. 7a ⌊That is why⌋ he redeemed us through Christ’s blood 7b ⌊and⌋ forgave our sins.
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