Section 1111
First, I shall consider the character of Christ as a Redeemer
What it supposes; how he came to sustain it; and how qualified he is for it.
1. It supposes persons to be redeemed; the Redeemer and the Redeemed are correlates, they mutually imply, and have a respect to each other. It will not be unnecessary to inquire, who these persons are; these are not all the individuals of human nature, which have been, are, or shall be on the earth; for if these are all redeemed by Christ, they are redeemed by him either in whole or in part; if in part only, then Christ is a partial, or an imperfect Redeemer, which must reflect dishonor upon him; if they are wholly redeemed, then they are redeemed from all sin, and the consequences of it, and in the issue shall be eternally saved; which cannot be said of all mankind. Besides, if so, those who are redeemed could not be said to be redeemed from among men, or, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation, (Revelation 14:4, 5:9, Titus 2:14) or to be a peculiar people. Those whom Christ has redeemed are such as the Father has chosen in him, and has given to him to be his people and portion; electing and redeeming grace being exactly commensurate to each other: Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, who hath visited and redeemed his people. (Luke 1:68) But my design is not to enter into this controversy now.
2. It supposes those persons redeemed to have been in a state of bondage and slavery, as they are by nature to sin; they are the servants of it, vassals to it, shut up in it, are overcome by it, and in bondage under it; for while they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage. (2 Peter 2:19) They are also under the law shut up in it, imprisoned by it, in bondage to it; they are under it as an accusing, convincing, and condemning law, and as considered in themselves exposed to the curses of it: They are likewise taken and led captive by Satan at his will, who is therefore called by the name of captivity; (Psalm 68:18) and as he by his suggestions and temptations fetters them the more strongly in their lusts, so by his terrifying them with the fears of death, they are sometimes a considerable while subject to bondage.
3. It implies a deliverance from all this; redemption obtained by Christ, from which he is denominated a redeemer, is a deliverance from sin, from all sin, and all the wretched consequences of i t; he gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity. (Titus 2:14) It is owing to redemption by Christ that his people are in time delivered from the dominion of sin, to which they were subject, are secured forever from the damning power of it, and shall hereafter be entirely freed from the very being of it. It is also a deliverance from the law; it is not an exemption from obedience to it, as a rule of walk and conversation, but from the curse and condemnation of it as a covenant of works; (Galatians 3:13) Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. It is likewise a deliverance from Satan; by virtue of it, the prey is taken from the mighty, and the lawful captive is delivered; the strong man armed is spoiled of his goods, sinners are delivered from the power of darkness, are turned from the power of Satan to God, and this because Christ has ransomed them from the hand of him that was stronger than they. (Jeremiah 31:11) In a word, Christ has ransomed his people from the power of the grave, redeemed them from death, and has saved them from their enemies, and from the hand of all that hated them.
4. This redemption which gives Christ the character of a redeemer, is obtained either by power or by price. There is a redemption by power; thus God redeemed the people of Israel out of Egypt, with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments; and in this way Christ has redeemed his people from Satan and other enemies; for by the strength of his arm he has destroyed him who had the power of death, which is the devil; and by the greatness of his might has spoiled principalities and powers, and rescued his people from the devouring jaws of death and destruction. There is also a redemption by price; Ye are not your own, ye are bought with a price; (1 Corinthians 6:19, 20, 1 Peter 1:18, 19) which price is not corruptible things, as silver and gold, but the precious blood of Christ. This is the ἀιτίλυτρος, “the ransom, the redemption price, ” which is a sufficient one, it being the blood of an innocent person the spotless lamb of God, and the same blood with ours, and shed in our room and stead; and betides all this, the blood of the Son of God, and therefore must have an infinite virtue and efficacy in it: This price was paid, not into the hands of Satan, by whom we were detained captives, but into the hands of God, the sovereign proprietor of us, against whom we have sinned, and whose justice must be satisfied. Christ has redeemed us to God by his blood. (Revelation 5:9)
5. If it should be asked, how came Christ to be the Redeemer of his people? It may be answered, that his Father called him to it, and appointed him this work in the counsel of peace, when he said to him, Is it a light thing, that thou shouldst be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. (Isaiah 49:6) Christ agreed to all this, and a covenant was entered into by them both, which for its original, substance, and end, is commonly called the covenant of grace, and from this principal article of it, the covenant of redemption; in consequence of which Christ was sent in the fullness of time to redeem them that were under the law; (Galatians 4:4) and by his blood he has procured it, and is of God made unto us that, as well as other blessings of grace.
6. Christ was sufficiently qualified for this work. As God, the Lord of hosts, he is a mighty Redeemer, able to save to the uttermost, and has a fullness of abilities answerable to the undertaking. As man, he has a right unto it, being the Goel, the near kinsman of his people, which is the sense of the words[5296] in my text, to whom, according to the law, the right of redemption belonged. As God-man and Mediator he was fit for it, having a proper regard to both parties, and a just and strict concern for things pertaining to God, and to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. The redemption which Christ has effected is a complete and an eternal one, and is what could never have been procured by any other person, or in any other way. The excellency of this redemption, and the author of it, cannot be sufficiently expressed by us: There is one peculiar epithet given him in my text, which I am now naturally led to consider, which is,