Redeemed

Ephesus serves as a major center of trade in the Roman Empire. It is a hub for the slave trade. Some of the early believers who gather in house churches are slaves—legally considered property, owned by someone else. In this world, to redeem means purchasing someone out of slavery, claiming them as one’s own. Paul speaks to both slaves and masters in the Ephesian church and reminds them of a greater truth: regardless of their social status, all believers have been redeemed by Jesus’s blood. Christ paid the full price for their sin and released them from slavery to sin. Even if some remain physically enslaved, they are spiritually free.