Lexicon

G0629 - apolytrosis

Strong's: G0629 · BLB lookup Pronunciation: ap-ol-oo'-tro-sis Part of speech: feminine noun Root: apo- (from / away from) + lytrōsis (a release / ransoming), the related verbal noun from lytron (ransom-price). The apo- intensifier yields "release-from" / "deliverance-out-of." NT occurrences: 10 (Luke 21:28; Romans 3:24; 8:23; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7, 14; 4:30; Colossians 1:14; Hebrews 9:15; 11:35)

Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG / TDNT)

1. Release effected by payment of ransom, the basic etymology
2. Redemption, the theological term, release from sin / curse / wrath through Christ's ransom-payment
3. Deliverance, broader: liberation from bondage / oppression
4. Eschatological redemption, the future bodily-cosmic redemption at Christ's return

The KJV: "redemption" (10x), uniformly.

Theological force, Christ's ransom-deliverance

Apolytrōsis is one of the load-bearing Pauline / Hebrews atonement words. Three theological dimensions:

1. Past, accomplished redemption

Christ's death is the ransom-payment (lytron, Mark 10:45) that effects apolytrōsis (the deliverance / release):

• Romans 3:24, "being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption (apolytrōseōs) which is in Christ Jesus"
• Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14, "in Him we have redemption (apolytrōsin) through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses"
• Hebrews 9:15, Christ as mediator of a new covenant, "having taken place for the redemption (apolytrōsin) of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant"
• 1 Corinthians 1:30, Christ "became to us… redemption (apolytrōsis)"

The redemption is accomplished, past-tense, in Christ's death. It is not merely offered; it is achieved. The Reformed doctrine of limited atonement / definite atonement / particular redemption engages these texts: Christ actually secured apolytrōsis for His people, not merely made it possible.

2. Present, applied redemption

Believers presently have redemption (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14):

• Forgiveness of sins, Ephesians 1:7 explicates apolytrōsis as "the forgiveness of our trespasses"
• Sealing by the Spirit, Ephesians 1:13-14; the Spirit Himself is the down-payment / earnest (arrabōn) until apolytrōseōs tēs peripoiēseōs, "the redemption of God's possession", a future-realized phrase
• Sanctification, 1 Corinthians 1:30; Christ as our redemption alongside our wisdom, righteousness, and sanctification

3. Future, eschatological redemption

A subset of NT apolytrōsis uses points forward to bodily / cosmic eschatological deliverance:

• Luke 21:28, "lift up your heads, because your redemption (apolytrōsis) is drawing near", at Christ's parousia
• Romans 8:23, "we ourselves… groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption (apolytrōsin) of our body"
• Ephesians 1:14, the Spirit as down-payment until apolytrōseōs tēs peripoiēseōs, the redemption of God's purchased possession
• Ephesians 4:30, sealed by the Spirit "for the day of redemption (apolytrōseōs)"

The eschatological dimension: bodily resurrection, glorification, and the cosmic renewal of all things (Romans 8:19-22). Apolytrōsis is therefore an already-and-not-yet category, accomplished in Christ's death, applied in present-believer experience, completed at Christ's return.

Redemption from what?, the OT-NT trajectory

The OT background of apolytrōsis is the padah / gaal tradition:

• Padah (H6299), to ransom / redeem (often by payment); used of Israel's exodus from Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:8; 9:26)
• Gaal (H1350), to redeem (often by kinship / kinsman-redeemer); used of property, persons, and Israel (Leviticus 25:25-49; Ruth 4:1-12; Job 19:25; Isaiah 41:14, 43:1)

The exodus is the great paradigm: God redeems Israel out of Egyptian bondage. The apolytrōsis is deliverance from:

• Sin (Romans 3:24; Ephesians 1:7), the primary NT focus
• The curse of the Law (Galatians 3:13, exēgorasen; cognate / parallel concept)
• Death and corruption (Romans 8:23; eschatological bodily redemption)
• Satan's kingdom (Colossians 1:13-14, "rescued us from the domain of darkness… in whom we have redemption")
• The wrath of God (1 Thessalonians 1:10; through Christ's propitiation, see G2434 - hilasmos)

Apolytrōsis and the four atonement-words cluster

Apolytrōsis is part of the NT atonement-vocabulary cluster (cf. G3083 - lytron):

The vocabulary cluster forms the systematic NT atonement theology: Christ's lytron / antilytron (price paid) at the hilastērion (mercy-seat) effects hilasmos (propitiation) and apolytrōsis (redemption).

Patristic / scholarly note

Patristic engagement with apolytrōsis primarily through atonement-theology debates. Origen (Commentary on Matthew; Commentary on Romans) develops the ransom-to-Satan atonement model partly from these texts (Christ's blood as ransom paid to the devil for sinners' release). Gregory of Nyssa (Catechetical Oration 22-26) extends the ransom-to-Satan reading. Anselm of Canterbury (Cur Deus Homo, c. AD 1098) decisively shifts the model to satisfaction, Christ's death satisfies divine honor / justice, not Satan. The Reformation: penal substitution (Calvin Institutes II.16-17), Christ bears the penalty of sin in the sinner's place; apolytrōsis is the legal-forensic deliverance from the wage of sin (death).

Modern conservative: Leon Morris (The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross, 1955); D. A. Carson; J. I. Packer; Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey, Andrew Sach (Pierced for Our Transgressions, 2007), all defend penal-substitutionary apolytrōsis.

Notable verses

Christ as / accomplishing apolytrōsis

• Romans 3:24, justified through the apolytrōsis in Christ Jesus
• 1 Corinthians 1:30, Christ became to us apolytrōsis
• Ephesians 1:7, apolytrōsis through His blood
• Colossians 1:14, in whom we have apolytrōsis, the forgiveness of sins
• Hebrews 9:15, Christ mediator for apolytrōsis of OT-covenant transgressions

Eschatological apolytrōsis

• Luke 21:28, apolytrōsis draws near at Christ's coming
• Romans 8:23, apolytrōsis of the body
• Ephesians 1:14, apolytrōsis of the purchased possession
• Ephesians 4:30, sealed for the day of apolytrōsis

Hebrews 11:35

• Hebrews 11:35, martyrs refusing apolytrōsin in this life to gain a "better resurrection", the only NT negative use; deliverance refused for the sake of greater eschatological reward

See also

• G3083 - lytron, the ransom-price
• G2434 - hilasmos, propitiation
• G2435 - hilasterion, the mercy-seat / place of propitiation
• Romans 5.8, atonement narrative
• Romans 6.23, wages of sin / gift of God

Notes

Lexical workspace for apolytrōsis.