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Rowland Wheatley

Redemption through his blood

Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 9
Rowland Wheatley May, 10 2026 Video & Audio
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In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7)

*1/ Our need.
2/ In whom is this redemption and what is its cost?
3/ Who is the "we" who have redemption?*

**Sermon summary:**

The sermon centers on the profound necessity of redemption and forgiveness through Christ, rooted in the sovereign grace of God revealed in Ephesians 1:7.

It unfolds with a pastoral emphasis on the universal human condition—alienated from God by sin and under the just condemnation of the law—illustrated through biblical metaphors of captivity, the Passover, and the kinsman-redeemer in Ruth.

The message affirms that redemption is not achieved by human effort but is fully accomplished in Jesus Christ, who, as the eternal High Priest, entered heaven once for all by His own blood, securing eternal salvation and reconciliation with God.

The sermon underscores that this redemption is preached to all who hear the gospel, as the Holy Spirit works through the Word to awaken in conviction, faith, and repentance, making believers aware of their identity as those who have been chosen, adopted, and sealed by God's grace.

Ultimately, the preacher calls the congregation to rest in the finished work of Christ, trusting daily in His atoning blood, which provides both forgiveness and the assurance of eternal life, all according to the boundless riches of God's grace.

The sermon delivered by Rowland Wheatley focuses on the theological doctrine of redemption through the blood of Christ, as articulated in Ephesians 1:7 and Hebrews 9. Wheatley outlines three critical points: the universal need for redemption due to humanity's sinfulness, the identity of Christ as the Redeemer whose sacrificial death suffices for our salvation, and the nature of those who receive this redemption—the chosen believers in Christ. He emphasizes that redemption comes solely through Christ's atoning sacrifice, which secures forgiveness and reconciliation with God, contrasting human efforts with divine grace. The practical significance of this message lies in the call for believers to find assurance and rest in God's grace and the completeness of Christ's work, inviting them to live in the light of their new identity as forgiven and adopted children of God.

Key Quotes

“Our need for redemption stems from the alienation caused by sin, which no effort of our own can mend.”

“The cost of our redemption was borne by Christ, who, as our eternal High Priest, entered heaven with His own blood.”

“We are the 'we'—the chosen and adopted, those sealed with the Holy Spirit, assured of our salvation.”

“In resting daily in Christ's finished work, we embrace the boundless riches of God’s grace poured out upon us.”

What does the Bible say about redemption?

Redemption is the act of being set free from sin and condemnation through the payment of a price, specifically through the blood of Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians 1:7, the Apostle Paul states, 'In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace.' Redemption involves being set free from the captivity of sin and the condemnation of the law. This is analogous to the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt, where a price was necessary to secure their freedom. Ultimately, this freedom is made possible through the sacrificial death of Jesus, who paid the price for sin with His precious blood, providing believers with forgiveness and reconciliation with God.

Ephesians 1:7, Hebrews 9

Why is understanding our need for redemption important for Christians?

Recognizing our need for redemption helps us to seek God and understand the gravity of our sin, ultimately leading us to Christ who provides forgiveness.

Understanding our need for redemption is vital for Christians as it acknowledges the reality of our spiritual condition. According to the sermon, humanity is naturally blind to its need for salvation, often feeling no urgency for God due to earthly comforts. Yet, Scripture teaches that without redemption, we stand condemned under the law's requirements. Romans 5:12 states that sin entered the world through one man, Adam, leading to death for all humanity. Realizing this encourages us to seek God, find grace, and respond to the gospel's call to repentance and faith in Christ, who is our Savior and Redeemer.

Romans 5:12, Ephesians 1:7

How do we know that Jesus Christ's redemption is sufficient?

Jesus' redemption is sufficient because He offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice, paying the penalty for sin once for all.

The sufficiency of Jesus Christ's redemption is grounded in His unique nature as both fully God and fully man, allowing Him to meet the legal requirements of God's law. Hebrews 9:12 explains that Christ 'entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.' Unlike the sacrifices of the Old Testament that needed to be repeated, Christ’s sacrifice was complete and perfect, securing eternal redemption for His people. This means that His payment for sin is sufficient not just for past sins but for present and future sins as well, continually cleansing and redeeming those who come to Him in faith.

Hebrews 9:12, Ephesians 1:7

Sermon Transcript

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Seeking for the help of the Lord, I direct your prayer for attention to Paul's epistle to the Ephesians, chapter one, and reading for our text, verse seven. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 7. When we come to verses like this many times of our texts, there may be questions that go through our mind as to what actually is meant in the various parts of the text. Our text here What is redemption? Why do we need it? What is sin? And why do we need forgiveness? In whom is redemption? And what is its cost? And who are the we in this text, in whom we have redemption?

There's many questions that you could have, and we hope to be able to answer these as we go through this verse. It's good when we, like children, learn from questions. Our Lord, while on earth, had many come to him and asked him questions. And in answering them, He set forth the precious truth. He revealed Himself and made a blessing to them. And so, may the Lord help us this morning.

Firstly, I want to look at our need. Our need. And then secondly, in whom this redemption is and what it costs. In whom is this redemption and what is its cost? And then lastly, who is the we who have this redemption? But firstly, our need. While men, while we, have no sense of our need, We do not seek after the things of God. We are told that in these last times that men shall be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God. And men, especially in our area here, they have wealth. They have many of them. They have a home. They have food. They have everything.

Why do they need religion? They don't see a need, they don't feel the need. Why should they spend a day or even a few hours in the house of God? Why should they read the word of God? Why should they fashion their lives according to a book that they don't see any relevance to them in? Sometimes it is a helpful for us where the Lord has given us a felt need to view those about us with evidently no felt need.

They do have a need but they don't feel it. There's a great blessing to actually feel our need and with that need then there's actions. Many of us if we're blessed with health and strength We might hear about a local hospital. We might hear about all of the facilities it has. But we don't go there because we haven't got a need. But as soon as we are ill, something is wrong, we have a pain, then we go there because we have a need. And so what knowledge we had of it is then seen by using that facility, going to it. It's the same with spiritual things.

Until there is a need, there's no desire, there's no going out after the things of God at all. So what is our need? And when we say our need, that which is the need of all mankind, every man and woman and child, they have a need. of redemption. What is redemption? Redemption is to be set free by a payment of a price. Something that was lost, something that was in captivity, something that was being held that needed to be released.

And it couldn't just be released, it needed to have a payment actually made. to do so. If perhaps we parked our car in the wrong area and it was come and taken away and put in a pound, then we couldn't just go and take the car out. They would say you've got to pay a fine first. And then when you've paid the fine, then you can go and you can take your car out. So the car is held until that price is actually paid.

And in the Word of God, we have those illustrations of redemption. We have the children of Israel in the land of Egypt, where they were in bondage, where they're held as captives. Until they were, or the process began to bring them out of that bondage, it wasn't realized how much captives they really were. Before Moses came, they might have thought, well, it's just easy. We just get a captain and we walk out. But the more and more the Lord brought signs against Egypt, it became very evident that they were captives.

And they couldn't just walk out if someone was under house arrest. They might think, well, I've a nice lot of freedom. I can go to the kitchen. I can go to the lounge. I can walk around the house. As soon as they tried to go out the door, then they realized they were captives. They weren't allowed to do that. And the children of Israel were in that position.

In Deuteronomy, as Moses rehearses to the children of Israel after 40 years before they came into the land of Canaan, he gives a summary of what the Lord did for them. And he says to them in Deuteronomy 7, if we read from verse 6, For thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people, for ye were the fewest of all people. and he gives the reason why. But because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

And those of you that know the account of how they were brought out, how there was nine great signs in Egypt that brought Egypt to ruin, really, and Pharaoh would not let them go. But in all of those signs, there was no blood. There was no blood shed. And it wasn't until the Passover, until the blood of the Lamb was shed, when the Lord said He would slay all the firstborn in Egypt, Where there was the blood seen, when I see the blood I'll pass over you. And it was when that blood was shed in the Passover that then they were thrust out, then they were brought out. And it's a beautiful time of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Passover lamb, his blood being shed, and the people of God redeemed out of their bondage. So redemption is a setting free by the payment of a price.

But why do we need it? How is it that we, we're not Egypt, we're not in bondage like the children of Israel were, but in a spiritual way we are. Because we are born under the law, and in Adam we have broken the law, we are under the condemnation of that law, and the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

And until we are redeemed, the demands of that law must come upon us. We must die. Literally, our bodies must die. And our souls return to God and to the judgment. And after the judgment, then body and soul cast into hell and utter destruction forever and ever, never ceasing to exist, and those pains and that wrath of God upon us forever and ever. And the only way to get out of that sentence of death from underneath the demands of the law is to be redeemed out of it.

And whether we feel it or not, whether we know it or not, we are under that condemnation. All are born into this world to die. That is evident to everyone. Whether they see the need of redemption for themselves or not, they know that man will die. We do not continue to live. That is a very clear evidence of what God has said is the consequences of a broken law. In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.

Another need of the redemption is, is not just to deliver from death or from the wrath of God, but it's to deliver to. The children of Israel were brought, and it was said right at the very start by Moses, they wanted to go into the wilderness to worship God. They were going to be with God. And the redemption that we need is to deliver us from being alienated from God by wicked works and to be brought into friendship and fellowship and union and to be with God himself for eternity. So it's not just from condemnation, but it's a redemption too, to be with God.

Beautiful, perhaps, illustration of this is in the book of Ruth. Because Ruth herself, as a widow, as one that had nothing at all, there was a provision in Israel that a near kinsman could redeem. And that near kinsman was Boaz. And Boaz not only redeemed Ruth's land, or Naomi's land, and paid to Naomi the price for that land, but he also redeemed Ruth from being a widow, from having nothing at all, by marrying her. Before he could redeem her, he had to make sure there was not another one, a nearer kinsman, which there was, But that nearer kinsman could not redeem Ruth.

The spiritual type is that we ourselves cannot redeem ourselves. We are the nearer kinsman. We are the one, if we had the power, we would pay the price ourselves and release ourselves. But we do not have that power. And the nearer kinsman, in Ruth and Boaz's case, He said, well, he could do it if it was just land. But if it was a soul, if it was Ruth, then he'd mar his own inheritance. If we were to die for someone else, then they wouldn't be saved, and we would perish, because we are sinners as they are sinners. And because we are sinners, then we can't redeem our own soul.

We need one that is in a position to redeem. And so our need, our need of redemption, It is very great because we cannot redeem ourselves, we need it from without. And also we need it not only to deliver from condemnation, but to deliver us and to be bringing us to God, to enjoy Him and be with Him forever. And so in our text, when we read of redemption and we have the word in whom we have redemption through his blood. This is what redemption is and why we need it. But there's also here the forgiveness of sins.

What is sin? Sin is the transgression of the law of God. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The law was given that the offense might abound that all the world might be brought in guilty before God. There is no man living that shall be justified by the deeds of the law. The law by the law is condemnation and the knowledge of sin.

It is, as Paul says, a schoolmaster unto Christ. It is used by God to convict of sin. to make us to feel our need of salvation. The Apostle Paul, when he was a Pharisee, even though he's a very religious man, did not feel his need of redemption, did not feel his need to be saved and forgiven his sins. He didn't feel his sins.

But he says, when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. The commandment, thou shalt not covet. And very interesting that it was not thou shalt not commit adultery, but it was thou shalt not covet, which speaks of inward thoughts, affections, that which then works in all manner of uncleanness. And it was through that, he says, that it was ordained unto life.

It was given to give him life, the whole purpose why he was brought under conviction of sin, was for his soul's salvation. But he didn't find it like that. He found it unto death. It wrought in him. It stirred up all of the sin and evil within him, so that he felt himself a sinner, a wretched man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this body of death?

And it's good for us to see in Saul of Tarsus, in Paul, What he was is a religious man with no need, no conviction of sin, no condemnation. And yet then when God began a real work in him, then he had a need, then he felt his condemnation, then he felt worse than he did before. And yet what God was doing was a good work. It was to save him. by bringing him under condemnation, feel his sin, and feel to need forgiveness.

If we are not forgiven, if our sins are not forgiven, then we are under condemnation. One of the Psalm 130 speaks of this. and verses 3 and 4 in that psalm. If thou, Lord, should mark iniquities or sins, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared. Our Lord spoke of thee Sin that shall never be forgiven, which is against the Holy Ghost.

Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. And the context that he spoke in was of the Pharisees who saw his miracles, that heard his words, and yet said that all that he was doing was through Beelzebub. That is the unpardonable sin. When they were in that situation, and had such abundant evidence of His grace and the miracles and who He was, and yet ascribed it all to Satan.

And in the gospel of God's grace, there is forgiveness of sins, but there needs to be. Now, Lord, in the Lord's Prayer, teaching how to pray, that is one of the petitions, that our sins be forgiven and that if we do not forgive another their sins, that is, upon repentance, then neither will our sins be forgiven. The Lord forgives when he imparts repentance and gives godly sorrow for sin.

And where there is a change, instead of loving sin, there's a hating of it. Instead of going after it, there's a seeking to resist it. The Apostle Paul again, he spoke of the power of sin, that the good I would, I do not, the evil that I would not, that I do, a wretched man that I am. He says, if I do that which I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me.

And it is that working of sin that we need forgiveness, and we need that forgiveness not just once, but all through our lives. The forgiveness we need is for original sin, for sins before conversion, and after we're converted, sins we commit every day. We need that forgiveness.

The name of our Lord So precious in this, his name shall be called Jesus, for he shall save us from our sins, our daily sins, sins that we will commit to our dying day. So our need, I hope it is with us that we do have a sense of our need of redemption, our need of the pardon and forgiveness of our sins, and that in having that need, we may ask, where is that salvation? Where is that redemption? How is it to be found? Well, we have then in our second point, in whom is this redemption and what's it cost? in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace.

Christ is set forth in this epistle right from the very, very beginning. And we're told in verse three, that the Father hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And still speaking of Christ, it says in verse 4, according as he hath chosen us in him, this is Christ. Then we have in verse 5, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. And still speaking of Him, speaking of His grace, verse 6, wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved.

And so then our text follows on in Him, that is, in the Lord Jesus Christ. It's good for us to realize this is not portraying in our own works, in someone else, but it's in the person. of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We read in Acts 13 and verse 38, Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by him All that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Later on the Apostle Paul in Acts 26, he says this, his commission that God gave him was to go to the Gentiles and it was to do this, to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me, that is in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He spoke before of Ruth being redeemed by Boaz, a near kinsman. And our Lord Jesus Christ, first promised in the Garden of Eden, was the seed of the woman that should bruise the serpent's head, bruise Satan's head. He was born of a woman. He was made under the law to redeem them that are under the law.

When our Lord was brought into the temple to have done for him after the law, to fulfil the law for a child born, then Anna was one of those, an aged widow in the temple, that spoke of him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem, clearly pointing to Christ, to our Lord Jesus Christ.

In all of the types and shadows in the Passover, in all of the shedding of blood, even from Abel's day, where God set his seal on the blood sacrifice rather than the non-blood sacrifice of Cain, is set forth as our Lord said to the two on the way to Emmaus. They said to this stranger that they had meat with them, We trusted it should have been he that should have redeemed Israel. But Christ, he says, ought not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory? Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

And so he was setting forth the cost of blood redemption that our Lord should be made first like a near kinsman, and take on him the seed of Abraham, having a body and having a soul, and that being found in fashion as a man, then he should have the sins of his people laid upon him, and bear those sins away. at Calvary, pay the debt that they owed, endure the wrath of God that they owed, suffer in their place to obtain eternal redemption for us. This is why we read in Hebrews chapter 9, because there we have it beautifully set forth in verse 15, For this cause he is the mediator of the New Testament, or will. A testament is a will that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the First Testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. It is eternal inheritance, it is an eternal redemption and so right through that chapter he's speaking of the blood, speaking of that being shed and the need of that redemption.

Verse 12, neither by the blood of goats and calves but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having obtained eternal redemption for us. So it is in the Lord Jesus Christ and the redemption is not just for sins past, is not just for time, it is for all sins, it is for eternity, is something that can not be added to or taken from, it is completely sufficient.

And so may we have set before us when we feel our need of redemption, of forgiveness and pardon, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and our eyes fixed solely upon Him and upon what He has done. And remember, there's those things that have gone before in this chapter, that in verse 3, He's given us spiritual blessings. In verse 4, He has chosen the people that he is to redeem. In verse 5, he's predestinated that they should be adopted as sons. And in verse 6, accepted in the Lord Jesus Christ. These things are all things that he has done prior, you might say, to his redemption or working redemption in the hearts of his people. So then who are the we? That's important, isn't it? If we just read about these things, have these things, but don't know who is spoken of as the we. So that's our third point. Who is the we? We have redemption. Of course, Paul, when he's writing, he's writing concerning himself, he's concerning the Ephesians that he's writing to.

But how do we know that as applying to us as well? In verse 13 we read, In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, or good news, in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. And so that we are those that are known or made known through hearing the gospel, hearing the good news, hearing what we've tried to set before you, and brought then by the Spirit, by God's grace, to trust in that word of truth. to believe what the Lord has done and testified that he has done. Though it's true of the Ephesians, it's true of all believers.

Our election is known by our calling. It's made known under the preaching of the gospel. We have that in Romans 10. How shall they hear except they have a preacher? Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of the Lord. It is pleased God through the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. And so it is through that way that we are brought under the we by the Lord's work that is in us. Thou hast wrought all our works in us. He which hath begun a good work in us will perform it unto the day. of Jesus Christ.

Now one thing to notice in this, it doesn't say have had redemption in the past, it doesn't say will have in the future, but it says we have. It's something that we actually possess. We have redemption. And where it's been especially upon my spirit is when we feel sin day by day, when we struggle with it, we've got further defilement. Really what is set before us here is that as often as we have a sense of that sinnership, we have redemption. We can go straight to Christ. We plead his blood that atones for sin. We trust in his salvation. The natural way for us, under the law, is to promise we won't do that again. We'll make a better effort. We'll make a better job of it.

And the way Satan will say, well, it's because you're sinning. You're not really God's children. If you were God's children, you would cease from sin. You wouldn't be a sinner anymore. You'd have that change so much wrought in you that you'd have that power over sin.

Well, we sang in the hymn concerning the conflict over sin, and we said concerning Paul. But the redemption of Christ is for sinners. And what is said of our Lord, he shall save his people from their sins, daily sins, sins they commit all the time. How does he save them? by that constant redemption, constant bringing of that blood. This is why with the Lord's Supper, you do show forth the Lord's death till he come. The church of God is not to forget. It is Christ that died, yea, rather risen again and appears in the presence of God.

Now we could say that this word we can be viewed in a more broad sense, as to take in the whole of humanity. It's not angels have redemption, it's not animals have redemption, but we as in the sense of men and women. When our Lord came into the world, it was proclaimed that peace, on earth peace, good will toward It wasn't put goodwill just towards the elect or just towards God's chosen. It is set forth as to humanity or the world.

So God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but should have eternal life. Now we know that those that are brought to believe on him, feel their need, trust in him, They are, as Paul sets forth here, chosen in Him, and elect, and predestinated to be made a sinner, brought to knowledge of Christ, and to live as a pilgrim here below, and later on in heaven be Christ forever.

But that is known by the Lord's calling. But the message, there is no other way of salvation as much as The need of redemption applies to every man, woman, and child born into this world. So the redemption is not pointed anywhere else. One of our hymns says, those that live to feel their need are welcome to the throne of grace, the Savior's blood to plead. And that means of any nation, kindred, and tongue. that are brought to feel their need of salvation.

And it's good for us to remember that, that none may say, this is not for me, this is not a salvation for me, that God has not set it forth in this world to just mock people, but as the way of salvation. We know because we are fallen, we are dead in trespasses and sins, If it wasn't for the work of God in calling, in quickening, none would be saved. Because of our own selves, however clearly the gospel is set forth, we don't feel that need of it, we won't embrace it, we'll ridicule it. And where we love our works as evil, the Lord says that men will not come unto me because your deeds are evil, will not come unto the light.

It's important that that same word, the same gospel, is preached to all. And in the New Testament, where we hear the effect of the preaching of the gospel, some believe the word spoken and some believe not. Another time we read, they that were ordained unto eternal life believed. And you see through the preaching, there's that dividing between believing and unbelieving.

And we shouldn't have that which is a stumbling block and hinders us. When we see the attractiveness, when we are drawn to the Word preached, see it just suits our need, how it is what we really need as a sinner, then we shouldn't have that thought, this is not for us. This is for someone else. It's not for me. It is for sinners. And the hymn writer says, sinners can say, and none but they, how precious is the Saviour.

And so that we are made known by the effect of hearing that message, the work in them, in us, to make us feel our sinnership and need, giving us an appetite, opening our ear, and then setting before us that which the Lord Jesus Christ has done. Paul says, let us run the race and set before us looking unto Jesus. This is why we seek to all the time set forth the Lord Jesus Christ, to preach him, to set him forth.

There is salvation in none other name given among men whereby we must be saved. And there's no weak link in salvation. He hath wrought all our works in us, right from the beginning convictions, right to the end, is all wrought by the Lord, is not wrought by ourselves. We haven't convicted ourselves. We haven't given ourselves any love. We haven't done those things. The Lord has done those things.

And that should be a real encouragement to us. And what a fullness of store and why it is given, is given according to the riches of His grace. The grace of God chose us, the grace of God provided the Lord Jesus Christ, and the grace of God brings us back and back to that blood as often as we sin, daily, hourly, to plead that blood that does for sin atoned. The Lord blesses with His Spirit's witness that we are bound up in that we are able to say in whom in Christ we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Amen.
Rowland Wheatley
About Rowland Wheatley
Pastor Rowland Wheatley was called to the Gospel Ministry in Melbourne, Australia in 1993. He returned to his native England and has been Pastor of The Strict Baptist Chapel, St David’s Bridge Cranbrook, England since 1998. He and his wife Hilary are blessed with two children, Esther and Tom. Esther and her husband Jacob are members of the Berean Bible Church Queensland, Australia. Tom is an elder at Emmanuel Church Salisbury, England. He and his wife Pauline have 4 children, Savannah, Flynn, Willow and Gus.

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