Ephesians 2:4-10

Ephesians 2:4-10

But God, while being rich in mercy, and because of His great love which He loved us, even while we were being dead by the trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ.  We are having been saved by grace.  And He raised us together and He made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus in order that in the ages that are about to come He should demonstrate His riches of grace that are extraordinary in kindness upon us in Christ Jesus.  For we are having been saved by grace through faithfulness.  And this is not out of you all; it is a gift of God.  It is not out of works in order that nobody should boast.  For we are a product of His workmanship, after being created in Christ Jesus upon the good works which God prepared in advance in order that we should walk around in them.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

The tenses used by Paul in this passage are really neat.  “He raised us.”  “He made us alive.”  No, Paul doesn’t actually think that from a human perspective that he has already been raised from the dead.  When Paul is writing this letter, he sure has been beaten and flogged but he’s never once died!  However, from God’s perspective his salvation is assured.  For God, it’s already a done deal.  Our resurrection may be in the future from our perspective, but for God it is a work done in the past with Christ that is absolutely guaranteed to happen.  For us, our resurrection is a sure hope.  For God, our resurrection is guaranteed.

Is it neat to think that for God our salvation is already a done deal?  Why is it hard for us to think that way?  How does this show us the difference between us and God?

Second Thought:

Paul reminds us that we are saved by grace through faithfulness.  But then he is quick to remind us of the full truth.  It is not our faithfulness (or faith) that saves us.  It is a gift of God.  God is faithful.  God gave us Jesus.  God sent His Son to die for us.  It is absolutely completely a gift.  It is nothing we earn.  It is nothing we deserve.  But it is something we can know.  We are saved by grace.  It is the greatest gift we can know.  But it is absolutely a gift.

Do you live as though God’s gift of salvation to you is a gift?  How do you treat that gift?  How can you learn to treat that gift as the greatest thing you know?

Third Thought:

The way that Paul ends this section is great.  We are a product of His workmanship.  In other words, God had a hand in us.  We are not some freak biological combination of chromosomes.  God prepared His work beforehand so that we could live in His ways.  He created us so that we could be a demonstration of Him.  He created us so that we could be a witness to the world and give the world a reason to be in relationship with Him.

What does it mean to you that God claims you as a product of His workmanship?  Why is it important for us to walk around in God’s ways?

Passage for Tomorrow: Ephesians 2:11-13