Ephesians 2:8-9 The Gift

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

This is perhaps the clearest description of what it means to be a Christian in the whole Bible. Whether one is saved or unsaved is determined by the application of this single verse. Historically, most of the trouble and dispute in the church over how one is saved has arisen at this point. It is because so many have never been clear on this foundation, that they are still confused about so many things. Confusion often arises when people take clear, great statements such as this and make them matters of controversy; and this verse has been used to stir up much confusion.

Let us look at what this verse clearly says. First, this verse tells us that we are Christians entirely and solely as a result of the grace of God. He is not obliged to save anyone; He is fully within His right to apply His law and have its penalty fully inflicted upon us as children of wrath. We have already seen in the previous verses, that our contribution to our regeneration is our trespasses and sins, in which we were dead – until God, by grace, makes us alive (v. 1-5). There is no indication whatsoever that salvation is God’s response to anything in us; we have no right to it nor can we merit it; we have no plea with God, His justice or His holy law. But God in His own wondrous and sovereign mercy, love and kindness has granted us the gift of salvation. Spiritually dead creatures have been made alive – how has it happened? God has done it! Salvation is of the Lord! That is what grace means. And so, we are in the words of the great hymn, “debtors to mercy alone.”

We have also seen that our salvation is an eternal display of grace (v. 7); it is so, because it is all of grace. “By grace” (the Greek preposition, gar = by) suggests the source or origin of salvation. But then it comes “through faith,” (the preposition dia = through) denotes the subjective means or instrument of its operation. Grace, which is completely objective, takes its place in the human heart, and thereby activates faith, which is the human conduit through which we are saved. It is clear from this verse that faith is not the first cause of salvation, but the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ is. Thank God that it is this way – God forbid that I should glory in anything but the cross of Christ! By grace, through faith eliminates any and all grounds for boasting.

Ephesians 2:7 Grace on Display

… that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Having considered how God has blessed us – made us alive, raised us up, and seated us with Christ in heavenly places – now, in verse 7, we come to the designed reason that God has done all of this. A part of God’s motive in salvation has already been stated in verse 4: because of the great love with which He loved us. But now we come to His actual intent and purpose. The first word of verse 7 is the Greek word hina, which suggests a conclusive statement about the designed intent is to follow. This designed purpose, revealed in verses 7-10 is two-fold, and both reasons are related. First, in verse 7 we find God’s intention to make His children the objects of endless displays of grace. This is both to our eternal benefit and for His eternal glory. The second intention is that His people would manifest His saving grace by doing good works – the ultimate object again being that these works would manifest God’s glory on earth (Mt 5:16).

The words, “He might show” translate a Greek verb suggesting to display or exhibit. In the New Testament this verb is always in the middle voice meaning “to show for oneself.” In the eternal life of His people, God purposed to place the exceeding riches of His grace on exhibition. Thus believers can be considered trophies of God’s grace, created in Christ Jesus, to display that grace now – in this life – and forever. The kindness toward us, described here, is more than the general providential goodness and mercy that God extends to all creation, but is specifically a saving kindness found in Christ Jesus. Notice how Paul lingers long and lovingly on the themes of God’s amazing goodness to those who deserve condemnation. His mercy is rich; His love is great; His kindness immeasurably gracious!

It is also important that we not fall into the error of thinking that the love, grace and kindness of God toward us are because of Christ’s work; in fact, the opposite is true – God demonstrates His prior love for us in Christ’s death (Rom 5:8). The atoning work of Christ did not need to persuade an otherwise angry Father to love His children. On the contrary, the Father loved us and did not spare His own Son to save us as a result. Let us not miss the message which Paul is emphasizing here – that the lavish kindness of God displayed in Christ toward an undeserving people is the best manner in which God fulfills His ultimate purpose to display His glory. It’s a win-win scenario – human blessing and God’s glory are in perfect accord.

Further, we see that this display of grace will be for “the ages to come.” This has been understood in one of two ways. First, it refers to the future generations between Paul’s writing until the second coming of Christ. Every generation can look back to God’s grace and mercy in saving a remnant before them – and so can have hope that God is indeed mighty to save. But then, beyond this earth, “ages to come” describes the future of believers in eternity with Christ. God’s utmost end in the salvation of His people is not fully attained until we come to this. The Gospel reveals infinite grace to us, but there is, in the realm of our experience, an aspect of grace which is reserved for eternity, which we cannot fully comprehend now – one in which the present blessings, as great as they are, are only preparative. The effect of grace in our lives will shine out of God’s display cabinet for all eternity, and you are beneficiary of it!

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Ephesians 2:5-6 You A.R.E. With Christ (Alive, Raised, Enthroned)

But God … made us alive together with Christ … and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places Ephesians 2:4-6

We last left mankind, dead in his trespasses and sins; but despite this, God, because of His rich mercy and the great love with which he loved us, does three things: He 1) makes us alive, 2) raised us up, and 3) enthroned us with Christ. These are the spiritual counterparts of Christ’s own quickening, resurrection and ascension to the right hand of the Father. As Paul speaks of our experience with Christ, he does not mean to suggest that we experience the exact same thing that Christ did, but that our new life is made possible by Christ’s resurrection and our union with Him – the believer shares in what God has done for Christ. This is a truth almost too glorious to believe!

Each of the three principle verbs, made alive, raised and seated, are compound verbs beginning with the Greek prefix, ‘soon’ – meaning together with. These verbs are single Greek verbs meaning, “made-alive-together-with,” “raised-together-with,” and “made-to-sit-together-with.” Each of these verbs are in the aorist form, so they speak of a living reality, secured in the past. Paul does not speak of these in terms of future blessings; he affirms that though we were dead, our resurrection and exaltation with Christ are not merely potentially secured and reserved for future enjoyment, but are for our pleasure and satisfaction in the here and now. Paul’s goal in telling us this is not merely that we might know this doctrinally or theologically, but in truth and life.

On the surface it might appear that these three main verbs all describe the same experience, but in fact, just as Jesus’ quickening in the tomb, and subsequent resurrected life and ascension were three distinct actions, likewise we are not only made alive, but raised and enthroned with Him as well. We not only are quickened to life, but there follows a resurrected life. Upon being quickened, we do not continue to live in our graves bound in grave clothes, but are resurrected to a life among the living – and then beyond that a heavenly life – seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

Just as the spiritual death described in verse 1 is real and personal, so the life described herein is not some theological abstraction, but is as real a blessing, as our spiritual death was in actuality, a curse. The life given corresponds to the death described, so as the death described is spiritual, so the life is as well. So when Christ was raised from the dead, all of His people were in actuality, spiritually quickened and raised as well – we know this by faith, not by sight, but it is no less genuine an experience.

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Ephesians 2:4 … But God

After two weeks of meditating on our condition before coming to Christ, we now begin to consider the work of God in raising us from our desperate condition. In verse 4, Paul returns to the splendid theme which he began to develop back in chapter one – the exceeding greatness of the power of God toward us, as demonstrated in the raising of Christ from the dead. In chapter 2, recall that the Holy Spirit has purposefully delayed the main verb of this sentence, “made us alive,” until verse 5. Well the subject of this main verb is God. It is God who saves – He does for us what we could not possibly do for ourselves. By His Spirit He unites us with Christ. “But God … made us alive … raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places.”

The word but is a conjugation; it links what follows to the previous sentence; it also suggests a contrast. In our text, God stands in contrast to man. While man is both dead in sin and a powerless slave, dragged along by the course of this world, God is powerful; He is able to raise us from spiritual death and cause us to live in Christ. Jesus is the resurrection and the life – His death grants us pardon so that we are forgiven, but then His life grants us liberation so that we might live for Him.

These two words, “but God,” in a sense contain the whole Gospel. They emphasize what God has done to initiate and secure the salvation of His children, because of His rich mercy and love with which He loved us. Salvation is something which comes completely from outside of one’s self. The manner in which this is done is going to be magnificently described in verses 8-10; but first Paul wants to be sure that his Gospel begins with a powerful and loving God and not with hopeless mankind.

For those familiar with the Scriptures, these two words, “but God,” are familiar. In Psalm 41:4-13 for example, David is surrounded by enemies, is betrayed by a friend, and his outlook is bleak; there appears to be no way out. But as he looks up and by faith sees God – “But you O God …” (v. 10) – his outlook changes. Likewise in Psalm 102:1-11 the Psalmist pours out his sense of despair, until a moment of illumination lifts his gaze beyond his hopeless circumstances. Above all of the chaos, He sees the Almighty and sings, “But you O Lord,” and his demeanor changes. Again in Psalm 130, the Psalmist begins overwhelmed by a sense of his own sin. If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, who could stand? As he puts his focus upon God, he finds relief and deliverance in what God has done: But there is forgiveness with You (Ps 130:3-4). This week, in addition to these Psalms read Acts 7:9-10, 13:28-30; Rom 5:8, 1 Cor 2:9-10, 10:13, Gal 3:18, and Phil 2:27 taking note of the change that “but God” brings about.

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Ephesians 2:3 Children of Wrath

… and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Eph 2:3

We could probably not think of two more incompatible words than children and wrath. When we think of children, words like innocence come to mind, not wrath. Yet the first three verses of Ephesians chapter 2 teach us that every human being ever born of man and woman is, by nature, characterized or marked by the wrath of God. David confirms that our condition is one of nature rather than nurture: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me. (Ps 51:5). We come from the womb into the world as sinners. This is very different from how psychological ideas have understood “tabula rasa,” that is the concept that men are born with a “blank slate” upon which they write their experiences which then frame their personalities. On the contrary, Scripture teaches clearly that sin is the universal opponent of mankind, by nature – that is the origin of our condition from birth.

Yet there is an even greater catastrophe than this. Because of sin, there is the more serious problem of being under the wrath of God himself. Sinclair Ferguson writes: “Wrath is the settled hostility of God’s holy will towards everything that rebels against Him.” God’s wrath is not like that of man. It is not the result of a bad temper, spite, malice or revenge. Unlike the wrath of man, God’s wrath is neither arbitrary nor dependent upon mood. Some have argued that wrath is not personal, that is, it is not directed toward any specific human being, but is in general against sin. In truth, just as grace is personal, wrath too is God’s personal, righteous resolve to condemn evil in every form – it is already a present reality revealed from heaven (Rom 1:18, Jn 3:36). Further, God’s wrath is completely compatible with His love and mercy (if there is any doubt of this, read on in verses 4-6). In fact, God cannot truly love unless He is able to purely hate that which rebels against His love. And if you reject God’s love as received in Christ’s atoning sacrifice, then only wrath remains. But for those who are in Christ, the wrath of God is satisfied for every sin was laid upon Christ, who bore the wrath that we, by right, deserve. On the cross, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (Gal 3:13). This is what “propitiation” means, the removal of wrath by spending it upon a substitute. God’s wrath was not disregarded, but was diverted to Christ, and willingly absorbed by Him.

Today many Christians find wrath to be offensive, and some have sought to eliminate the idea of a propitiatory sacrifice from their understanding of atonement. But as much as we might like it to be otherwise, wrath is a dominant theme of Scripture. It’s difficult to read a single page without coming up against the subject of God’s wrath, and unless wrath is personally dealt with by Christ, you remain an enemy of God, forever guilty and shamed. But, brothers and sisters, if there be any joy, it flows from Christ’s personal wrath-absorbing work on your behalf. Full atonement can it be?!?

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Ephesians 2:1-3 Dead Men Walking

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked … Ephesians 2:1-2

Having encouraged the Ephesian Christians by emphasizing the exceeding greatness of the power of God toward them, Paul then shows the church how this great power, which was exemplified in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, is working among them by the mighty change that God has effected in them via the new birth. All men outside of Christ are dead in trespasses and sins. Dead (nekros in Greek) has no other meaning than to be devoid of life – a corpse. Yet Paul describes these dead men as walking in sin, following after their own selfish lusts and desires. If they are dead, how is it that they walk? Are they zombies? Well not exactly, but dead does indeed mean dead, so how dead were we? Spiritually, all people apart from Christ are dead. Scripture tells us that the dead man’s understanding is darkened (Eph 4:18); a veil lies over his heart (2 Cor 3:15) so he cannot discern spiritual things (1 Cor 2:14); he lives a world of false ideologies (2 Thess 2:9-11), that is under the sway of the wicked one (1 Jn 5:19), where the truth of God is ridiculed (2 Pet 3:4), and he believes the philosophers of this world in their denial of Scripture (1 Cor 1:18). Ironically, such dead men are proud (Rom 1:18); they glory in their human intellect (Ro 1:22), but God’s assessment of him is that his foolish heart is hardened (1 Cor 3:18-20), and desperately wicked and deceitful above all things (Jer 17:9). He loves darkness (Jn 3:19), delights in his sin (Is 22:13) and the sin of others (Ro 1:32), and boasts in iniquity (Ja 4:16). Devoid of life, the man who is apart from Christ, hates God (Ro 1:30) and hates Christ (Jn 7:7) – he is God’s enemy (Ps 7:11) – a child of wrath (Eph 2:3).

In light of all this, can anyone say that believing the Gospel is so easy that anyone who decides to, while still dead, may do so? How is it that the beating of man’s natural heart is God knocking, so that all he must do is open the door of his heart of his own accord? How is this supposed to happen apart from a resurrection? Is it his darkened mind, desperately wicked heart, or wicked self-will that makes the decision to open his heart to Christ? You see the absurdity in this kind of ideology! There is but one answer: What is needed for a soul to come to Christ is the exceeding greatness of the power of God, as displayed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. Without such power, human beings are utterly helpless. This is what it means to be saved by grace (Eph 2:5).

If today you have an interest in the things of God; if you understand the Word of God; if there is a desire to know and love Christ – it is by the grace of God (and that alone) that is at work in you. The sequence of thought continuing from chapter 1 is clear: Jesus Christ was dead, but God raised and exalted Him, and you also were dead, but God raised and exalted you. Praise God for His matchless grace – for even when we were among the walking dead, He quickened us to life with Christ!

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Ephesians 1:18 The Hope of His Calling

… the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, Eph 1:18

As we have been studying the content of the Apostle Paul’s remarkable prayer, we have seen that the primary concern of his prayer, is that the Father would grant to the Ephesian Christians, a greater measure of the Spirit’s presence and power, particularly in the realm of His ministry of revelation of the Truth of God. Of all of the facets and ministries of the Holy Spirit, the one that Paul focuses on in this prayer, is the Spirit’s particular ministry of illumination of the mind and heart of the believer. Paul prays this because he knows that it is by the means of a more accurate, enlarged, spiritually perceptive view of divine Truth, that Christians grow as disciples of Jesus Christ. God has ordained that the sanctification of His people advance in the context of revealed Truth (Jn 8:31-32, 17:17, 2 Th 2:13, Ja 1:21). There is no valid sanctification apart from Truth, and Truth may be understood only as it is illuminated to the believer, by the Spirit of God (1 Co 2:6-10).

So Paul prays that the eyes of your understanding be enlightened that you may know what is the hope of His calling. He does not pray that they might obtain the hope, but he assumes that they already have the hope. Before being called by God, one description of every human being, found in Ephesians 2:12 is: having no hope and without God in the world. The mark of every unconverted man is that he is without hope; the mark of a converted man (along with, as we have already seen, faith and love) is hope. Our text reveals that the source of that hope is the calling of God (see also Eph 4:4); that the substance of that hope is the consummation of redemption – the inheritance of the saints; subsequent verses reveal that the means by which the hope is realized, is the power of God.

You, I, and every single human being that ever lived, are in one of two groups: either you have hope because you have been called, or you have no hope because you have not been called. Which group are you in? To answer this question you must know what the “call” of God is. Toward that end, this week do a word study on the word “call,” “calling,” or “the called.” See how the word is used in various contexts in Scripture. Compare how it is used in a generic manner (as in Mt 22:43, Lk 1:31, Mt 2:1, 25:14 and Rom 1:1) to how it is used to refer to a summons or invitation from God to partake in the blessings of salvation through the Gospel (Matt 22:1-14, Mk 9:13). Then contrast this use to the manner in which the call, calling, or called, is used in the epistles (for example Rom 8:28-30, 11:29, I Cor 1:24-26, Jude 1, and Rev 17:14). Such a study should produce in you greater hope, as you make your own calling sure.

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Ephesians 1:7 Redeemed

n Him we have redemption through His blood … Ephesians 1:7

Having considered in verses 3 through 6 of Ephesians 1, the great and eternal plan of the Father, purposed before the foundation of the world for us – that we should be holy and without blame before Him, adopted and accepted in the Beloved – we now begin to consider how God’s eternal purpose is carried out through the person of the Son. In verses 7 through 12, we will take up the matter of the work of God’s Son, which is also toward the end of the praise of God’s glory. Having had the grand plan laid out before our eyes, and seeing what is our highly favored position in Christ, verse 7, in a sense, brings us back to the reality that we are yet on earth, still human, still mortal, and still sinful.

How can it be that we may ever attain to the exalted place which is described in Ephesians 1:3-6? Isaiah 59:1-2 summarizes the reality of our condition so well: Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you. In order for us to arrive to our predestined position, something must be done with the problem of our sins which separate us from God. So God in His eternal wisdom and foreknowledge designed a way whereby men could and would be reconciled to Him. That way is Christ – in Him we have redemption. Christ came to seek and save that which was lost – to literally and completely save His people from their sins – to reconcile God and man. And what Christ did on the cross at Calvary accomplished such redemption, as 2 Corinthians 5:19 tells us that God was, in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself. The work of Christ is the means that God uses to accomplish all that He had predestined to do in and through His people.

Redemption is required because mankind is sold into the slavery of sin. The whole world lies guilty before God in bondage to sin and under the yoke of Satan. On the cross, Christ accomplished the work that He said He would accomplish, by giving His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45), and thus purchasing us out of slavery. Today, if you are in Christ, you have been bought with a price (I Cor 6:20), and that price was His own blood (Acts 20:28, Rom 3:24-25, Eph 2:13, Heb 9:12-22, 1 Pet 1:18, 1 Jn 1:7, Rev 1:5).

Look up the word blood in a concordance in order that you might get an appreciation for the importance of blood to our faith. As you think about blood, what comes to mind? How is blood offensive to us? Why is blood so pervasive in Scripture, yet so disregarded by many in the church? Is there really any other way to understand Christ’s redemption of His people than a ransom of blood?

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Ephesians 1:6 Graced

… to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. Ephesians 1:6

As we have already seen, God’s divine purpose in all that He does from eternity past, to the present, and on to the eternal future, is toward the attainment of praise for His own glory. As it has been said, God’s chief end is to glorify God … ‘Glory,’ as it is used in the Bible describes the manifestation of God’s saving presence. Though we have seen it similarly phrased in Ephesians chapter 1 verses 12 and 14, here in verse 6, the word ‘glory’ is used adjectivally to describe one particular aspect of God’s presence, namely His grace (in Greek, charis). It may be accurately understood to translate this phrase as, “to the praise of His glorious grace” (as the ESV and RSV do). To say that God’s grace is glorious, means that it is a reflection of His glory, that is, His revealed character. To praise God’s grace then is to praise His name.

“Grace!” Phillip Doddrige wrote, “’tis a charming sound, harmonious to the ear.” John Newton sang it, “Amazing Grace how sweet the sound!” Pastor Tim James wrote…

“Grace is such a singular and absolute thing that it will countenance no rival and tolerate no adornment. It stands alone. No words can do it justice. No song can encompass its true melody. No sermon or theological treatise can expound the depths or heights of its glory. Every redeemed sinner rests in it and is motivated by it. … Those who have experienced the beauty and the power of it find their minds and hearts consumed by it. Grace is mystery and revelation. Our language is salted with it. Our relationships are monitored and measured by it. Our souls are permeated with it. God’s grace is his glory.”

Our text in Ephesians doesn’t end here, but rather drives us on with a relative clause which emphasizes another aspect of God’s glorious grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved. This statement prepares us for the following verses which declare the manifestation of God’s grace in history, in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ (the Beloved), in whom we then trust and believe. This reminds us once again that all of God’s blessings, including most of all His grace, come only in Christ, “the Beloved” – Can there be a more appropriate name and title for the glorious Bridegroom of our soul! Blessed is the one who can say of Him, with a heart of faith, “I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.” (SS 6:3) Is Jesus Christ your Beloved? If so, then be encouraged by His promise here in this verse.

He made us accepted in the Beloved. With these words, the Holy Spirit declares one of the most beautiful and comforting truths in all of Scripture, the fact that there is an inviolable, immutable union between Jesus Christ and His people. This union is entered into upon the initiative of God who “accepts” (in Greek the verb is, charito-o) literally, “favors” or “graces” us. The verb, e-charit-osen (from the noun charis which remember means grace) is an aorist indicative verb, which describes a past tense single action taken by God, which in turn, changes our position. I Corinthians 15 speaks of our either being in Adam or in Christ; this positional change initiated by God, is because He has graced us in the Beloved. Chosen from all eternity to be the bride of Christ, when we come to faith in Him and are born again, we enter into a marriage covenant – a vital union whereby everything that is His is ours. To be “graced in the Beloved” means that, as objects of His love, we become highly favored. We become pleasing to the Father and He accepts our offerings in Christ (1 Pet 2:5).

This week read the Song of Solomon – as you do, consider your relationship with Christ, with whom you have been brought into union, by grace.

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Ephesians 1:5-6 The Praise of His Glory

… according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace…

Ephesians 1:5-6

From God’s past eternal decrees in election and predestination to the present display of saving grace among His church, on to the future eternal enjoyment of the inheritance of the saints, God’s ultimate goal and purpose in all He does is single. More than any of His magnificent attributes – above mercy, justice and even love – there is one overriding motive which God reveals as the supreme reason and intent for all He accomplishes in history. Taking off from the answer of the Shorter Catechism’s opening question, “What is the chief end of man?” John Piper turned the answer around suggesting that it is, “God’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy himself forever.”

Is this so? Certainly it cannot be questioned that we ought to praise God and that He is worthy of our highest praise. Scripture often calls upon God’s people to praise and glorify His name because of His spectacular benevolence and good will toward us. But have you ever considered the idea that the praise of God’s glory is not merely the result of His action but is in fact the goal and purpose of all of His works. God governs the world in such a manner to the end that He might be admired, marveled at, exalted and praised (2 Thess 1:10) – that His glory be praised, especially the glory of His grace.

Are you uneasy with this premise? Have you become so indoctrinated and enamored with the idol of today’s religion, who seems to do all that he does for the sake of man, that it does not seem right to you that the end of that which God does would be to seek praise for Himself? Be sure that our God’s clear purpose, as revealed in Scripture, is to exalt Himself in the eyes of man.

Piper observers: “God is the one Being in all the universe for whom seeking His own praise is the ultimately loving act. For Him self-exaltation is the highest virtue. When He does all things “for the praise of His glory” as Ephesians 1 says, He preserves for us and offers to us the only thing in all the world which can satisfy our longings. God is for us, and therefore has been, is now and always will be, for Himself.”

If you have a hard time accepting this, perhaps you should renew your mind, proving what is God’s will and intent is in all of his wonderful creative and salvific deeds. Read the cross-references below and permit the Scripture to determine what is on God’s mind in His eternal decrees and acts in time. If your existing notions of God’s motives differ from that which the Scripture reveals, then repent and conform your thinking to what God reveals about Himself.

Cross-References: Ex 9:16; Ps 83:17-18, 106:7-8; Pr 16:4; Is 43:7,21, 48:11, 61:11, 63:12-14; Dan 4:35; Lk 10:21; Rom 9:11-16,22-23; 1 Cor 1:21; Eph 1:9, 2:7, 3:10; Phil 2:13; 2 Th 1:10; 1 Pet 2:9, 4:11, Rev 4:11

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