Ephesians 2
1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast. 10For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:1-10, NIV)
The Daily DAVEotional
Ephesians 2 is one of my favorite passages. If I was creating a Mount Rushmore of favorite New Testament passages (an all-time top 4 list), this passage would definitely be in contention. It is rich with theological truths that are fundamental to understanding the depth of God’s love for us as well as the means and lengths He would go to save us.
A key word in these 10 verses is “grace”, which appears 3 times.
What do you think grace is? How would you define it?
I’ve asked that question to hundreds of people over the years as I’ve engaged in spiritual conversations.
The interesting thing about grace is that it’s a word that most people have heard hundreds of times but almost always have difficulty defining.
Some people, when they hear the word “grace”, think of a dinner time prayer, like Aunt Bethany in Christmas Vacation.
Others equate grace with beauty, like a graceful dancer, or an elegantly dressed celebrity.
To be sure, those are connotations that we may think of when we hear the word, but from a biblical standpoint, “grace” means none of those things.
The theological definition of grace is “unmerited favor” or “undeserved gift”.
I would often give this example of grace when talking to students, as it was a hypothetical, yet realistic situation they could imagine experiencing.
Imagine that you’re taking a class and it’s nearing the end of the semester. You have a big research paper due and it’s worth a hefty portion of your grade. You need to do well on this paper to pass the class.
The problem is that you are nowhere near being done. As the deadline nears, you approach the professor and ask for an extension.
Now would it be unfair if the professor were to decline your request? Would that be unjust?
No. The guidelines and deadlines were clearly communicated. You had ample opportunity to work on the paper and get it done. The professor would not be mean or unjust if he or she were to simply deny your request and tell you that any late papers would be severely penalized.
That is what the Bible calls justice – getting what you deserve. In this passage, what we deserve is God’s wrath. Paul says that we “followed the ways of the world”… “gratifying the craving of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts.” As a result, we were objects of God’s wrath, which simply means we were destined to be punished.
God would be perfectly just to give us what we deserve. That’s what justice is – getting what we deserve.
Your professor would also be just to say no to your request and give you exactly what you deserve.
But suppose your professor honors your request and decides to give you a one week extension with no late penalties – a “grace” period.
Your professor is not obligated to give you an extension but if he or she did, it would be an example of extending grace. Your professor is giving you something you don’t deserve – the gift of extra time. You didn’t earn an extension. You don’t deserve an extension. You receive the extension simply because your professor chooses to give it to you.
This is the situation with us and God. We don’t deserve to be saved. We did nothing to earn God’s favor. God is not obligated to save us, and yet, He chooses to extend grace to us. What that means is that we don’t get what we deserve, which is punishment. Instead, we get what we DON’T deserve – the gift of salvation.
Why would God choose to extend grace? Why would he not just punish us since that is what we deserve?
Verse 4 gives us the answer:
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.
God chooses to save us because of His great love for us and the depth of His mercy.
What is mercy?
Mercy is NOT getting something you deserve.
Doctrinal Dictionary
Justice – getting what you deserve (punishment)
Mercy – Not getting something we deserve (as in avoiding punishment)
Grace – Getting something we don’t deserve (as in favor or blessing)
We deserve punishment but because of God’s love for us, he takes pity on us and desires to make a way so that we don’t have to experience the punishment we deserve.
As a result, God extends grace by sending His son to die in our place so that God’s justice would be satisfied and we could avoid experiencing His wrath.
Verses 8 and 9 are often quoted, as they summarize the essence of the gospel message:
8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9not by works, so that no one can boast.
God gives us a gift we don’t deserve – He saves us. This is grace: getting something we don’t deserve. We didn’t earn this gift. It is freely given by God. Hence, we cannot boast in our salvation because we did nothing to get it. Yet God did everything to give it.
Verse 10 is often neglected but is important to understanding God’s motive and the ultimate outcome He desires of our lives:
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Some Bible versions, like the NLT, translate this verse to say that “we are God’s masterpiece.”
Think about that for a minute. God saves us because we are a masterpiece in His eyes. His desire is that we would be transformed into a physical work of art and that our lives would be a living testament to the depth of His love, the richness of His mercy and the boundlessness of His grace!
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Reflection
What has been your definition of grace before reading this post? How did you tend to think of it and define it?
What are some examples of when you experienced grace from another person – a gift that you didn’t deserve?
How would you explain to someone else the difference between justice, mercy and grace?
God says that you are his masterpiece, created for good works in Christ Jesus. What do you think it would look like if you really understood and believed that God sees you as his masterpiece? How would it change your life and your view of yourself?
What are the barriers or roadblocks that make it difficult for you to see yourself as God’s masterpiece?
Photo above is an edited image of a photo by Zhifei Zhou on Unsplash
and another Photo by Helena Lopes on Unsplash
The Lowedown 