“But God, being
rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we
were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you
have been saved)…” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
At the beginning
of this two-verse passage, Paul penned, “but God.” He leads readers and hearers
to recognize and understand several things in this chapter. Most writers do not
write one sentence, then move to another topic. They write so that what they penned
before and after a sentence helps give context and understanding to the one
sentence considered. In considering this study, we examine verses four and
five. Readers and hearers of Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church should strive
to understand Ephesians 2:4-5 in context with the other chapters in this letter
and the other verses of chapter two. Studying these two words alone does not
bring forward the total meaning of the text. Only one two-word sentence in the
Bible does not need context to have meaning. John the disciple wrote the famous
two-word sentence in John 11:35; it records, “Jesus wept.” This sentence gains
context in the surrounding verses. Yet, as a stand-alone sentence, it gives
great understanding about Jesus, too. Consider now what Paul wrote in Ephesians
2 by studying verses four and five, along with the surrounding verses.
First, the two
words that begin this passage, “but God,” highlight the need to examine Ephesians
2:1-3. Second, verses one through three tell people what they are. For
Christians, the three verses tell them what they. These three verses reminded each
group of people that they were morally and spiritually dead because of their
wrongdoings—their sins. Because people crave for, think about, and act upon
things of the flesh, they grow farther away from God. This prevents their
relationship with God. In light of these reasons, Paul penned, "but
God."
Third, the two
small words, “but God,” lead people to consider their present and future. It
tells them God intervened in their lives by sending His Son, Jesus, to live and
then die a sinless death. God did everything necessary to save people from
their sins. People can do nothing to remove themselves from their fleshly ways
of thinking and acting, but God can and did.
Fourth, “but
God” leads into the action God performed that people cannot do. Paul wrote,
“but God…made us alive.” Yes, God made people alive at creation. For
Christians, He remade them. God resuscitated them with His divine power, so they
are not dead; they are spiritually reborn. God making the believers in Jesus
alive renews His and their relationship by removing their wrongdoings (sins), a
list next to each person’s name.
Each person
deserves judgment because each person sins. Sin separates a person from Holy
God. Holiness and unholiness cannot occupy the same place, like light and dark
cannot. God's actions bring believers back to life. His action gives a
righteous relationship with Him for whoever believes in Jesus, His Son, as their
Savior. His death paid the judgment price for each person’s sins.
“But God” tells
readers and hearers of Ephesians 2:4-5 about more than what God did for them.
It tells them what He is doing and will do for and in them. “But God”
tells each reader and listener of God’s promise and gives them their basis for
hope. Yes, God saved each Christian by His Son’s death when they trusted in
Jesus. Christians need God beyond that one time. We live in a world where Satan
and his demons exert power over individuals. We still need saving from the
temptations and trials we face daily. God gives Christians His power through
His Holy Spirit, who dwells in them from the time of their new birth. He gave them
the power to make the right choices. God gives Christians the strength to
endure trials as He walks with them through those challenging times. “But God”
leads Christians to the promise God gives each of His children; He said he
would never leave or forsake His them (Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5).
That leads us
to the future view of “but God.” God did not create people, then leave them to
flounder in life, then die. He did not make Christians alive again, only to
walk with them on the day of their rebirth. God existed, exists, and will
always exist. He is eternal. “But God” tells us of God always being with
us. How? By the rebirth (being made alive through faith in Jesus) God gives righteousness
in His book of life. God making believers alive gives them life forever
with Him. Nothing ever can impede a Christian’s relationship with God. God
gives Christians eternal forgiveness, eternal new bodies after
their mortal death, and an eternal togetherness/relationship with Him in
His kingdom. Believers in Jesus receive eternal life with God: the Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit.
“But God” reveals
God is working for us and in us, then, now, and forever.
God’s activity in a Christian’s life started then and continues into the “not
yet.” For this reason, Christians have hope.
More than
anything, “but now” opens our eyes and reminds Christians of God’s motivation—His
love and desire for a close and personal relationship with each person. Feeling
God's love to the fullest, people can rejoice, praise, and thank God for this
reason. The feeling you get when you hug a dearly loved one is the feeling
believers can have always and during every part of their lives. Paul wrote in
verses four and five, “because of His great love with which He loved us…God
made us alive even when we were dead in our sins.”
Understand
this: God LOVES YOU with the overflowing, unending, super-abundance of His love!
“But God, because of His overflowing, timeless, super-abundant love made you
alive.” Nothing can separate you from His love, ever. John stated, “For God
loved you so much that He sent His only Son that when you believe in Jesus, you
will not perish forever separated from God, but you will have eternal life with
Him in heaven” (John 3:16).
“But God” tells
Christians that He saved and remade them, is with them, and will always be with
them on earth and in heaven. God wants an eternal relationship with each person
and did everything needed for it to happen.
Ultimately,
“but God” tells and reminds each person about God’s overflowing, everlasting,
super-abundant love for each person. God daily leads each Christian. God’s leading
results in peace because of being in a deep love relationship with God. It leads
believers to do the “good works” of God on earth, too.
Paul dictated
to his scribe a final lesson in this chapter. He stated that each Christian’s
saving relationship with God leads to God building believers together into a holy
dwelling place. This dwelling place is in Jesus Christ for God in the Holy
Spirit (verse 22). God intended Christians to grow in their relationship with
Him and be built with each believer into the body of Christ…
ALL BECAUSE OF GOD’S LOVE.
God’s love was with us and worked for
our good in the past, is with us now as we believe in Jesus, and will always be
with Christians into eternity.
