The Scripture for today is Ephesians 2: 6-9 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.
The verses right before these tell us we were dead in our transgressions – dead to God; as Pastor emphatically stated it yesterday, “BAD dead!” We were as dead as dead gets to God. He really wants us to understand that we were dead. But why the emphasis on our deadness??
The next section of passages gives us a clue: To make sure the contrast between our deadness and God’s grace is stark. God literally gave us new life and then seated us with His Son, Jesus! He plucked us out of our mire and misery, washed us clean with the blood of Jesus Christ, then placed us at the table right next to Jesus, our Savior – a pretty sweet place for the likes of us.
So, God did this because we are so great, right? Nope. He did it because He can’t get along without us, then. Um, no. Oh, well, ok…He saved us because we have earned it! Definitely not. He saved us because of the incomparable riches of His grace. Nothing can compare to the riches of the grace He pours over us so that we have a chance to live – really, really live!
Lord, thank You for showing us grace when we don’t deserve it! May we always be mindful of just what it cost You to save us and seat us next to Your Son. Father, thank You for true Life! Amen!
P.S. This is the second time I’ve had the privilege of blogging on Ephesians 2: 8 & 9. I pray I’ve honored God – AND learned what He had for me to learn. Only God could orchestrate it so one of us writes on the same passage twice in a row! Ephesians is such an extraordinary book – what do you think? Has God moved you during our time in Ephesians? Please share!
Blessings, Jennifer