Ephesians 2:1-10 Click here for Bible Verses
Hi GAMErs!
Today’s passage is Ephesians 2:1-10. Let’s go!
In Ephesus 2:1-10 we find one of the best summaries of the Gospel anywhere in the Bible. Here Paul summarizes the core message of Christianity. When I read Ephesians 2:1-10 with an open heart, it makes me want to shout and cheer because of how incredibly good and undeservingly kind God has been to us. Praise God!
Ephesians 2:1-5 (NIV)
1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2 in 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.
3 All 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.
4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions–it is by grace you have been saved.
On verses 1-5: These verses show us the “before” and “after” pictures of what happens when we place our faith in Jesus Christ.
BEFORE: We were dead in our sins (v1).
AFTER: God made us alive with Christ (v5).
BEFORE: We used to follow the ways of this world, living in sin and following the devil who is called “the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient” (v2). Being sinners by nature we deserved God’s wrath (v3).
AFTER: Because of God’s great love for us, He showed us mercy (v4). He sent Jesus Christ, who died on the cross for us, taking God’s wrath away from us.
Ephesians 2:6-7 (NIV)
6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
7 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.
On verses 6-7: What does Paul mean when he says that “God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus”? It means that while today we physically live on this earth, spiritually we are right now seated with Christ in heaven. So we are no longer mere “earthlings”, but our citizenship is in heaven and our spiritual position is that we are seated in heaven with Jesus Christ (v6). Incredible!
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God–
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
On verses 8-9: We did nothing to earn God’s forgiveness and salvation. Rather, “it is by grace that you have been saved” (v5, 8) through faith in Jesus Christ (v8). What is grace? Grace is God’s free, undeserved kindness in our lives. Ephesians 2 clearly shows us that we are saved not by our own works or by having faith in ourselves, but purely by God’s grace.
Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
On verse 10: Why doesn’t God take you to heaven immediately the moment you receive Christ? It’s because God made you to do good works for as long as you are on this earth. That was His plan from the beginning. We are not saved by our good works, but we are saved for good works. You are not an accident or a mistake. You are God’s handiwork, His masterpiece.
Father, thank You that when I was dead in my sins, You made me alive in Christ. When I deserved Your wrath, You showed me Your mercy. When I followed the devil, You turned me around and gave me Your Holy Spirit. It is by grace that I am saved. Now that I am saved through faith in Jesus Christ, and now that I am spiritually raised with Christ in heaven, may I do the good works You created me to do. In Jesus’ name, AMEN!
