But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 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. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:4-10
Notes
A New Condition
God’s most amazing and wonderful gift is the gift of grace, not grace because of what we have done but despite what we have done. The system of God is not one good act equals one heavenly point. Instead, when we give our life to Christ, releasing the hold of this world and allowing the Holy Spirit to supply intercession we find a way to come closer to an almighty God who loves us deeply.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our wrongdoings, made us alive together with Christ by grace you have been saved,
God being rich in mercy is a beautiful impression of a deep invested regard rather than flippant or casual attention. That rich mercy is profound in that God promises a life with him before we even accept him. Amidst our darkest days and highest highs, God is there with each of us. There is nothing that any one of us could do to save ourselves. Only God in the abundance of his grace and mercy can save us from death.
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
– 1 John 4:10
6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the boundless riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Instead of being under the influence of Satan, we, who believe in the Lord, have been lifted up to be seated with God’s only son. We become co-heirs to the blessing and joy of being a child of God and recipients of his steadfast love. In Ephesians 1:9 we learn that God had no external obligation to reveal his purpose to us, but he showed us in the life of his son, Jesus, a life in pursuit of redemption and forgiveness
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ.
– Ephesians 1:7-9
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
We cannot earn it. We can only accept it. We can only accept God’s gift of grace by recognizing that we have done nothing to deserve it. If left to each of us and our own determination, we would be even more individualistic granting ourselves the vanity of self-righteousness. Instead, God takes full responsibility and ownership. He is the reason that we can have any hope of a life beyond the death that lies before us all. We should shower God with our praise that we do not have to barter for our lives or give a greater gift in return. We can only come before the Father empty-handed and bowed down in gratitude and thanksgiving.
10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Once accepting the gift of grace, we are transformed and realigned into what God has intended for us to be. For God made us in his own image and we bear his image by doing what God would do and that is good works.
Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
– Genesis 1:26-27
We do not do good work before we are saved. Why would we? What would be the goal? Instead, God granted us the life of Christ to show that just doing ‘good things’ is not enough. Following the rules is not enough. One must lay down their life, sacrifice and give beyond themselves. We are meant to do more than wake up, work, eat, sleep, repeat. Likewise, we are also meant for far more than our hobbies, pastimes or leisure. We are meant to be part of this world, to do good works, not for the sake of pride or our own triumph, but to bring glory and honor to God. Our good works are the fruit of our salvation and show our gratitude for the grace we have been given, a grace we do not deserve.
MEMORY VERSE
Timothy Cole. Life, 19th century. The Minneapolis Institute of Art
Related Verses
More verses about God’s gift of grace
PRAYER INVITATION
“Our worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God’s grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God’s grace.“
— Jerry Bridges
MANÁ 
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