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
The gift of grace is God’s most amazing and wonderful offering to us. We are not granted this gift because of anything we have done, but despite what we have done. God’s system is not that one good act equals one heavenly point. Instead, when we give our lives to Christ, release our hold on this world, and allow the Holy Spirit to intercede, we find a way to come closer to an almighty God who loves us deeply.
God being rich in mercy is a beautiful expression of deep, invested regard rather than flippant or casual attention. It is profound because God promises a life with him before we even accept him. Amid our darkest days and highest highs, God is there with each of us. Not one of us can save ourselves. Only God, in the abundance of his grace and mercy, can save us from death.
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 devoted to redemption and forgiveness.
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 our own determination, we would be even more individualistic, granting ourselves the vanity of self-righteousness. Only through God do we have any reason to hope for a life beyond the death that lies before us all. We should shower God with our praise, for 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, bowed down in gratitude and thanksgiving.
Once we accept the gift of grace, we are transformed and realigned to become what God intended us to be. When we sacrifice our human nature for a deeper spiritual connection to Christ, we come closer to our original purpose. For God made us in his own image (Genesis 1:26-27), and we bear his image by doing what God would do, namely good works.
We don’t do good works before we’re saved—why would we? What’s the purpose? Instead, God gave us the life of Christ to demonstrate that simply doing ‘good things’ isn’t enough. Following rules alone won’t suffice; we must sacrifice, surrender, and give beyond ourselves. We are called to do more than just wake up, work, eat, sleep, and repeat. Our lives are meant for more than hobbies, pastimes, or leisure. We are created to perform good works—not for pride or self-glory, but to honor and glorify God. These good deeds are the result of our salvation and a way to express our thankfulness for grace that we haven’t earned.
MEMORY VERSE
Timothy Cole. Life, 19th century. The Minneapolis Institute of Art
Related Verses
More verses about God’s gift of grace
PRAYER INVITATION
Application Questions
- Is it difficult for you to accept the free gift of grace, not because of what you have done, but because of who God is? Why?
- Are you more concerned with how your good behavior is witnessed or with how you can be about God’s glory? What daily actions can you start taking to shift away from being performative and toward greater humility?
- Good works do not bring about salvation, but how are you living a life made for good works?
- How can you model the grace of God with others, even with people who annoy, disagree with, hurt you, or you don’t like? What about your parents or your children?
Leave a Reply