Tag Archives: Grace

Ephesians 2:8-9

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For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Now that we have gone through the previous verses, you can see the context for verse 8 which many of us have memorized. The verse starts with “For.” It’s connected to what has gone before. We memorize it as a stand-alone or with verse 9, but it belongs with the previous verses. He is explaining the grace part of the previous several verses related to God’s purpose in demonstrating the glory of God.

It is by grace we have been rescued. God’s rescue of us and lifting us up out of the miry pit and placing us on the solid ground of salvation is totally and completely by grace.

God has extended favor toward us, and that favor and kindness are not related in any way to any good we think we may have done. It is not a reward or a benefit, or a response to our goodness. It is a totally unmerited blessing given from the generous hand of God by grace.

We receive this gift by faith. That means by believing. God has announced the good news of the gospel that Jesus came to pay the penalty for all of our sins when He died on the cross. Believing this and trusting God with His promise to save and forgive, is the way this grace is received. Salvation is not a reward for believing. It is freely offered, and the way we take advantage of it is by believing it.

And all of this is not of ourselves. It is not of our own doing. Our new birth is not by the will of man, but by the will of God (John 1:12-13). It is a gift. And you don’t work for a gift.

Verse 9 goes on to tell us it is not of works. Works give us an opportunity to boast: I was smarter than you in taking God’s offer of salvation; I was more faithful in obeying God; I went to church more; I paid more attention to my BIble reading than you; etc.

But salvation has nothing to do with any of that. It is a gift of God, period.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 8:43 PM November 4, 2020.

Ephesians 1:12

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So that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

Verse 12 finishes the thought from verse 11. So that… We learned in verse 11 that God works everything according to the counsel of his will. But in this predestinating work, the question is why? What is he trying to accomplish? Verse 12 gives the answer to that question. So that we who hope in Christ might be for the praise of his glory. There you have what is basically the answer to the greatest philosophical question of the universe. Why am I here and why is God doing what He is doing? The answer is so that those who place their hope in Christ would be to the praise of the glory of God. Do you see your life that way? That the reason you go to work, mow your lawn, vacuum your house, are all done for the glory of God? Whether you eat or drink or in whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 1:18 PM September 28, 2020.

Ephesians 1:9-10

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Making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

I think it will work best if we put verses 9 and 10 together. God, in revealing his message of grace and salvation, is making known to us the mystery of His will. A mystery, the way Paul uses the term, is something that God has kept unrevealed until a particular time in history. When that time arrives, He makes known that mystery to His prophets and apostles, who then incorporated the truth in the Scriptures.


Paul writes in Colossians 1:25 “I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints.”
The God of the universe has a plan which He is gradually putting into play. And He, the God of the universe, has chosen to reveal that mystery to human beings. That is an amazing thing to contemplate.

Paul goes on to tell us in Ephesians 1:9 , that He is making this mystery known according to His purpose. So even the revealing is according to a purpose. And remember, God doesn’t change his plans. If He does something according to His purpose, it is a purpose He has always had in mind for the zillions of years of eternity past.

This purpose is set forth in Christ or displayed or revealed in Christ. Further, it is a plan for the fullness of time. When everything surges toward the conclusion, what is that plan, Paul? That purpose is to unite everything in heaven and on earth in Christ. Everything will be brought together in Christ. Remember that the word “Christ” means Messiah and that is none other than Jesus. And John told us that Jesus is the Word, the logos of God.
Logos means more than “word.” Logos, the way it was used in the Greek culture at Jesus time, meant the wisdom, logic, thought, and, yes, word, behind all of creation. John told us that this logos became a man and lived here on earth among us.

So in the end, everything will be brought together in Christ.
This is the mystery that had been hidden for thousands of years, but which God revealed to His apostles 2000 years ago.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 10:47 AM September 22, 2020.

Ephesians 1:8

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Which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight.

Last time we spoke of the forgiveness we have because of the riches of God’s grace. In this verse, we learn that God has lavished this grace upon us. The word has to do with the abundance and overflowing nature of God’s gift. God is not miserly when it comes to His grace. He pours it out lavishly.


And the verse goes on to tell us that He did this with wisdom and insight. God is all-wise. He knows everything and he knows all of the possible choices, and he knows all the possible consequences of potential decisions. Having considered all of what He knows, and with perfect wisdom, He lavished grace upon us — enough grace to provide pardon for every moral failure and to buy us back from the bondage to sin and Satan.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 11:31 AM September 21, 2020.

Ephesians 1:7

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In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Ephesians

Ephesians 1:7

“In Him” There we have it again. All that we have, we have in Christ. We have redemption. We have been bought back from bondage to sin and Satan, and we have our paperwork. Redemption isn’t something we need to seek. We have it when we have Christ.
Redemption came through Jesus’ blood. It was the shedding of His blood on the cross that paid the price for our freedom. We didn’t have enough money to buy our own freedom, even at the cost of our lives. But Christ the Messiah paid the price for us.


We have forgiveness of our trespasses. The Greek word behind trespasses is that of a general moral failure, rather than violation of a particular law. In Christ we have forgiveness of every conceivable moral failure, any fall from the position of perfection.
Forgiveness here means pardon, or the removal of an obligation or the ignoring of that obligation by someone with whom we have a relationship.

So, when we are in Christ, we received the complete removal of obligation to fulfill or live up to particular standards of obedience in order to maintain the relationship.
In Colossians 2:13-13, Paul writes, “having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”


It’s important that we get a grip on these truths and embrace them because this is the gospel we are to believe in order to be saved.
And all of this is according to the riches of his grace. God is full of grace. The reason God is doing what He is doing is so that all may see the multifaceted grandeur of His character, especially His grace.

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:28 AM September 14, 2020.

Ephesians 1:6

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To the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Ephesians

Ephesians 1:6

And what was the purpose of all of the actions of God described here? So that His glorious grace would be praised. The word “blessed” in this verse is very closely related to the word “grace.” So we could almost say, “To the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has graced us.” God’s grace is multi-faceted. God wants everyone to see how grand and glorious His grace is.


This grace has made us accepted! Think about that. Accepted. Some versions use the word “accepted” where the ESV uses blessed. Most of us try hard to be accepted. We do this both consciously and subconsciously, but we do it. Sometimes we wear ourselves out trying to become accepted. But we are accepted by God! And it is by grace. There is no effort involved. Because we are in Christ, God says, “I accept you. You belong to me.” There is no checklist or achievement program to maintain. We are accepted!


And all of this, as in the previous verses, is in the Beloved. In his beloved son. As I said in a previous comment, when God gave us Christ, he gave us everything. As Paul told the Corinthians, “And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:20 AM September 14, 2020.

Not in Me

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No list of sins I have not done,
No list of virtues I pursue,
No list of those I am not like
Can earn myself a place with You.
O God, be merciful to me–
I am a sinner through and through!
My only hope of righteousness
Is not in me, but only You.

No humble dress, no fervent prayer,
No lifted hands, no tearful song,
No recitation of the truth
Can justify a single wrong.
My righteousness is Jesus’ life,
My debt was paid by Jesus’ death,
My weary load was borne by Him
And He alone can give me rest.

No separation from the world,
No work I do, no gift I give
Can cleanse my conscience, cleanse my hands;
I cannot cause my soul to live.
But Jesus died and rose again–
The power of death is overthrown!
My God is merciful to me
And merciful in Christ alone.

My righteousness is Jesus’ life,
My debt was paid by Jesus’ death,
My weary load was borne by Him
And He alone can give me rest.

Grace Greater than our Sin

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by Julia H. Johnston

Marvelous grace of our loving Lord,
Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt!
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured,
There where the blood of the Lamb was spilt.

Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that will pardon and cleanse within;
Grace, grace, God’s grace,
Grace that is greater than all our sin!

Sin and despair, like the sea waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater, yes, grace untold,
Points to the refuge, the mighty cross.

Dark is the stain that we cannot hide.
What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide,
Brighter than snow you may be today.

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,
Freely bestowed on all who believe!
You that are longing to see his face,
Will you this moment his grace receive?

God’s Righteousness Demands Justice

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My devotions have taken me into the book of Ezekiel. Without question this is one of the strangest and most difficult books in the Bible to read and understand. There are descriptions of wheels within wheels with eyes all around. The words create the image of flying saucers in my mind. But it is obvious that the main point of the book is that God is fed up with the sinfulness of His people.

In Ezekiel 9, the prophet sees a vision of some men, one of whom has an inkhorn. God tells him to go into all the city of Jerusalem and put an ink mark on the forehead of all those who “sigh and cry over all the abominations that are done” within the city. So he obeys and marks the foreheads.

Then other men are told to basically go out into the city and kill all of those who do not have the mark. It reminds me of the Exodus where God rescued all those who had the blood on their doorposts.

A couple of things struck me right away. First, this kind of incident is not going to sit well with people of the 21st century. The killing of all these “innocent” men, women, and children seems gross and excessive. But on the other hand, we Christians have always taught that the wages of sin is death. Do we really believe that?

But wait! What was the sin of these people? The people who were slain were those who were not sighing and crying over all of the abominations being done within the city of Jerusalem. Not sighing or crying over wickedness is a sin? I thought sins were things like murder, rape, and other forms of brutality. But what does it mean when the Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”? God laments the sinfulness of people and all of the abominations that mankind does, especially if these deeds are being done by His own people. If we were godly, we would sorrow too, … wouldn’t we? I was struck by how very far short I fall below God’s standard of holiness!

What keeps God from going out now and executing all of us who are lacking in our sorrow over sin in our country or in our churches? Isn’t this where the gospel comes in? Jesus came here and died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin. That’s what we preach, right? But what does that mean? It means that Jesus took my sin of not sighing and crying upon Himself. In effect that means that Jesus was blamed by God for not crying or sighing over the sins of our cities and churches. And because of that guilt, God executed Him on the cross, just as the men in Ezekiels’ time were executed for that very same crime.

What about me? When we trust Christ as our savior, God gives us Christ’s righteousness in replacement for our own meager and sometimes phony efforts at righteous living. When God looks at me, He sees me as having been perfectly mournful over the sins of my city and my church. Why? Because Jesus is perfectly mournful and I have been given credit for that righteous attitude.

We can’t look at someone who has been brutal and violent and feel superior. We all are guilty of capital offenses against God. But God in His mercy and grace offers us a free, unearned pardon through His Son Jesus Christ. I’ve taken Him up on that offer. It was too good to turn down. What about you?

Thoughts from Ephesians – 5

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Ephesians 2:1-10

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins,  in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. 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.

Paul personalizes the exceeding greatness of God’s power that he just talked about. He told us that the power toward us is the same as the power that raised Christ from the dead. Now he explains that we also have been raised from the dead. The phrase “He made alive” in verse 1 is not in the original. That’s why it is in italics in your Bible. So first, he describes the lostness from which we were raised but he doesn’t explain the resurrection until verse 5. Our condition is described as one of death in trespasses and sins. We used to walk in this condition following the pattern of the world and in the plan of the prince of this world, Satan. We also lived according to the lusts of our flesh and were in our natural state children of wrath just like everybody else. We were naturally the objects of God’s wrath, anger and condemnation.

But God, because He is rich in mercy and because of the great love He has for us, made us alive with Christ. He did this even when we were dead in our trespasses. Nothing is said here of our faith or our responsiveness to the gospel. It takes a living person to be able to respond. We were dead. Resurrection comes before response. Just as in the case of Lazarus. Jesus called him out of the tomb and he came out. Did Jesus give him life because he obediently came out of the tomb or did Lazarus respond because of the life God had given him? The same is true of us. The calling of God and the Word of God grant life and then there is response.

We have been more than raised. There are several other actions that God has (past tense) performed. He has raised us up together and made us sit together with Christ in heavenly places. These have already occurred. As far as God is concerned, we are already there.

So many times we focus on us as the reason for everything God does, but in this passage we get a different point of view. God’s purpose in all of this is that in the ages to come he might show how rich His grace is as it was demonstrated by His kindness. He wants all of creation to realize how great His grace is. It has everything to do with the glory of God and His greatness. Because, after all, it is by grace we have been saved through faith. All of this is a gift of God, not through any of our own works because then we might boast. We are the workmanship of God. We are His creation – both the original and the new creation in Christ.