August 03, 2022 – Wednesday
Ephesians 2:4-9 NIV
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.
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.
8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—
9 not by works, so that no one can boast.
Ephesians 2:4-9 NASB 1995
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 transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),
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 surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Comments
The italicized grace above was added to show in three separate sentences, grace is mentioned in each sentence. And in each sentence grace was essential to the meaning of the sentence.
In the first sentence (verses four and five) we find God has a great love for us and He is rich in mercy. Because of that He made us alive in Christ even when we were dead in our transgressions. And then the wonderful conclusion, it is by grace you have been saved. Through God’s unmerited favor (grace) we have been saved.
Then we have the second sentence (verses six and seven), 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. Those of us in Christ, God raised us up with Christ in the heavenly realms. Wow. Just Wow. Why did He do this? So that in the coming ages He might show the incomparable riches of His grace. The unmerited favor, grace, He grants us results in incomparable riches for us in heaven. How does this happen? Through His grace, expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus. His kindness to those of us in Christ Jesus, through His grace.
Finally, we have the third sentence (verses eight and nine), 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. As stated in the first sentence, we again have, it is by grace you have been saved with the addendum through faith. And that faith is in the saving grace of Jesus on the cross at Calvary and His resurrection on the third day. To make sure we understand the grace is unmerited favor, Paul adds, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God. Our salvation comes not from ourselves, it is totally a gift from God. Then Paul concludes so there can be no misunderstanding about our salvation, it is not by works, so that no one can boast. Our faith is not a work, it is simply faith, truly believing in what Christ did for us on the cross. In case this seem repetitive, Paul intended it to be so in my opinion, for he preached Christ and Christ crucified as a summary of the gospel message. I cannot do otherwise.
Bottom Line: Grace is a free gift from God, if we will but believe and accept this wonderful gift of forgiveness and salvation.
Prayer: Almighty God, How do we thank You for a gift we could not earn and did not deserve? I do not know, other than to praise You and Your incredible mercy and love. – In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
RileyD, nwJ
Riley D. Driver – Pastor
Calvary Chapel of Dayton
in Beavercreek