Ephesians 2:1-9 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; (2) Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: (3) Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. (4) But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, (5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) (6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: (7) That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. (8) For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast."
Grace - God's Riches At Christ's Expense. Grace is defined as the unmerited,
unearned favor of God. God's grace is the sole motivating factor in our
salvation - whether you are talking about eternal salvation or the many daily
deliverances that we receive. In order to better understand grace, Paul
begins by reminding us what we were before the favor of God was bestowed upon
us. Sometimes this point is missed, but we were DEAD in trespasses and sins. As
a result of sin, we were without God. We were, by nature, children of
disobedience. We will see later in the chapter that we were WITHOUT HOPE. Are
you ready for this? BUT GOD..... We had no spiritual life. We had no desire for
God. We were content in our worldly life and daily walk.... BUT GOD!
God, by His wonderful grace and mercy, came to us by way of the Holy Spirit and
applied all those things we saw in chapter 1 concerning His choice to love us,
predestine us, redeem us, accept us, and forgive us. The work of the Holy
Spirit changed our nature and our will by giving us a new heart. Read Ezekiel
36:25-27. Our eternal life was given to us by the combined work of Father, Son,
and Holy Spirit. All of this was done purely and simply by the wonderful,
amazing, saving grace of God. We did not work for it. We did not earn it. We
did not deserve it. Yes, I am repeating myself, but it's worth repeating. When
you read these nine verses, you can easily see why two of my favorite words
are, "But God...." Thank you Heavenly Father. Thank you Lord Jesus.
Thank you Holy Spirit. You did it all, for me!
1 Was it for me, for me alone, The Saviour left His glorious throne;
The dazzling splendours of the sky, Was it for me He came to die?
Refrain:
It was for me, yes, all for me, O love of God, so great so free!
O wondrous love, I'll shout and sing, He died for me, my Lord and King!
4 Was it for me He wept and pray’d, My load of sin before Him laid;
That night within Gethsemane, Was it for me that agony? [Refrain]
5 Was it for me He bow’d His head Upon the Cross, and freely shed
His precious blood—that crimson tide, Was it for me the Saviour died? [Refrain]