By Scott Guffin
Associate Professor and Executive Director of Christian Ministry, Samford University
The Path to Forgiveness
Ephesians 2:1-10
Imagine a scenario in which you are in imminent danger of death, unable to do anything to address your circumstances in any way, and suddenly a rescuer swoops in to save your life, delivering you from a certain demise. In Christ, this is exactly what God has done for us, meeting us when we are at our worst, in dire straits and unable to do anything to better our state. Through the sacrificial death of Christ, who on the cross took upon Himself the punishment that was meant for each of us, God offers to us a rescue of an eternal kind, a deliverance from sure punishment and death.
We are dead in our sins apart from Christ (1-3).
After reminding his readers in chapter 1 of all the good things they have in Christ—redemption, forgiveness of sins, adoption as sons, an eternal inheritance, every spiritual blessing, all sealed with the Holy Spirit—Paul reminds them in chapter 2 of who they once were before Christ. He reminds them of how God has lifted them from their previous circumstances to become those “who have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” In describing their former state, Paul reminds his readers that they were “dead” in their trespasses and sins. It is worth noting here that Paul is speaking to people who are physically alive but telling them that they were formerly dead. One can thus infer that Paul is not speaking of physical death but rather of spiritual death that results from being separated from God because of our sins (see Isaiah 59:2). Further down, in verse 12, Paul reminds them, “At that time you were without Christ, excluded from the citizenship of Israel, and foreigners to the covenants of promise, without hope and without God in the world.” Consider that last phrase: “without hope and without God in the world.” Outside of Christ, this is the natural state of human beings, and it is a dire one, because its eventual destiny is to be subject to the wrath of God.
We are made alive through Christ (4-7).
In contrast to the terrible news in the previous section of the passage, verse 4 begins with two beautiful, powerful words: “But God.” While we find ourselves in a dreadful position—separated relationally from God, dead in our sins, and without any ability to better our circumstances in any way—God steps in and offers us salvation in Jesus Christ. He does this because He “is rich in mercy” and because of His “great love” for us. Paul notes that God doesn’t wait for us to better our situation before He deals with us, but rather, finding us dead in our trespasses, He acts to make us “alive with Christ.” Paul speaks in a similar fashion in Romans 5, declaring that while we were “helpless,” “ungodly,” “sinners,” and even God’s “enemies,” God showed His love for us by sending Christ to die for us. In summarizing God’s redemptive activity on our behalf, Paul exclaims, “You are saved by grace!” In addition to rescuing us from death, God has also blessed us by “raising us up” and “seating us” with Christ, that His grace and kindness toward us might be on display throughout eternity.
We are saved by Christ for a purpose (8-10).
In verses 8-9, Paul lays down a formulaic theological statement regarding the process of salvation by grace alone through faith alone that will become a cornerstone of protestant doctrine: “For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” Paul reiterates here that our salvation is a matter of God’s grace toward us, to be received “through faith.” To clarify further, Paul notes that our salvation is in no way a function or result of our actions. Rather, it is strictly a gift of God, to the degree that we can claim nothing for or from ourselves. Even our ability to respond in faith is a gift from God! However, God does not save us simply to grant us our eternal “fire insurance.” No, God saves us—and subsequently shapes us as a master craftsman into the image of Christ—in order that we might fulfill His original purpose for us—to do His good works. While we are not saved in any way by good works, we are certainly saved for good works. What this means is that God has designed us to do the things that Jesus came to do—to serve others in humility, ultimately to “seek and save the lost” (Luke 19:10). We are people saved by God, and we have work to do.
It is important for us as believers in Christ to remember our state outside of Christ, because it is only in comprehending the desperateness of our former circumstances that we can understand the depth and breadth of the love, grace, and mercy of God. It is also vital to recall what the Lord has truly done for us and in gratitude to set our hearts and hands to “be about our Father’s business.”
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