By Robert L. Olsen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Christian Studies, University of Mobile
Resurrected
Ephesians 2:1–10
Once Dead (1–3)
Having presented who God is and what He has done for us in chapter 1, Paul now turns to who we are. The picture is not pretty. Whereas God is holy and worthy of honor and glory, humans are sinful and live in ways contrary to God’s will.
For many people this is a difficult concept to grasp. If asked, most people do not see themselves as “bad” or sinful. In fact, if asked, most people who believe there is a heaven think they deserve to go there.
The problem with this is they are judging by their own standard and not God’s holy and perfect standard. According to God’s standard, one sin is enough to separate us from God (see Rom. 6:23).
For those who are Christians the penalty for sin has been paid in Christ’s redemptive work on the cross.
This is why it is so important to share the gospel throughout the world. Since everyone has sinned and deserves to be separated from God and because the only way to be made right with God is through the atoning death and resurrection of Christ, everyone needs to be told.
In today’s America this prospect is not popular — people don’t want to hear they are sinners and in need of a Savior. People don’t want to hear about an almighty, just and holy God of the universe who is worthy of our respect, admiration and obedience. But it has been this way since the gospel was first preached.
Everywhere the gospel is preached some will stand against it. Our job is not to try to convince others to accept the gospel; our duty is to follow God’s command in the Great Commission and preach the gospel and allow the Holy Spirit to convict.
Now Alive (4–7)
Since Paul tells his readers they were all dead in their sins, how were they made alive? They were made alive in Christ by grace. Dead people can do nothing; God has to be the one to resurrect us.
Grace means receiving what we do not deserve. When God saves us by His grace we receive what we do not deserve: salvation from death and a forever relationship with God.
Through Grace Alone (8–10)
Because we have done nothing to deserve being saved we have no reason to boast. If salvation were based on works then the one who did more works or was nicer, kinder, helped more people or made better decisions would be better than one who did not.
So a person who never broke the law and did what was right and obeyed God would be closer to God than a murderer on death row. But with God this is not the case. We are all separated from God — from the nicest person to the worst — and it is only by God’s coming to us and saving us that we become righteous (see 2 Cor. 5:21). God’s saving grace doesn’t rely on anything we do or don’t do. This is a wonderful reality considering our sinful nature.
Throughout history many religions focus on what we can do to earn our salvation. The problem with this is you can never know if you are truly saved or not — when have you been good enough or done enough good work to deserve to go to heaven?
Christianity, however, is not about humans working toward God but God coming to us. Through Christ, God meets us right where we are — flaws and all. Because of this we do not have to worry about being good enough — after all we can never be good enough to deserve or earn salvation.
Christ, being perfectly man and perfectly God, suffered and died on the cross on our behalf making it possible for us to be reconciled to God and to live with Him for eternity.
Share with others: