Let Me Not Wander

For we are God's workmanship , created in Christ Jesus to do good works , which God prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV) I love Ephesians 2:8-9. It helps to give us an understanding of the Salvation process. We are saved by grace. We are saved through faith. This faith that we have is a gift from God. I love it. But these two verses have almost become a chant in some peoples minds. They like to quote the parts that they like, over and over again. I can almost hear it now in my mind: "By Grace - Through Faith! Not by works!" But the thought in this passage doesn't stop there. Right after verse 9 there exists a verse 10! And believe it or not, verse 10 is important in the understanding of verses 8 and 9! Even though we are not saved by works, our salvation results in works. Remember that even the works don't come from us. We are God's workmanship. And according to Philippians 1:6, what God starts, he will complete. He does not stop the works that he starts. ...

not by works, so that no one can boast. (NIV) Aren't you glad that this is true? Think about that today. Your salvation is not by works. And that is good, because you never could have done enough to earn it. You always would have come up short. But nobody else has done enough to earn it either. We are all most definitely in the same boat. If you are saved, it is not by works; it is by God's grace.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith -- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God, (NIV) I love the flow of this verse. It is by grace that we have been saved. No doubts about it. It wasn't us, it was simply and purely by God's grace. But wait, wait... here is our part: "through faith" Keep reading... Oh, "and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God." The emphasis keeps flowing away from us and toward God and his kindness - his grace. Even our salvation isn't about us. It is about Christ.

"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." (NIV) Why?!? Why has he seated us with him in the heavenly realms. Why has he made us alive, who were once dead? Why has he freed us from the ruler of this world? Why?!? It is to show his glory. He wanted to demonstrate the "incomparable riches of his grace." He wanted it to be known that he is over all and above all. And he wanted to demonstrate that through Christ Jesus. We are all so far from his grace, and so undeserving. When we are honest with ourselves, we know that we are truly despicable, wretched people. But God, who is rich in mercy... He is the one who has decided to save the unsavable, to love the unlovable, to mend the unmendable, to make alive those who are dead. What a God we serve.

And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, (NIV) The phrase, "the heavenly realms" is translated "the heavenlies" in some other versions and in some other passages. After a little study, I believe that we could understand this best as heavenly citizenship. We are not actually there yet, but we might as well be. That is where our citizenship is. That is where we will end up. But being seated there gives us the idea of permanence and authority. And we do have authority. Think of the context of this passage. We now have enough authority to say no to sin. We are no longer servants to sin, and to our sinful natures. For we have been seated in the heavenlies! Though we aren't there physically, we are seated with Christ now! And he has conquered sin and death for our good and for his glory.

But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. (NIV) We were dead, and the only reason why we are not still dead is because of God. And it isn't because of us, it is because of His great love, because of His mercy, because of His grace. We were dead, but He has made us alive.

All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. (NIV) We used to live among the disobedient at one time. When we had a craving or a desire we gave in to it. We gratified all desires. And we followed after those desires. What we craved was our leader. Was. I can almost feel the tension building. The writer is building up, is painting a picture of what was left behind.

in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. (NIV) The word "ways" refers to a manner of life, your philosophy, so to speak. We all used to follow the philosophies of this world. We have all believed in this world's teachings. We have believed such lies as, it isn't really that bad or I can repent later . But those things are not true. And those lies come from the father of all lies, the devil himself. He is the ruler of the kingdom of the air . And take special note: whether we like to think this way or not, he is at work in those who are disobedient.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, (NIV) Key word: were. You were dead. It is a reminder of what you used to be. You used to be dead in sin. All of us could say that we were dead in our sin. But how many of us can say that we aren't any longer?