But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, (5) even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) (6) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7) that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His 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,

The letter to the Ephesians was written by the Apostle Paul while he was a prisoner in Rome.  It was likely a letter intended to be circulated and read among all the churches in Asia Minor and since Ephesus was the capitol of the Roman province of Asia – modern Turkey – that may have been the reason for the name.  This is not only a letter of encouragement to the early churches, it is a letter of correction and admonition.   After Paul left Ephesus, false teachers, not understanding Scripture, preached harmful  and false interpretations of Paul’s gospel.  The verses we study today emphasize the theology of the gospel Paul preached –  in what would come to be known as the New Testament.

Chapter 2 of Ephesians spells out the essence of the gospel of Jesus Christ:  man is fallen and has a depraved nature – a hopeless condition as a result of sin.  God is merciful and salvation is freely given to those who believe through the completed works of Christ Jesus.  The faithful are justified – made right with God – not through any actions of man but solely through faith in Christ.  This gospel is Christcentric and is not for the glory of man but for the glory of God. Not only is salvation through faith by God’s free grace an unearned gift, even that faith is a gift from God and cannot be exercised through man’s own power.  Salvation is first to last of the Lord.

Paul attends first to the depths of the condition of lost men.  Man was dead because of sin – the irony is man wasn’t even aware of this until he was saved.  Living in sin men were  deceived into thinking they were enjoying life to its fullest – until they were dead and it was too late.  what a terrible fate to be spiritually dead; lifeless, without power, unable to help oneself and to be beyond hope.

But the good news of the Gospel is we are alive in Christ through God’s grace.  Man did nothing, Christ made us alive.  God was motivated for this great gift by His mercy and love and we should be humbled and deeply gratified for this unending joy.  The faithful have transformed lives by virtue of their belief – we behave as we believe.  in the Bible we are told that we see reality as through a glass darkly but i find that true belief in Christ Jesus gives us real glimpses of the radiance which waits for us.  God’s love for us sparks our love in return but the difference is He loved us while we were His enemies and were dead in sin.  God’s love is from His goodness, not from our worth.

The primary purpose of salvation, demonstrated by the grace of God, is all for the glory of God.  His purposes are eternal, not temporal.  His hope does not disappoint.  Paul makes it very clear that Salvation is of the Lord and His grace is undeserved.