"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved--and raised us up with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:4-7, ESV).
These verses are so rich. They point us to the heart of the gospel message--God is not content with our destruction. Paul has just painted a bleak picture of what we were before Christ. We were sons of disobedience, servants of the prince of the power of the air, and spiritual corpses. We slavishly labored after our own fleshly desires without the slightest concern for the glory of God. Although he was the author of our life, we expended his gift in the service of a false god--ourselves.
"But God," Paul states. But God is rich in mercy. But God loved us with a great love. But God made us alive in Christ Jesus. But God shed his grace upon us. But God raised us up with Christ in the heavenly places. But God desired to showcase his glorious mercy in the coming age by extending his kindness toward us.
The word "but" is such a small word with such a powerful impact. It is the sun breaking through the darkness of our life before Christ. It turns the gloom of Paul's description of us into a breath of hope to sustain us. The simple expression "But God," shifts our attention to the "immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe" (Eph. 1:19, ESV). Paul explains that this power finds its greatest expression in the the resurrection and exaltation of Jesus Christ (see Eph. 1:19-23).
In Ephesians 2:4-7, he demonstrates the how that power has been worked out "toward us who believe." Just as God raised Christ from the dead (physically) and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places (physically/spiritually), he has also raised us from the dead (spiritually, and eventually physically) and seated us with Christ in the heavenly places (spiritually, and eventually physically). Thus, in Christ, we have life and standing before God.
Our life is not something that God begrudgingly gave us. No, it was something that sprang forth from his abundant stores of mercy. He is "rich in mercy." He is rich in mercy toward us. He loves us, but not with some puny, fickle, wishy-washy love. No, he loves us with a "great love." In all of this he shows immeasurable kindness toward us.
In the midst of this passage, Paul can't help but express the obvious. He states, "By grace you have been saved." We swim in a sea of God's grace from the moment of conception. It is amazing that he chose the exact pairing of chromosomes that make us up as individuals. He appointed their union, and brought us into existence. His grace extends to every facet of our life--heartbeat, breath, relationships, joy, pain, work, play, etc. His grace is immeasurable, in part, because of its constant presence in our lives.
His grace is also immeasurable for another reason. Beyond all of the general graces God bestows upon us, there is also particular graces. We see some of them in Paul's thanksgiving in Ephesians 1:3-15. We are chosen, predestined to be adopted as sons because God loves us, redeemed through the blood of Christ, and sealed until redemption is completed, just to name a few.
This grace has extended life to us through Jesus Christ. When we believed the gospel, we were made alive in Christ. We were seated with him in the heavenly places. That is to say, he has guaranteed our pardon and place with the Father. Such good news should make us continually praise the glorious God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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