"You were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 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— Eph 2:1-5
Those two words, But God, represent a huge contrast!
- "We were dead in our trespasses and sins,"
- We were "following the course of this world,"
- Following "the prince of the power of the air,"
- Following "the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience"
- "Among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,"
- "Carrying out the desires of the body and the mind,"
- "And were by nature children of wrath,
- Just "like the rest of mankind"
BUT GOD,
being RICH in MERCY, because of HIS GREAT LOVE with which HE LOVED US, even when we were dead in our trespasses, MADE US ALIVE together with Christ! - Ephesians 2:1-5
being RICH in MERCY, because of HIS GREAT LOVE with which HE LOVED US, even when we were dead in our trespasses, MADE US ALIVE together with Christ! - Ephesians 2:1-5
Did you catch that?
What roll did you play? And what roll did God play?
What roll did you play? And what roll did God play?
The truth is, it was all God! 100% Him, for we were dead! And He made us alive! Some might argue how could we possibly be dead when we've been living and breathing on this earth for years! I once wondered the same, and I did a bit of research and discovered there are actually three types of deaths mentioned in God's Word. AND that death is better defined as separated.
__The First death is a physical death, and the one we most often think of, when our spirit separates itself from our body. We go on, but our body remains lifeless.
__ The Second death is the one mentioned here in this chapter in Ephesians, where we are walking this earth in the flesh separated from God.
__ The Third death was the one God mentions to Adam and Eve when He told them that if they ate of the fruit of The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil they would surely die. He was speaking of an eternal death; an eternal separation from God. This third death is the one all will face one day if they don't accept God's gift of life now in this lifetime.
So, we were all once dead- separated from God in our sins... BUT GOD, being RICH in MERCY, because of HIS GREAT LOVE with which HE LOVED US, even when we were dead in our trespasses, MADE US ALIVE together with Christ!
Just imagine for a moment what this life would be like if God suddenly ceased His redemption process among us, and closed the gates of heaven.
Praise God He is rich in mercy and loves us beyond anything our finite mind can fathom! Not only did He reach down to claim us as His, but He is building His church; human stone upon stone, with the Cornerstone of our faith being our Lord, Jesus Christ.
We are an eclectic group for sure and no where is it more evident than on Women in the Word's FB page! We've come from all parts of this world; each different ages and from diverse backgrounds but unified in our love for our Lord, Jesus Christ and our desire to grow our faith through His Word and fellowship!
Paul is telling us here in chapter 2 that regardless of our sin origin, we all share a common destination with each of us having become an altogether new creation by His grace. (Eph 2:8-9) It's evident He has brought us together, because His Spirit abides within and among us, but He isn't finished yet! (v.10) His church is not complete! He is building us together because He has a purpose for all of us and we would do well to be about our Father's business until He calls us all home for that great banquet in the sky!
Blessings,
sue