Ephesians 2:8

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8 NKJV).

So many people think that salvation is through faith in Christ.  While faith certainly is pertinent to our salvation experience, it is not what saves us.  Paul clearly says that we are saved by God’s grace.  Faith simply accesses that grace. 

It may sound like I am haggling over semantics, but that’s not the case.  There is a good reason to separate out grace from faith in this profound truth – just as the Apostle Paul did for the Ephesians.   To understand why this is so important, we need to consider for a moment what we have been saved from.  Many people would say Hell, but that is merely a by-product of our salvation.  We have been saved from sin and its consequences, one of which is Hell.  This matters when you consider the difference between a life that reflects salvation from sin and one that simply reflects living by faith. 

Think about it this way - many people today have faith.  They believe in all kinds of things that will do absolutely nothing for them when it comes to reconciliation with God and salvation from sin.  They live according to their faith.  If they have faith that there is no God, then they live as if there is no God. If they have faith in the “Universe,” then they live with all kinds of superstitious practices that range from the occult to just plain weird and ignorant. 

Now let’s get personal for those of us who consider ourselves as “Christians.”  If we don’t separate out the difference here between faith and grace, we can have faith in Jesus, but never access the grace that is available in Christ to live in freedom from sin.  Then, we will be living by faith in a religion built around the idea of Christ, but not demonstrating the power of the very heart and soul of the doctrine of Christ.  Paul warned Timothy about this type of a believer:

They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! (2 Timothy 3:5 NLT).

That’s the danger in not fully understanding the implications of the grace by which we are saved.  It is only when a man or woman lives by faith in the grace of God that Paul told Titus in Chapter 2 of that book, “teaches us to say no to unrighteousness,” that we clearly see salvation demonstrated in a tangible way.  It looks like this:

 But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:  that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:20-24 NKJV).

Salvation is an invisible transaction between earth and Heaven that should have a visible appearance in the life of a believer.  Otherwise, we may be using our “faith,” to access something much less than God’s full measure of Christ.

Today I trust in the grace of God to help me walk in a way that demonstrates a life that has been saved from sin.

Be sure to check out Gennarino’s devotion on Ephesians 2:8.

Ephesians 2:7

So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:7 NLT).

It is one thing to think about God pointing at our lives as an example to future generations of His incredible grace and kindness because of what He has done for us through Christ.  It is quite another to have those future generations looking back at our lives in light of what we did with all that God lavished upon us.  How sobering to think of the ratio that would emerge from such a comparison.  Would our accomplishments be a 1 to 10 on the scale of what we did versus what He gave us?  Or would be a 1 to 100, a 1 to 1000? 

I guess the real question should actually be, not how much we accomplished in ratio to the grace given, but what was the expectation?  God does not leave us guessing when it comes to that question but spells it out quite plainly:

When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required (Luke 12:48 NLT).

The key to properly assessing what you’ve been given is not quite as straightforward as we might like.  We cannot look around at what others have and decide whether we have more or less because that would not take into account some of the critical criteria by which we would need to make this determination.  We must also take into consideration things such as our physical ability, our sphere of influence, the wealth of the country in which we are located, our quota of intelligence, our physical appearance, our social platform, and so many other immeasurable measuring sticks that we soon realize how impossible it is to really gauge how we are doing on the ratio of what we’ve been given to what we do with it. 

Before you throw in the towel and decide that this is impossible, listen to how God measures the criteria and how we can stay on track to bring the ratio to the place that pleases God:

 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, ”This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” (John 6:28-29 NLT).

As crazy and inequitable as it may seem to our mortal mind, God only measures our faith in what Christ did for us, not the works that we do or don’t do for Him.  So, when He says that if someone has been given much, it is not about our material possessions, but about our faith in Christ.  And that’s why God points the future generations to look at the things He has done for us, instead of the things we have done for Him.  Yet, when our faith in Christ is strong, so will our work for Him be powerful and plentiful.

Today I am going to do the same thing the Apostles did when they realized the discrepancy in the ratio of what God has done for them and what they could ever do for Him:  The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5 ESV).  God, please increase my faith so that I will be able to have more and, therefore, do more for Your Kingdom during my time here on earth.

 Be sure to check out Gennarino's blog on Ephesians 2:7.

Ephesians 2:6

For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6 NLT). 

Most Christians would acknowledge the fact that when we die, we will end up in Heaven because of what Jesus did for us at the cross.  While that’s true, it lacks a critical element of the timing that Paul is pointing out to the believers in Ephesus.  Certainly there will be a future event when the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ will rise (1 Thessalonians 4:16), but look at this verse very closely.  It says that God “raised” us from the dead along with Christ and “seated” us with Him.  Those are past tense verbs.  That means it has already happened. 

When we get over the initial inability of our minds to comprehend the “how” that happened, we can rest and marvel in the fact that it somehow did happen.  This revelation brings incredible implications to our everyday world.  If I were to operate from this premise that in some form or fashion, which I may or may not understand, I am already in Heaven and seated with Christ because of my position “in” Him, can you imagine how that would change everything?  When I set my hand to a mundane task, I’m operating as a citizen of Heaven.  When I meet someone for the first time and they ask, “So, where do you live?,” it is a great witnessing tool to say, “Oh, I live in Heaven.”  Or how about when someone wrongs me?  Can I really take offense if I am surrounded by an angelic host of beings that are watching how I handle it?  What about when I am tempted to lose my temper, fudge the truth, give in to despair, covet what I don’t have, or any of the other ridiculous petty things I concern myself with as a citizen of earth?  They all pale in comparison to where I’m supposed to have my real citizenship.

For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:20 NKJV),

 

There it is again.  Paul stresses again to the Ephesians that we are waiting for Jesus to come again, but where are we waiting?  We are waiting for Him from Heaven.  

As crazy and unfathomable as this truth is, it still is true.  Therefore, today I will walk by faith in this truth and live as a citizen of Heaven.

Check out Gennarino’s devotion on this verse:  Ephesians 2:6.

Ephesians 2:5

Even when we were dead (slain) by [our own] shortcomings and trespasses, He made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ; [He gave us the very life of Christ Himself, the same new life with which He quickened Him, for] it is by grace (His favor and mercy which you did not deserve) that you are saved (delivered from judgment and made partakers of Christ’s salvation).  (Ephesians 2:5 AMP)

Paul is explaining that grace is the underlying cornerstone of our salvation.  Yet, there is much misconception in the body of Christ when it comes to grace. 

On the one hand, grace is that acronym that we all love to espouse – God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.  This is the reality that we get something we don’t deserve.  Yet, from here many Christians extrapolate a belief that borders on heresy.  You hear this mistaken understanding when a brother or sister is confronted in their sin and their response is, “Hey man, I’m not under law, I’m under grace.”  That kind of thinking is not grace; it is an excuse for the flesh.  Grace is not a license to sin.  In fact when you dig a little deeper into what grace really is, you find an interesting truth emerge.   Paul writes to Timothy:

For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people.  It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age (Titus 2:11-12 NIV).

Paul is telling Timothy that grace is the personal trainer in our lives that teaches us to say no to unrighteousness.  Combine that with the power of God’s indwelling Spirit that has freed us from sin and gives us the ability to turn away from sin to live a holy life, and you have the winning combination that becomes transformational.  That’s why the statement that “I’m not under law, but under grace,” is so off track.  A life under grace would be one of righteousness, not sinfulness.

The original disciples knew this.  Listen to just a few comments on what they believed about how salvation would look in the life of the believer because of God’s grace and His Spirit:

Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did (1 John 2:6 NLT).

For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also (James 2:26 NKJV).

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14 NIV).

Today, instead of making excuses for my flesh, I will conscientiously access the grace of God to live a life that says no to unrighteousness. 

Check out Gennarino’s devotion on this verse:  Ephesians 2:5.

Ephesians 2:4

But God—so rich is He in His mercy! Because of and in order to satisfy the great and wonderful and intense love with which He loved us  (Ephesians 2:4 AMP) 

We are all aware – believer and non-believer alike – that God is love.  It is one of the universally and politically correct attributes that our modern culture will actually tolerate regarding God.  Yet even in their acceptance of this fact, they have no clue as to the depth and quality of the love that is only found in God.  At best, many relegate the fact that “God is love,” to a the notion that He is like a cute little puppy, or giggling baby, or any other created item that conjures up for us that feeling of warm and fuzzy we so often associate with the term “love.” 

We couldn’t miss the mark more when we keep God in that box.  It was King Solomon who penned a description of love that more adequately describes God:

Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame (Song of Solomon 8:6 NIV).

God is this kind of love – the kind that burns like a blazing fire with jealousy over His creation.  He is a love that tore down the walls of death to bring us back up out of the grave into which Adam and Eve had fallen, along with all of mankind.  God is love that allows us to have our own free will and thereby choose whether we will love Him back or not. 

Paul is stressing in this verse that the “love” that is God is rich in mercy, wonderful, and intense.  It is not a feeling of warm and fuzzy or lustful desire; it is a heart-felt decision to give us all of who He is, regardless of the cost, but only if we want Him.  This was what He told the Israelites after they had come out of Egypt and stood at the crossroads of the Promised Land.  He explained what life would be like with Him and what it would be like without Him and then He very soberly gave them the option:

“Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!  You can make this choice by loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and committing yourself firmly to him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the Lord, you will live long in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NLT).

God is love, but a love that is different than what we could ever conceive or comprehend.  It is our choice as to whether we even begin the journey to know Him and this merciful, wonderful, intense love that is God.

Today, I will make a conscious choice to know the love which is God by loving God and not this world.

You can also check out Gennarino's devotion on Ephesians 2:4.