Day 457: Grace - Ephesians 1 vs 1 -2

1-2 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:1-2 English Standard Version

We start a new letter of the apostle Paul today which vs 1-2 tell us was written to Christians in a city called Ephesus, which was in a region that is today called Turkey. A footnote in English Bible's says some ancient manuscripts of this letter don't actually have the words 'in Ephesus'. That's not a serious problem because the letter has a timeless message which applies to Christians through the ages and all over the world.

Paul begins the letter with the familiar greeting of “Grace to you, and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” And, as he does in other letters, he refers to these ordinary believers as 'saints'. That doesn't mean they were super holy, but that that they had been 'set apart' by, and for, God. It's a humbling but wonderful thought to realize that God's intentions for us are grace and peace. Grace is God's mercy that we did not deserve and could never earn; peace is the relationship with God and the experience in our hearts and minds that follows.

To get an idea of how marvellous God's grace is we could look at what Paul writes in Chapter 2 vs 1-5 of this same letter when he says to these Christians: “You were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! (Ephesians 2:1-5)

What did Paul say the spiritual condition of these people was before God saved them, and who had been influencing the way they had been living in the world?

He describes them as having been 'dead'. They certainly had no life towards God. In fact, their lives were influenced by Satan and evil spirits. That may sound weird too Western ears in the 21st century, but the Bible teaches that Satan is a real being and his lies lead to disobedience to God. Don't we see that even today in the growing trend of rebellion against all that God's word teaches. Notice that Paul includes himself as having been someone who'd also once been fighting God. The result of being deceived by Satan's lies is that people, by nature, are slaves to wrong desires of their minds and bodies. And so they were under God's wrath! By nature men and women deserve God's righteous condemnation. But what was the wonderful difference that the underlined words of those verses show?

God stepped into our world – literally when Jesus became a man and lived among us – and He dealt with transgressions and sins in a way that only He could ever do. Christ died in the sinners place, but was made alive again and rose from the grave. And sinners who are joined to Jesus through faith were raised from their spiritually dead condition with Christ. A Christian isn't someone who never did or never does anything wrong. A Christian is a person who, through hearing the gospel and believing on Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, has been made spiritually alive to God. They no longer follow Satan's lies, they follow Jesus Christ.

How did Paul describe God's mercy and love in the underlined verses above?

God is RICH in mercy – and His love is GREAT. In other words, there is an abundance of mercy and love, enough to turn the foulest of sinners into a saint. That's what grace is all about. If that is your experience give God all the praise and thanksgiving He is worthy of. If this is all strange to you – call out for all you are worth and ask God to open the eyes of your heart to His grace.