Ephesians 2:4-7

Scripture:

4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Devotion:

There are two words in Ephesians 2:4 that carry the entire weight of the gospel: "But God." Everything before verse 4 in this passage describes the condition Paul's readers were in before Christ, dead in trespasses, following the course of this world, by nature children of wrath. And then, without warning and without any action on their part, the direction of the whole story turns on those two words. 

"But God, being rich in mercy." That word “rich” is the same instinct behind Psalm 103's "abounding." It is the language of excess, of a supply that does not run low because the source of it is a person whose character cannot be depleted. 

Paul traces this mercy back to its origin: "because of the great love with which he loved us." This is Exodus 34 in the New Testament's vocabulary. The hesed that God proclaimed to Moses on the mountain, the steadfast love that David sang about in Psalm 103, was always moving toward a specific moment: the cross, where God dealt with the sin He would by no means clear by absorbing its penalty Himself. What Moses received as a declaration and David rehearsed as a song, Paul names as an event in history. God became what was needed to do what only He could do. 

HEAR about it:

Explain:

How does Ephesians 2:4-7 change the way you read Psalm 103? What does Paul reveal about the mercy David was singing about?

Prayer and Reflection:

Take a few minutes to sit quietly and reflect on the passage you read today. Let the Holy Spirit bring to mind what stood out to you and why. Then spend some time in prayer. Pray for the people around you, for your outlook on this day, and for the needs you are carrying in your own life.

Lord Jesus, "But God" is one of the most important phrases I will ever read, and I do not want to be someone who reads past it. You were rich in mercy toward me when I was dead in my sin and had nothing to offer in return. Sit me down in that reality today and do not let me leave it too quickly. Let it change how I carry myself today. Amen. 

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