Costly Grace.

Ephesians 2

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of Gd's household. - Vs 19

Earlier in this chapter, Paul describes the believer's condition prior to coming to Christ. He uses some pretty strong language: Separate. Excluded. Strangers. Having no hope. Without God in the world. Far off. He says we used to live "in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of our mind, and were by nature children of wrath" (Vs 3). We were "dead in our transgressions" (Vs 5). We "walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air" (Vs 2). He uses some pretty bleak language, and for a reason. Because unless we understand the bad news, we will never fully understand or appreciate the Good News.

Sometimes it's hard for us to embrace the truth about who we were without Christ. But the point is, because we were without Christ, we were without God. Paul refers to us as "children of wrath." That's a semitic idiom that means we were destined for wrath. One translation renders it this way: "…the punishment of God was waiting for us even as for the rest" (BBE). In other words, we were deserving of God's judgment and wrath. Our Godless condition doomed us to a Godless eternity. And we could do nothing about it. No amount of good works, righteous efforts, rule-keeping, law-abiding, or self-effort could alter our standing before God.

But then something happened. God made us alive together with Christ! (Vs 5). Even when we were as good as dead, incapable of doing anything to save ourselves, God stepped in. Why? Because He was rich in mercy. He was literally abounding, overflowing in love toward us. Mercy is "kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted." Mercy isn't just some kind of sympathy that looks on in sadness at the state of another, but it takes action. It does something. And that's exactly what happened. God did something about our condition. He "raised us up" and "seated us" in the "heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Vs 6). He saved us. And He did it out of His grace. Charles Ryrie defines grace this way:

First, grace is unmerited favor. As a concise definition of grace, this serves well. More elaborate definitions have their place; but simply stated, grace is unmerited favor. It is undeserved on the part of the recipient. It is unearned and unearnable.

God showed me unmerited favor or kindness. The important word here is unmerited. What God did for me was totally unearned and undeserved. Paul stresses this when he says, "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, is the gift of God" (Vs 8). Even our faith, our ability to believe, was a gift from God. Why is this so important? Because if not, we would have reason to boast. We could say we somehow earned or deserved what we received. And that would devalue the price that Jesus Christ paid on the cross. If we could have saved ourselves, there would have been no reason for Jesus to die on our behalf. Charles Ryrie continues his definition of grace:

Second, grace is not cheap. Grace is expensive. It is free to the recipient but costly to the donor. The only way one may say that grace is not very costly is if the particular benefit costs the donor very little. But to use the word cheap in the same breath with the grace of God in salvation seems almost blasphemous. It cost our Lord Jesus His life. Some may insult grace, reject it, trample on it, or disgrace it, but that does not lower its infinite value."

God has shown me grace! And it cost Him dearly. Because of His grace, I have been "brought near by the blood of Christ" (Vs 13). I am no longer an alien or a stranger, but a fellow citizen with the saints, and am of God's household. Now that's amazing grace!

Marvelous, infinite, matchless grace,

freely bestowed on all who believe!

You who are longing to see His face,

Will you this moment His grace receive'

Grace Greater Than Our Sin, by Julia H. Johnston and Daniel B. Towner, 1910, 1938

Father, than You for Your amazing grace. I don't fully understand it. I will probably never fully comprehend it. But I stand in it. Thank You for not leaving it up to me. Because I would still be without hope and without You. But because of Your mercy and grace, I am Your child. Thank You. Amen

Getting To Know God.

Ephesians 1

I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. - Vs 16-17

I love the prayers of Paul. He didn't pray like I pray. He never seemed to pray for circumstantial change in the lives of those for whom he prayed. In other words, he didn't pray that the contract would go through on that new house, or that Eutycus would get relief from his lower back pain, or that Aristarchus would get the raise he was hoping for. Now I'm sure Paul did pray for these kinds of things, but we don't seem to have them recorded in any of his letters. His prayers were different. They have a certain intensity about them. They were deeply spiritual, yet highly practical. Paul seemed to pray "power prayers." He went to the core issues. He didn't waste time on circumstantial issues, but went right to the heart of the problem. Take a look at this prayer again:

I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

He is asking God to give them spiritual wisdom and understanding so that their knowledge of Himself might increase. He wants them to grow in their knowledge and understanding of God. Why? Because the more we understand God, the more we understand His power, His love, His mercy, His grace, His plan, and the unbelievable privilege it is to be considered His child.

Paul explains in his prayer just how we might come to this knowledge and understanding. By having the eyes of our hearts enlightened (Vs 18). Deep inside, we need to have certain things clarified and brought to light. We need to know the hope of His calling. We need to understand the unshakable, future reality of our eternal salvation. It is real. It is the reason for which we have been called. We need to understand the riches of His inheritance. Here, Paul seems to be praying that we would understand that WE, as saints or set-apart ones, are the riches of His inheritance. It is the people of God who make up the inheritance of God. The kingdom of God is not a place, it is a people. We are His possession.

But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God’s holy nation, his very own possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. – 1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)

We are His. We are part of His incredibly vast, rich inheritance of saints through the ages. And we need to understand that. We are not alone. We are not individual saints, but are part of a massive kingdom, a holy nation, a people chosen by God Himself!

Finally, Paul prays that we would "begin to understand the incredible greatness of his power for us who believe him" (Vs 19). The more we come to know and understand God, the more we will comprehend just how powerful He is. His power raised Jesus from the dead. That same power is available to us as believers. Not to get what we want or to have God do our bidding. But that power is available to transform us into the likeness of His Son. That power is available to us so that we might live the life He has called us to live.

So how well do you know God today? I have to confess that my knowledge of God is probably far too academic. It is book knowledge. I know what the Bible says about God, but Paul is praying that I would know God – personally and experientially. There's a big difference. So what if we prayed this way for one another? What if we prayed for spiritual wisdom and understanding so that we might each grow in our knowledge of God? It was pretty important to Paul. Maybe we should give it a try.

Father, I ask that you would help every one of us as your children to grow in our knowledge of You by increasing our spiritual wisdom and understanding. I know You can accomplish that through Your Word and Your indwelling Holy Spirit. Give us an increasing hunger for Your Word and a willingness to obey Your Spirit. So that our knowledge of You might increase daily. Open our eyes so that we will truly understand that Your inheritance is made up of all the saints, past, present, and future. Help us to see their value just like You do. Help us to comprehend the immensity of Your power that is available to us every day of our lives – and to live like we believe it. Amen