Ephesians 2:4-7

Ephesians 2:4-7 

English Standard Version 

  The first two words of this verse are some of the most beautiful and hopeful in Scripture.  Remember -- we were dead in sin.  The lights were out.  Doors had been locked.  

  But God...

  God wasn't going to leave us in despair and in death.  God loves us too much.  I love that Paul gives us the reason that God intervenes.  It wasn't because God was lonely or had made a bet that God didn't want to lose.  God loved us so much, and God's love is so great, that even though we were dead, God wanted to find a way.

  Think about this -- remember back to a few verses ago when we were talking about how powerful God is.  God has channeled all of that power into saving you from death.  And not just saving you, but raising you up into the heavenly places.  God loves you and wants to show you the riches of God's grace through kindness.  What better riches are there?  The riches of this world can buy you stuff, but that stuff will break or get lost or might be stolen.  God's riches -- they save you from death and have bought you a place in heaven with Jesus.

  So sleep well, friends.  God's love surrounds you, and the immensity of God's power comes to you in kindness!

Ephesians 2:1-3

Ephesians 2:1-3 

English Standard Version 

  When we think about sin, we don't think of ourselves as dead.  We think of ourselves as having made mistakes, but usually nothing fatal.  They were bad choices, things we could have done better, but it's the same that everyone else is doing, right?  Dead seems extreme.  As a society, we proclaim that as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else, it's probably okay.  

  Paul is reminding us that sin is far more serious than that.  Sin has caused a permanent rift between us and God, one that we cannot fix on our own.  Without a solution, we are dead, and we need to take this seriously.  We can't drift on autopilot just assuming that it is fine... sin has created a problem, and we need a solution.

  Fortunately, God came up with a solution.  We were dead, but as Scripture shows us, death isn't the end of the story.  As someone once said, Christ turns death into a gardener, planting seeds that will grow up into something beautiful, something wonderful, something lively.  Thanks be to God that despite our sin, we have hope for life because of what God has done.

Ephesians 1:19-23

Ephesians 1:19-23 

English Standard Version 

 A friend of mine was staying with some very rich people at their house, and he asked them how they cleaned branches off the top of the screened in pool, and the lady looked at him and said, "We have people for that."

  Powerful people delegate.  They send other people to do things, particularly unpleasant things.  

  Jesus is the most powerful person that has ever lived.  Paul is speaking here of the immeasurable greatness of Christ's power.  Christ is above all rule and authority and power and dominion, with all things under his feet.  Do you get the picture of Christ's power?

  This is the same Jesus who ascended the cross to die for you.  Such is his love, there was no delegating.  Christ did it on his own, because he wanted to be sure that your sins were forgiven.  Atonement needed to be made, and there was no delegation.  Christ did it himself, because he loves you.

Ephesians 1:15-18

Ephesians 1:15-18 

English Standard Version 

  This is one of my favorite passages... imagine someone not ceasing to give thanks for you, hoping that the eyes of your heart are opened to know the hope of Christ, the riches of God's glorious inheritance.  How would you feel to know that someone was praying like that for you?  It'd probably be pretty exciting to pray like that for someone else -- it's like giving a gift, where you get so excited about giving a really good gift that it uplifts your spirit, too!  The more you focus on someone else living in the joy of God's hope, the stronger your own hope becomes.  

  I hope you find time to pray for someone like that today, and I hope you let them know.  May your own heart be enlightened by the same Spirit of wisdom and of revelation.