4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, 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 ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Mercy is mentioned only once in Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. Often repetition is used to emphasize something, for example, “grace” is mentioned twelve times in this letter. However, the singular use of a term can bring a poignant, startling emphasis, highlighting something through understatement. We who were dead in sin deserved judgment and condemnation because we were “sons of disobedience” who lived in step with God’s arch enemy, “the prince of the power of the air” (vs. 2). God owed us nothing but rejection for eternity. We have even more reason than Isaiah had who, when he saw the vision of the Lord on His throne, said, “Woe is me, for I am undone” (Isaiah 6:5 NKJV). The NLT translates that anguished cry, “It’s all over, I am doomed.”
But, Mercy! Rich mercy! Great love with which He loved us. Not just a little. He made us alive! We couldn’t do it ourselves because we were totally incapable. The very nature of our condition rendered us condemned and unable to remedy the situation. God acted in mercy, grace and love, and saved us from our predicament.
Paul is on a roll and the believer’s heart rejoices with him. We have been raised up “with Him.” Our new life is connected with the resurrection of Jesus. Further we are seated “in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” which is also where we experience all the blessings in Christ (see 1:4). It’s now a done deal, our salvation, and we can rest in Christ, secure for eternity, for we are already made alive, already raised, already seated and already blessed with every spiritual blessing we will ever have. And God will continue to show just how great His grace is to us. As we live for Him and grow in our understanding of what we are and have in Christ, though we will never come to fully understand, we will continue for eternity constantly being amazed in the increasing awareness and appreciation for who He is and what He has done.
Someone asked a group of Christians to think about when they came to love Christ in a deeper way and how that changed them. One person responded, “When I came to love Christ is not the issue for me. But, when I came to realize how much He loved me, that’s when things began to change in my life.”
Lord, thank You for saving me from a lost, dead eternity without You. I want to learn more of Your love, mercy and grace for me.
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