Bible study: Ephesians 2: vv 4-5

Before and After: The Only Pathway to Salvation
Part 2: Divine Intervention.

Text: Ephesians 2: 4-5

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)

As we discovered last time, everyone who has ever lived, with the exception of God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was born with an inherited nature to sin, and is therefore spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1). Left to living life on our terms, we all face the certainty of eternal separation from God in hell. Moreover, all of our attempts to please or earn favor by conforming to a list of religious duties will also lead us to hell. Sinners like me and you do not have the capacity, in and of ourselves, to be declared righteous by God. Now, you may be reading this and ask the question: “If trusting in my religion or in my estimation of myself for entry into Heaven is futility, then how can I be made righteous before a Holy and Righteous God? If we can’t save ourselves, then who can?” That is a good question, because as we discovered last week in Ephesians 2:3, we are referred to by the Apostle Paul as “children of wrath.” How then, can a child of and under God’s wrath have any hope for Heaven? The answer is in our text.

In stark contrast to the hopeless circumstances that Ephesians 2:1-3 illustrate, verses 4-5 point us to the one and only source of hope; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).” What Paul is saying here is that God is the One who initiates the process of what is called Spiritual Regeneration.

You may ask: “How does this happen?” It begins when the sinner evaluates his life, how he or she has been living, and begins to think about sin, the frailty of life, Heaven and hell, and where he or she will go after they breathes their last breath.

Those of us who have surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will tell you that we did not simply wake up one day and decide on our own to have a burden about where we would spend eternity. The process of spiritual regeneration, as verse 5 states, begins with the Spirit of God. God has the divine power to turn the sinners’ mind like a channel of water to seek Him. The words “made us alive together” refer to being born again, or born from above. It is God’s breath of spiritual life into the innermost being of the sinner who once had no hope for salvation.

The words “made us alive together with Christ” mean that all sinners who turn from living life on their terms and surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ are no longer spiritually dead and under His wrath, but are made spiritually alive and now able to share intimate fellowship with Him in a personal relationship. The parenthetical statement “by grace you have been saved” means that God gave to sinners what they did not deserve, unmerited kindness.We want to proceed slowly through this text so that those of you who are sincerely seeking absolute truth can gain a clear understanding about the Biblical process of salvation.

We also want you to know that we are here for you. Has the religion that you grew up with left you empty and with no peace and assurance of where you will spend eternity? Are you currently at a place in your life where you feel like you have “blown it” or feel like you have nowhere else to turn? If that describes you or someone that you know, again, please know that we are here for you. Call us at 727-4112. It would be an honor to meet with you and do what we are able to do in order to help bear your burden right alongside you.

Steve Visconti