For some time I’ve been reading My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers as a part of my morning devotions…usually Jean calls me from work and I read it to her. Generally, Chambers is very clear on "the Christ life", but on occasion, I feel very frustrated with his egocentric emphasis, but on July 23, his comments on sanctification were outstanding and seemed very appropriate for our study today:

Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us. . . sanctification. (1 Cor. 1:30)

In our last lesson we saw where we, and the Ephesians, were when God came to us in Christ Jesus…dead in our sins and trespasses. We saw how sin had worked against us to separate us from God. Today, I want us to look at verses 4-10 of Chapter 2 where we will see Another Force at work as we look at God’s work for us in verses 4-9 and God’s work in us and through us in verse 10.

Notice the four activities God has done for us to save us from the eternal consequences of our separation from Him: He loved us (v. 4); He made us alive (v. 5); He exalted us (v. 6); and He keeps us (vv. 7-9).

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), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. (Ephesians 2:4-10 NASB95)

But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so very much, that even while we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s special favor that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ, and we are seated with him in the heavenly realms—all because we are one with Christ Jesus. And so God can always point to us as examples of the incredible wealth of his favor and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us through Christ Jesus. God saved you by his special favor when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:4-10 NLT)

What a contrast from verse 3 where we are seen as children of wrath, even as the rest (just like all unsaved people), to those who are loved so very much! And why does this incredible change from anger to love take place? It is because of God’s great love. 1John 4:8 tells us that God is love (agaŒpeµ). God would love even if there were no sinners because that’s His nature...that’s Who He is. Theologians refer to this as one of God’s attributes. But God has two kinds of attributes: those that He possesses of Himself (intrinsic attributes, such as life, love, and holiness), and those by which He relates to His creation, especially to man (relative attributes). For example, by nature God is truth; but when He relates to man, God’s truth becomes faithfulness. God is by nature holy; and when He relates that holiness to man, it becomes justice. Love is one of God’s intrinsic attributes, but when this love is related to sinners, it becomes grace and mercy.

Some commentators make the point that people are surprised to discover that sinners are not saved by God’s love, but by His mercy and grace. This may just be "theological hair-splitting" because I’m not sure how helpful it is to identify the exact attribute of God (relative or intrinsic) that results in the salvation of sinners…it seems to me that without God’s love, He wouldn’t have any mercy and grace. In any event, by His mercy, God does not give us what we deserve and by His grace, He gives us what we don’t deserve. All this was made possible by the death of Jesus at Calvary where God displayed His hatred for sin and His love for sinners!

The great negative that accompanied Satan’s lie to Adam and Eve was death…God created beings to live and never die, but when God withdrew Himself as their Life-source, spiritual death was instant and physical death unavoidable. But God, in Christ, overcame death at Calvary and gave life even to those who were dead in their sins, which had separated them from the Life-source. The Second Adam redeemed what the first Adam had lost! God’s power, as demonstrated in creation and in raising Jesus from the grave, is greater than even death!

The key word in verse 5 is together in the phrase made us alive together with Christ. In the Greek (Jay advised me not to try and pronounce the word (sunzoµopoieŒoµ)), the idea is that we are so associated with Christ that we cannot be separated (suŒn) and that this act of association is an accomplished (aorist indicitive active) fact at a point in time that cannot be improved upon or undone and continues to have effect. Here is great assurance for us that God has used His power for our eternal benefit!

Why do you think Paul added the parenthetical phrase by grace you have been saved? He reinterates this thought again in verse 8 (For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God…(Ephesians 2:8)). I believe that Paul wanted to be sure that the Ephesians and believers today understand that salvation is a gift, not a reward.

We are not raised from the dead and left in the graveyard. Because we are united to Christ, we have been exalted with Him and we are sharing His throne in the heavenlies. Our physical position may be on earth, but our spiritual position is in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

He keeps us…so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

God’s purpose in redemption is not just to rescue us, but ultimately to have us, for all of eternity (ages to come), glorify His grace (Ephesians 1: 6, 12, 14). This is the assurance that He will keep us forever…we have an eternal purpose…we are the evidence of the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus!

In the phrase, for by grace you have been saved through faith…(used in vv. 5 & 8) there are two very interesting ideas that might be overlooked by a casual reading. First, the word grace (chaŒris) is preceded by the definite article which makes it very specific...it’s not just any grace...it’s the grace of God...it is an extension of Who He is! Secondly, the word are in the KJV and the phrase have been in the NASB95 (esteŒ) are followed by the word saved (seŒsoµsmai). The gramatical construction in the Greek carries the thought that something took place in the past that continues to have effect in the present. The phrase is literally translated you are being saved because you have been saved. Both the KJV and NASB95 catch part of the idea, but neither conveys the complete concept. You can thank Jay Kulinna for this insight!

One of the most difficult concepts for humans to accept is the idea that salvation is a gift. It cannot be earned by good works and, therefore, cannot be lost by bad works. Grace means salvation completely apart from any merit or works on our part. The moment we have to have a certain attitude, a certain understanding or have to do anything, it ceases to be grace. Grace means that God does it all for Jesus’ sake! Our salvation is the gift of God.

To what do you think the word that in the phrase and that not of yourselves, refers? The word that, in the Greek, is neuter, while faith is feminine. Therefore that cannot refer to faith alone. It refers rather to the whole experience of salvation, including faith. Salvation is a gift, not a reward! The work of salvation is the work of God alone and was finished at Calvary (Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life. This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." (John 17:1-4) Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. (John 19:30)).

We have seen in verses 1-3 how sin worked against us and in verses 4-9 how God has worked for us, but this work of conversion is only the beginning…in verse 10 we will see how God desires to work in and through us.

The word workmanship is the Greek poéŒeµma and means something made. It’s where we get our English word poem and denotes the result of work, what is produced, as contrasted to poéŒeµsis which is the act of making, the doing itself and not that which is made. God has made us His workmanship…we don’t make ourselves His workmanship. This is the work of God in us where He continues what He began at conversion…to make us more like Christ (Romans 8:28-29). We have to accept God’s work for us before He can work in us and we must allow Him to work in us before He can work through us.

The Bible is full of "real life" examples of this process: God had to work in Mosses for forty years before He could work through him to deliver Israel; God had to work in Joseph for thirteen years before He could work through him as second in command of Egypt; David was anointed King of Israel as a youth but God could not work through him as King until He had worked in him as a man; and God had to work in Paul for fourteen years before He could work through him as the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Notice the two characteristics of the works described here…they are good, as opposed to "works of the law", "dead works", "works of the flesh" or "works of darkness". (…knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. (Galatians 2:16) Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21) The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:12) Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God…(Hebrews 6:1))

Secondly, these works are prepared by God. If you contrast Ephesians 2:10 with Ephesians 2:2 you will see that the unbeliever has Satan and the flesh working in him and therefore his works are not good. But the believer has God working in him, and therefore his works are good. His works are not good because he himself is good, but because he has a new nature from God, and because the Holy Spirit works in him and through him to produce these good works…that is "living grace". Can a believer still do "works of the flesh"? Absolutely! Paul says that we must choose to walk by the Spirit, not by the flesh (Romans 8:4-13).

In the first ten verses of Chapter 2 we have looked at four kinds of work: The work of sin against us; the work of God for us; the work of God in us; and the work of God through us. Which of these works are you experiencing in your life today? Is sin working against you because you have not yet trusted Christ? Then trust Him now! Are you wearing the "grave clothes" or the "grace-clothes"? Are you enjoying the liberty you have in Christ, or are you still bound by the habits of the old life in the graveyard of sin? As a Christian, you have been raised and seated on the throne. Practice your position in Christ!

He has worked for you; now let Him work in you and through you, that He might give you an exciting, creative life to the glory of God.

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