Ephesians 2:10

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. We just finished talking about our salvation is not by works and here we have good works. What is going on?! Well the truth is, we are not saved by works, but after we are saved, we are saved unto good works. If we have a changed heart, we will behave differently. If we are saved, we will start living differently. But these good changes and good works happen after salvation. It’s like this: Jesus gives us salvation and gives us new hearts. And because we are new creatures in Jesus Christ, we begin to do good works for Him. We work because we are saved, not in order to be saved. Good works are for Christians who are saved, not for sinners who are trying to be saved. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in God alone.

Ephesians 2:8,9

Ephesians 2:8,9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. What wonderful verses that tell us that we are saved by God’s grace alone, and not by what we can do ourselves. Our salvation doesn’t depend upon how good we can be or how much money we can give to the poor, or how much our business helps others. Our salvation is in Jesus Christ alone and what He did for us on the cross of Calvary. When you have a birthday and receive gifts, how much do you have to pay for them? Absolutely nothing! They are free. But remember, someone had to buy those free gifts. They are free to you, but someone had to think about what you needed and they had to buy that gift. And that is the way our salvation is. It is free to us, but it cost Jesus Christ dearly. Our salvation was bought for at the price of His very life. Jesus died so that we could have free salvation! What a wonderful gift! And what a tremendous price that was paid for our free gift! Jesus must love us a lot to pay such a price for our gift! And He does!

Ephesians 2:4-6

Ephesians 2:4-6 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: God loved us so much that He sent His dear Son to die for us while we were in our sins. Our verses talk about God’s great love. Truly it is! And our verses say that God is rich in mercy. That means that God has plenty of mercy. And because we are such sinners, God needs plenty of mercy to cover our sins. But God doesn’t love us because we are so lovely, God loved us while we were sinners. Anyone can love someone who is beautiful with wonderful clothes on, but only God can love a sinner who is so unlovely! And because God gave us a spiritual new birth, we are restored to the place of fellowship that Adam lost in the Garden of Eden. God is not stuck in time like we are. So, if we are saved, God already has us seated with Him in heaven! To God, it is as if we are already there seated with Him in heaven! We were saved from our sins in the past when we were saved, God is saving us now as we live the Christian life, and we will be saved when we die and we will go to heaven. We will be saved in the future. Salvation is for the past, present, and future! When God saves us, He does it all! And everybody said, “Amen!”

Ephesians 2:1,2

Ephesians 2:1,2 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: In the King James the word quicken means to be made alive. We are made alive spiritually by salvation in Jesus Christ. In the Garden of Eden, God warned Adam and Eve not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and of evil, because “in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” So, when they ate, did they die immediately? Well yes and no. God was talking about two deaths. When Adam and Eve sinned, they began the physical death process. Their bodies began to age and decay and eventually, they died physically. But the second death was a spiritual death. When Adam and Eve sinned, they immediately died spiritually. That is the second death that the Apostle Paul is talking about here in our verses for today. We were dead spiritually, but through Jesus Christ, we can be made alive spiritually. Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about being born again – a spiritual birth. In our great-grandfather Adam we died twice, but in Jesus Christ we can be born twice! As Christians, we are no longer spiritually dead, we are made alive in Jesus Christ. And what is the word meaning made alive? Quicken. We are quickened by Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:19,20

Ephesians 1:19,20 And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, We can see God’s extreme love for us in what God did to purchase our salvation. God gave His only Son, Jesus, to die for us. That is how much God loves us! And that is powerful! So, how do we see the power of God? Our verses tell us that God’s power is seen in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I have been to many funerals. But, no matter how much the family has cried, I have never seen that dead person sit up, and step out of the casket. Never! And, I never will! But Jesus did! He came alive on the third day and is alive evermore! Praise the Lord!

Ephesians 1:6,12,14

Ephesians 1:6,12,14 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory. In this first chapter of Ephesians we have three times the phrase, to the praise of His glory. God gave His only Son to die for us. That means that we are special to Him. And since God redeemed us with the blood of Jesus Christ, we are now part of God’s forever family. And, just like you play the piano or trumpet and your parents like to show you off to other parents when they are over at your house, God likes to show us off to everyone. God shows us off to the angels and to Satan and his fallen angels. And God proudly says, “See those Christians down there? Those are mine! I bought them and they will be mine for all eternity!” God is proud of us because He bought us. But the question is, by how we live, do we make God proud?