Pray to begin this intentional time with the Lord. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit illuminate your Word to me today. I want to more fully believe the hope to which we have been called. Help me submit to the loving authority of Your Son, who gave His life for the church. Amen.
Read Ephesians 2:1-10
The spiritual blessings given to believers include access to the power of the Sovereign Ruler of the present and future ages—making all earthly wealth pale in comparison. Such a lofty position could create a temptation to boast about these blessings or our role in acquiring them. Yet in Ephesians 2:1–10, Paul abolishes any case a human could make for boasting in salvation, crediting salvation to God alone.
In these ten verses, we see that God mercifully turning our depravity into salvation through Christ glorifies His workmanship (2:10). There is a movement from who we were—a depraved people—to who we are—a holy people, saved through the merciful work of God through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Read through Ephesians 2:1-10 again. Make note of words and concepts that seem important or stand out to you.
Taking It Personally
Put away any distractions and take five minutes to worship Christ for the truths we read today by listening and worshiping to “In Christ Alone.” (The version provided here is by Shane & Shane.)
Pray to begin this intentional time with the Lord. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit illuminate your Word to me today. I want to more fully believe the hope to which we have been called. Help me submit to the loving authority of Your Son, who gave His life for the church. Amen.
Read through the complete passage for this week’s study, Ephesians 2:1–10. Then review the following questions concerning the way Paul describes salvation, and write notes on them.
1. “Dead” describes the moral and spiritual condition of a believer prior to salvation. Based on the description in Ephesians 2:1–3, what is the extent of this type of death?
2. Paul compares the Ephesians’ pre-salvation behavior to the “ways of the world.” He even goes so far as to say pre-salvation, believers were walking in accord with the ways of Satan (2:2). How does this add to your understanding of your spiritual status before you came to faith in Christ?
3. According to Ephesians 2:3, how do unbelievers set goals and make decisions?
4. What does the status “children under wrath” mean? What future is there for those with this status?
Taking It Personally
Do you know anyone who is spiritually dead? Spend some time in prayer today asking the Lord to reveal to them Jesus Christ (1:17). Consider setting an alarm or reminder on your phone each day for the next week. When it goes off, pray for this person.
Pray for God to illuminate His Word to you. God, excite my heart, enlighten my mind, and show me something new about Your purpose for Your church. Amen.
Today we will look in-depth at Ephesians 2:4-7. First, read through Ephesians 2:1-10 again for context.
Interception of Mercy (Eph. 2:4–7)
Paul can be very long-winded and these four verses are no exception. In this one long sentence, Paul places the main verb behind several modifying clauses. These include: “Being rich in mercy,” because of the great love with which he loved us,” and “even when we were dead in our trespasses.” Each of these speaks to God’s character and motivation in saving mankind.
1. Compare the modifying terms of God (2:4) to the description given of unbelievers in 2:1-3. What strikes you about this contrast?
2. Based on these definitions of mercy and grace, how does God enact them both in these verses?
3. Reread Ephesians 1:20-23 from last week. Then read Ephesians 2:6. How does this new “status” we receive in Christ magnify your understanding of God’s grace to His people?
Watch this Bible Project video explaining grace as beauty, action, and favor in the Bible, and how this reveals God’s gracious character.
Prayer
Take some time today to praise the Lord for His incredible acts of mercy and grace. Name the merciful and gracious acts He has enacted in your life. Proclaim aloud the modifying clauses we read describing His character. And imagine with God how He wants you to humbly use your position of authority in Christ to love the hurting, broken, fallen, sinful world around you.
Pray to begin this intentional time with the Lord. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit illuminate your Word to me today. I want to more fully believe the hope to which we have been called. Help me submit to the loving authority of Your Son, who gave His life for the church. Amen.
Read Ephesians 2:1-10 for context.
A Beautiful Workmanship (Eph. 2:8–10)
Christ’s exaltation establishes His rule “far above” all governing powers (1:21). How should the Ephesians’ position in Christ color our thinking on the church’s relationship to earthly ruling powers?
1.“Grace” and “faith” have been two repeated words in our study of Ephesians. Paul mentions “grace” for the third time in Ephesians 2, and for the sixth time in the letter (Eph. 1:2, 6, 7; 2:5, 7, 8). He previously introduced the role of faith in salvation in Ephesians 1:13, 15, 19. How does the whole of Ephesians 2:1–8 help us see the relationship between grace and faith in the believer’s salvation?
2. Our faith is a gift from God out of His grace. What does this reality conclude our role in our salvation?
3. Read John 15:1-8. Though good works do not produce salvation, they are the inevitable fruit in a disciple’s life as the disciple abides in Christ’s love. If the power that saved you is the same power that enables you to produce good fruit, what hope do you find in Ephesians 2:10?
Prayer
“We are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works…” We are His. We are created. Pause to consider the implications of this. God is the one doing the work in our lives. God is the one who has molded and shaped us in such a way—as new creations—to do the good works prepared ahead of time for us. Spend some time in prayer, asking the Lord to use His power to mold you and shape you into a living witness for the sake of His Name.
Pray to begin this intentional time with the Lord. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit illuminate your Word to me today. I want to more fully believe the hope to which we have been called. Help me submit to the loving authority of Your Son, who gave His life for the church. Amen.
Read through Ephesians 2:1-10 one final time this week.
God is the Workman that has made our faith, salvation, and good works possible. Consider what D. Martin Llyod Jones said:
It is God who is the Workman; it is God who is active…How is it possible that anyone can read an open Bible, starting with the words “In the beginning God”, and then go on to think of the whole thing as the activity of man? It is God who acts everywhere. He made man, He made the world. Man sinned—God went after him. It is God who called Abraham; it is God who created the kings; it is God who called the prophets; it is God who gave the law; it is God who gave the instructions about building the tabernacle and the temple; and it was God, who, in the fulness of the times, sent forth His own Son. It is God’s workmanship, God’s activity, from beginning to end…God is the Workman. God is the One who is fashioning. It is a wonderful picture of God as a kind of Artist, as some kind of artificer. The picture invites us to think of God as in some great workshop, and asks us to watch Him forming and fashioning and bringing something into being.” (God’s Way of Reconciliation: An Exposition of Ephesians 2, 143)
Jones goes on to say that the means that God uses to form us in Christ include:
1. The work of the Holy Spirit (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23)
2. The preaching of the Word (Ephesians 4:11-16)
3. Circumstances and discipline (Hebrews 12)
The actual work is accomplished by:
1. Conviction (Psalm 139)
2. Enlightening of the mind
3. We become aware of the new nature that God has given us
Philippians 1:6 states that we can be confident “that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Sanctification is a process that continues our entire lives as we live in the Spirit, listening to God’s word, and coming under the authority of God the Father to discipline us in love.
Consider These Questions From God's Way of Reconciliations: An Exposition of Ephesians
After having read through these questions, ask the LORD which questions He would like to highlight to you. Then, together with Him, examine your heart. How might God be inviting you to experience the affirmative?
Adapted from Ephesians: A 12-Week Study © 2016 by Eric C. Redmond. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
