WORD From The Woods
Ephesians 2:1-10
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, 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 coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not 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, that we should walk in them."
One of the things I love about Paul's writings is that once in a while he just breaks into a Salvation message to remind his readers of the foundation of their faith, and that's what we see here in the first part of chapter 2. Paul reminds us that before Christ, we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins. He reminds us that we were following the ways of this world, and that we were actually following the prince of the power of the air, who is satan. Now we might not want to think that we could ever follow satan, but if we aren't following Christ then we are following satan. There are only two ways to go and Paul reminds us of this reality, as he says in verse 3, we were once living in the passions of our flesh and were by nature, children of wrath. But God was so merciful, as John wrote in his gospel, He loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to be our Savior that we might have eternal life! Even though we were once dead in our sins, in Christ we are made alive and can grow in our relationship with Him for all eternity! Paul makes clear in verses 8 & 9 that we are saved only by God's grace, not by any good works that we can do, but by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. As believers in Christ we are created as a new creation and called to do good works in the name of Christ, our Savior and Lord! This is all part of the "inheritance" that Paul has been speaks about. I thank God for our Salvation in Christ! I hope and pray that this passage is a reminder to you as it is to me, of who we are in Christ and what we are called to do, that is to serve anf glorify Him!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-
Ephesians 2:1-10
“And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, 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 coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not 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, that we should walk in them."
One of the things I love about Paul's writings is that once in a while he just breaks into a Salvation message to remind his readers of the foundation of their faith, and that's what we see here in the first part of chapter 2. Paul reminds us that before Christ, we were spiritually dead in our trespasses and sins. He reminds us that we were following the ways of this world, and that we were actually following the prince of the power of the air, who is satan. Now we might not want to think that we could ever follow satan, but if we aren't following Christ then we are following satan. There are only two ways to go and Paul reminds us of this reality, as he says in verse 3, we were once living in the passions of our flesh and were by nature, children of wrath. But God was so merciful, as John wrote in his gospel, He loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to be our Savior that we might have eternal life! Even though we were once dead in our sins, in Christ we are made alive and can grow in our relationship with Him for all eternity! Paul makes clear in verses 8 & 9 that we are saved only by God's grace, not by any good works that we can do, but by God's grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. As believers in Christ we are created as a new creation and called to do good works in the name of Christ, our Savior and Lord! This is all part of the "inheritance" that Paul has been speaks about. I thank God for our Salvation in Christ! I hope and pray that this passage is a reminder to you as it is to me, of who we are in Christ and what we are called to do, that is to serve anf glorify Him!
God bless and have a great week! -Terry-