Real Life
Opening Prayer
God, thank You that in Christ we have been brought from death to life.
Read Ephesians 2:1–10
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
God took you from death in sin to life in Christ. How can you respond to God for this gift he has given?This passage gives us an incredible summary of the Gospel. It deals with what we have been rescued from, how we have been rescued and what we have been rescued for.
Think back to before you became a Christian. Do you have a sense of what dire straits you were in when sin held sway in your life? It’s possible to become complacent about being a Christian and forget that we have been rescued from sin and death. The Gospel is good news because there is also bad news.
We see here how seriously God takes sin and how seriously he takes his love for us. Jesus Christ carries both of these aspects of God’s character to the cross.
This whole chapter highlights the crucial nature of evangelism. Are you gripped by the same passion as Paul that others should also know this life-from- death experience in Christ?
Our real value and worth comes from the fact that we are “God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus.” This is now our origin and background. How liberating!
Apply
Thank God for the new start we have in Christ and pray that others around you would experience it, too.
Closing prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your great love for me. I praise You for the gift of Your grace.
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