Episode 410: Made Alive with Christ

Ephesians 2

New Living Translation

Made Alive with Christ

2 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.

4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.

8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Have you ever tried to collect payment from a dead man? It’s near impossible. Unless someone steps in to cover the bill, you’re out whatever you were owed.
 
Spiritually speaking, that is our condition before we meet Jesus. There is a sin debt to be paid, but we can’t pay it because we are dead.
 
To pay off our debt, we’d have to be able to work. And that’s a problem because dead people can’t work. Even if dead people could work, what we’d earn wouldn’t be sufficient for the debt we owe. Even if we had something of worth to give — which we don’t — it wouldn’t matter because dead people can’t pay their bills.
 
Before Jesus, we’re spiritually bankrupt with no way out. “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” (Ephesians 2:4).

God loved us so much He sent Jesus to pay our debt and bring us back to life. Think about that: Not only are we debt-free, we’ve also been given the opportunity to enjoy our newfound freedom.

Just getting us out of debt would have been a big deal, but God goes one step further. He gives us a new life so we can do all the good things He planned for us before sin entered the world (Ephesians 2:9-10).

That means that the things we do for God, we don’t do to earn favor from God. We do things for God because we’ve received favor from Him! The awe that led David to pen these words is the same awe that leads us to serve.

“What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor” (Psalm 8:4-5).
 
We work, serve, and give, not because we are trying to be made right with God but in response to what God has already done for us. Serving and giving is what happens when gratitude and worship overflow into action.

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