Before and After

Life before Jesus and after!

A plan for me and hopefully for you also.

Ephesians 2:1-3

1) And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2) 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— 3) 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. 

For the world that doesn’t know Jesus Christ as Savior, they live a life under their own best guess. A life alone to be worked out without any deep understanding of/from others, isolated. Unfortunately, this left unchecked, can lead to a world and possibly our own lives without any compass except what we want and what we will do. Children of wrath - recipients of the coming justice of God. Many in the world would rage at these verses and say how dare you talk to me this way! But without the illumination of God, Jesus Christ is an offense to those that do not know Him, and all discussion of God and His holiness is regarded as foolishness to the perishing. 

STAY WITH ME! Good news coming!
Check out what God does next:

Ephesians 2:4-5

4) But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5) even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

God comes to us first while we are dead to Him. Dead in our interest in God. Dead in our understanding of God. Dead and/or separated from God spiritually. But God makes us alive through Jesus Christ. We are born again, a new creation in Him. Notice we are saved by GRACE - grace is getting what you do not deserve. By the way, we also receive mercy – not getting what we do deserve.

Notice this is God initiated. We will see in the next verses, God initiated and NOT biased on our worth, merit or good works. We have nothing to offer God and we have nothing that God needs. But check out what God wants to do…

Ephesians 2:5-10

5) even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6) and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7) so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Saved through grace but, not of our own doing so that no one can boast. Not a result of our own works. It is God who comes to us, God who calls us via His word or the bible. Lastly, we start to do good works, but after and as a result of salvation and the relationship with Him. 

Don’t miss the part about how God “raised us (already done as far as God is concerned) 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.” 

AGES of being seated with Jesus Christ, partaking of His grace and kindness!  Beautiful good things are in His will for us eternally.

Do you know Jesus Christ?

Thanks for letting me share with you!

Gary

May 21, 2019

Jesus asked:

Who do men say that I Am?
Who do You say that I Am?

ESV Bible The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), Eph 2:1–10.