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.
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Ephesians 2)
Getting the Church into People: The Gospel of Grace—A Tale of Two Funerals
Ephesians 2
On Sunday we discussed two funeral stories. One was the tale of a woman who’s sainthood was evident in how she interacted with others in a way that made her a joy to be around; her sweet spirit drew others into fellowship. The other story was about a saint who struggled to overcome her own brokenness enough to build any meaningful relationships; her loneliness tended to be expressed in crankiness that held others at arms length. I was asked to officiate both services. As you might imagine, the first woman’s service kind of wrote itself. It’s not hard to celebrate the life of a saint who brought so much joy to so many people. I struggled a bit writing the second service until a cathartic moment when I realized that both stories were stories of grace. The first woman’s joy was a result of God’s grace. The second woman’s status as a struggling saint and the eventual deliverance she experienced from her life of brokenness and pain was a result of God’s grace. Their stories and my story and your story are all celebrations of God’s grace that is indeed greater than all of our sin.
I love how The Message renders Paul’s words about the gospel of grace:
Now God has us where he wants us, with all the time in this world and the next to shower grace and kindness upon us in Christ Jesus. Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to let him do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing! No, we neither make nor save ourselves. God does both the making and saving. He creates each of us by Christ Jesus to join him in the work he does, the good work he has gotten ready for us to do, work we had better be doing. (Ephesians 2:7-10)
· What are your thoughts on these funeral stories? Have you had any experiences that taught you something about grace?
· What do Paul’s words in Ephesians 2 tell us about grace? What are the eternal implications of that teaching?
God’s gospel of grace gives us hope in the face of death and transforms everything about how we live our life. Paul says, “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” (2:8-10). This familiar passage is one of Paul’s central statements of faith that has so much to teach us about God’s plan and purpose. Salvation is not an award we receive; it is a gift we are given. Receiving that gift affords us the opportunity to participate in God’s good works in the world. Participating in good works is how we show evidence of God’s saving grace that’s at work in our story. In the rest of this chapter, Paul describes a major example of those good works: God’s barrier-defying ministry of reconciling Jews and Gentiles into one church. This incredible New Testament story of a hybrid Jewish-Gentile church has so many implications for our world that seems to be defined more and more on the basis of divisiveness of race, culture, ethnicity, and politics. Oh what a difference it would make in our story if we re-discovered the barrier-defying calling involved with being God’s workmanship and letting His grace flow through us!
· What does it mean to be God’s workmanship? How might this theological reality both humble us and fill us with a sense of divine dignity?
· What impact does God’s salvation have beyond securing our spot in heaven?
· What role does racial, ethnic, cultural, and political reconciliation play in our walk of faith? In what way can we be a part of God’s ministry of reconciliation in our broken world?
We hope you’ll join us on Sunday or in one of these Bible studies as we continue our journey through Ephesians. If you missed Sunday’s message and would like to catch up, it can be accessed here. Please remember you can submit your responses or any questions to eramirezfirstbaptistweslaco@gmail.com, we would love to see what conversations you’re having as a staff!