EPHESIANS 2:1-10

GRACE AND FAITH

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience. 3. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4. But God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

6. And hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: 7. That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9. Not of works, lest any man should boast, 10. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.  KJV

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1. Quickened, means…made alive.

2. Ye walked, means… you lived (course of this world)

3. We all had our conversation, means…we all conducted ourselves…

Children of wrath, refers to people subject to divine punishment.

4-6. But begins to disclose God’s response to man’s sin of verses 1-3,

This divine response is expressed in three main verbs: (1) God..hath

Quickened us. Because they were morally dead in sins, the Lord

Gave them spiritual life; (2) and hath raised us up together, this is,

God has not allowed these Christians to remain in the grave of

Their old life with its sinful ways and habits, but He brought them

Into a new life and demonstration of it: and (3) God made us sit

Together in heavenly places, that is He has brought us into His

Presence and into an intimate relationship with Himself.

7. That.. He might show ( or demonstrate): This denotes the ultimate

Purpose for all that God did for the Ephesians in verses 4-6. It is

That throughout eternity He might make us understand more

And more His goodness to us.

8. FOR gives the reason for this future demonstration of divine grace. It

Is because man owes his salvation to this grace or underserved divine

Favor. No part of salvation is “ of yourselves” or due to what we do--

The whole of salvation is the gift of God. Man is saved “by grace”

That is, by the kindness of God in having Jesus die for our sins. But

This grace is appropriated through faith, that is, man believes what

God has done for him and relies upon Christ’s atonement to blot out

His sins and bring him into a proper relationship with God.

9. The reason, in part, that salvation is not achieved by good works,

Is to prevent men from bragging of having earned a place in heaven by

Themselves.

10.For verifies the assertion of man’s good works having no part in

Obtaining salvation. Workmanship, refers not to our original or

Physical birth, but to our spiritual birth: what we are spiritually

In the good sense is due to God, not ourselves. Created in Christ

Jesus unto good works means “having been given spiritual life for the

Purpose of doing good works, there could have been no good works

By him prior to conversion that would merit salvation. Good works

Follow---do not precede-----salvation.

With God's Love,

Lois