We come now to one of the most wonderful passages of the New Testament: Eph. 2:1-10. "And you did he make alive, when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins . . ." he begins. Now if you will look back at 1:19, 20 you will see that this statement of 2:1 is just a continuation of what was said there about "the exceeding greatness of his power to usward." That power was manifested (1) in the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and His exaltation to the highest place in heaven; (2) in our being made alive out of spiritual death and exalted to sit with Christ in "the heavenly places." If you are using Revised Version you will notice that in 2:1 there are four words printed in italics. That means that those four words ("did he make alive") do not stand in the original Greek text, but were supplied by the translators for the sake of clarity. Now drop those four words out, and read 1:19, 20 and 2:1 together and see what sense it makes--thus:

      It was the same great power then that raised Christ up from the dead, that also made us alive when we were dead in our trespasses and sins. It requires that same tremendous exertion of the Divine might to make alive a sinner, dead in trespasses and sins, as it took to raise Christ from the dead. In fact, in doing the latter, God did also the former. In making Christ alive from the dead He also made alive all that should thereafter be His; for the resurrection power that works in Him goes out to them through Him. This is the working of that "exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe." It does not stop with making us "alive together with Christ" (2:5) but by it are we also raised . . . up with him, and made . . . to sit with him in the heavenly places." And the final object of the working of this great power will further be realized in the ages to come, in which He expects to show us "the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (2:6, 7.) Behind the futile wash of the surf-waves along the beach is the great silent tide that lifts the level of the water to the flood-mark. And back of the Christian's life and poor effort is the infinite power of God, which backs him up and sees him through to the final goal--the resurrection power manifest in Jesus Christ our Lord. If it were not so we might well despair. But since it is so, only unbelief could despair. So let us lift up the hands that hang [14] down, and confirm the feeble knees,: if God is for us who is against us?

      But we must now go back to the beginning of our chapter. "You did he make alive when ye were dead through your trespasses and sins"--not Adam's sins, mark that well, but yours, "wherein ye once walked" (comp. "wherein ye once walked when ye lived in these things," Col. 3:7). Such is the sinner's walk. It is further described as being "according to the course of this world"--literally, "according to the age of this world"--the "spirit of the times" as we call it--the common vogue and course of mankind in "this present evil age" (Gal. 1:4 mg). And back of that is a dark power which orders and inspires the world's walk: "the prince of the power of the air," "the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience." This is an amazing and appalling revelation. It is equal to that which John gives us when he says, "We know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in the evil one." (1 John 5:19.) The "prince of the powers of the air" is certainly no one else than Satan--the commander-in-chief of the forces of darkness--"the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places," as they are called in Eph. 6:12. And this is the spirit that inspires the world's way and work, and that "energizes"--"worketh in the sons of disobedience." Without realizing it they are the devil's tools and puppets: he pulls the strings, and they dance accordingly. And he is "the deceiver of the whole world." There is much more involved in a man's being saved out of the world and brought to Christ than man knows!

      But, surely, that applies only to the worst of men--to profligates and criminals? Or possibly only to the degraded Gentiles--not to the morally superior Jew. No! All of us, all of us belonged under that head: "among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest." The Jews no less than the Greeks. Paul himself also--though "as touching the righteousness which is in the law found blameless." It is "by nature"--what we call "human nature," what in Rom. 7 is called "the flesh," with its indwelling "sin"--by the fallen human nature which governs us, that we became "children of wrath." How plain it is then that "except one be born anew he cannot see the kingdom of God." For that which is born of the flesh is flesh.

      Now comes a potent little word--one that only God can speak in such a connection: it is the little three-lettered word "but," which has the power of reversing everything that has been said--especially when it is followed by the next word, "God." "But" means that though all that was said of the sinner's ruin is absolutely true, yet nevertheless, the last word [15] has not been spoken. God alone has the power and prerogative to speak it. And what word can be spoken after the hopeless, heart-breaking description of vs. 2, 3? Here it is: "But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace have ye been saved)." God! It is He that steps in at this juncture--now only in mercy, but as rich in mercy; not only with love, but in His great love wherewith He loved us--a love that stood back at nothing, but gave its all (John 3:16). This mercy and love underlies our salvation. Another word is presently added: "grace"; "by grace have ye been saved." Now "grace" is God's free loving favor, always utterly unmerited, and bestowed upon the undeserving. What God does of "grace" He does freely, of His own will and goodness, and for no consideration. Grace takes no account of desert, nor of works, good or bad. It is plain that if He "made us alive together with Christ" when we were "dead through our trespasses," it must have been an act of simple, pure grace; for what could one dead in sin have done to merit God's favor? It may be asked how God, being just, could do such things. But in the atoning death of His beloved Son on our behalf, He provided the basis on which He could righteously deal in grace with doom-deserving sinners. (Comp. Rom. 3:24, 26.)

      Having made us alive together with Him, and forgiven us all our trespasses (Col. 2:13) there is no limit to His lovingkindness. Already, in His sight, we are seated with Christ "in the heavenly places," because of our union with Him; and His loving purpose reaches far ahead into ages to come, in which He will show more and more "the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus." (V. 7.)

      "For by grace have ye been saved, through faith; and that [that salvation] not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works. that no man should glory." This is the outstanding article in the Magna Charta of our salvation. Our salvation then is by grace, and is obtained by faith. (And "for this cause it is of faith that it may be according to grace," Rom. 4:16.) It is not of ourselves. No man, dead in trespasses, can give himself life. God must do that. It is the gift of God. Neither did we procure it by any "good works." "Not in the least degree is our regenerate state the issue of our unregenerate works." (See Tit. 3:5-7.) If any man had obtained salvation through his works or by personal worth he would have something to boast of through all eternity. But Christ's redeemed ones will have only the one song--"Saved by Grace."

      A last word is added which of itself would for ever exclude the thought of salvation by works: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works . . ." [16] So far from our having obtained our salvation by good works, He had to do a work on us before we could do anything that had any worth in His sight. We are first of all a piece of His workmanship. Before the iron dug from the earth could perform the service of a machine, say a locomotive, much labor and work and skill had to be bestowed upon it. The ore must be smelted, the metal refined and tempered, the parts cast and fashioned and carefully, skilfully fitted together; and at last the machine is ready to do its intended work. So is the Christian the product of God's greater and more marvellous workmanship. We must be something before we can do something. Not merely a slight re-adjustment and re-arrangement of our parts and powers were needed--not mere education, culture, training of the old personality, but such a radical change and renewal as only God could perform, as only the word "create" could describe: "we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus." For "if any man is in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature." (2 Cor. 5:17.)

      We are created then in Christ "unto good works"--not any and every sort that might be called "good works" by man, but a particular kind of good works, namely those which God before ordained that we should walk in them." There is much work done by professing Christians, which God never asked them to undertake--work which, if it needs to be done, can be done just as well and better by the people of the world; the while the specific work which God's people alone can do is often neglected by them. They create organizations, societies, committees--agencies of various sorts, to handle civic, municipal, political social problems and enterprises; and instead of letting the dead bury the dead, such Christians would spend their time in endless, bootless activity, by which, strangely, they think to be "bringing in the kingdom of God." But as the Lord Jesus Himself sharply refused to be a "judge and divider" over men (Luke 12:13, 14) and made it His one aim to do the work which God had given Him to do (John 4:34 and 17:4)--so the Christian also has a specific work to do. His work is not merely benevolent and philanthropic--it is "religious": done with reference to Christ, and in obedience to Him, in faith and love (Gal. 5:6), and always with a view to the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Of what sort these works are may be seen in Jas. 1:27; Gal. 6:10; Matt. 5:16; 1 Cor. 13:3; 1 Cor. 15:58; Tit. 2:14 and many other passages. They are the fruit of the new life in Christ Jesus (John 15:5) and are designed to exalt Him before men. (1 Pet. 4:11.) There is much fine work being done in the world and by the world, most of which is due to the indirect influence of the gospel. It is a by-product as it were of Christianity. But the Christian's work in Christ is a thing separate [17] and distinct which is to be performed, by those whom God fashioned and created thereunto in Christ.

[LOE 14-18]