Ephesians 2:4-6 4But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5even though we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,7so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
After giving the problem in vv. 1-3, Paul now turns to the answer: God’s mercy and grace. These verses are a long complex sentence. The subject, God, is separated from the verb, made us alive, with various clauses that reflect on who God is and what he has done for us. The first descriptions is that God is rich in mercy. This reflects back to the Old Testament where mercy is one of God’s key characteristics listed in Exodus 34:6-7. Mercy is God’s response to those who come to him in faith and repentance. God is quick to forgive those who realize their desperate plight under sin and are truly sorry for their sins. The adjective rich refers to something that is beyond normal experience. God’s mercy is abundant and beyond our imagination or what we deserve.
God’s mercy is shown to us because of his great love. God’s love is behind Christ’s death on the cross and the opportunity for us to experience salvation from sin (Romans 5:6-8). The last relative clause of v. 4 may reflect back on the historical event of Christ’s death on the cross by restating that God loved us. God’s everlasting love is an important theme in the history of Israel (Psalm 103:17; Jeremiah 31:3) and is an important theme Paul highlights in this letter (1:3; 3:19; 5:2, 25).
Paul shows our problem in v. 5 and repeats from v. 1 the idea of our being dead in our trespasses. He uses a concessive participial phrase (even though) to show that our situation has changed. Even when we were still sinners, rebelling against God, God being “dead” to us, without hope or spiritual life–even in this terrible situation, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Because he died for our sins the death we deserved for our sins, and because he rose victorious over death, which is the power of sin (1 Corinthians 15:56), we are now made alive together with Christ (Romans 6:4). Paul uses several compound words with the preposition meaning “with” prefixed to a root word. This highlights that Christ is the only source of new life and the hope of eternal salvation. All of God’s grace is experienced through Jesus Christ.
This is evidently in Paul’s mind because he interjects a phrase in v. 5, by grace you have been saved.” This is right in the middle of three important thoughts that are all governed by the prefixed preposition “with.” The sequence is 1) made us alive, 2) raised us up, and 3) seated in the heavenly places “with him.” Just as Christ was exalted to the right hand of the Father in honor and glory, those who are in Christ Jesus will also experience exaltation and honor because we have identified with Christ is death to the old self and resurrection to the new life of faith. It is noteworthy that Paul uses the aorist tense, which is often used for historical events completed in the past. The use of that tense here may imply that this is a certain and done deal. We can be assured that these three things can and will happen to us if we put our faith in Jesus Christ. God’s grace assures this. We cannot do anything to deserve these three things.
Paul makes this clear in the following verses. Verse 7 shows the purpose or the reason why God has planned the salvation of humanity in this way. Paul looks far into the future in the coming ages, which is a reference to the time after Jesus’ second coming when a new era of existence begins. In this eternity, we will come to know the immeasurable riches of God’s grace because we have been saved because of God’s goodness and kindness to us in Christ Jesus. This is a deep and profound thought. We may not understand the significance of God’s grace or comprehend God’s plan and method for the redemption of creation now. But, we will have eternity to bask in the wisdom of this plan. Theologians spend much time and effort in pondering the depth of the gospel. We will have eternity to wonder at God’s amazing grace towards us.
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