God’s Mercy

Ephesians 2:4-5 declare: But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,  (by grace ye are saved). Someone has rightly said that if you want to understand salvation as it is presented in Scripture, read these verses a thousand times. How profound that is! One cannot understand salvation unless he grasps the meaning of these verses. They do, indeed, present the very essence of salvation, which is God’s intervention into the plight of man to reconcile him. How has God brought about our salvation? How has He reconciled us? Reconciliation means “to restore to friendship, compatibility, or harmony.” We recall that God’s ultimate purpose is to restore the unity between man and Him­self so man can glorify Him. So, with the dramatic contrast of But God firmly entrenched in our minds and hearts, we are now ready to see the three pivotal words in this passage that detail our reconciliation to God: mercy, love, and grace.

The first word that captures our attention is mercy. A simple definition of mercy is “the withholding of deserved punishment and relieving distress.” The Greek is eleos, which speaks of “compassion, pity.” One Greek lexicon tells us, “Kindness or good will towards the miserable and afflicted, joined with a desire to relieve them.” So, mercy is obviously always to the helpless. Moreover, in light of verses 1‑3, we deserve the affliction, but God relieves it. We deserve all the affliction, misery, distress, depression, and heart­ache that comes our way; we deserve the domination of the world, Satan, and the flesh; we deserve God’s wrath. But God is merciful; He relieves us.

Not only do we see the word mercy, but there is an adjective attached to it—rich. The Greek is plousios (the adjective form of the noun ploutos) and is the source of English words such as “plutonic.” In the technical sense the word refers to material riches. But in the general sense the word speaks of wealth or abundance in a particular area. For example, one might be “rich in wisdom,” that is, having an abun­dance of wisdom. It is significant that Paul never used plousios in the material sense of the word; he was no interested in riches as man thinks of them. He always used the word to speak of God, Christ, or even the believer. Many teachers today teach their “prosperity doctrines” and say that God has promised to bless his people with monetary riches. Such teachings, however, do not plumb with Scripture. The New Testament makes it clear that coming to Christ might cost us everything. Paul never spoke of such shallow and worldly things; rather, he spoke of spiri­tual riches.

So, God shows mercy in true abundance. The New Testament word for mercy is quite similar to the Old Testament word hesed, which carries the idea of “free acts of rescue or deliverance.” Furthermore, as we read in Psalm 103:8, “God is plenteous in mercy.” Oh, how marvelous is God’s mercy! Again, we de­serve our afflictions, But God relieves them.

“But God”

BUT GOD (Eph. 2:4a). What marvelous words! As commentator William MacDonald observes: “The words, But God, form one of the most significant, eloquent, and inspiring transitions in all literature. They indicate that a stupendous change has taken place. It is a change from the doom and despair of the valley of death to the unspeakable delights of the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.” We should especially appreciate MacDonald’s comment about eloquence. We usually think of eloquence being found in a long or dramatic speech or sermon, but MacDonald views just these two words as the ultimate in eloquent speech.

Another expositor writes, “The most astounding interruption in human history is the word ‘but’ in this passage.” Another observes, “But God! Here is where the beauty and wonder of the Christian gospel comes in…If you understand those two words—’But God!—they will save your soul. If you recall them daily and live by them, they will transform your life completely.” And still another adds, “The hinge point between gloom and gladness…are these two little words, ‘But God.’”

In the shadow of the sinfulness outlined in verses 1-3, Paul then declares the light of the Gospel: But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;). In a sense, these two words contain the entire Gospel message. Why? Because they show THE ULTIMATE CONTRAST: They show man’s plight but God’s provision; they picture man’s impotence but God’s intervention; they describe man’s helplessness but God’s hope.

In general, the Greek word for But (de) shows “distinc­tion.” However, it also serves to mark a transition to some­thing new. Therefore, as God is the subject of the sentence, He then is the distinction; He is the transition; He is the One Who marks the ultimate contrast between what we were and what we are! Without God’s provision, intervention, and hope, we would still be dead in our trespasses and sins, doomed for­ever.

Think of it! Once we were dead, now we are alive (Rom. 6:13; I Cor. 15:22); once we were enemies of God, now we are friends (Col. 1:21; cf. Lk. 7:34); once we were aliens, now citizens (Eph. 2:12-13); once we were lost, now found (Lk. 15:6,9,24,32); once we were far off, now near (Eph. 2:13); once we were cut off from God, now have access to Him (Rom. 5:2); once we were at war with God, now at peace with Him (Rom. 5:1); and once we were condemned, now justified (Rom. 5:9).

All that because of—But God. As the Psalmist declares: “Like sheep they are laid in the grave; death shall feed on them; and the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; and their beauty shall consume in the grave from their dwelling. But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me” (Ps. 49:14-15). And as Paul echoes in Romans 5:7-8: “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

That is the contrast of salvation. That is what Paul contrasts between verses 1-3. where we were corpses in the grave, and verses 4-10, where are given life by His grace.

The Results of Sin

As I shared with my congregation the Sunday mornings I preached on Ephesians 2:1-3, the Truth in these verses is not very uplifting. After reading them, you won’t be “floating on air” or “feeling good about yourself.” Paul’s message is about the depravity man, his absolute and total sinfulness. The Truth here is not hard to understand, for Paul’s language is quite clear; rather it is hard to accept. It’s hard for all of us to face the stark reality of our sinfulness. Paul declares that there are three results of our sin.

First, there is the positional result, which is that we are dead in trespasses and sins (v. 1). Just as medical students can do anything to a cadaver that they want and that cadaver does not respond in any way because it’s dead to any physical stimulus, likewise, apart from Christ we were “spiritual cadavers.” We could not respond to any spiritual stimulus. We were not “sick in a fever,” “incapacitated,” or even “hopelessly crippled” by sin. We were dead.

Second, there are the practical results of [walking] according to the course of this world (the values, pleasures, inclinations, philosophies, goals, drives, purposes, attitudes, and actions of society), according to the prince of the power of the air (Satan’s control of the world), and according to our own lusts (the desires to satisfy natural drives in ways God forbids, such as sex outside of marriage).

Third, and most significant, however, is the permanent result of sin, namely, the wrath of God (v. 3). Unless we turn to Christ as Savior and Lord, every one of us is under the wrath of God. To speak of God’s wrath is unthinkable in most circles today. It simply is not politically correct or even prudent for ministry. “We should never speak of such a thing,” it is argued, “rather we should speak of love, mercy, and forgiveness and just talk about Jesus can do for you.”

But while Scripture says much about love, mercy, and forgiveness, It also says much about God’s wrath. As God declared right before commanding Noah to build a lifeboat, “My spirit shall not always strive with man” (Gen. 6:3). God is not “infinitely merciful” as many teach today. There will come a time when He will pour out His wrath upon those who reject Him. Our Lord Himself made this very clear. While people love to quote John 3:16, they ignore or overlook 3:36: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Instead of opening our “evangelistic campaigns” with such platitudes as “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life,” we should begin as Paul does in Romans 1:18: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold [i.e., suppress] the truth in unrighteousness.” Paul writes a chapter later that God’s wrath is His “righteous judgment” (2:5). We see this principle, in fact, throughout the Word of God.

Isn’t it interesting that men accept the wrath of God when it comes to gravity and therefore tall buildings, but rebel at His wrath when it comes to moral behavior? Man thinks he should be allowed to break God’s laws with impunity. But just as there is a consequence of breaking the physical law of gravity by jumping off a building, there is likewise a consequence to breaking God’s “moral law of gravity.” Promiscuous sex, a lifetime of gluttony, an abuse of alcohol or drugs will kill you just as dead as a ten-story plunge.

While the sin issue is frequently dealt with in Scripture, it is avoided in our day at all cost. It’s just not stylish to preach about sin; it’s not prudent. But sin is, indeed, the issue. Salvation is not some vague experience that “makes life better,” rather it is repentance from sin that saves the soul from God’s eternal wrath.

God’s View of Sin

One of the major reasons, if not the major reason, for any wrong conception of salvation is an inadequate conception of sin. There are two words in Ephesians 2:1— And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins—that require careful study, for in these two words we find God’s view of sin.

First, the Apostle Paul calls sin trespasses. The Greek here (paraptoma) pictures a deviation to one side or the other. It was used at times by the ancient Greeks to describe an error, a mistake in judgment or a blunder. But this idea is never even implied in the New Testament. Rather the New Testament usage strongly emphasizes a deliberate act with its serious consequences. In fact, the key to understanding this is to realize that trespasses speaks of a willful deviation from God’s requirement.

Romans 5:15‑20 uses the word “offence” (paraptoma) several times to describe clearly Adam’s sin as a willful deviation from God’s command: “…through the offence of one many be dead…by one man’s offence death reigned by one…by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation…Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”

There is a similar word used in the Old Testament Hebrew that speaks of a conscious act of treachery. A vivid example appears in Joshua 7:1, where it is used of Achan’s sin: “Did not Achan, the son of Zerah, commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on the congregation of Israel?” Again, we see here a deliberate act along with its consequences. The same is true with Saul (I Chron. 10:13), as well as many other illustrations (Lev. 6:2; 26:40; Num. 5:6; II Chron. 12:2; Ezek. 14:13; 20:27; 39:23, 26; etc.).

What then is the application of all this? Simply that we are all willful sinners. We, just as Adam, Achan, and Saul deliberately disobey God’s commands. We do not just make mistakes; we do not just commit indiscretions; we do not just “trip up;” we are willful sinners. We don’t sin because “the Devil made us do it,” not because it’s our spouse’s fault, not because we had a bad childhood; we sin because we choose to sin, we deviate from the commands of God.

Second, as if trespasses were not enough, Paul uses the term sins. The graphic idea in the Greek here is “to miss the mark.” The verb form was used in ancient Greek of a spearman missing the target at which he aimed and threw his spear. It then came to be used in the ethical sense of not measuring up to a standard or falling short of a purpose or standard. The pivotal verse on this principle is Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” What is sin? Missing the mark. What then is the mark for which we shoot? The glory of God; that is, the mark we shoot for is to be worthy of glory, but we miss it every time. 

Commentator William Barclay offers these fitting words: “We commonly have a wrong idea of sin. We would readily agree that the robber, murderer, the razor-slasher, the drunkard, the gangster are sinners, but, since most of us are respectable citizens, in our heart of hearts we think that sin has not very much to do with us. We would probably rather resent being called hell-deserving sinners. But ‘sin’ brings us face to face with what sin is, the failure to be what we ought to be and could be.”

Man’s view of sin is indeed distorted, and rightly so; his sinfulness distorts his view of his sinfulness and guilt. But God’s view is clear—man has willfully deviated from God’s law and has fallen far short of God’s standard of holiness. The outlook truly is bleak, but we shall soon see the answer to this problem of sin.

Man’s View of Sin

What is sin? That is a question with which many struggle, and many answers have been offered.

First, some, of course, don’t really recognize a “sin problem” at all. This view says that man is pretty much okay the way he is. While he certainly isn’t perfect, he is evolving, and since he’s been around for so long and has been learning along the way, he’s in pretty good shape. But such a view is a little hard to swallow as you watch the evening news.

Second, some who do recognize that there is a problem, view sin as an accident, mistake, or indiscretion. It’s not really a person’s fault when he does wrong, rather it’s because of his background and upbringing. But Romans 5:12 declares: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.” This verse, as well as the Genesis 3 account of the fall, clear­ly shows that sin was a result of deliberate disobedience. Sin is never accidental; we sin because we choose to sin.

Third, sin is merely an “amiable weakness.” This means that sin is merely a minor, unfortunate weakness but one which does not really hurt anyone. Man is a little “unhealthy,” perhaps even morally sick, but he’s not a hopeless case. But notice Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and des­perately wicked.” Does that sound like an “amiable weakness” or simply an unhealthy condition? Man is, indeed, in a desperate condition. As we’ll see, he is actually spiritually dead.

Fourth, sin is merely “immaturity.” In this view sin is only a lack of personal growth that will improve as we develop as human beings. Is it not interesting that we do not see peo­ple growing out of this “immaturity?” I John 3:4 tells us that sin is “the transgression of the law,” not immaturity.

Fifth, Liberal Theology says sin is “selfishness” or a “low self‑esteem.”

In addition to the above approaches to sin, there is also a general sense of flippancy about sin today. This attitude is clearly seen in a poll taken by People Magazine a few years ago. It took what it called a “sin poll,” which gave a scale of 1‑10 to judge various “sins.” A “1” represented no feeling of regret; a “5” showed some guilt; a “10” (which no sin received) represented heinous sin. Here are just a few examples.

“Premarital sex” rated only 3.70 while “parking in a handicapped zone” rated 5.53 and “cutting into lines” rated 4.91. “Living together without marriage” (3.74) is just a little more serious than “not voting” (3.25). Perhaps the most telling example, however, is that while “murder” rated high­est at 9.84 (why not 10?) “abortion” ra­ted only 5.78! The world today sees no similarity between the two!

All this, indeed, reveals just how flippant man is about his sin and guilt. Worse is the fact that in modern preaching today, even among most evangelicals, sin is not dealt with at all. The subjects of today’s “preaching” are God’s love, man’s felt needs, how God will help you with your problems, and so on. Preaching about sin is, no pun intended, the greatest sin of all. If you talk about sin, you’ll make people uncomfortable and cause division. You must rather entertain them and build them up. But that is not the Gospel.

While Ephesians 1 tells us what God has done for us, Ephesians 2 gives us details of how God did it. And where does Paul start? He starts with the reality of sin. In contrast to man’s view of sin, in our next installment, we’ll see how God defines sin.

Power for Living

Of all the many verses that round out Ephesians 1, let us consider only one, verse 19: And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power.

The great Roman general and statesman Pompey, who was at first the colleague and then rival of Julius Caesar, boasted that, with one stamp of his foot, he could rouse all Italy to arms. But as one expositor writes, “But God by one word of His mouth, nay, by a wish of His mind alone, can summon the inhabitants of heaven, earth, and the undiscovered worlds, to His aid, or bring new creatures into being to do His will.”

Paul, therefore, prays here that we might know just how much power we possess through Christ. It is tragic, indeed, that the average Christian today lives in utter defeat and powerlessness. Many live a life that is made up of “ups and downs.” Many have no consistency, no faithful­ness, and no power for living or for witnessing. What we see today is at best mediocre Christianity; we see Christians who are just going through the motions and doing what they must to “get by.” But Paul prays that we will know the incredible power we have in Christ.

The language Paul uses here is truly amazing. As he did back in verses 3-14, he heaps one word upon another to express the Truth. When we examine the language carefully, we find that the full idea in Paul’s words are: “That we may know the surpassing, super abounding greatness of His inherent, overcoming power, a power which is in action showing the strength of His might.” This is the kind of power for living that God wants us to claim.

One of the main reasons for medio­cre Christianity is because it has become theoretical instead of practical. Now, what’s interesting is that many say they are practical. They shun doctrine and seek “more practical methods.” But in reality, they don’t want something truly practical, rather something entertaining. If something is truly practical, it tells us specifically how to live. Much of today’s church is not practical, but theoretical. It has become philosophical and psycho­logical and is no longer really practical and authoritative for daily living. There is very little authoritative truth from God’s Word coming from pulpits today. Oh, how we should despise man’s (even preach­er’s) theories, ideas, and methods. More than ever before we need the unabridged, plain, and practical Truth from God’s authoritative Word.

Most of us have heard of Samuel Morse, the 19^th Century inventor of the telegraph, and whose “Morse Code” is still in use today. But not many of us know that Morse was a devout Christian. He was once asked if during his research and development of his invention he ever came to the place of not knowing where to got next. He replied: “Oh, many times. Whenever I was baffled and frustrated, I went to my knees and asked God for light and understanding. He showed me the way. I believe God wanted the telegraph to be invented because He know what if would means to mankind. After the invention, I received many honors—but I feel undeserving of honors. I have made a valuable application of electricity not because of superior gifts and abilities, but because God pleased to answer my prayers and reveal to me a few of the wonderful secrets of His universe.”

What humility! How unlike so many of us today who revel in worldly honor, who seek glory to feed our pride. But not Morse. His testimony was, “I didn’t do this; God did.” In fact, the very first message Morse tapped out on his invention on the Washington-Baltimore line on May 24, 1844 was, “What hath God wrought!” Indeed, through Samuel Morse, God introduced the great power of electrical communication. Today we marvel at the worldwide telecommunications that we enjoy, but how many of us give God all the glory? Thank God Samuel Morse did. And God, likewise, gives each of us power for living when we seek His guidance and, most of all, His glory.

True Enlightenment

We hear a lot about “enlightenment” these days, but what is true enlightenment? As one who almost went into medicine, I am fascinated by anatomy and became very intrigued by Paul’s words the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know (Eph. 1:18.) Enlightened is photizo (English “photo”) and means “to give light, to shine.” It speaks here then of giving understanding. As the Psalmist declares, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Ps. 139:14), and nowhere is this truer than the eye. Let’s consider some parallels.

Sight begins when light, in varying wavelengths, travels through the dime-­sized, transparent cornea, passes through the iris, which controls the amount of light that enters the eye, and then strikes the lens, which bends the light and focuses it on the retina. Our “spiritual eye” likewise controls the amount of information that enters and puts it into focus. This gives us the idea of discernment, the ability to distinguish one thing from another, Truth from error.

The retina, the innermost layer of the eye wall, lines the rear two‑thirds of the eye and is extremely sensitive to light. It converts the energy of light waves into nerve impulses, which are then transmitted along the optic nerve to the brain. In the same way our “spiritual eye” is extremely sensitive to light or the absence of it.

Although it covers less than a square inch, the retina contains 137 million light ­sensitive receptor cells, 130 million of which are rods for black‑and­-white vision, night vision, and motion detection, and the remaining seven million are cones for color vision. The rods, which are scattered all over the retina, react to even the smallest ray of light. Light bleaches a colored pigment in the rods called rhodopsin. This bleaching action generates an electrical response (a few millionths of a volt) that in turn is fed into the straw‑sized optic nerve and carried to the brain. The entire complex electrochemi­cal process takes about two thousandths of a second. Even more intricate is the process whereby the cones sort out color. The prevailing theory is that the cones have red, green, and blue bleachable pigments and that these colors are blended to make all the other hues.

The analogy of this to our “spiritual eye” is dramatic. There are millions more rods than cones, showing us how important black-and-white is. In a day when Relativism rules, how we need black-and-white absolutes! Color is wonderful, but it’s the rod’s reaction to even the smallest ray of light that we need so desperately. Additionally, a “spiritual eye” does all this virtually instantaneously, immediately discerning Truth from error.

Again, the optic nerve takes all this information to the brain for processing. One of the most fascinating aspects of this is that because light travels through the single lens of the eye, the image that it projects on the retina is actually inverted. The brain is, therefore, programmed to flip the image so we see it right side up. Binoculars and refractor telescopes, for example, have two lens, which flip the image twice so we can see it right side up. The brain does this and many other things so we can understand what we see. Likewise, our spiritual mind understands what we see.

Still another miracle of sight is our stereoscopic vision, what is called “depth perception.” We see depth because we have two eyes. This is achieved when the optic nerves from the two eyes fuse at the optic chiasma, a major nerve junction near the brain. When the image reaches the brain, the right half of a field of vision “crosses over” and registers in the left brain, and the left half of a field registers in the right brain. The brain is, therefore, able to superimpose the “left” picture on the “right” picture and we see depth. What a thrilling parallel this is to our spiritual sight! With two “spiritual eyes” we can see the depth of God’s Truth.

Indeed, Paul’s use of the phrase the eyes of your understanding being enlightened is full of significance. It is through our “spiritual eyes” that we are enlightened and know God’s truth. Dear Christian, you might not have the physical eyes of legendary fighter and test pilot Chuck Yeager, who could see enemy planes fifty miles away, but God has given you perfect spiritual sight if you but use it.