Ephesians 2

The second chapter of Ephesians starts with a description of one who is still a slave to sin. Paul doesn’t use the word hopeless or impure or many of the descriptions of the sinner that we might use today. He uses the word dead here, and it truly works best, especially in this chapter. Dead people, of course, cannot help themselves. This is true for physical death, but it is also true for spiritual death.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,” did not wish to leave us in such a state. When we were dead, God made us alive together with Christ, which we know as grace. We are not deserving of this grace, but he gives it to us anyway. It is a gift, not earned, not deserved, but received anyway.

This gift was given completely out of love. But the fact that we are saved by this grace, rather than by works, also serves a practical purpose—to prevent us from boasting in our salvation. Imagine hearing, in church, something like “I’ve gone on more missions than you!” Great. I can go on a hundred missions and not pay the slightest bit of attention to God. I can follow the law to the letter, and add a few extra rules (hey, being “more moral” can never hurt), and still be an unregenerate sinful man—the Pharisees pulled it off.

Paul likely thought of this “apparent morality” when writing these words. After all, he was one of the Pharisees, and quite impressive among them as well. He was taught under Gamaliel, he followed the law, and he persecuted the believers of the time. When the Lord called him, he was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians there.

God ignored all of this. He simply declared Paul saved, and called him to service. He was in no position to boast of his morality anymore; he called himself “the worst of all sinners.” But regardless of our past state, God has appointed good works for us. They do not save, no, but anyone who is under grace should recognize their value.

Circumcision was one of these “good works.” It determined who could belong to the community of Israel and who could not, and the “Circumcision” used it as proof that the “Uncircumcision” was without God. We, the Gentiles, had no hope. Yes, this is true. But now our hearts have been circumcised, and we can belong to the community and be a part of a new, greater covenant with God. This is peace.