WE WILL BE – A DISPLAY OF GRACE. Ephesians 2:7-10 We have come from wrath to spiritual wealth, from death to life, from darkness to light, from being children of disobedience to children of God, and from the power of Satan to God. Verses eight, nine, and ten put the whole Gospel message in a concentrated form, bringing us from where we were in our sins to where we are now in Christ. We are seated with Christ because of God's work for us. The evidence of His interest is His rich mercy. The source of His interest is His great love. How can such love be described? It can't be, but it has been demonstrated.
The resurrection power that raised Christ from the dead has been used on our behalf because of the riches of His grace. God has moved in grace to us and given us what we do not deserve. God's grace makes the provision of salvation and spiritual possessions available for those of us who were dead in trespasses and sins. His grace provided the means whereby a righteous God could accept us legally. He has made us alive in Christ even though we were dead. Both Jews and Gentiles are able to be equally accepted by God because our Lord Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins when He was on the cross. "When He was on the cross, I was on His mind."
Paul reminded the Ephesian Christians of what they were before they trusted Christ and then reminded them of who they were when they trusted Him. The words, “But God,” change the dark scene from where they were without Christ to where they are and their position in Christ. There is no question that God hates sin, but He loves sinners. Sin is repulsive to holiness, but people are precious to God. Even though most people don’t seek Him because of their sinful nature, God in grace seeks us.
Even though we were dead in sins, He has saved us from our sins and the consequences of those sins, even though, by nature, we are sinners. He has done this great saving work by His grace in providing salvation paid in full. Grace is the first thing that is needed and has been provided. Salvation is personally accepted and received as a gift and a present possession. By faith in God's Word that has enlightened us to the truth of salvation, we put our personal faith in the Person who provided this salvation for us - our Lord Jesus Christ. That is God's work for us.
Grace has taken us farther than being delivered from the consequences of eternal punishment for sin. Grace has saved us for a purpose, a reason that is beyond our present ability to grasp. We have been raised to a new life and a new position, seated with Christ. This means God has placed us in a position of fellowship with Christ in all that He is and all that He is going to do in the future. We were made alive with Christ in the past when He saved us. We are seated with Christ in the present in heavenly places.
Human beings are the ones who turned away from God, but despite that, God made the first move toward reconciliation. He is just and can “By no means clear the guilty,” but His justice was satisfied when Christ died for us. His death paid the price that our sin demanded. Even though we were dead in sins, we have been made alive in Christ. Even though we were subject to Satan in the past, we have been delivered from His power and even the power of death since we have been raised from our spiritual death when He was raised from the dead. Even though the flesh bound us, God has seated us in a whole new environment – heavenly places.
In the future, we will display the riches of God's grace through His kindness through Christ Jesus as we share God's eternal purposes as those who are children of God by faith in Him. Our identity is forever linked with the value of that Person. This seated position is one of certainty because it is the position of a mighty victory. A victory has been won, and the victor claims for Himself that which He has won in the greatest battle against sin that will ever be fought: the work of the cross. "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." Throughout the coming ages, God’s "amazing grace" will be on permanent display, not as museum pieces that remain motionless to be viewed and forgotten, but as living testimonies to God's grace through the good works we do.
We were spiritually dead; God has made us spiritually alive. God has taken us out of the realm of Satan and placed us in a heavenly realm. We have been freed from sin’s bondage and the pit of despair and placed on the Rock of Christ Jesus. In the heavenly places, we have spiritual rest and can relax knowing that we are seated in Christ in heavenly places and someday will be seated with Christ there. None of this is something of which we can boast in any way. It is by God's grace alone that we are saved.
The grace of God is the source of salvation; faith is the channel, not the cause. Grace is the means by which salvation is offered as a gift. Eternal life is not earned; it is given. Faith is the hand that reaches out and takes the gift. That faith is not generated in us or earned by us but is made known to us in the Word of God. God the Spirit has given us the written Word of God on which our faith is based. Because we believe the Word of God concerning the Person and work of Christ, we place our faith in Him as a living Person. He is God who was "manifest in flesh." He came to "seek and to save that which was lost." He demonstrated His love to us: "Christ died for us." He died "for our sins according to the scriptures." According to the scriptures, he was buried and "rose again the third day." Salvation is totally a work of God for us.
Behind this amazing display of grace, there is a purpose. We are made alive, saved by grace, and seated with Christ in heavenly places. That He has already done for us. That is the gift of God. His intention in forming the new creation, this "workmanship," is so we know God has worked in us "to will and to do of His good pleasure." The Holy Spirit is in us, and the Word of God is in us so we can be "conformed to the image of His dear Son."
When this work has been done in us, God can work through us to fulfill the purposes of His grace toward others. This work for which He has prepared us is not for our pleasure but for His purposes. We have been made a new creation, a "workmanship," to do good works in His name. Good works are the way God demonstrates His love to a covetous, self-seeking world. The riches of God's grace, mercy, and glory are evident when those who are seated with Christ in heavenly places demonstrate these same divine characteristics from within this newly created workmanship that has been given a new nature.
We are not able by human effort to be what God intends because our salvation depends entirely on Him. We are saved by grace alone. His plan included giving us life when we deserved only death. Now, He intends us to serve Him with good works. In ourselves, we are nothing, but His mercy was extended to us. From all walks of life and places in the world, He has saved millions, and together, we are blended into one great workmanship that is seated with Christ in heavenly places. Now, with good works and goodwill, God is seen in the many faces of believers in Christ.
What is needed in one place is far different than in another. Divergent actions are needed to complete the whole picture, so we work together in one body, unseen by many, and in cultures that are not the same. All of the children of God have one thing in common: good works are done in Jesus' name. Being seated with Christ doesn't mean we are motionless and uninvolved in what is happening in the world, but it does mean that positionally, sin's problem is solved by our Lord. Behind that secure position, love motivates us to act in His name for Christ. The good works of those seated in Christ make grace a visible fact. Through living ones who once were dead in trespasses and sins, God's characteristics are revealed to sinful humanity. Love, grace, mercy, and salvation are not able to be kept concealed when those of us who have experienced these attributes firsthand seek to do the good works of the Gospel. Through "seated" ones, the Gospel message goes to people in every land.