Newsletter August 2022
A new walk
And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:1-7)
In this passage, Paul reminds the believers where they have come from and admonishes them to continue on the new journey they have begun with God. Once they, like the rest of society, had lived their lives in rebellion to God’s purpose. They had walked in the ways of this world, influenced by the spiritual forces of evil and succumbing to sinful desires rather than seeking the purpose of the Creator. As a result, they were destined for the judgment that will one day come upon all who reject God.
However, a change had taken place in their lives: God, in His boundless mercy, had revealed Himself to them and they had received new life in Jesus Christ through the forgiveness of sin (Ephesians 1:7). They had been adopted into God’s family (Ephesians 1:5) and were consequently heirs of His blessings. (Ephesians 1:11) Yet now these new believers were prone to a different temptation, which was equally worldly: religious pride. They might just forget where God had brought them from and consequently begin to despise those who continued living in the quagmire of sin.
Paul dispels any such notion of pride by reiterating that everything we receive from God comes solely by His initiative. We, the believers in Jesus Christ, have been saved by grace, the free gift of God. And even the very faith we have found came by His Spirit, who convicted us of sin and led us to the cross where we received forgiveness. This means that there are no grounds at all for boasting, only for thanksgiving. All the glory belongs to God alone. (Ephesians 1:12)
And now the God who revealed Himself through His Son Jesus Christ is working in us to reshape us according to His purpose. In Jesus Christ, He is recreating us into His image so that we can be what He always intended us to be. As He had once walked with Adam in the garden, God wants to walk with us. As He had commissioned Adam as His agent to take care of His creation, He is preparing the people He has redeemed for the final restoration of His entire creation. (Ephesians 1:10, Romans 8:19-21)
So what does it mean to walk in the good works, which God prepared beforehand? And how are we being created in Jesus Christ? The answer is: through our life experiences. Everything we experience is an opportunity to choose whether we will submit to the hand of the divine craftsman or whether we will resist His purpose. As Paul states in Romans 8:28-29 … all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. We are therefore called to give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18) even if we can’t make sense of it, always trusting that God is working to shape us into His image. We are to walk no longer according to the course of this world but as children of light (Ephesians 5:8) in love (v.2) and with our spiritual eyes open (vv.15-16) so we can discern God’s purpose as it unfolds in our time.