Ephesians 2:1-10. Grace

What makes someone a good person?

What do you think the average person would say?

Maybe someone who is kind and compassionate. Someone who is honest. Someone who does the right thing. Someone who follows the rules. Someone who is tolerant and non-judgmental. Someone who turns up on time. Most of the time, anyway.

And with that final qualification—”most of the time”—most of us feel like we measure up “ok”. Not perfectly. But we do all right.

Ephesians 2:1-10 blows that kind of thinking out of the water. It shows us that we are far worse than we could ever have imagined. But it also shows us that God is far more gracious than we could ever have imagined.

1. We Were Spiritually Dead (2:1–3)

In the first three verses, we begin to discover the depth of our problem. We were spiritually dead in our sins.

Dead in your transgressions and sins. In verse 1, Paul tells his readers that they used to be dead. By “dead”, he’s talking about something spiritual, not physical. He’s saying that because of their transgressions (crossing the line) and sins (falling short of God’s standards), they were out of relationship with God and therefore, in a sense, “dead.”

The ways of this world. In verse 2, we see that they had transgressed and sinned, firstly, by following the ways of the world instead of God’s ways.

The ruler of the kingdom of the air. Secondly, they had transgressed and sinned by following “the ruler of the kingdom of the air”. Later on in Ephesians, Paul refers to “the powers of this dark world” and “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (6:12). So, “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” would have to be the one who in charge of these dark, spiritual forces. Most people assume that this is a reference to Satan, also known as the Devil. So, the problem faced here is that people have followed the world and followed Satan.

Those who are disobedient. Consequently, we’re told that this ruler, Satan, is “at work” in “those who are disobedient” (more literally, “the sons of disobedience”). Sadly, it’s not just a select few who have Satan at work in them. Verse 3 goes on to tell us that “all of us also lived among them at one time.” So, Satan has been at work in all of us, leading us to be disobedient to God.

Gratifying the cravings of our flesh. But how have we followed Satan? Verse 3 then tells us that we did this “by gratifying the cravings of our flesh.” What does that mean? Our “flesh” refers to our corrupted human nature. Our corrupted human nature craves things that are displeasing to God. To “gratify” these cravings is to act on them, letting them steer our thoughts and behaviour. Basically, we do what we want, and what we want is very different to what God wants. As such, we punish ourselves because we reject the source of life and goodness, and instead walk a path that leads to ruin, judgment, and separation from God.

By nature deserving of wrath. And wrath. By rejecting God, we end up deserving God’s wrath. This wrath isn’t an impulsive or petty rage. Rather, it’s the perfectly measured anger of a holy God against all that corrupts and destroys his good world.

We deserve this wrath because our “nature”, our inherent condition from birth, opposes God. It’s not just that we became sinful by environment or poor choices; rather, we were born with a corrupted nature—a disposition inclined away from God. That doesn’t mean that we’re as bad as we could be. It does mean, however, that every part of our nature has been corrupted by sin—our mind, will, emotions, and desires. Totally.

So, pretty much, humanity is stuffed. What we read here feeds into what theologians call the doctrine of “total depravity”. Humanity is totally depraved. Each one of us. Completely depraved.

2. God Made Us Alive (2:4–7)

And it’s at this point that I am deeply thankful for the contrastive conjunction “but”. In verse 4, we meet a big “but”. Despite everything we read in verses 1-3, there’s hope for us. God made us alive.

God’s love, mercy, and grace. In verses 4 to 7, we discover that despite our dreadful sin problem, God is loving, merciful and gracious.

Love explains why God acts. Mercy explains how God feels about our condition. Grace explains what God does to change our condition.

Love is the motive, mercy is the response to our misery, and grace is the gift that saves and raises us.

God’s love is the foundational reason for everything he does in saving us. It’s God’s disposition to seek our good. It is unearned, unconditional, and initiated by him, not us. He saves us not because we are lovable but because he is loving.

God’s mercy is his compassion toward people who are in distress. In this case, God’s mercy is his compassion toward us when we faced spiritual death and God’s wrath (verses 4-5).

God’s grace is his gift toward us—the gift of undeserved favour before God. Everything God does in salvation, he does so that “he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus” (verse 7). More on this in the following section.

An illustration for distinguishing between love, mercy and grace.

Words like love, mercy and grace have similar vibes to each other. There’s a fair bit of overlap. But, as we’ve seen, there are differences between them. Here’s an illustration that helps unpack the differences.

Imagine you’ve rebelled against a powerful king. You’ve broken his laws and joined his enemies . You’re arrested and brought before him on his throne. He’s angry. You expect punishment.

But then something happens. The king is moved in his heart because he is a compassionate king. He wants what is good for you. That is, he’s filled with love. Therefore, because of his love, he shows you mercy—he doesn’t give you the punishment you deserve. That sounds great. But then he goes even further. In addition to not punishing you (mercy), because of his love, he offers adopts you as his son or daughter and invites you to sit with him at his dinner table. That’s grace.

Mercy withholds the punishment you deserve. Grace gives you a reward you don’t deserve. All of this is undergirded by the King’s love.

This little illustration helps us understand how love, mercy and grace work together.

Because of God’s love, mercy and grace, God does three things for us, revolving around three verbs, picking up on the idea of being “together with” Christ. The NIV doesn’t use the word “together”, but in the Greek, the three verbs that are used begin with the prefix “syn”, indicating the togetherness of each of the three verbs:

Together made alive with Christ. First, in verse 5, we’re together made alive with Christ. God does this for us even though we were “dead in our transgressions”. We were dead. Now we’re alive, just like Jesus.

Together raised with Christ. Second, in verse 6, we read that we’re together raised with Christ. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. As we read in chapter 1, the same power that made Jesus alive and raised him up is the same power that lives in us. Not only do we come back to life—we’re raised up too. Where are we raised to? The heavenly realms.

Together seated with Christ. We’re made alive and raised so that we can be seated with Christ in the heavenly realms. Not only are we not dead—now we’re raised to be in heaven. Now! This is a present reality. Google Maps tells you where you are physically located. Ephesians 2:6 tells you where you are spiritually located: seated in the heavenly realms with Christ.

We were spiritually dead. Now there’s a sense in which we dwell in the heavenly realms with Jesus. That’s a pretty remarkable change of affairs!

3. By Grace, Through Faith, For Works (2:8–10)

So far, we’ve seen that we were dead, but now God has made us alive with Christ. It’s all been the work of God—his love, his mercy and his grace. It should be obvious to us that our good works don’t contribute to our salvation.

But most of us will (at least, occasionally) slip into thinking that we bring something to the table with us. It can be easy to slip into thinking that our good works somehow save us.

So, in verses 8–10, Paul underscores that this is not the case. That doesn’t mean that good works are no longer important. Not for a second. But they are not what saves us.

We’re saved by grace, through faith, for works. Let’s unpack that.

By grace. In verse 8 we’re told: “For it is by grace you have been saved”. We already know this from verse 5, but it’s so important that Paul doubles back to emphasise it. When Paul says “by grace”, he means that our salvation is entirely a gift from God, not something we earn or deserve—it’s “not by works, so that no one can boast”. Grace refers to God’s undeserved favour, freely given to sinners out of his love and mercy. It highlights that salvation is God’s initiative from start to finish—not based on our efforts, but on Christ’s work.

Through faith. When Paul says that we are “saved by grace through faith”, he means that faith is the means by which we receive God’s gift of salvation. It’s not a work we perform, but a trusting response to what God has already done in Christ. Faith is the open hand that receives God’s gift of grace. It doesn’t earn, it simply believes and relies on Jesus’ person and work to rescue us. In other words, faith means “trusting Jesus alone to save us”. Since we’re saved by grace and through faith, there is no room for boasting.

Fun fact

In verse 8, the phrase “and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” uses the Greek word for “this”, which is in the neuter case, while “grace” and “faith” are both feminine. That suggests “this” isn’t pointing specifically to either grace or faith alone, but to the entire process of salvation, being saved by grace through faith. Paul’s point is that none of it comes from us: not the grace, not the faith, not the salvation. From start to finish, it’s all God’s gift, not something we earn or contribute to.

But if we’re saved by grace through faith and not by anything we do, what’s the point of good works?

For works. Good works are not the basis of our salvation. But they are the result of our salvation. In verse 10, Paul goes on to say that we are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works”. These works are not self-generated; they are what God prepared in advance for us to do. In verses 1 and 2, we saw that we used to “live” or “walk” (peripateō) in our “transgressions” and “sins”. Now, in verse 10, we’ve been saved to “do” or “walk” (peripateō again) in “good works”. We’re not saved by works. But we are saved for works. As the old saying goes:

We’re saved by grace alone.
But the grace that saves leads to good works.
We’re saved through faith alone.
But the faith that saves leads to good works.

But what are the good works we’re supposed to “live in”, “do” or “walk in”? The second half of Ephesians answers this question for us, picking up on that live/do (peripateō) language that’s used in verse 10.

Ephesians 4:1 tells us to “live (peripateō) a life worthy of the calling you have received.” We’re to walk in a way that reflects the weight and worth of being called into God’s family.

Ephesians 4:17 says, “You must no longer live (peripateō) as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking.” Paul commands a break from the old mindset and lifestyle, which results in a whole range of sinful behaviours.

Ephesians 5:2 shows us the alternate way to walk: “Walk (peripateō) in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us”. Our walk should be shaped by sacrificial love, mirroring Jesus’ self-giving death on the cross.

Ephesians 5:8 highlights the need to “live (peripateō) as children of light.” Since we’ve been transferred from darkness to light, our lives should reflect this reality.

Ephesians 5:15 calls the reader to “be very careful, then, how you live (peripateō)—not as unwise but as wise.” Wisdom means aligning daily choices with God’s will in a broken world. Thankfully, the Spirit fills us and thereby enables us to make these kinds of decisions.

Discussion Questions

Pray and Get Going

According to the average person, what makes someone a good person?

Read Ephesians 2:1-10

2. What are the main problems humanity faces in verses 1-3? Tease out what Paul means with each problem.

3. What’s the difference between the “spirit” we read of in verse 2 and the “Spirit” we read of in chapter 1?

4. What three things does God do for us in verses 5-7? Why does he do these things?

5. In verse 8 we read, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith.” What does Paul mean by “grace” and “faith”? What doesn’t he mean?

6. How much space is there for Christians to boast about being saved?

7. According to verse 10, why should Christians do good works?

8. What kinds of good works should we commit to doing or walking in? Scan through Ephesians 4:1, 4:17, 5:2, 5:8, 5:15 for examples.

Pray and Give Thanks

What makes someone a good person?

1. We Were Spiritually Dead (2:1–3)

2. God Made Us Alive (2:4–7)

3. By Grace, Through Faith, For Works (2:8–10)

Fun fact

Discussion Questions

Other Posts in this Series

Ephesians 2:11-22. I Hate, Hate, Hate Being Left Out

Ephesians 1:15-23. A Prayer for the Person Who Has Everything

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