SAVED BY GRACE THROUGH FAITH

We have become WHO we are IN Jesus because of God’s GRACE and Jesus’ FAITH.

SAVED by GRACE through FAITH.

“…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.” ~ Ephesians 2:7-9

There is not one aspect of our salvation for which we can take credit – not one! Salvation is a GRACE GIFT of GOD! Not earned. Not deserved. Not bestowed through nepotism. The whole package: “by GRACE you have been SAVED through FAITH” is NOT of ourselves. We get no credit for the GRACE, the SAVED, or the FAITH.

God’s GRACE triggers a desire in us for Him. His grace empowers us to choose Him. Jesus’ faith is the authentication we need to enter the relationship with God.

“…No one comes to the Father except through Me [Jesus].” ~ John 14:6b

The faith of Christ is an important point.

“A man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Christ” (see Galatians 2:16-20 KJV).

Up to this point in the book of Ephesians, Paul describes our identity IN CHRIST. We have every spiritual blessing… IN Christ. It is not of ourselves. And it is not earned or inherited. When we enter ONENESS with Christ, we enter His faith. When the foundation of our relationship with God is IN Christ, we realize our whole identity in salvation is not about our performance. It is about JESUS’ kindness toward us. It is the powerful sufficient faith of Christ in which we operate emphasizing the value of intimacy and oneness in our walk with God. We so often think we need more faith. The reality is, Jesus has the faith. So, let’s trust in Him! Just as we BELIEVED (relied and trusted) upon Jesus at the moment of salvation.

The commandment of God is to believe in Jesus (1 John 3:23). Salvation comes by believing in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31). Belief is the exercise of our free will when we choose God’s gift to us – Jesus! His grace and His faith convince our will to choose to trust Jesus. And the Holy Spirit enters into us. We enter into Him. A beautiful blend of ONENESS! SAVED.

Wahoo!

Salvation is expansive. We live right now in this present age. But there are ages to come (Ephesians 2:7). And He intends to show His KINDNESS to us NOW and in the coming AGES! To accommodate this kindness God has made His GRACE exceedingly rich. It reaches beyond anything you can imagine. It surpasses expectation and comprehension. It transcends sin, mistakes, inadequacies, failures, and even death.

God’s GRACE is a currency of GOD’s wealth. It is valuable, abundant, and inexhaustible.

In our present day, grace can be easily misunderstood. Grace is often referred to in a way that makes one feel that God turns His head from sin. Like He is pretending not to see it. Or that somehow grace makes Him soft or friendly toward sin. In some cases, grace is used as an attribute of God that allows us to continue in sin because He understands “our sin nature” and that we can’t help it. It’s something He doesn’t like, but grace makes Him put up with it anyway.

This thinking is farthest from the truth. GRACE is divine and powerful, conforming us to the image of Jesus. It is the wiggle room God provides for us to change. GRACE brought us into a position of relational intimacy with God and it is GRACE that keeps us in intimacy, and allows us to walk as imitators of Jesus.

A person cannot continue in sin and claim to walk in grace. As Paul says in Romans 6:1 “God forbid!” The two are not compatible. God’s work on the cross was finished once and for all! Forgiveness of sins was completed – thoroughly. Your past, present, and future sin. So why would we pretend this is not true by exploiting grace to continue in sin (live like a person in their sin condition before Christ)?  Grace delivers from sin. Unbelief excuses sin. And here is a rabbit trail worth exploring… for another time.

You are SAVED! The statement is but the tip of an iceberg! It goes deep… wonderfully deep!

YOU HAVE BEEN SAVED! What astounding news! This word, SAVED, is loaded with meaning!

You can buy a new smartphone, turn it on, make a phone call, send a text message or email, take a few photos, and never realize the full capabilities of the device you hold in your hand. The smartphone is so much more. But as I begin to discover what the technology will do, there are many “aha!” moments followed by, “I didn’t know it could do that!”

Have we just scratched the surface of SALVATION? We know we have it, but do we have the full understanding of WHO we have become? Do we comprehend what the work of Jesus on the cross purchased for us? Do we live each day walking in the fullness of SALVATION in Jesus? I pray our “aha!” moments keep coming!

SAVED means to deliver, heal, make whole, and preserve. The meaning goes deep and the understanding is transformative.

As we have been going through Ephesians, we realize we have been SAVED from… what?

By position and disposition – we have been SAVED from sin and trespass. We are saved from our former identity as children of disobedience and God’s wrath. We are saved from enslavement to the prince of the power of the air.

And we are SAVED to… what?

Sonship with God through Jesus Christ. We are saved unto righteousness. We are saved into a new identity. We have EVERY SPIRITUAL BLESSING in the heavenly places in Christ. We are saved into every identity characteristic we have discussed so far:

Chosen, adopted, accepted, redeemed, forgiven, entrusted, God’s inheritance, we exist for the praise of His glory, we are made alive with Christ, raised up with Him, and seated together with Him in Heavenly places! We are saved by grace through faith.

You are SAVED! The statement is but the tip of an iceberg! It goes deep… wonderfully deep! Saved is the doorway into a supernatural, abundant, victorious, intimacy with our Eternal Father, Jesus His Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is your introduction to His FAMILY and KINGDOM!

Your gift!

“Encompassed in Love”