Alive In Christ

Ephesians 2:1-10
1.
As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins,
2.
in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
3.
All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath.
4.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy,
5.
made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.
6.
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
7.
in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
8.
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--
9.
not by works, so that no one can boast.
10.
For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

We are reminded once again of what God has done for us. We used to walk in the ways of disobedience. Used to. This should be the case of anyone who has come to Christ. We will not always be perfect, but our lives should reflect the glory of God.

Because of God's mercy, we have been saved. We did not earn this salvation, but He gave it freely. After salvation, God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms. Hallelujah!! How blessed we are. We do not have to feel sorry for ourselves when things don't go our way. We can remember that we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms. God has wisdom and revelation available to us. He has a work for us to do, but we have to be obedient.

God raised us to heavenly places so that He may be glorifed just as verse 7 says. If we bring glory to Him with our lives, we will be blessed.

Our salvation is a free gift, but as a result of our salvation, we have a work to do. Verse 10 says that we are His workmanship created to do good works. He had this prepared in advance, before we were even born.

The purpose of our lives is to bring glory to our God. I want to do that with everything I have.