This morning I was profoundly encouraged with these wonderful
words from the Book of God: “with faith”.
The book of Ephesians begins with this word of blessing: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.”[1]
Paul’s desire for the church was to experience the grace and peace that were
from God.
The book of Ephesians concludes with this word of blessing
over the church: “Peace be to the
brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace
be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.”[2]
What stands out in this concluding prayer is the connection
between the peace, love, and grace, which all come to us from God, and the
faith that we express to God in return.
The relationship between these four qualities is that the
peace, love, and grace are given to us, or expressed to us. On the other hand,
Paul’s desire is that they come to us “with
faith” because it is faith that rises up to fully experience these
expressions of God.
One of the central pictures of the letter to the Ephesian
Christians is the reminder that we begin our experience of salvation as dead
people.[3]
Salvation is not primarily healing for the wounded (though this is clearly
involved), but resurrection for the dead.
Paul says this so clearly when he writes, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of
the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our
trespasses, made us alive together with Christ”.[4]
Notice, on one side, the mercy and love originate with God
and are expressed to us. On the other side, our contribution to the mix is that
we “were dead”.
When we hear that Paul wants us to experience peace, love,
and grace, from the Triune, how do we experience those things if we have
nothing to contribute?
Picture it the way someone would do CPR on a dead person.
The First Responder would do all the work of the CPR, with the dead person
contributing only their dead body to the process. However, as soon as the CPR “works”,
and the heart, brain, and lungs suddenly burst with living activity, the person
immediately gasps in air, fully engaging with the life that has graciously been
given to them.
In a similar way, God’s salvation is always expressed
towards dead people, and so the salvation must do all the work of saving us.
However, the moment that God makes us alive in his Son, our alive condition
immediately starts relating to God by faith, just as we were designed to do in
the original work of creation.
This is why Paul clarifies, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your
own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may
boast.”[5]
The declaration, “by
grace you have been saved” is a complete thought. Paul said the same thing a
few verses earlier when he said that God “made
us alive together with Christ”, and then quickly interjected “by grace you have been saved”.[6] Salvation
is by grace, through and through. This is why it is a gift, and not the “result of works”. It is 100% “by grace”.
However, how is it received? If it is a gift, and it is
given to dead people who have nothing to contribute, how do we open the gift?
The answer is, “through faith”.
Now, make sure you do not immediately think of the “through faith” as something that
wounded people contribute to their own first aid. Remember that the persons we
are talking about were dead when grace saved them. When God made these people “alive together with Christ,” the way
they now engage with being alive is through faith. Faith is what we do now that
we are alive in Christ.
So, when Paul concludes his letter with the express desire
that the church experience peace, love, and grace, all which must come from the
Triune, and then qualifies these gifts with the expression, “with faith,” he is reminding us that we
do not need to work to feel God’s peace, we do not need to labor to feel God’s
love, and we do not need to weary ourselves trying to earn the undeserved favor
of God expressed in his grace.
Instead, our place in the household of God, living worthy of
our gracious calling in the Lord Jesus Christ,[7] expressing
the life of loving imitation as God’s “beloved
children”,[8]
is to exercise the faith we now have because we have been made alive by grace.
If peace, and love, and grace, were to come to us from God,
but we have no faith to receive them, our lives are as bad as if they had never
come at all. Sunshine over a cemetery does nothing to encourage the residents!
In fact, Jesus himself came from the Father, “full of grace and truth”,[9]
and yet not everyone came to know him in this way. Although he was “the true light, which gives light to
everyone,”[10]
not everyone saw his light. Although, “the
world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.”[11] He
even, “came to his own, and his own
people did not receive him.”[12]
This was evident when Jesus visited his hometown for
ministry, and, “he did not do many mighty
works there, because of their unbelief.”[13]
He was just as able to do mighty works and miracles in his hometown as anywhere
else, and he was just as full of grace and truth in one place as another, but few
in his hometown wanted to connect with him through faith, so few experienced
the gifts of his grace.
The message to my own heart, and to yours as well, is that
there is no shortage of supply of peace, love, and grace from the Triune. However,
since we experience God’s grace “through
faith,” Paul’s desire for the churches to live in God’s peace, love, and
grace, includes his longing to see these things accompanied “with faith”.
And, just a reminder that, if we feel lacking in the faith
department, but we long to know God’s peace, love, and grace as never before,
God has even given us a prayer for that. It is very simple, and goes like this,
“I believe; help my unbelief!”[14]
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.[15]
Peace be to the brothers, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.[16]
© 2016 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
Ephesians 1:2
[2]
Ephesians 6:23-24
[3]
Ephesians 2:1-3
[4]
Ephesians 2:4-5
[5]
Ephesians 2:8-9
[6]
Ephesians 2:5
[7]
Ephesians 4:1
[8]
Ephesians 5:1-2
[9]
John 1:14
[10]
John 1:9
[11]
John 1:10
[12]
I John 1:11
[13]
Matthew 13:58 (Matthew 13:53-58 for context)
[14]
Mark 9:24
[15]
Ephesians 1:2
[16]
Ephesians 6:23-24
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