Forgotten Grace

Ephesians 1:7

We finally completed the first sentence of this epistle (apart from the greeting) in our last article! There were so many deep truths in this one sentence, enough to fill page after page of thought. But today we move on to the next sentence and explore what God’s Word has to say next.

Let’s dive in. Verse seven of Ephesians one says this: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” We have to start again by asking who “Him” is. As you read the verse it becomes evident that “Him” is referring to Jesus. Let’s look at it.

We have been redeemed, or our debt has been paid in full. How has it been paid in full? “Through His blood,” the blood of Jesus. Why did Jesus have to die on the cross? To take away the sins of the world (1 John 2:2). His perfect sacrifice paid our debt in full. Our debt was owed to God because we had sinned against Him (Psalm 51:4). So by Jesus taking our sins with Him on the cross He both faced and satisfied God’s wrath (Isaiah 53:5-11), the wrath that was meant for us. We are now righteous and can now be God’s children because of His Son’s sacrifice, the sacrifice that God had willed before the foundations of the world. It is through Jesus’ blood alone that we have been redeemed.

God forgives all of our sins because of what His Son did on the cross. Why would He do that? We have already seen in the series that we have no merit. He has no reason to love us and care about us and send His own Son to die for us. Why did He chose to do all of this? Because of the riches of His grace!

What is grace? It is a word used quite frequently in Christian circles. It is one of those words that is used so frequently that it tends to lose its meaning. It no longer seems as significant or groundbreaking as it did when we first got saved. Unfortunately there are several things that we tend to lose our awe over, and grace may be at the top of that list.

Mercy is not getting what you deserve; grace is, instead of getting what you deserve, getting blessed. It is a free gift instead of a deserved punishment. We were lost, unsaved, and on our way to hell. We were not innocent. We were not unlucky. We were wicked, evil, and wretched sinners. The punishment of hell was just.

However, God did not want to see us receive His just punishment. He wanted to rescue us. He loved us. So He sent His Son to die for us so that we might live. That is grace at its finest! Instead of deserved eternal damnation we received a gift offering us eternal life. There will never be a greater display of grace then this!

Why are we not floored by this? Why does this not bring us to our knees? Why do we forget about our salvation, glad to be saved but not bothered to thank Him for this staggering, extravagant, almighty display of grace (words don’t do the magnitude of this gift any justice)? The devil and our sinful flesh want us to forget about His grace. We may be His children, but Satan wants us to be as unholy, forgetful, and apathetic as possible. Our purpose is to glorify Him; his goal is to make sure we don’t. How is he doing?

If you are a believer, it is pivotal to remember His grace. It is pivotal to meditate on it and to thank Him for it. It is a part of our sinful nature to become apathetic towards the things of God. What once was incredible has become mundane. Grace is just a nice word that means next to nothing based on the way we act.. We must not allow the devil to minimize this gift. Our salvation is incredible, and we all ought to remember and thank Him for it every day. Remember, His blood was shed to redeem you and me.

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