“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 deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:3-5)
Paul’s message to the Ephesian church was necessary in light of the conditions existing in Asia as described in the footnote down below. In an effort to combat the ‘new’ teachings that were circulating he pointedly states that they were once headed down a road to nowhere, deserving nothing but God’s wrath until they experienced His saving grace. Satisfying our inner urges is never a good thing. The fact is it will only lead us to pain and destruction. We are not speaking of the destruction of material possessions per se, but of the destruction of our heart and spirit. When we give way to our basest wants and desires we open up a Pandora’s Box that is difficult to close again. Many times we don’t realize what we’ve actually done to ourselves until it is too late. This is the reason why we must trust the Lord when He says that these cravings will do nothing positive for us. The fulfillment we may receive is fleeting and peace is nowhere to be found.
Our hope is found in the undying, unconditional love that God has for us. He is indeed rich in mercy. We know this because when we continue to strain at the leash and struggle to do what is right, He loves us still. We who were once dead in our sins were made alive in Christ. We must understand the magnitude of this wonderful gift that has been given to us. There is nothing we could ever do to save ourselves. By what standard would we live if not God’s? How would we measure progress? No, it is through God and God alone that we find life and it is a life worth living.
There is no doubt evil lurks around every corner. To ward off its influence on our lives we must immerse ourselves in God through His word. Time in church is ill spent if we are there only for show and not to have our spirits fed. Spiritual growth is a deliberate thing that we do. We do not achieve it by osmosis as plants sustain themselves. We must make the effort to know Him and not stop until we are all we can be in Him.
WALK WITH THE KING TODAY AND BE A BLESSING!
NOTE: “At Ephesus, the center of Paul's Asian ministry on his third journey (Acts 19:10), the Christian faith had come face to face with black magic, cult religion, and the power of demons. There, too, it had been maligned by Jews (Acts 19:9), and later it was infiltrated with new doctrine offered through the “cunning and craftiness of men” (4:14) and was stripped of its ethical principles (Ephesians 4:17-5:20). Therefore, having seen how the “devil's schemes” (Ephesians 6:11) had affected his ministry in Ephesus, and having already encountered the “new religion” sweeping through the province of Asia, Paul wrote Ephesians and Colossians to believers in Asia to remind them that no religion offered more than the Gospel, because in Christ every spiritual blessing had already become theirs.” [Asbury Bible Commentary]
