The Product Of God’s Love-4

The PRODUCT OF GOD's LOVE[In The Aftermath of Mercy]-IV—Ephesians 2:1-10

After ‘Dodging a Bullet’

Attention:

For Veterans Day:

A recognition & appreciation of those still living, who have &/or are serving in the armed forces. No matter in what capacity you have served or are serving, we are grateful for your sacrifice in the security & welfare of these our United States!

God’s people first & foremost consider the importance of their spiritual lives & thus only secondarily consider their own physical lives. They do not stop being servants of Christ when faced with death. Christians spend their entire lives ‘training’ in preparation for such encounters. And as a result, they do not lose their effectiveness by retreating into themselves! They instead maintain the Lord’s effectiveness by retreating into Christ Jesus!

Need:

God’s people wrestle with life & death on a daily basis. And only occasionally are their training & preparation put to the test.

But what is the result of such occasion? What happens in our hearts when faced with life or death decisions?

Do you look at life differently after being spared death? After ‘dodging the bullet’? Does life in Christ take on new meaning as we come face-to-face with physical & spiritual death & loss?

Do our obvious blessings transport us to the place where we become more concerned about living for our Maker’s desire?

The apostle Paul explained that the Ephesian Christians were saved because God loves.

Man’s Salvation is the Product of God’s Love.

OR...

Salvation is available because God loves.

How is salvation the product of God’s love?

Thus far we have found that if you are a willing soldier of the Kingdom of God, that...

The Product of God’s Love is...

1. The CURE For DEADNESS(:1)

2. The CURE For A WAYWARD WALK(:2-3)

3. The CURE For SEPARATION(:4-6)

4—The Product of God’s Love is...

The CURE For BOASTING(:7-9)

Explanation:(:7-9)Deserving/Merit

:7—“that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

“that in the ages to come”

In & with Christ, God made us alive, raised us up, & seated us in the heavenlies. He did this so that ‘something’ would occur in future “ages.” That ‘something’ is expressed in the remainder of the verse. God is intent on revealing to our’s & to future generations(“ages to come”) “His kindness toward us.”

The Christian should be ever aware of God’s “kindness” toward them.

“That”(See :9)—ina—Conjunction—1) That, in order that, so that. Strong—probably from the same as the former part of eautou(through the demonstrative idea; compare o, h, to); In order that(denoting the purpose or the result).

“In”3X(See :3, 10)—en—a primary preposition denoting (fixed)position(in place, time or state), & by implication--Instrumentality(medially or constructively), i.e. A relation of rest(intermediate between eiv[into, unto, to, towards, for, among] & ek/ex[out of, from, by, away from]).

“Ages”—aiwn—Noun Masc.—1) For ever, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, eternity; 2) The worlds, universe; 3) Period of time, age. Aiwn is usually better expressed by age, it is the world at a given time, a particular period in the world's history. Kosmov has very frequently an unfavorable meaning, denoting the inhabitants of the world, mankind in general, as opposed to God. A similar meaning is often attached to aiwn, it means the spirit of the age, often in an unfavorable sense. Strong—properly--An age; by extension--Perpetuity (also past); by implication--The world; specially(Jewish)--A Messianic period(present or future).

“To Come”—epercomai—Verb—1) To come to arrive—1a) of time--Come on, be at hand, be future; 2) To come upon, overtake, one—2a) Of sleep, 2b) Of disease, 2c) Of calamities, 2d) Of the Holy Spirit, descending & operating in one, 2e) Of an enemy attacking one. Strong—To supervene, i.e. Arrive, occur, impend, attack, figuratively--Influence. Used 10X.?From—epi—properly, meaning superimposition(of time, place, order, etc.), as a relation of distribution[with the genitive case], i.e. Over, upon, etc.; of rest(with the det.)--At, on, etc.; of direction(with the accusative case)--Towards, upon, etc.—&—ercomai—1) To come; 2) metaph.—To come into being, arise, come forth, Be established, become known, To go, to follow one. Ercomai denotes motion or progress generally, & of any sort, hence to “come” & arrive at, as well as “to go.” Strong— To come or go(in a great variety of applications, literally & figuratively).

“That”...“He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

...Due to our being dead in trespasses & sins against God(:1), God made us alive, raised us up, & seated us in the heavenlies together with Christ, for the specific purpose that He might in fact fundamentally demonstrate the manifold & surpassing “riches of His grace.” That grace is extended toward “us” sinners, who would be accepting of & trust God’s Anointed Savior(“Christ Jesus”) of mankind.

Regarding God’s “kindness”=“usefulness”(see definition). That ‘usefulness’ toward “us” involves manifold aspects of God’s perfect nature.