Then and Now
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 Ephesians 2:3-5 (NIV)
Before Christ set us free we were subject to oppressive influences from both within and without. Outside was the world (the prevailing secular culture) and inside was the flesh (our sinful nature twisted with self-centredness). Beyond both these but working through them was the devil, the ruler of this world. This trio of darkness – the world, the flesh and the devil – has left us ‘by nature objects of wrath’ (2:3). ‘By nature’ can mean innate or what we are by hereditary (Romans 2:27; 11:24) or what we are by habitual practice (Romans 2:14). The NEB translates the phrase ‘in our natural state.’ The word ‘objects’ (‘objects of wrath’) is literally ‘children’ but again, the word is often used in scripture to characterise people of a certain type (2:2; 5:8). Paul follows here the usual biblical order: human sin in both thought and action met by God’s wrath. It abbreviates further the summary of Romans 1 – 3: Jew and Gentile alike have sinned against the light and the law that they had and knew and so the whole world is ‘brought under the judgement of God’ (Romans 3:19 RV).
But there is a way of release from the hopelessness of existence alienated from God, an existence no better than death. We were objects of His wrath but God ‘because of his great love for us’ (2:4) has intervened. He is not only a loving God but ‘is rich in mercy’ (2:4). God’s mercy is often highlighted in the Old Testament (Exodus 34:6; Psalm 103:8).
We were dead through our ‘transgressions and sins’ (2:1) but from that state of death God has brought us to life with Christ. His love reached down to us and ‘made us alive with Christ’ (2:5). Because Christ was raised from the dead, we are raised from being dead in sins, and have new life ‘with Christ’ and in Christ (Romans 6:4-8; 8:11; 2 Corinthians 4:14).
This new life can also be described as salvation from sin, and Paul adds ‘it is by grace you have been saved’ (2:5). The human condition was not just spiritual death. It was also entanglement in the inescapable coils of sin. Christ has brought us liberation from that bondage (Romans 6:12-23). As consistently emphasised by Paul, salvation is entirely by grace, His free, undeserved favour. Salvation is both a present (1 Corinthians 1:18; 15:2; 2 Corinthians 2:15) and a future experience (Romans 5:9,10). It means deliverance from the power of sin now and in the end, deliverance from the very presence of sin. ‘You have been saved’ is perfect tense, expressing a completed action that is continuous and permanent in its results.
The corruption that was in us from birth was expressed through the deeds and desires of our self-life. We lived by whatever our natural cravings and thoughts our minds dictated, living as rebellious children subject to God’s wrath like everyone else.
But God still loved us with such great love. He is so rich in compassion and mercy. Even though we were dead and doomed in our many sins, he united us into the very life of Christ and saved us by his wonderful grace! Ephesians 2:3-5 (The Passion Translation)