Made Alive with Christ
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins. 2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world.[a] He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God. 3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, 5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) 6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus. 7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. 9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. 10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
5 comments:
OK, let's talk about verse 3. Thoughts??? Does it apply to now? Also, Thank You Father for your grace.
cas
i like the analogy - we were dead and raised just as Jesus was - i never pictured myself as being "dead" and then being "raised".
What a great passage. CAS, I wish I could say that I was totally committed to seeking and living the life of the Spirit. I get so sidetracked at times...
Thanks God for encouragement in verses 4-6.
cas- to your question- I sin insofar as I am away from God. I don't feel distant, I just don't turn to Him as I should. I don't do things that He would not be proud of I just haven't done a good job of putting Him first. None of this is an excuse or an argument that I am not sinning, just answering the question. But it does feel good to read. I'm currently in the middle of lots of trepidation, awaiting and working towards a huge change in my life after years of working. This chapter tastes like a cool drink of water to a man in the desert. I've been away from the lab for a few days/weeks now, and when I return it all seems so "dead" to me, as in lacking in Christ and in God's presence. It's not surprising that I have become awful at blogging because He's just not here and I failed at continuing to spread His love here. I'm getting a fresh start in a few weeks and there's no reason not to recommit myself daily.
Here's to Christ's love and mercy,
Amen!
crb
Clark
Verse 3 is a powerful verse. If there weren't for verses 8 and 9, I'd pack up and go off on my own wicked ways because I can't make it on verse 3. No one can. I thank God that he "saved" me which is past tense. I look at verse 7 and say "How much grace does it take to save someone who lives out verse 3? If God really wants to show the incredible wealth of His Grace then He should save me and Clark and the others on this blog. I am thankful that He does save us inspite of ourselves. I am also thankful that each of us wants to live out verse 3 daily. That truly is our desire. I hope that makes sense.
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