Mercy: God has a lot of it. God also has a lot of power, and unfortunately, we have a lot of sin. Sin and God cannot be mixed the former being a debt owed to the later. Sinners pay their debt through punishment, and when God metes out that penalty, it is called wrath.
So, look at what we have going on here: humans stand guilty having incurred a debt of sin before God. We deserve punishment, and God sits in a place to provide it. Yet, he does not. He relents giving forgiveness. That is mercy. God is rich in relenting. That is the first phrase.
God is rich in relenting.
Love: God has a lot of this, too. Paul writes that God has a great love and directs it toward humanity. He places his love for humanity as a foundation for his mercy. Because he loves us, even though wrath toward us is within his right and punishment is within his power he does not exercise this.
If he does not exercise it what does he put in play? Well, he does not ignore sin or ignore us. Rather, he made us alive with Christ. Even when we were dead in despicable debt he found us and transformed us with new life: the life of Christ. That is grace. Paul says we were taken off the death train and given life.
Mercy is God’s character, and so is love. The result of that is grace. It’s what God gives. He wraps up this 5th verse by reiterating that the salvation we have is from God. By God’s design humanity is saved.
Mercy is God’s character; so is love. The result is grace.
6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
(Ephesians 2:6-7–ESV)
Grace gave spiritual life, but God was not through. He went on by raising us all the way to his realm alongside Christ. Once there we were shown to a seat prepared for us.
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