"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT GOD'S PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT GOD'S PLANS FOR YOUR LIFE"

Ephesians 2:7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

Ephesians 2:10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Some explanatory thoughts/application, and a prayer to our Father in heaven:

1. First of all, in this section of Ephesians, Paul is still talking about and will be through the 3rd chapter about what God has done in our lives. That's the context. The application he teaches really starts in the 3rd chapter, so, this 2nd chapter is still focusing on what God has done for you now that You have put your faith in Jesus Christ to save you from Your sins.

2. In verse 7, Paul actually talks about God's will for you beyond this world, that is once you leave here and go to heaven. Ephesians 2:7 that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

You will notice in verse 7, that part of God's plan for your life will actually never come to an end.
See what he says here, "that in the ages to come" Which is a reference to the eternity that lies ahead for us, that in those ages to come, look what God has planned. It's actually two things He is going to do. First of all, "He might show the exceeding riches of His grace" And, secondly, "His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus" So, Paul is saying that forever, God is going to be actively showing us these two things, His grace and His kindness. My what a future we have, what wonderful will God has for us. And, Imagine, that since forever, is forever, it is world without end, we will always be, being shown these two blessings, His grace and His Kindness, and He is the one who is going to show them to us. So, that's the first thing about God's will for us, it's what lies ahead.

3. The next thing that is said here, is more of what He has done for us. And, how He has done it, and why He has done it the way He has done it. Let's just take a look at these next two verses.
They are pretty self-explanatory, but what a joy, they deal with the most important thing that a person could possibly have in their life, and that is the salvation of their souls.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,

Ephesians 2:9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.

You can see how we were saved. "For by grace, ( God's unmerited favor ) you have been saved through faith" This is how God did it. He did it by His unmerited, undeserved favor. He gave us faith, and we believed, and we are now saved. Paul adds, "And that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God" No doubt referencing the faith we exercised in being saved. Even our faith has come from Him. So, He gets all the glory, all the credit, all the praise for our salvation. And, since He does, it leaves no room for us to boast about anything we have done to earn or merit our salvation. We did not work for our salvation, but rather we received it from Him when we simply believed in Jesus Christ.

4. But, now to what He has planned for us here and now. Being saved, or being His workmanship, notice what is said. It's really several things.

(1) Created in Christ Jesus for good works. This means, that one of God's purposes in saving us, is for "Good Works" Not that we are saved by our good works, but we have been saved "for good works" In other words, God has much for us to do. He has good works for us to do. Or He has work for us to do. May I add, that the works He has for you to do, are generally connected with the spiritual gifts He has also given You. So, you can see how important it is to discover Your spiritual gifts and then use them. If you do not yet know what they are, You can ask God to show You and He will. And, then you can begin using them, and doing the good works God has planned out for you.

(2) "Which God prepared beforehand" Or, the good things he planned for us long ago. So, long ago, beforehand, we can can assume, that this means, in ages past, i.e before the creation of all things, that God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, were planning out what they wanted you to do once You became saved. Isn't that beautiful, to think that God was thinking of You before all things were even created. And, I might add that He is still thinking of you today, more times then there are stars in the heavens, or grains of sand on the sea shores of this world. He loves You more then you or I can truly imagine. But, we will find out fully once we get to heaven.

(3) "That You should walk in them" Or, so that we can do them. Simply put, God wants You to do what He has planned out for You. He wants You to walk in the good works He has planned out for You. He wants You to do His will. And, there is no better way to live, then to walk in the will of God. How do we know what His will is? For starters, we can ask Him through prayer. Secondly, we can find out by reading His Word. And, thirdly, step out in faith and so something that is on Your heart for God, and be confident, that He will guide you into what He has planned for you.

A Prayer:

Father, You have been thinking of us in ages past, You will be revealing your grace and Your goodness in the ages to come, and now in this age, You have something for us to do. You have not only saved us, but You have a plan for us. And, You want us to walk in it, or conduct ourselves according to Your will. You have gone before us, You will go before us, and You are with us right now. Thank You for giving us the great blessing of being able to do the will of God.
I can think of no one more qualified to plan out our lives than You. Thank You, and we want to say, "Your will be done" in our lives right now. Use us according to Your will. In the name of Jesus.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia