But God … These are two most meaningful words in all scripture. The word “but” is a conjunction that links something gone before to something to follow. What is gone before is “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others” (Ephesians 2:1-3).
The Apostle Paul is describing the total depravity of man who is completely and spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins.” This condition renders him lost, helpless, and hopeless; being without God in a sin defiled world.
Living “according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air” means man indulges in immorality, disobedience, ungodliness, rebellion, and deceit. The one and only remedy for this deplorable condition is divine intervention by Almighty God Himself, who is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). This means that God’s desire is coming from His heart of mercy, love and compassion.
In his helpless and hopeless condition, man is totally incapable of reviving himself or loving God in anyway. It was therefore necessary for God to “make the first move” to love and and make provision for man’s salvation. Paul wrote: “There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none who understands. There is none who seeks after God” (Romans 3:10,11). And also, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). “Propitiation” means what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross to make sinful man right with a Holy God.
Paul continues his argument, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Ephesians 2:4,5). This is the good news of the christian faith, and the good news of the christian message.
Grace, mercy, and love are some of God’s great attributes. The Bible states: “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). Grace means “unmerited favor,” in that God gave the the greatest Gift to an undeserving world for salvation. God saves us by His grace. “By grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4). Mercy, on the other hand, means that God withholds from us the punishment we deserve because of our sins. We did not merit God’s mercy. “God is rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4). Love is described as “an intense feeling of deep affection.” Love is the very nature of God. The Bible says “God is love” (1 John 4:8,16). Paul wrote, “God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). In other words, through God’s divine act and deed of love, Christ died for our sins.
Dr Charles Stanley wrote, “before we believe in Jesus, we are dead in our spirit to God, blind to His ways, unable to communicate with Him, and eternally separated from Him because of our sinful nature. We cannot change any of this by our own works. The only thing that can change our condition is a new spirit and a new life—which is Christ’s gift to us when we believe in Him as our Savior” (The Charles F. Stanley, Life Principles Bible, p. 1415).