The Lord Intervenes
Ephesians 2:4-7
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Sermon Summary Our condition before Christ was desperate, but God's mercy and grace overcame our wickedness and reconciled us to Him. Observe the incalculable riches of the love of God as seen in His wonderful salvation. |
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Ephesians 2:4-7
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
In August of 2000, many people were glued to their television news channels. We were waiting to see what would come of a sunken Russian submarine, known as the Kursk.
The nuclear-powered ship carried 118 crewmen. About a decade later, it was said that the submarine was involved in some practice maneuvers. They were attempting to simulate an attack on an enemy ship. The reports that came out said that a poor welding job in the dummy torpedo that they were loading likely caused a leak of peroxide. That led to a chain of events that ended up detonating a real torpedo within the hull of the submarine.
The explosion was said to have been felt by several ships within the area. But, of course, at the time no one knew what had happened. All they knew was that the submarine had had an incident and now was sinking to the bottom of the Barents Sea. As a matter of fact, the Russian government did not even begin to initiate a search for the sub until six hours after the incident had occurred.
The rescue operation ended up being badly botched. Different nations offered assistance with the efforts, but the Russian government refused. It may likely have been due to the fact that the submarine would have contained secret information that they did not want to be leaked to the world.
For four days the Russians attempted to handle the situation on their own. It was only on the fifth day that they permitted the Norwegian and British divers to assist. It was another two days before the divers could open the escape hatch of the ship.
By that time, of course, it was too late. A note found inside the ship said that there were 25 men who had survived the explosion. However, the delayed response meant that all 118 men had died.
One always wonders what might have been if the Russian government had not reacted in such a poor manner. Likely, the results would have been much different.
All the crew was doomed. But you can’t help but think, what if the other nations had intervened? Would there have been a different outcome? Twenty-five of those sailors could be with their families right now. They could have been saved from death and had the opportunity to live.
That event can be something illustrative of what our passage today speaks of. Last time we were together, we looked at the first three verses of this chapter. We learned about our nature apart from Christ. We saw that our condition was exceedingly corrupt. Adam’s fall had plunged all humanity into sin and death, and we are left in a dire predicament. We may summarize it by saying that we are doomed and dead. Sin has corrupted our whole nature and we are born into this world bearing the guilt of Adam. As a result, we are “by nature children of wrath.” God’s curse lies upon us.
What our passage shows is that salvation has come to us. It was not due to anything in us, however. (That is impossible, as we’ve seen). Salvation is due to the intervention of another. Just as the fate of those men in the submarine was dependent upon the intervention of foreign powers, so too eternal life is solely due to the intervention of God.
Our passage shows us that God alone is the one who saves, for it shows us that our salvation is dependent upon God’s character, God’s acts, and God’s aims.
This passage is so perfect for today. As we remember the Reformation, we remember that the whole thrust of it was summed up in the phrase “Soli Deo Gloria,” to God alone be the glory. We might say that this is the whole intention of this passage. It instructs us on the divine dynamics pertaining to our salvation and leaves us saying that God alone is to be praised for his bringing us eternal life. We might begin to acknowledge this when we think of how our salvation is dependent upon God’s attributes.
I. God’s Attributes
Some would say that we are saved because of something about us. There is something within us that enables us to gain salvation or attracts God to us. But the fact of the matter is that our salvation is not due to some attribute in us, but rather it is due to the attributes of God.
In verse 4, we find that there are two attributes of God that are specified in this regard: God’s mercy and his love.
The first thing we are told is that God is rich in mercy. God’s mercy, of course, is his goodwill toward those who are miserable or afflicted. God sees us in our sins. He sees our helpless estate and has compassion on us. He acts then to pardon us and lift us out of this miserable condition.
The word “mercy” is beautiful, but it is enhanced by the idea of being rich in mercy. God isn’t just merciful, but he is most merciful. He has an abundance of mercy. One commentator says that he has so much of it that he is “wilting to impart it to others.” That may be a bit of an exaggeration. We do not want to paint God as some teary-eyed fellow who just can’t live without us. But we may certainly recognize that he has so much mercy that it is ready to flow over to those who need it.
You may think of people who are wealthy financially. While it is something that is completely foreign to me, there are some people who do not think much about budgeting and where they need to scrimp because they have so much money. As a matter of fact, their income is so great that they give away large sums of money. They are known as philanthropic people because they are able to give a couple million dollars here, a couple hundred thousand dollars to that organization over there. And then they still have more money that they give away.
Just this past week, I was able to meet the famed Bob Archer. Locally, he is well-known because of his generosity to various projects around town. Most notable are the incredibly large sums he has given to Ashland University. As a matter of fact, there’s another fellow who I had lunch with. He said he is in a golf league with a bunch of retired guys. They play a couple of times a week and you put in $5. If you lose, you pay $5; if you win, you get $5. And he says it’s always kind of funny giving Bob Archer $5. It no doubt has to seem like such a pitiful amount of money to him.
We must think of God’s mercy in that regard. God is rich in mercy. He has such plentiful amounts that it is actually a small thing for him to deal with our sins. To us, it is an insurmountable thing. Our sin is so great, so abundant. But it is just as we sing from time to time, “His mercy is more.”
Not only do we owe our salvation to the profuse mercy of God, but it is also due to the profuse love of God.
Again, in verse 4, you see how the love of God is no small thing. It is the “great love with which he loved us.” You know that whenever a biblical author uses extra words there is an added emphasis. He could have easily said, “because of his love” or “because of his great love.” But he says, “the great love with which he loved us.” So there is a cumulative swelling of love in this verse to express the infinite well of love that is found in our God. And all of this love is highlighted even more when we understand that it is directed towards us, we who were sinners, people who should have only provoked his anger.
That’s highlighted in verse 5 when Paul says, “Even when we were dead in our trespasses.” Again, one might attribute this repetition of what was said earlier in verse 1 to some scribal mistake. He probably lost his place while copying the text and accidentally added the line twice. But what you have here is another swelling of words to highlight just how great God’s love is. It is a love that is so great that it actually loves the unloveable.
Do not mistake this for a young girl’s infatuation with a cute little puppy. This is not like the kind of love that was first kindled between you and your spouse, where you mutually were smitten with one another. This is a love that goes beyond the bounds of human love. This is love that supersedes the greatest love stories, for this is an undeserved love. This is love for the unworthy.
When you think about love in that regard, you start to understand the greatness of God’s love. The quality of this love speaks very much to the quantity of it.
And this is where we stake our salvation. Our pardon and our redemption are anchored in the nature of God himself. There is no other place where our hope may find its realization.
II. God’s Acts
Verses 5- 6 recount for us exactly what God has done to bring about our salvation. First, they say that God has made us alive together with Christ. Then they say we were raised up and seated in the heavenly places in Christ.
What this is talking about is, first of all, our regeneration. God acted to make us alive. This takes us back to the concept of being dead in our trespasses and sins. We said last time that this means we were lifeless to the things of God. Spiritually and morally, we were corrupt and completely unresponsive to all things that have to do with the Lord.
But here we learn that God does a miracle. He makes us alive. Spiritually, we are awakened. Our souls are resurrected from the dead so that we become cognisant of all that we’ve been previously oblivious to.
Last time we were together I recounted for you the story of my mentor Max, who had suffered a heart attack. Imagine, if you will, being at his funeral and seeing him pop up from his casket. Now, that might freak you out. But imagine how it would be from his perspective! He’s just come alive and found this whole world around him, one that he had been unaware of.
This is what Paul is speaking of here. At the moment we are spiritually awakened, we come to sense the intensity of God’s love, the greatness of his mercy, the goodness of his law, and the truth of the gospel. We are made alive and enabled to embrace the grace he offers.
Herein lies the beauty of our salvation. God has acted. He has acted in a mighty way. He has made us alive.
But there’s another thing that God does for us. He not only acts to regenerate, but he also gives us a new power to begin to live the Christian life. We now have the ability to fight temptation and live a godly life.
That’s what is meant when Paul says we are “raised up with him and seated with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Obviously, we are not literally in heaven right now. We are right here. But, because we have been united to Christ, we partake of those eschatological realities. As a result, there is a new empowerment we receive right now. We are “seated in the heavenlies” in that sin no longer has dominion over us. We are able to begin to stand against temptation and live a godly life.
Perhaps you were able to catch some of the events that have surrounded the death of Queen Elizabeth and the transfer of the British monarchy to her son, now known as King Charles III. It was fun to watch because there’s all the pomp and circumstance surrounding it.
One of the things that happened is that Charles’ children were a part of the pageantry. When Charles ascended the throne, his son became Prince William, and he had a number of new roles conferred upon him. For instance, Prince William was also named the Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay. As the Duke of Cornwall, Prince William now is in charge of the royal estate at Cornwall. Even though he is not the king, he has the power to command what goes on in that town and he gets a couple million pounds a year in income from that region.
Think of this now: Charles ascended to the throne, and because of his unique relationship with Charles, William has a new authority and power in his own life.
That’s exactly what this passage is talking about. Christ is in heaven. He ascended to the throne at the right hand of God. In doing so he has gained victory over all the principalities and powers of this earth. He’s been exalted to the highest and all things are placed under his feet. And, because we are in union with him, we now enjoy new power which will radically shape the way we live our daily lives.
So you see here some of what God has done. None of this would be possible without God’s intervention. If he had not acted, we’d still be dead in sin. We’d still be following the prince of the power of the air. We’d still be mindlessly following the world. But because God has done all these things for us (particularly uniting us to Christ and allowing us to share in these realities), we are starting a new life of obedience.
But there is one more item of note. Our passage also mentions God’s goals.
III. God’s Aim
God had a purpose in saving us. Verse 7 tells us that God’s aim in making us alive and raising us up was that “in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.”
Two things here. You might say that there are two objectives that he achieves. First, he gives you further assurance of your salvation. If you struggle with assurance, it might be because you look to yourself. You think about your worth, your ability, or maybe even your sinfulness.
But again, the words he uses here are to show us that it isn’t about us. Salvation is due to his grace, his kindness, his Son. And again, the language is excessive. It is the immeasurable riches of his grace. You cannot calculate how gracious he is. You know what you deserve. You know you are not worthy. You know he should turn away from you and condemn you to hell. But his grace is rich, and even that is an understatement. It is not fully accurate to say that it is rich. Paul says that God is immeasurably rich in the grace that he shows.
This is like trying to comprehend how much money Elon Musk makes. Elon Musk is said to be the world's richest man, with a net worth of 220 billion dollars. It’s hard to fathom that much money. If you stack a shipping container full of 100-dollar bills, you’d need 44 containers to hold all of Elon Musk’s money. If you could find a way to spend $600 million a day, you’d still have money left over at the end of the year.
It’s safe to say that Elon Musk is immeasurably rich in money. I say that that does not even begin to match the amount of grace that God has at his disposal.
So lest you doubt God’s ability to forgive and renew, put this in mind: His grace is so plentiful that it is not able to be measured.
But, I will say, that’s not the main purpose God has in saving you. The primary purpose is said here to come in the future age. Paul says that God’s real aim was that in the coming ages he might show just how immeasurably rich his grace in kindness is.
This is talking about the world to come. You might think of it as an eternal display of his wealth. Your salvation will be his personal showcase. All the world will have the chance to marvel at God’s kindness.
A friend of mine goes up to the Cleveland Car Show every year. He works in the autobody business and so he’s a real car guy. But every year, they have on display all the latest models of all the hottest cars. Some of the exhibits display futuristic cars. They are prototypes of what they hope to put out on the market in the next five to ten years. Some of them are high-end hot rods. They are just there for you to gawk at. Just by looking at the cars, you know you’ll never drive one of these things. It’s so sleek and pretty.
My friend will post pictures of these cars on his Facebook page. He’s stunned at the craftsmanship, the artistry, and the power that these vehicles have. It’s his way of marveling at them and having others share in the wonder.
That’s what the Lord will be doing after Jesus comes again. He’s going to make an exhibition of his grace. Everyone is going to have the chance to gawk at how merciful He is. We are going to stare in wonder at the immensity of his grace.
We will likely see people in heaven and think, “I can’t believe that you are here! God saved you? That’s simply amazing!” Really, when the day of judgment comes and the books are opened, that will be the experience that we have ourselves. All our sins will be laid bare. Every wrong will be exposed and brought to light. For many of them we will think, “I didn’t even know I did that!” Yet the final word will be a declaration of “Not guilty.” We will be acquitted for no other reason than that God chose to pardon us in Christ.
And we will then think, “I can’t believe it. With all that I’ve done to provoke him, he has not held one against me. He has forgiven it all.” At that moment you will become an eternal testament to the immeasurable riches of God’s grace in kindness in Christ Jesus.
Now you may understand why one of the fundamental principles of Protestantism is the motto “Soli Deo Gloria.” When you understand how Scripture speaks of our salvation, you understand that God alone is due all the glory.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
In August of 2000, many people were glued to their television news channels. We were waiting to see what would come of a sunken Russian submarine, known as the Kursk.
The nuclear-powered ship carried 118 crewmen. About a decade later, it was said that the submarine was involved in some practice maneuvers. They were attempting to simulate an attack on an enemy ship. The reports that came out said that a poor welding job in the dummy torpedo that they were loading likely caused a leak of peroxide. That led to a chain of events that ended up detonating a real torpedo within the hull of the submarine.
The explosion was said to have been felt by several ships within the area. But, of course, at the time no one knew what had happened. All they knew was that the submarine had had an incident and now was sinking to the bottom of the Barents Sea. As a matter of fact, the Russian government did not even begin to initiate a search for the sub until six hours after the incident had occurred.
The rescue operation ended up being badly botched. Different nations offered assistance with the efforts, but the Russian government refused. It may likely have been due to the fact that the submarine would have contained secret information that they did not want to be leaked to the world.
For four days the Russians attempted to handle the situation on their own. It was only on the fifth day that they permitted the Norwegian and British divers to assist. It was another two days before the divers could open the escape hatch of the ship.
By that time, of course, it was too late. A note found inside the ship said that there were 25 men who had survived the explosion. However, the delayed response meant that all 118 men had died.
One always wonders what might have been if the Russian government had not reacted in such a poor manner. Likely, the results would have been much different.
All the crew was doomed. But you can’t help but think, what if the other nations had intervened? Would there have been a different outcome? Twenty-five of those sailors could be with their families right now. They could have been saved from death and had the opportunity to live.
That event can be something illustrative of what our passage today speaks of. Last time we were together, we looked at the first three verses of this chapter. We learned about our nature apart from Christ. We saw that our condition was exceedingly corrupt. Adam’s fall had plunged all humanity into sin and death, and we are left in a dire predicament. We may summarize it by saying that we are doomed and dead. Sin has corrupted our whole nature and we are born into this world bearing the guilt of Adam. As a result, we are “by nature children of wrath.” God’s curse lies upon us.
What our passage shows is that salvation has come to us. It was not due to anything in us, however. (That is impossible, as we’ve seen). Salvation is due to the intervention of another. Just as the fate of those men in the submarine was dependent upon the intervention of foreign powers, so too eternal life is solely due to the intervention of God.
Our passage shows us that God alone is the one who saves, for it shows us that our salvation is dependent upon God’s character, God’s acts, and God’s aims.
This passage is so perfect for today. As we remember the Reformation, we remember that the whole thrust of it was summed up in the phrase “Soli Deo Gloria,” to God alone be the glory. We might say that this is the whole intention of this passage. It instructs us on the divine dynamics pertaining to our salvation and leaves us saying that God alone is to be praised for his bringing us eternal life. We might begin to acknowledge this when we think of how our salvation is dependent upon God’s attributes.
I. God’s Attributes
Some would say that we are saved because of something about us. There is something within us that enables us to gain salvation or attracts God to us. But the fact of the matter is that our salvation is not due to some attribute in us, but rather it is due to the attributes of God.
In verse 4, we find that there are two attributes of God that are specified in this regard: God’s mercy and his love.
The first thing we are told is that God is rich in mercy. God’s mercy, of course, is his goodwill toward those who are miserable or afflicted. God sees us in our sins. He sees our helpless estate and has compassion on us. He acts then to pardon us and lift us out of this miserable condition.
The word “mercy” is beautiful, but it is enhanced by the idea of being rich in mercy. God isn’t just merciful, but he is most merciful. He has an abundance of mercy. One commentator says that he has so much of it that he is “wilting to impart it to others.” That may be a bit of an exaggeration. We do not want to paint God as some teary-eyed fellow who just can’t live without us. But we may certainly recognize that he has so much mercy that it is ready to flow over to those who need it.
You may think of people who are wealthy financially. While it is something that is completely foreign to me, there are some people who do not think much about budgeting and where they need to scrimp because they have so much money. As a matter of fact, their income is so great that they give away large sums of money. They are known as philanthropic people because they are able to give a couple million dollars here, a couple hundred thousand dollars to that organization over there. And then they still have more money that they give away.
Just this past week, I was able to meet the famed Bob Archer. Locally, he is well-known because of his generosity to various projects around town. Most notable are the incredibly large sums he has given to Ashland University. As a matter of fact, there’s another fellow who I had lunch with. He said he is in a golf league with a bunch of retired guys. They play a couple of times a week and you put in $5. If you lose, you pay $5; if you win, you get $5. And he says it’s always kind of funny giving Bob Archer $5. It no doubt has to seem like such a pitiful amount of money to him.
We must think of God’s mercy in that regard. God is rich in mercy. He has such plentiful amounts that it is actually a small thing for him to deal with our sins. To us, it is an insurmountable thing. Our sin is so great, so abundant. But it is just as we sing from time to time, “His mercy is more.”
Not only do we owe our salvation to the profuse mercy of God, but it is also due to the profuse love of God.
Again, in verse 4, you see how the love of God is no small thing. It is the “great love with which he loved us.” You know that whenever a biblical author uses extra words there is an added emphasis. He could have easily said, “because of his love” or “because of his great love.” But he says, “the great love with which he loved us.” So there is a cumulative swelling of love in this verse to express the infinite well of love that is found in our God. And all of this love is highlighted even more when we understand that it is directed towards us, we who were sinners, people who should have only provoked his anger.
That’s highlighted in verse 5 when Paul says, “Even when we were dead in our trespasses.” Again, one might attribute this repetition of what was said earlier in verse 1 to some scribal mistake. He probably lost his place while copying the text and accidentally added the line twice. But what you have here is another swelling of words to highlight just how great God’s love is. It is a love that is so great that it actually loves the unloveable.
Do not mistake this for a young girl’s infatuation with a cute little puppy. This is not like the kind of love that was first kindled between you and your spouse, where you mutually were smitten with one another. This is a love that goes beyond the bounds of human love. This is love that supersedes the greatest love stories, for this is an undeserved love. This is love for the unworthy.
When you think about love in that regard, you start to understand the greatness of God’s love. The quality of this love speaks very much to the quantity of it.
And this is where we stake our salvation. Our pardon and our redemption are anchored in the nature of God himself. There is no other place where our hope may find its realization.
II. God’s Acts
Verses 5- 6 recount for us exactly what God has done to bring about our salvation. First, they say that God has made us alive together with Christ. Then they say we were raised up and seated in the heavenly places in Christ.
What this is talking about is, first of all, our regeneration. God acted to make us alive. This takes us back to the concept of being dead in our trespasses and sins. We said last time that this means we were lifeless to the things of God. Spiritually and morally, we were corrupt and completely unresponsive to all things that have to do with the Lord.
But here we learn that God does a miracle. He makes us alive. Spiritually, we are awakened. Our souls are resurrected from the dead so that we become cognisant of all that we’ve been previously oblivious to.
Last time we were together I recounted for you the story of my mentor Max, who had suffered a heart attack. Imagine, if you will, being at his funeral and seeing him pop up from his casket. Now, that might freak you out. But imagine how it would be from his perspective! He’s just come alive and found this whole world around him, one that he had been unaware of.
This is what Paul is speaking of here. At the moment we are spiritually awakened, we come to sense the intensity of God’s love, the greatness of his mercy, the goodness of his law, and the truth of the gospel. We are made alive and enabled to embrace the grace he offers.
Herein lies the beauty of our salvation. God has acted. He has acted in a mighty way. He has made us alive.
But there’s another thing that God does for us. He not only acts to regenerate, but he also gives us a new power to begin to live the Christian life. We now have the ability to fight temptation and live a godly life.
That’s what is meant when Paul says we are “raised up with him and seated with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Obviously, we are not literally in heaven right now. We are right here. But, because we have been united to Christ, we partake of those eschatological realities. As a result, there is a new empowerment we receive right now. We are “seated in the heavenlies” in that sin no longer has dominion over us. We are able to begin to stand against temptation and live a godly life.
Perhaps you were able to catch some of the events that have surrounded the death of Queen Elizabeth and the transfer of the British monarchy to her son, now known as King Charles III. It was fun to watch because there’s all the pomp and circumstance surrounding it.
One of the things that happened is that Charles’ children were a part of the pageantry. When Charles ascended the throne, his son became Prince William, and he had a number of new roles conferred upon him. For instance, Prince William was also named the Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothesay. As the Duke of Cornwall, Prince William now is in charge of the royal estate at Cornwall. Even though he is not the king, he has the power to command what goes on in that town and he gets a couple million pounds a year in income from that region.
Think of this now: Charles ascended to the throne, and because of his unique relationship with Charles, William has a new authority and power in his own life.
That’s exactly what this passage is talking about. Christ is in heaven. He ascended to the throne at the right hand of God. In doing so he has gained victory over all the principalities and powers of this earth. He’s been exalted to the highest and all things are placed under his feet. And, because we are in union with him, we now enjoy new power which will radically shape the way we live our daily lives.
So you see here some of what God has done. None of this would be possible without God’s intervention. If he had not acted, we’d still be dead in sin. We’d still be following the prince of the power of the air. We’d still be mindlessly following the world. But because God has done all these things for us (particularly uniting us to Christ and allowing us to share in these realities), we are starting a new life of obedience.
But there is one more item of note. Our passage also mentions God’s goals.
III. God’s Aim
God had a purpose in saving us. Verse 7 tells us that God’s aim in making us alive and raising us up was that “in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness towards us in Christ Jesus.”
Two things here. You might say that there are two objectives that he achieves. First, he gives you further assurance of your salvation. If you struggle with assurance, it might be because you look to yourself. You think about your worth, your ability, or maybe even your sinfulness.
But again, the words he uses here are to show us that it isn’t about us. Salvation is due to his grace, his kindness, his Son. And again, the language is excessive. It is the immeasurable riches of his grace. You cannot calculate how gracious he is. You know what you deserve. You know you are not worthy. You know he should turn away from you and condemn you to hell. But his grace is rich, and even that is an understatement. It is not fully accurate to say that it is rich. Paul says that God is immeasurably rich in the grace that he shows.
This is like trying to comprehend how much money Elon Musk makes. Elon Musk is said to be the world's richest man, with a net worth of 220 billion dollars. It’s hard to fathom that much money. If you stack a shipping container full of 100-dollar bills, you’d need 44 containers to hold all of Elon Musk’s money. If you could find a way to spend $600 million a day, you’d still have money left over at the end of the year.
It’s safe to say that Elon Musk is immeasurably rich in money. I say that that does not even begin to match the amount of grace that God has at his disposal.
So lest you doubt God’s ability to forgive and renew, put this in mind: His grace is so plentiful that it is not able to be measured.
But, I will say, that’s not the main purpose God has in saving you. The primary purpose is said here to come in the future age. Paul says that God’s real aim was that in the coming ages he might show just how immeasurably rich his grace in kindness is.
This is talking about the world to come. You might think of it as an eternal display of his wealth. Your salvation will be his personal showcase. All the world will have the chance to marvel at God’s kindness.
A friend of mine goes up to the Cleveland Car Show every year. He works in the autobody business and so he’s a real car guy. But every year, they have on display all the latest models of all the hottest cars. Some of the exhibits display futuristic cars. They are prototypes of what they hope to put out on the market in the next five to ten years. Some of them are high-end hot rods. They are just there for you to gawk at. Just by looking at the cars, you know you’ll never drive one of these things. It’s so sleek and pretty.
My friend will post pictures of these cars on his Facebook page. He’s stunned at the craftsmanship, the artistry, and the power that these vehicles have. It’s his way of marveling at them and having others share in the wonder.
That’s what the Lord will be doing after Jesus comes again. He’s going to make an exhibition of his grace. Everyone is going to have the chance to gawk at how merciful He is. We are going to stare in wonder at the immensity of his grace.
We will likely see people in heaven and think, “I can’t believe that you are here! God saved you? That’s simply amazing!” Really, when the day of judgment comes and the books are opened, that will be the experience that we have ourselves. All our sins will be laid bare. Every wrong will be exposed and brought to light. For many of them we will think, “I didn’t even know I did that!” Yet the final word will be a declaration of “Not guilty.” We will be acquitted for no other reason than that God chose to pardon us in Christ.
And we will then think, “I can’t believe it. With all that I’ve done to provoke him, he has not held one against me. He has forgiven it all.” At that moment you will become an eternal testament to the immeasurable riches of God’s grace in kindness in Christ Jesus.
Now you may understand why one of the fundamental principles of Protestantism is the motto “Soli Deo Gloria.” When you understand how Scripture speaks of our salvation, you understand that God alone is due all the glory.