Quote (death_knight @ Apr 20 2021 08:29am)
Take a moment and break down what this passage is saying and then I will
Gladly. here is the passage in it's entirety:
Ephesians 2:1-10 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Let's look at what our state is without God. We are dead in our transgressions and sins. As a result we followed the ways of this world and the ruler of the Earth, the devil. This means we chase after the things of this world and do not care for God. We deserve the wrath of God.
However, God loved us so much that we were made alive in Christ, even while we were dead in our transgressions. By the grace of God we have been saved. We are raised with Christ who seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. Now he can show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
To summarize, we are saved by grace, through faith and NOT by works. It is the gift of God. There is nobody on this world who can say that they saved themselves, nobody can boast about that. God created us in his image to do good works, which He has prepared in advance for us to do.