Because of His Great Love
Scripture Reading — Ephesians 2:1-10
By grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.
Ephesians 2:8
In our study of the fruit of the Spirit, it’s essential to remember that growing in Christian character is not what saves us. God doesn’t call us his children because we measure up to some standard of behavior. God adopts us as his children because he has chosen us in love. It’s that simple.
The apostle Paul wrote, “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.” In other words, God made us alive in Christ before there was any spiritual fruit in our lives! We were as good as dead before God’s grace touched our lives, and dead trees certainly can’t bear any fruit. Soil that has no nutrients isn’t any good for growing a crop. It’s not the growth of fruit in our life that saves us; it’s simply the gracious favor of God shown to us in his Son, Jesus.
As a result, our devotions this month have been about our sanctification, the ongoing work of the Spirit in us after we have received salvation. Sanctification is really nothing more or less than the process by which the Holy Spirit makes us more like Jesus.
Eternally saved, we are now called by God to cooperate with his Spirit to make us look, sound, and serve more like Jesus Christ, our one and only Savior.
Father, we are grateful for your love; by your grace you have made us your children. Give us heartfelt assurance that, because of Christ, we are now eternally secure in you! Amen.
About the author — Shawn Brix
Rev. Shawn Brix has served as pastor in several Ontario churches. He and his wife, Jenny, have three children.
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