Read: Ephesians 2:1-10
The writer of Ephesians elaborates the main points of the message in Paul’s letters, but more boldly, emphasizing especially the impact of God’s grace on the future, in the resurrection and in heavenly things. The world view in Ephesians tends toward mythical cosmology. There are a good many references to the demonic spirits that inhabit the region between heaven and earth. All the same, the major Pauline themes are there: death and resurrection, trespasses and sin, God’s mercy and love, living in Christ, grace and faith, faith and works.
Our text draws our view upward to the sky where the “ruler of the power of the air” brings trouble upon Christians by seducing them to “follow the course of the world,” that is, to yield to the “passions and desires of the flesh and senses.” All human beings are by nature “children of wrath.” But the merciful and loving God made us alive together with Christ, raises us up with him, gives us in heave a place of honor next to Christ, and show us continuously the “immeasurable riches of the divine grace.”
It is salutary to be reminded that our faith is not limited to our personal relationship with Jesus, but includes a significant social, historical, and environmental dimension. We remain narrow-minded unless we extend the horizon of our worldview.
Prayer: Open my mind and extend my view, O Lord, that I may see the consequences of faith on a larger scale. Amen.
Manfred Hoffmann
