God Saves Us Into Spiritual Life

Ian died. For about 15 minutes. In heaven God gave Ian the choice to return. He accepted. He tilted his head backwards, opened his eyes and gave the medical staff in the morgue the shock of their lives! A corpse had become a living breathing body. The doctor tore up the death certificate he was writing. God then completely healed Ian’s body. This is a graphic picture of what Christ does in the spiritual realm for a person who trusts in Him. Yesterday, we saw what Christ saves us out of. Today, let’s see what Christ saves us into.

Read Ephesians 2:4-10.

Outside of Christ we’re as spiritually dead as a corpse – entirely unable to know and respond to the Living God. But the moment we receive Christ we receive His life (v5), He puts His Spirit in us, infusing into us a new heart, a new capacity to know, love, enjoy and listen to God. Christ’s resurrection power works in us (v6). Mysteriously, we are united to Jesus Christ Himself, so that His heavenly victory is ours too (v6). For all eternity we become a token of God’s unconditional kindness. Though we don’t deserve it we live with and enjoy God forever (v7). God’s grace does it all; our good deeds don’t qualify us, and our bad deeds don’t disqualify us (v8-9). We’re not saved by our good works. That said, we are saved for good works (v10).

Salvation is radical. But our initial experience of salvation is not always as radical as Ian’s was. No matter, our salvation is no less radical! Think of how we wake up. Some of us wake up to an alarm. The moment is intense and memorable. Others of us wake up over a period of time. We can’t pinpoint the exact moment we woke up, but we know we’re now awake.

Ian’s conversion was an alarm-bell moment, but others wake up gradually and gently. The question is not, ‘How radical and intense was your wake-up moment?’ but rather, ‘Are you now awake?’ That’s what really matters.

Are you now awake to the love and reality of God? Why not reflect on your personal story of ‘waking up’ to God? How would you de- scribe your story to someone who asked?