How God connects life with unity, and seeks them both for everyone

By Dean Collins

There is a difference between being “dead tired” and walking around dead. We have all felt the first and have all lived the second, but we tend to forget how far we have come thanks to God’s grace. Jesus is a life giver and fully able and eager to bring both rest and life. He also wants us to be his ambassadors so that others who are the walking dead can know life to the fullest.

Walking dead

This relates to the theme of unity in Ephesians. The apostle Paul is clear in his letter that the gospel is for both Jew and Gentile. Think of it this way: The gospel is for everyone. Everyone is included in God’s redemptive plan. And according to the first verse of chapter 2, we must understand we were all on equal footing as the walking dead. Yes, all of us.

Before we come to Jesus we are dead in our trespasses and sins and following the course of the world and the prince of the power of the air. That may sound harsh, but it is important theological grounding. We are all in the same boat before Christ even as we seek to claim our uniqueness and rightness.

Paul is consistent in all of his letters that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We can’t advocate enough to save ourselves. We can’t work our way into God’s family. Our genealogy or tribe can’t save us. We can’t be voted into God’s favor. We all start at the same place. Dead, yet walking around trying our best to figure it out, controlled by the flesh and deceived by the enemy of God. We might be so intelligent that we believe things are different. We may claim all sorts of reasons we know more or know better, but it can never change our dead state. Only Jesus can bring us to life.

But God…

”But God” moments are the best moments. The Bible abounds with these moments of deliverance. The Old Testament is filled with stories of God’s people and leaders who were surrounded, trapped, and completely outnumbered. But God intervened with a rescue that no one was even capable of imagining. That is exactly what Paul wants us to understand. We couldn’t save ourselves from sin, but God did the unimaginable; he sent his Son to save us. He came not as a warrior to defeat all of the bad guys but as a humble servant who would offer his life by way of a cross. His death and resurrection bring ours.

Jesus came for us, according to Paul, because God is rich in mercy and loved us even when we were dead in our sins. When we surrender our lives to him he makes us alive in Christ by his grace. And then we experience another unimaginable moment; we are not only raised to life but we are seated with God in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Now alive

This is heady stuff. Once dead and now living here as God’s ambassadors, we are seated in Heavenly places spiritually and awaiting our permanent home in Heaven at our next resurrection. Our first resurrection was when we died to sin and became alive in Christ. Now that we are alive in Christ we cannot be boastful. We did not earn this life. It is a gift of grace that comes by faith.

And there is more. Paul tells us in verse 10 that we are God’s workmanship or poetry. We are his beautiful and glorious creation for the purpose of doing good works as we walk this life as children of God.

All of us were dead. All who believe in Jesus are alive in him and called to be united in reaching the other dead people with the good news of Jesus. And all means all. Every person of every race, tribe, gender, and even political party or philosophical position is first dead in sin and now has the opportunity to be given life in Christ. And once this great transformation happens, we become one family in Christ working together to bring God’s renewal and restoration of all things.

Finding unity

It will be tempting to champion causes. And we can likely have impact in many ways. But it is only in Christ that we can find the platform or foundation for the unity God desires. He wants us to be together with each other so much that he sent Jesus to die that it might be possible.

Unity in Christ is a beautiful thing. We must look for it, long for it, and embrace it for God’s glory.

Your time with God’s Word
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2:1-10‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Photo by Michael Glazier at unsplash.com

To receive daily posts delivered directly to your inbox, complete the form at the bottom of our home page.
To download a printable version of today’s post, click here.