Apart from Christ we are: Dead in sin (v. 1); Deceived by the world (v. 2); Dominated by Satan (v. 2); Degenerated in our living (v. 3), and Doomed to punishment (v. 3). Left to ourselves we are utterly lost, helpless and hopeless. The world does not accept this description, but God declares it (Romans 3:10-18). What is His attitude towards we who know Christ as Savior?
Ephesians 2:13: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
We who were spiritually dead because of sin have been made alive, by the miracle of the new birth (John 3:3; 5). The moment we believed on Christ and received Him as our Savior (John 1:12), we were born of God (John 1:13). Having received the Lord Jesus Christ we became possessors of eternal life (1 John 5:11-12), and partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4).
And what does that mean? It does not mean that we are seated with Christ in heavenly places; the verse does not say that. We are seated in heavenly places “in Christ Jesus”; and this means that through faith we are united to and with Christ who has been raised and exalted to the highest heights in glory. We who were down in the lowest depths have been raised up to the highest heights in Christ! That is our new position through grace. We are now “citizens of heaven” (Philippians 3:20).
What a great word is this word “saved”! It includes all the blessings which become ours through faith in Christ. Notice in vv. 8-10 that: (1) Salvation is a present possession; (2) It is altogether by grace; (3) It is a gift received by faith alone; (4) It is “to do good works”.
We, who were enemies, have been reconciled to God through the blood-shedding of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is blessedly true that through Christ all racial and social barriers have been broken down, but the greatest barrier of all is that which existed between ourselves and God which has been completely swept away in the Person and through the finished work of the Lord Jesus. Meditate upon the words in v. 14: “He is our peace,” (Romans 5:1).
Each word in this verse is worth pondering. “through Him” refers to our Lord Jesus Christ; “both” means Jew and Gentile; “access” means an entrance and a welcome; “one Spirit” refers to the Holy Spirit; and now notice the important ending of the verse, “to the Father”. The moment we are “brought near,” we know God not only as the holy and just God and the powerful Creator, but as our gracious, loving heavenly Father.
The “household of God” is the Church. How do we become members of the Church? By the baptism of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). The Lord Jesus is the foundation of the Church (1 Corinthians 3:11), but Paul tells us here that the apostles and the New Testament prophets are foundation members, for it was through their ministry that the Church was “joined together” and started to grow into “a holy temple in the Lord” (v. 21).
The Church is God’s holy temple, built by the Holy Spirit, and believers are living stones by which the temple has been built through the years. Soon God’s temple will be complete. Then will end the day of grace and we shall be raptured into his presence to be forever with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17). But notice that the Church is “a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit”; and this is true of each individual member (1 Corinthians 6:19) reflected in the Scottish hymn, “A mind at perfect peace with God”:
By nature and by practice far –
How very far from God!
Yet now by grace brought nigh to Him,
Through faith in Jesus’ blood.
So nigh, so very nigh to God
I cannot nearer be;
For in the Person of His Son
I am as near as He.
So dear, so very dear to God,
More dear I cannot be;
The love wherewith He loves the Son –
Such is His love for me!