God is So Good!

God is So Good!

Imagine your greatest enemy, someone who has wronged you in a terrible way. Now imagine you have the opportunity to save his life. Would you do it? Perhaps. But would you then invite this enemy into your home as a member of your family, lavish riches upon him, and give him everything he needs to live a successful life? No. This is exactly what God did! Romans 5:10 expressly labels sinners as “enemies” of God, yet Romans 5:8 says that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (New Inductive Study Bible). We were God’s enemies, yet He saved our lives, our eternal lives at that, through the death of His Son. But He did not stop there. Ephesians 1:3 tells us that God “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (New Inductive Study Bible). He made us members of His family, lavished riches upon us, and gave us everything we need to live successful lives. I can’t imagine a greater testament to God’s goodness than the revelation of the many blessings God has bestowed upon His former enemies.

In order to get a clear picture of the amazing goodness of God, it is important to understand what we were prior to salvation. Ephesians 2:1-3 tells us exactly what we once were: dead, sons of disobedience, living in the lusts of our flesh, children of wrath. It’s hard to think of anything worse, but Ephesians 5:8 takes it a step further by saying we were darkness itself. This term removes any limit of the evil that we were capable of. Who would save someone that fits this description? Fortunately, Ephesians 2:4 answers that question with the greatest pair of words in the Bible, “But God.” In His goodness God saved us in our darkened state, but God’s goodness doesn’t stop there.

God didn’t just save us, He made us members of His household! Ephesians 2:19 says, “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household” (New Inductive Study Bible). Additionally, God’s goodness gave us more than the position or title alone; it gave us the full privileges that go along with the position or title (qtd. by Hodgdon). This most gracious act is not something God decided to do after He saw how repentant and thankful we were for His saving us. Ephesians 1:5 tells us that God predestined us to adoption as sons. To predestine means to mark out beforehand (Hodgdon), and Ephesians 1:4 tells us when that predestination took place: before the foundation of the world. In His omniscience God knew what despicable creatures we would be and He knew that even after salvation we would struggle with our flesh, yet He marked out that as believers we would be glorified!

This future glorification is evidence of God’s goodness, but once again it doesn’t stop there. He did not just give us a hope for the future and leave us to flounder in the present. He lavished riches upon us and gave us everything we need to live successful lives. Ephesians 3:16 says, “…that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man” (New Inductive Study Bible). God gave us the Holy Spirit as a pledge of that future inheritance (Ephesians 1:14), but being a pledge is not all the Holy Spirit does. He gives us access to the Father (Ephesians 2:18), He is building us into God’s dwelling place (Ephesians 2:22), He gives us insight (Ephesians 3:4-5), and He strengthens us (Ephesians 3:16). What greater riches could we ask for? These riches are essential for our success in the present. Another essential for success in the present is purpose, and God has given us just that. Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we were “created in Christ Jesus for good works” (New Inductive Study Bible). However, God, in His goodness, didn’t just give us a purpose, He gave us the means to accomplish the purpose. He has given us His Word which is profitable in our lives (II Timothy 3:16); He has given the aforementioned Holy Spirit who reveals the things God has given to us (I Corinthians 2:12); and He has given us gifts to equip us in our service as well as edify one another (Ephesians 4:11-12).

God’s goodness in Ephesians is seen in how He goes above and beyond. He did not just save us, but He made us members of his household. He did not just make us members of his household, but He gave us full privileges in that position. He did not just give us hope of future glorification, but He gave us riches and necessity in the present. He did not just give us a purpose in life, but He gave us the means to accomplish that purpose. He did all of this despite the fact that we were His enemies and despite the fact that we can still do the things that characterized us as enemies. Why? God is so good!