Why Did God Save Us?

 ”But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,“

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭4‬-‭6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Most of us are very familiar with the gospel message. We know that God sent his Son into the world. We know that Jesus died in our place, paying the penalty of our sin. And we know that he rose from the grave, standing victorious over death. 

The way it’s stated in Ephesians 2 is that, when we were dead in our trespasses, he made us alive together in Christ. He, then, raised us up with him, with Jesus. And he seated us with him in the heavenly places.

We learn from this message that we played no role in our salvation. It’s something that he did. It’s a work that he performed for our blessing.

Nothing about us contributes to it in any way. And nothing we’ve done contributes to it in any way. It results from God’s grace alone. And this grace is received through faith in Christ.

This message, of course, is very comforting. It’s very reassuring. And it fills us with peace. But it also begs the question: Why did God do this? 

What we find is that it had everything to do with God and nothing with us. It has everything to do with his nature, and nothing with our own. And it has everything to do with his character, and nothing with our own.

According to the above passage, he did it because he is rich in mercy. This, in other words, is God’s nature. It’s part of his character. There’s nothing about us that caused God to extend this mercy. He did so because of who he is. He did so because he is merciful.

He did so also because of the great love which which he loved us. It, then, has nothing to do with our love for God. His love for us is the reason he saved us. His love for us is the reason he gave us new life.

As God’s nature, as his character is unchanging, this provides us with assurance. As God is, and will always be, merciful, our salvation is sure. And as God’s love for us is unchanging, our salvation is sure.