Because of His Great Love
Unpacking Ephesians 2:4
When I read a book in the Bible, I like to list my favorite verses and words in that book. As you may know, I spent much of the past year diving deep into Ephesians. My favorite words from Ephesians pretty much all came from this one verse:
But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us… (Ephesians 2:4).
It’s a small verse, easily missed. But it contains enough truth to change the world. I want to look at two words, three words, and then five words from this passage. The two words are…
But God
These two words are surely the Bible’s most redemptive phrase.
The Savior was crucified, but God…. (Acts 2:24, 13:30).
We were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God….
We were lost and without hope, but God is rich in mercy.
Thank God for but God!
If you are lost and in trouble, but God is good news. If you are a believer, but God means God has the last word (Rom. 8:28).
No matter how bad things get, our Father is the hope we cling to. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Ps. 73:26).
Rich in mercy
Some imagine God to be miserly, but he is merciful. He abounds in compassion towards us. Whatever your need, learn to see God as your abundant Supply.
Mercy is different from grace, but God abounds in both. He is rich in grace (Eph. 1:7, 2:7, Jas. 4:6), and rich in mercy (Luke 1:58, Eph. 2:4, Jas. 5:11, 1 Pet. 1:3). He is the God of all grace (1 Pet. 5:10), and the Father of all mercies (2 Cor. 1:3).
At this point we may ask, “God, why are you so good to me? Why are you merciful? How can you accept someone like me?”
To these sorts of questions Paul gives a five-word answer.
Because of his great love
Some people have trouble accepting God’s mercy and grace because they have not grasped the great love of God.
“Why did you send your Son to rescue me? Why are you not holding my sins against me?”
The answer is “because of his great love with which he loved us.” Indeed, this is the answer to just about every question we might have about God.
Why did God create Adam and Eve? Because of his great love.
Why did God give us free will, knowing it would cost him everything to fix our mistakes? Because of his great love.
Why are sunsets beautiful? Why is the universe so big? Why do we have daffodils? Because of his great love.
God will never make you jump through hoops to earn his love. He won’t love you any more if you succeed, and he won’t love you any less if you fail. If you lead millions to Christ, or none at all, he will love you just the same. There is nothing you can do to make him love you more, and nothing you can do to make him love you less.
His great love endures forever.
I have given you two words, three words, and five words from this amazing passage. I want to leave you with one more word.
Great
In the New Testament two words are translated as great. One is megas, which means big, and the other is polys, which means many. The latter word is used here. God’s love for you is not a narrow, one-flavor kind of love, but a multifaceted, many-sided, all-the-colors-of-the-rainbow and all-the-words-in-the-dictionary kind of love. God’s love for you reaches so far in so many directions that it surpasses all knowledge (Eph. 3:17–19).
If some people have trouble believing the gospel of grace, perhaps it is because they are unfamiliar with the greatness of their Father’s love toward them.
Why does God have great mercy and great grace for you? Because of his great love.
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If you liked this, you will love The Grace Bible: Ephesians.
Escape to Reality 
Wow, Paul! Thank you for that encouragement today!
I love reading from you Dr Paul. There are most likely the same words Jesus would have said. Thanks for pouring out your all.
Whenever I have read Ephesians 2:4 I could feel and grasp Father God’s love towards me even when I’ve failed because his great love has made me righteous even in the midst of it all and if I just received it then I really understand his great love. DFG
Amen-
Ta very muchly Paul- more emphasis,focus,reminding,opening up ,teaching,expounding,bringing up constantly prayerfully of the Fathers great and free unconditional love for us all by sending us Christ Jesus to show us all what He is really all about and how Christ Jesus was/ is our perfect example of how we are supposed to be – as Him- made in His likeness/ image just like Jesus the express image of our Father and that He came to enlighten and remind
us of this truth/ reality- to free us from our” gross error” about Him ourselves,each other this life this world and to be as Him – of Him !!!
Brilliant, thank you so much.
Takk for dine ordkunster Paul!
Erik
Such good verses! I know I’d read it many times over the decades, but a couple years ago, God had me pause there to really appreciate the beauty of that passage. The entire gospel is right there. Love, mercy, grace, made alive, raised up, and seated at the right hand of God!
Thanks for being a consistent illuminator of God’s word!
The smart person does what actually works to get what he wants. God overlooks the fact that people have overlooked God in order that they might take a look and see how he sees them and learn to turn their focus on God. That’s what the 1st commandment is all about “You shall have not God before me”… and it’s corollary “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, and your soul”. Well… the corollary is less a commandment than a promise.
Good day how can a get a copy of the grace bible Galatians. I downloaded the Amazon app and searched but cannot find it. Please assist. Vincent
All the download links can be found on the Grace Bible website.