Seek First – Kingdom Focused Devotionals

“Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.  But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall” (Eph. 2:12-14).

                When God broke down the wall that separates man from God, He also broke down the barriers that separate man from man.  Paul was specifically talking about the first century barrier that existed between Jews and Gentiles.  The dividing wall that separated these two groups of persons was religious, cultural, and racial.  But this century’s long “barrier” was broken down in Christ. 

                Both Jew and Gentile came to the Father through the blood of Christ and thus Paul can say that those who were once “far off” have now been brought near.  Christ is our peace.  Words like “strangers,” “having no hope,” and “without God in the world” speak of utter desperation and separation.  Christ is not only our hope individually and personally, He is also our “peace” who brings us into fellowship with other believers, be they Jew or Gentile. 

                In verse 15 Paul tells us that God established peace by making the two into one new man.  The language sounds very much like that used in a wedding ceremony.  We can never forget that salvation has corporate implications as well as individual ones.  Are you at peace with other believers? 

Prayer:  Father, help me to live at peace with my brothers and sisters in Christ.  Amen

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them” (Eph. 2:10).

                What role do “good works” have in the life of the believer?  We have already seen in verse 9 that works have no role in man’s redemption.  There is nothing man can do to gain God’s favor.  The sin barrier between God and man had to be bridged by God’s action in Christ. 

                But now that we have been recreated in Christ, the essential quality of our new life is one of good works.  Paul indicates that good works are an indispensable condition of the new life.  They are the fruit of the new life born in Christ.  We are now the workmanship of God and therefore our passion and our purpose is to accomplish His kingdom activity on earth. 

                To further underline the necessity and significance of kingdom activity in the life of the believer, Paul tells us that the good works were “prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them.” “Walk” refers to the conduct of one’s life.  Before we were saved we walked in the futility of our mind (4:17), but now we walk in the purpose and plan of God.  Did you know that God created you with His kingdom activity in mind?  Ask Him to show you the good works which He “prepared beforehand” for you.  When you are serving according to God’s purpose for your life, you will find great fulfillment and contentment. 

Prayer:  Father, show me the works that You have for me to accomplish for Your kingdom.  Amen.

“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them” (2:10). 

                  Even from childhood we enjoy creating something with our hands.  My grandchildren love to give their “papa” things they have made and I love to receive them.  Did you know that you are God’s workmanship? 

                We are God’s workmanship in creation.  He declared that all His work was “good,” but on the final day of creation, when man was created in God’s image, God declared that it was “very good.”  In man, God could most clearly display His glory.  Man fell into sin and the image of God in man was distorted, but in Christ that image is fully restored so that we are fully “His workmanship.”

                Our new birth is a new divine act of creation.  Men and women in Christ are new creatures.  “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17).  By our faith union with Christ, our old sin scarred lives are made new and thus we now display the workmanship of God. 

                Does your life, your words, your behavior, your attitude tell others that you are God’s workmanship.  Do your friends see the workmanship of God displayed in your life? 

Prayer:  Father, thank you for saving me.  May I be a visible picture of Your workmanship.  Amen

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9).  

                Rightly, this is one of the most quoted and beloved passages in the entire Bible.  How can sinful man possess the life of heaven (eternal life) here and now and for all eternity?  Simply by the grace of God!  Grace means that salvation is a work only God can accomplish on behalf of sinful man. 

                Man’s part in the transaction is described with the simple phrase “through faith.”  This is the same idea contained in Eph. 1:13 where Paul described the process of hearing the gospel and having believed.  The faith response requires that we turn to God with an absolute sense of need understanding the depth of our sin and receive what He offers which is Christ the only sacrifice for sin. 

                Paul wants to make it abundantly clear that man cannot obtain salvation by any merit or work of his own.  He wants us to understand that the impetus for salvation and the outworking of this salvation comes from God alone.  It is a gift from God and not a case of human effort.  It is the Holy Spirit who convicts of sin and causes man to consider his need.   It is the power of God that enables us to act to procure that redemption made possible in Christ.  Man’s task is to respond in faith.  Have you?

Prayer:  Thank You for loving me and saving me from my sin.  Amen

“So that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7).

                Why does God raise us to the heavenly places in Christ?  He wants to show us and demonstrate in us the “surpassing riches of His grace.”  What an incredible thought!

                The phrase “the ages to come” looks forward to our uninterrupted, face-to-face dwelling with Christ.  Thus with this phrase Paul lifts the life of the believer and the work of the church (see on 3:10) into the heavenly places.  Since our life is already viewed as secured “in Christ” in the heavenly places we are not only given assurance of our eternal security we are given confidence that what we do in this present life will have eternal consequences. 

                The topic of God’s grace is so overwhelming that it is constantly qualified with terms like “exceeding, abounding, and overflowing.”  This grace was expressed by God in the sending of His Son for the redemption of mankind.  The phrase “in kindness” reminds us that God’s grace was seen in action.  God’s grace was no sentimental “feeling” it was the greatest act of kindness that one could ever conceive.  “But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of our deeds…but according to His mercy…” (Titus 3:4-5a). 

Prayer:  Father, Your grace is amazing.  Amen.

“And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). 

                 What does it mean that we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places?  Earlier in Eph. 1:3 Paul indicated that the Father has “blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.”  But this verse contains an even greater mystery.  Paul indicates that our very life is in the heavenly places with Christ.

                Man, by virtue of Christ’s victory over the cross and the grave and by His glorious exaltation to heaven, has lifted us from the depths of hell to the heights of heaven.  Our citizenship now has a heavenly address.  “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Phil. 3:20). 

                This means that our true life is found in Christ and thus in the heavenly places.  It means that our daily life must be transformed by this truth.  We are to be transformed by the renewing of our mind and no longer conformed to the standards of the world.  It means our ultimate loyalty and our affection is directed toward our King and our heavenly home.  The tragedy is that many Christians forget that their address has been changed and they live this life like it is all of life. 

Prayer: Thank You for my new heavenly home.  Help me to live daily as a citizen of heaven.  Amen

“Even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph. 2:5).

                 Once again Paul reiterates man’s desperate need (dead in our transgressions) only to highlight the incredible mercy of God who reached down to man when he was dead.  Those of us who are believers sometimes forget that our friends who do not know Christ are dead.  Christ will not simply make them better persons—that potential lies beyond a person who is dead—He will give them life. 

                How is it possible that one man’s death could have such impact?  Christ lived without sin and thus did not merit death.  His death was the only adequate sacrifice to settle the legal and righteous penalty of sin.  In His death He suffered for sin and thus removed the barrier to fellowship with God that sin caused.  His resurrection was the triumph over death, both physical and spiritual. 

                The word “together” used here and twice in the next verse indicates the believers intimate union with Christ.  This word may not only suggest our union with Christ but our union with all others that are “in Christ.”  That theme will control this section.  This new life can be described as salvation from sin.  Even though he plans to develop this theme more completely in subsequent verses, he cannot help but add his favorite summation of the gospel—“by grace you have been saved.”  The emphasis is twofold.  Salvation is not earned but given by God’s grace.  Second, it is an accomplished fact.  Good News, don’t you think?

Prayer:  Thank You for my salvation.  Give me the opportunity to share this good news with a friend today.  Amen

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,” (Eph. 2:4)

                I recently wrote a little book entitled But God.   My good friend Karolyn Chapman suggested that I look at that phrase throughout the Scriptures.  It was a fascinating study that demonstrated God at work in the midst of the most difficult situations.  Last week we looked at man as a sinner—spiritually dead and walking after the desires of the flesh.  The “but God” phrase allows us to turn the corner and begin to think our heritage in Christ. 

                Everything that follows is based on God’s great mercy and love.  We find the same theme in passages such as John 3:16 where John tells us that God’s love resulting in the giving of His only begotten Son.  God’s love is expressed in concrete action as He shows mercy to sinful mankind.  The blessings described in the next several verses flow from the love of God.  It is difficult for us to comprehend the depth of God’s love that longs for sinful man to be restored to His created purpose and experience all the blessings that God has planned for us. 

                As you contemplate this love today, would you take a few moments to thank Him for loving you while you were unlovely?  Would you show this love to someone else today?  Showing people love and sharing Him is the essence of what it means to follow Christ (See Splashinfo.com).  

Prayer: Father, I am staggered by the greatness of Your love for me.  May I show others that love.   Amen.

“Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:3).

                 Paul is writing to believers who have been saved by grace but he wants to remind them of what life was like before Christ.  Without Christ they formerly lived by the lust of the flesh.  The word flesh sometimes means the physical body and thus is not inherently evil.  The word of God became flesh (Jn. 1:14).  In other instances it means the lower nature of man apart from the regenerating power of the Spirit.  So here “lusts of our flesh” indicate a life dominated by self-centered desires and passions. 

                When one lives by the lusts of the flesh, he/she will indulge the desires of the flesh and of the mind.  Evil will ultimately dominate one’s emotions and his intellect and reasoning process as well.  I have counseled with unsaved persons who knew they were powerless to break the hold of the self-indulged life.  This recognition can serve as the starting point from which one turns to Christ. 

                “By nature” refers to what is innate in man by virtue of his birth.  Man has a sin nature and thus when left to himself he chooses to practice sin which brings him under the wrath of God (cf. Rom. 2:14).  The sin of man, in thought and deed, places one under the just wrath of a holy God.  We will consider verse 4 in our next devotional, but you might want to glance ahead to see that man’s dilemma was met with God’s great mercy. 

Prayer: Father, thank You that the days of my lust and wrath are former days because of Your rich mercy.  Amen

“In which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 2:2).

                 “Walking” describes the conduct of one’s life and here Paul describes the life lived according to man’s sinful nature apart from God.  The authority of the sinner’s life is described in three different ways.  First it is a life lived “according to the course of this world.”  This is a life which is lived with earthbound motives in contrast to the life that is lived with the kingship of God in mind.  We need to keep in mind that this present world is already in the process of passing away. 

                Second, it is lived “according to the prince of the power of the air.”  Paul is here describing the devil as an evil power with control in the fallen world (see Eph. 6:12).  The devil is the enemy of Christ and of all his followers.  His desire is to kill, steal, and destroy. 

                Third, Paul speaks of the power of “the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.”  The life of the unsaved is not a self-controlled life, but one lived in subjection to the spirit which has the evil one as its source.  When men are controlled by evil– whether consciously or not–they are rightly called the “sons of disobedience.” 

Many non-Christians object to Christianity because it calls for man to live in subjection to Christ.  They argue that they want to be in control of their own life.  Truthfully, that option does not exist.  For those who live apart from Christ ultimately live in subjection to the prince of the power of the air. 

Prayer:  Father, it is my desire to live for You today and every day.  Amen