Did you know that the word but can be one of the most meaningful and encouraging words in the English language?
There has been an accident but no one was hurt.
Last week I lost my job but today I started a new one.
I lost my wallet but it was returned with all my money.
But (theres that word again) thats not all. Did you know that but is one of the most important and thought-provoking words in the Bible? It often introduces some good news when things are looking bad.
The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life.
It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.
The little connecting word but can make a big difference! It indicates a contrast and in the Bible contrasts are always important. When you are reading the Bible, be on the lookout for this seemingly insignificant word. It is like a stop-sign warning us to stop, think and ask: Why is God making a contrast now? and What was God saying before the but and in which direction is he leading me now?
In his commentary on the apostle Pauls letter to the Church at Ephesus, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones challenges us: You can tell whether you are a Christian or not by just answering this question: Do you feel at times that the greatest word in the entire language of humanity is the word but?1
In that same letter the apostle paints a devastating picture of the characteristics of a human life that follows its sinful passions and desires:
And you… who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others
(Ephesians 2:1-3 NKJV).
Were all like that!
This must be one of the most depressing and discouraging passages in the Bible! It is a description of disobedient people in the grip of sin, doomed forever. They are spiritually dead (unable to understand and grasp spiritual things) and enslaved and influenced by three powerful forces – the evil ways of this world, Satan and self-centredness. We may gloat and say, I am not perfect but at least Im not like that! But Paul says all of us were like that. Left to ourselves this is what you and I are like.
We were all in a hopeless situation but Jesus has changed everything.
Is there any hope for anyone in such a horrific condition? All of this sounds so depressing and negative doesnt it? It would be if that was Pauls conclusion. But there is good news! The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the best news we have ever heard. Verse four introduces a great turning point :
But God
Paul changes direction completely.
But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:4-6 NKJV).
This is a powerful statement. It is hard to even begin to fathom the depth of what has happened to us.
Jesus has ascended to his Father and now sits at his right hand in the heavens (1 Peter 3:22). All power is in Jesus hands, and Jesus and the Father dwell in perfect unity and love. Jesus not only reigns with God the Father over all the universe, he and the Father, with the Holy Spirit, are one.
But there is more! Do you understand what God has done for you personally? God has picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah (Ephesians 2:6 The Message Bible). United to Jesus (who is our representative and substitute), God has brought us into the loving relationship which the Father, Son and Holy Spirit share.
Brand new people
This doesnt mean that we never sin, but this is about a change that has taken place and is taking place in the depth of our nature because Jesus Christ has entered into our nature. We were all in a hopeless situation but Jesus has changed everything. Respected theologian John Stott, writes; what Paul does in this passage is to paint a vivid contrast between what man is by nature and what he can become by grace.2 Just as light and darkness and forward and reverse are direct opposites so too is the contrast that has happened to us. Once there was no hope for us, but Jesus has made all the difference!
God has intervened. God has rescued us. God has initiated our salvation. God has reached down and taken us upwards. God has taken action to reverse our condition in sin. God has made us new! Not new improved people. Not people who have turned over a new leaf but brand new people!
Are you finding it difficult to let go of your past? Are you trying to make your way through life burdened with guilt because you feel you can never be forgiven? Dont let your past determine your sense of who you are. Only Jesus can tell you who you are. In Jesus, you are accepted. The Father has embraced you and made you his own. The wages of sin is the spiritual death penalty, but that penalty has been paid for you and you are now alive, forgiven, brought back from the dead, as it were, to live with Jesus. Thats who you really are. Thank God, trust God and embrace the new life that God has already made real for you in Jesus.
Stop. Think. Ponder on what life is like without Jesus. This will enable you to see in a whole new light what you are by the grace of God. You were once dead but now you are alive!
But ?
No need for buts here. Be the new person God has made you.
1D.Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Gods Way of Reconciliation; p179
2John Stott: The Message of Ephesians; p 69