Beyond the Weekend: Saved
Your Past, Present, and Future Rescue
The word "saved" gets used a lot in church. But what does it really mean to be saved?
In this series, we look at how salvation works. It's not just something that happened to us in the past. It's something God is doing in us right now, and something he will finish one day.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Saved
Read: Ephesians 2:1-10 | Listen: Ephesians 2
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. Ephesians 2:4–5
Paul writes a letter to believers in Ephesus to strengthen their Christian faith and help them understand their new life in Christ. He spent three years with this church and knows them well. Paul begins by reminding them who they are because of Jesus (Ephesians 1:1–14). Before they can understand how to live as followers of Christ, they need to understand how desperate their situation was without him. They were spiritually dead because of sin, but God, because of his great love and mercy, made them alive in Christ.
We can easily have too small an understanding of salvation. We often think of salvation as something that happened in the past: Jesus died for our sins, and we were saved from sin’s penalty. This is justification, and it is wonderful news! But salvation is bigger than what happened the day we first trusted Jesus. Today, God is saving us from the power of sin as he changes us to become more like Christ. This is sanctification. And one day, we will be saved from the presence of sin forever. This is glorification. Salvation is past, present, and future. Over the next few weeks, we will explore each part of this amazing gift!
TODAY: Pray, “God, open my eyes to see the fullness of my salvation. Help me understand what you have saved me from, what you are saving me from today, and what you will one day save me from forever. Give me a deeper understanding of your grace, mercy, and love. Thank you for making me alive in Christ. Amen.”
