Back in early March BC (Before Covid), I shared two devotionals on Ephesians 2:4-5 with plans to write more on these verses that are some of my favorites in all of God’s Word. We saw how “But God” changes everything and wondered at the riches of God’s mercy. This week I’d like to pick up where we left off more than two months ago in these verses. Let’s bask in God’s great love for us.
Sometimes my son and I have an “I love you” contest. We go back and forth: I love you, I love you more, I love you most, I love you to infinity . . . But I always hold the trump card: “I loved you first.”
What if I played this game with God? Who would win? Which came first, God’s love for me or my love for Him?
The stakes are high with this question. If God’s love for me follows my love for Him, then His love for me depends on my faithfulness. If I stop loving God, He might stop loving me.
But if God loved me first, before I had done anything to earn His love, then I am secure. I am loved no matter how many times I fail Him, forget Him, or falter in my faith.
Thankfully, Ephesians 2 teaches us that God loved us first:
“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.” (Ephesians 2:4–5)
God loved us with a great love when we were dead in our sin. Before we ever loved Him, God sent Jesus to die for us (Rom. 5:8, I John 4:10).
God loved us with a great love because of His mercy. He made us alive with Christ and saved us by His grace. None of it depended on our love for Him—praise the Lord!
God loves us with a great love that is secure. His love depends on His faithfulness, not ours. His love never fails. His love is guaranteed by His perfection, not our performance.
When you feel unlovable, remember God’s unchanging, unfailing, unstoppable love for you. When you feel overwhelmed by your sin, remember that Christ overcame sin and gave you new life. When you feel like your faith isn’t enough, remember that God loved you even before you believed.
No matter what you face this week, God loved you first.
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