Eph 2:1-22 (NLT)
1 Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins.
2 You used to live in sin, just like the rest of the world, obeying the devil—the commander of the powers in the unseen world. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
3 All of us used to live that way, following the passionate desires and inclinations of our sinful nature. By our very nature we were subject to God’s anger, just like everyone else.
4 But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much,
5 that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)
6 For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.
7 So God can point to us in all future ages as examples of the incredible wealth of his grace and kindness toward us, as shown in all he has done for us who are united with Christ Jesus.
8 God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.
9 Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.
10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.
11 Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts.
12 In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.
13 But now you have been united with Christ Jesus. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ.
14 For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when, in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us.
15 He did this by ending the system of law with its commandments and regulations. He made peace between Jews and Gentiles by creating in himself one new people from the two groups.
16 Together as one body, Christ reconciled both groups to God by means of his death on the cross, and our hostility toward each other was put to death.
17 He brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near.
18 Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us.
19 So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family.
20 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself.
21 We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.
22 Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.
This treasuring of and planning for the perfection of His investment was set in place long before we could ever do anything to earn it. A precious gem or refined metal did nothing to establish its value except submit to the artisan—who cut away what was unnecessary and shaped it according to His design. In the same way, the power of our Creator to bring purpose to those He so fearfully and wonderfully made is not dependent on qualifications we attempt to add to what He has already qualified.
Though acceptance once required physical descent from Abraham and adherence to the law of Moses, in Christ the dividing wall of race and religion was torn down. Access to unlimited favor and blessing was opened to all. And because it was enabled for anyone, it was necessarily enabled for everyone—completely removing any prerequisites humanity might try to impose. To enter His temple is to enter alongside every other recipient of that grace, regardless of our opinions about their worthiness.
We are joined into a structure of grace, held together by a love that established our place long before stereotypes of appearance or measures of performance could attempt to dislodge it. If one is accepted, then all are accepted. The only requirement is submission to the Artisan, who activates and positions the incredible worth we already possess in Christ for His glory.
Understanding our worth in the heart and plans of the Great Master Builder is essential for who we have already been made to be to fully function as the dwelling place of His presence. Submission to His placement includes submission to our place within His body, where every connection we make directly affects our effectiveness. The treasure we carry is designed to be released alongside the treasure He has placed in others, so that His greater purposes may come to fruition.
Passion for this greater work produces alignment—bringing us into harmony with every function He intended and provided long before we were ever aware of it.