The Epistle to the Ephesians tells us that Christ has reconciled all creation to Himself and to God, and Christ has united people from all nations to Himself and to one another in His church. Ephesians 2:11-22 teaches us that through the blood of Christ people have not only been reconciled to God, but reconciled to each other. Through Christ the wall of hostility that once existed between God and man has been removed along with the wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile. The result is that all believers are brought together, in peace and love, by the blood of Christ.
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life" (John 8:12). Sadly, the One who is the true light is rejected by the world because He exposes the darkness of their hearts. But the offer of forgiveness and eternal life is offered to all those who would turn and receive Him by faith.
The Bible teaches that God not only hates sin, but that by His very nature he can have no fellowship with it (Is. 59:2). If everyone has sinned—and they have (Rom. 3:23)—how is anyone going to stand before the Lord?
Salvation is a work of God's grace from start to finish. The gospel of God's grace-the good news that Jesus died for our sins and rose again-not only saves us from the penalty of sin, but removes the power of sin and trains us to be transformed into the likeness of Christ as we wait for the fullness of our transformation at His second coming when we will be finally freed from the presence of sin.
Each and every one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is none good, not even one. Even if we won't admit that there is a God to whom we are accountable, we can't escape His law that is written on our hearts and the conscience He placed within us that burdens us with the weight of the real guilt we carry. We are helpless to do anything about it, but the wonderful news of the gospel is that God has done what we could not. This is what Christians celebrate and commemorate on Good Friday.
That You May Believe
John's epilogue balances out the prologue to his Gospel and brings it full circle, pointing us back to 1:1 where we were introduced to the eternal Word who took on flesh and dwelt among us. Jesus is glorious, and John wrote about Him to show who He is. When we believe in Him as the Christ, the Son of God, we have life in His name.
