“But God, being rich in mercy…made us alive together with Christ…and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Some may remember when the famed evangelist, Billy Graham, would respond to letters sent to him through a weekly syndicated column printed through newspapers throughout the country. One particularly sad letter, written anonymously, expressed the following: “I’m in my 80’s and live alone, and I know it’s my own fault. I went through life being disagreeable and demanding that everybody do things my way. As a result, all of my relatives turned against me. Maybe someone will learn from my life. I wish I could live it over.” Graham used these verses to express back to this person that it is God’s kindness toward us that provides a way of new life…eternal life that restores us from the deadness of our former “trespasses” and makes us “alive together with Christ.”

Some have called this passage one of Paul’s most breathtaking summaries of the Gospel―moving from human helplessness to divine intervention, and then to the astonishing elevation being believers with Christ. The heart of the passage is certainly the ‘richness’ of God’s “mercy.” He, through the work of Christ, has “made us alive” with Christ, raised, and seated us (now, spiritually, but later, physically) with Him “in the heavenly places.” The ‘why’ of the passage is revealed in verse 7: “…that…He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Paul loves to use bold and ‘abundant’ language. In this passage, “immeasurable riches” suggests that grace is not a one-time gift but an infinite resource we can draw upon in life encounters. Even eternity will not exhaust God’s kindness, which means that every moment of a believer’s future can be saturated with divine generosity. Grace is not merely “sufficient” (2 Corinthians 12:9), it is overflowing!

Our salvation is not only ‘rescue’ from sin, but a ‘revelation’ for how to live both now and for eternity. God’s intention through all the “ages” (and the ages to come) is to put on display (i.e., “show”) “in kindness” His gentle, benevolent disposition in drawing people to Himself through the mediation of His Son, Jesus. People of God, His “kindness” is revealed through us. We become the evidence of God’s character for the sake of leading people to the Savior.

Christ is the channel of all divine blessing and union with Him is the foundation of every spiritual privilege we have in relating to one another in faith. It was God’s kindness that invited us into this relationship with Him. But, kindness is not an abstract act on the part of God. It is a part of His nature He has embodied in every believer. God’s work in you was not only ‘for’ you, but to make you a display of His grace. Your life―now and for eternity―is meant to reveal the limitless kindness of God expressed through Christ.

Dr. Bill Niblette, a friend of Bible League International, United States