The Glory of the Divine Conjunction

On November 3, 1955 Martin Lloyd-Jones preached, what would become, one of his most influential messages–a marvelous exposition of the first two words of Ephesians 2:4, “But God…” This is the transition verse from Paul’s exposition of the awful plight of fallen man. Having explained fallen man’s condition in Ephesians 2:1-3 with the language of “death,” the apostle Paul proceeded to hash out the sphere in which man’s sinful condition existed. It was man’s nature that was sinful. Paul says, “By nature we were children of wrath as the rest…” It was operative in the fallen world. Paul notes, “we once walked according to the course of the world.” It was also operative under the influence of the Devil. Paul continues, “according to the prince of the power of air, the spirit who is now at work among the sons of disobedience…” Finally, Paul explains that man’s fallen nature was operative in the flesh. He began his descrption by declaring that man is, by nature, “dead in sins and trespasses,” and he goes on, “fulfilling the desires of the flesh and the mind.” There you have the three-fold enemy of God–the world, the devil and the flesh. These three things call down the wrath of God upon all who are participants by nature. None are excluded from the righteous judgment of God. All men, Jew and Gentile, young and old are under the wrath and curse of God.

Lloyd-Jones went on to point out the connection and contrast between the statement of fallen man in Ephesians 2:1-3 in the first two words of Ephesians 2:4. In fact, these words, “But God..” contain the glories of the Gospel. Lloyd-Jones explained:

These two words, in and of themselves, in a sense contain the whole Gospel. The Gospel tells of what God has done, God’s intervention; it is something that comes entirely from outside us and displays to us that wondrous and amazing and astonishing work of God which the apostle goes on to describe and to define in the following verses.

The really remarkable thing about this transition is the fact that there is a contrast between what is the obvious conclusion and the ultimate outcome for believers. John Gerstner put it in the following terms:

“But God!” Think how wonderful it is that the words that follow are “But God,” rather than “And God.” “And God” would mean the inevitable ruin, the dread judgment. Following this awful description of us as transgressors and sinners, slaves of Satan and of our own flesh, by nature children of wrath, “And God” could only spell the expected doom. It could betoken only the execution of our just condemnation, it could mean only endless punishment. While we are waiting to be taken to the dungeon of gloom and misery what do we hear? “But.” “But,” why that means the unexpected. That means hope. “But” not “and.” Something unexpected–something other than the anticipated doom. We no sooner begin to hope than we hear the second word, “God.” “But God.” This is too much. Can God have changed? Is it possible that he will not condemn.

The glory of these words is that they lead to the great declaration of the Father’s rich mercy and great love for His chosen people. They lead to Christ, the one who died, and was raised, and who ascended into heaven, and carried us with Him by virtue of our union with Him. Paul explains, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sins and trespasses, made us alive together with Christ, having forgiven us all trespasses; and raised us up with Him, and made us sit together with Him in the heavenly places in Christ.” God’s great love lead Him to send Christ as our representative–as the one who would bear all the dreadful curse for His own; and what has happened to us on account of His death, burial and resurrection, is that we have been raised up spiritually with Him. Paul actually makes up three new words by combining a series of existing words (i.e. made-us-alive-together, raised-us-up-together, seated-us-together with Him) to express the glories of the blessings of this union with Christ. Eric Alexander put the language of these verses in the following way:

The New Testament ransacks the universe for comparisons that will be adequate to describe what has happened to us when we became God’s children. And the only two possible comparisons are the creation of the universe at the beginning and the resurrection of Jesus on the third day. So Paul says the same God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts. And the same God who raised the Lord Jesus from the grave and broke its bondage over Him has raised us in Jesus into newness of life.

This is the reality of what has happened to you, if you are a Christian. God has not dealt with you according to your sins, He has dealt with Christ according to your sin. God has dealt with you according to the saving work of Jesus. Again Alexander observed:

God made us alive with Christ by raising us together with Christ (vv. 5-6). ‘So we are not just spectators of Christ’s resurrection, we are participants. And every spiritual blessing that God has for us is found in Christ. God unites us to Jesus as branches to a vine, as limbs to a body, so that all that he is and all that he has wrought in his death and resurrection and ascension become ours through him. That’s why the real meaning of faith is that we believe into the Lord Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us that our union with Christ is a faith union. And when we believe, we believe into the Lord Jesus Christ.

You can listen to Lloyd-Jones’ three expositions of this text  here, here and here.