Two Little Words

But God; two little words which tip the balance of this whole world history. But god. These two words are found in the first part of Ephesians Chapter 2. Here’s the context from the NASB: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus… (St. Paul’s Letter to the Ephesian Church, Chapter 2, verses 1-6) Two little words: “But God;” Two little words, six letters, two syllables in English; seven letters and three syllables in Greek. In both English and Greek, the conjunction “but” ties two thoughts together in comparison or contrast. “But God” in this passage of scripture is the starkest of all contrasts, the division between the most polar of all opposites: Death and Life. We all were dead but God made us alive. All other contrasts pale in comparison: black and white, sickness and health, male and female, slave and free, wet and dry, rich and poor…ad infinitum. We humans can think of nothing worse than death and better than life. These two tiny words are the pivot of a scale, one side of which is so weighed down that it is at its nadir-it can go no lower than death. Then, abruptly, God enters in with His alternative: Life. “But God”…made us alive. The scales crash down on the opposite side, kerblam! Death is left hanging in midair, dangling helpless, suspended with nothing to support it. Death itself is dead, outweighed, outflanked just when it thought it had achieved the ultimate victory. We were dead, all of us, completely under its control, fully in harmony with its powers, the consensus of its counsel, the slaves of its prince, in harmony with the spirit of the disobedient; enslaved to the lusts of body and mind and ready to be consumed. But God! Made us alive Raised us up; Seated us with Him in the heavenly places. A stunning victory; death is swallowed up, absorbed into life in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is grace: that God, in loving mercy, without our consent, even while we were still dead in our sins-with no consciousness of our state or of the option, made us alive together with Christ Jesus our Lord. No wonder Paul in chapter 1 fervently prays that we, the believing ones, may know the power which He exerts on our behalf, the power of the resurrection of our Lord (1:18,19). We are raised with Him, seated with Him and all this so that Jesus may be head over all things. For what purpose? For the Church, His Bride, who is His own fulfillment, the filling up, the satisfaction of Him who is Himself, the fullness of all things. How marvelous is this grace, this gift, this Gift which brings with Him all gifts for the Bride who is not ready for Him, but whom He loves unto death, the heartsick-with-love suitor. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who blessed us with this gift, the gift of life, sung out to us in two little words: ”But God.” 11.2.12