If you ask anyone, “What is the most well-known hymn of all-time”, there is no doubt the answer would be “Amazing Grace.” The staying power of that song in a secular culture is amazing. When we think of I,t we have to marvel at the word grace. When most religious words are overused and mean little for the average person, here is an exception.

As I write this, the NBA finals are taking place. Basketball is a game of athletes who have the ability to float gracefully through the air. For many athletes, there is a natural freedom of motion as they perform in their individual sport. People who are skilled in conflict resolution usually have an ability to communicate with grace. But grace is more than beauty and gentleness, rather connotes power as well.

The line, “That saved a wretch like me” is a phrase that goes to the depths of human need. John Newton wrote these words as an Anglican priest in the village of Olney, England. He had been a slave trader, and the thought that he would turn his back on that life and become a disciple of Jesus Christ was unthinkable in his early seafaring days. Grace has power to do the impossible.

Ephesians 2:1 communicates to us in no uncertain terms our need for grace: “As for you, you were dead in your transgression and sins…” My reaction when I let those words speak to me is to become defensive. I believe many of us would react that way. We do not see ourselves as “that bad.”

After all, I was not, like Paul, involved in the death of Stephen. I was never a wretched slave trader as John Newton was. But Paul clarifies his point in verse 3, “All of us” have, at various times, lived “gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature.”

We were created to glorify God. Our greatest joy and fulfillment comes in following the Spirit of God through life. Being in His will we find our perfect peace. What disrupts this relationship for which we are made is to give in to the cravings or under-pull our old nature. Here in Ephesians 2:2, the source is not only described as our old nature, but “the ruler of the kingdom of the air.” This image of the “evil one” is of one who is at work in the atmosphere in which we live.

I have a friend who lives in Los Angeles. In fact, he is an actor there. For him, it is a challenge living in an environment where the “air” is full of sin and despair. Much of what his community produces is so pervasive that the sheer volume can make it sound like the truth. The message of the air is not only to give in to your cravings but to celebrate them as signs that you are alive.

But for Christians, the opposite is true. We are, apart from God, dead spiritually. This may not sound like good news, but there is no recognition of the very best news without recognition of what sin is. However, it is not the final note.

To use a phrase I remember from my childhood, “We were as good as dead.” Our goodness may make us feel superior to some people we would be glad to name. That is why the words of “Amazing Grace” feel so contrary to how we see ourselves. But the truth is comparative goodness is swallowed up in the holiness and righteousness of God.

Yet the power of God that Paul names here, that makes us alive who were dead in our transgressions, is the power of love and mercy. Because of what God has done in Jesus Christ, we are rescued from our old nature. In fact, the old nature is crucified and we are new creations.

On the cross we see the riches of God’s mercy when Jesus says, “Father, forgive them.” We see the love that goes the limit to bring us into eternal life in Jesus’ words, “It is finished.” Because our salvation is affected only by what God is, has done, and can do, we must call it grace. If we were dead, we contribute nothing to our being made alive.

Three times the word grace is used in the first ten verses of Ephesians 2. Each time the emphasis is clear: we have been saved not by and for ourselves but by and for Christ Jesus. It is not only being made alive, but we dwell with Christ in the heavenly realms. This points not so much to the future tense of the heavenly Kingdom. Rather, “the heavenly realms” press on us the reality of being raised with Christ now. We are not ruled by the ruler of the kingdom of the air, but by the Risen Lord. We are to live in another realm.

Much is made today of a growing number of Christian leaders identifying themselves as “red-letter” Christians. The reference is to the words of Jesus being printed in red ink in some Bibles. The image is a good one. Redeemed by Christ, we are to live in the atmosphere of his teaching. Our faith and trust grows as we learn of Christ and follow him. Neither the saving nor the following is anything of our own doing. It is the gift of God. In other words, it is all grace.

Many people who have studied Ephesians have called verses 8 through 10 Paul’s gospel in a nutshell. But having said that, we have often stopped short of fully including verse 10 in that summary. What we emphasize is being saved by grace, through faith. If this is a summary of Paul’s gospel, we should ask, “For what purpose are we saved?”

If the answer is that we are saved for heaven, then why are we all still hanging around here? Why does not God just take us to be with Him? We can sing all the way back from church camp that “This world is not my home,” but there is more to the story.

Paul goes on to say in verse 10 “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Although it is true that our citizenship is in the city of God, as Hebrews 11:16 tells us, we are created for the good work that God has ordained us to do. This is the emphasis of verse 10.

To put it in terms of the Hebrews passage, we who are citizens of the city of God are to have a ministry here. Our life is not just to wait until we go home to be with Him. We have a purpose and function here. This was a part of God’s plan from eternity. We are “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.”

Somehow we stumble over the phrase “good works.” When we hear the term, “good works,” we usually associate it with works-salvation. Christians believe we are “saved by grace through faith” or “sola gratia.” That is our belief. But that belief leads to a transformed and purpose-filled life. It is not about earning credit or a right standing with God. Our works of justice, our tithes, our perfect church attendance does not create a magnetic force that pulls God’s favor toward us. This does not make “good works” bad. They are the natural outcome of being saved by grace, through faith.

Our works are good and beautiful because it is God’s work in and through us. It is all a gift that we receive through trusting in Jesus Christ. Paul even goes so far as to say that we are “God’s workmanship.” The word used can also mean “work of art” or even “a poetic product,” so we do not bargain with God about our good works. We are works of God ourselves.

All creative abilities, and as much as we deny it, we all have them, are gifts from our Creator, to be used for the glory of God and the good of God’s creation. So the next time you believe God  will look with favor on you because of your good work or creativity, think again. It is all grace. It is all a gift. Therefore none of us should boast.

It is even more likely that you will be tempted not to use the creative gifts God has given you. You may believe the Evil One’s lie, “What do you have to offer this world?” It is enough of a challenge to slink back from offering what we were created in Christ Jesus to do. Be bold; do it. Take a chance for God and get your hands dirty. This is how we display God’s workmanship in us by working for the glory of God and the good of others.