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“God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
— Ephesians 2:4–5
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
— 1 Peter 1:3
These two passages form one united revelation:
The lyrics you quoted simply echo what Scripture declares:
> “God, who is rich in mercy… made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in sins.”
> “Blessed be the God and Father… who according to His abundant mercy has given us new birth into a living hope…”
We are dealing here with the central transition of the Christian life:
From death to life.
From wrath to mercy.
From hopelessness to living hope.
Nothing in the Christian life will be solid, stable, or victorious unless we grasp this foundational truth: We were dead, and God made us alive in His mercy.
Let us look at what the Word of God says—historically, linguistically, and theologically—and then see how we are to respond in practice.
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### Ephesians 2:4–5 – Paul’s Revelation of Our Condition and God’s Intervention
Paul is writing to the believers in Ephesus, a major pagan city in Asia Minor, filled with idolatry, occult practices, and immorality (see Acts 19). Many of these believers had come out of deep spiritual darkness.
In Ephesians 2:1–3, Paul describes the human condition apart from Christ:
This is not an exaggeration; it is a spiritual diagnosis. Humanity is not merely sick, weak, or misguided. Spiritually, before Christ, we are dead—cut off from the life of God, under the control of a satanic system, and subject to divine wrath.
It is against this dark background that verse 4 shines:
> “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us…”
The turning point of all human history and of your personal history is contained in those two words: “But God.”
When there was no hope in us, God moved in mercy.
### 1 Peter 1:3 – Peter’s Perspective Under Persecution
Peter writes to believers scattered throughout regions of the Roman Empire (1 Peter 1:1). They are undergoing various trials, pressure, and persecution. To such people, he begins with a doxology:
> “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
He does not start with their problems. He starts with God’s mercy and God’s action:
For Paul, the focus is from death to life.
For Peter, the focus is from despair to living hope.
Both root this transformation in the mercy of God, expressed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The lyrics correctly put these two together:
Both are the direct result of God’s rich, abundant mercy.
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To understand this revelation more deeply, we need to look at two key words: mercy and made alive together with.
### 1) “Mercy” – Greek: *Eleos* (ἔλεος)
Both Ephesians 2:4 and 1 Peter 1:3 speak of mercy.
The Greek word *eleos* corresponds to the rich Old Testament concept of ḥesed—God’s covenant love, His loyal, steadfast lovingkindness. It is not a casual emotion. It is God’s committed, covenant-based compassion that moves Him to act on behalf of those who cannot help themselves.
*Eleos* includes:
When Scripture says God is rich in mercy or acts according to His abundant mercy, it means:
So when the lyrics say, “God, who is rich in mercy,” they are not just stating that God sometimes feels sorry for us. They are proclaiming that God has an overflowing, inexhaustible store of covenant compassion, which has expressed itself in the most concrete way: He made us alive with Christ.
### 2) “Made alive together with Christ” – Greek: *Synezoōpoiēsen* (συνεζωοποίησεν)
In Ephesians 2:5, the phrase translated “made us alive together with Christ” is one compound Greek verb: *synezoōpoiēsen*.
Literally: “He made alive together with.”
This reveals two vital truths:
1. Our life is inseparable from Christ’s life.
God did not simply improve our old life. He united us with Christ’s resurrection life. The life we now have is not merely human life repaired; it is resurrection life shared.
2. Our spiritual history is bound to Christ’s history.
What God did to Christ—raised Him from the dead, seated Him in heavenly places—He has, in principle, done to us in Him (see Ephesians 2:6). We are co-resurrected, co-raised, co-seated.
The lyrics “made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in sins” carry this full weight:
This is also what Peter refers to as being “begotten again” or “given us new birth” (*anagennaō*), a new genesis, a new origin, brought into being by the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.
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Now let us take the core lines and unfold their theological content in the light of Scripture.
### A. “God, who is rich in mercy…”
This line points us first to who God is, not to what we are.
God’s nature is not harshness. His eternal disposition toward repentant sinners is mercy. He is not poor in mercy. He is rich in mercy.
This is essential in spiritual warfare and in pursuit of holiness. Satan’s main strategy is accusation and condemnation (Revelation 12:10). If he can convince you that God is reluctant, stingy, or cold in His dealings with you, he can paralyze your faith.
The Scripture answers that lie:
The lyrics rightly start with God’s abundance, not our lack.
### B. “Because of His great love with which He loved us…”
Notice the cause: because of His great love.
God’s action does not originate in our love for Him. It originates in His love for us. Not a small love, not a conditional love, but a great love.
This love is:
When Satan whispers, “You are not lovable; you are not accepted,” we must answer with the Word:
> “God has loved me with great love even when I was dead in sins. His love preceded all my response.”
### C. “Made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in sins.”
Here is the heart of the gospel—resurrection with Christ.
1. Our prior condition: Dead in sins.
Spiritual death means separation from God, inability to respond to Him, no capacity to live righteously. The sinner does not need help; he needs resurrection.
2. God’s action: He made us alive together with Christ.
Our “new life” is resurrection life. It is not produced by moral effort. It is the direct result of union with the risen Christ, effected by the Holy Spirit.
3. The timing: Even when we were dead.
God did not wait until we improved ourselves. The initiative was entirely His. This leaves no room for boasting, only for worship and gratitude.
This line in the lyrics confronts a subtle religious lie: that we contribute something to our salvation. The truth is:
### D. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ…”
This is Peter’s response: worship. The only appropriate response to the revelation of God’s mercy is blessing and praise.
Theology must lead to doxology. Sound doctrine is not an end in itself. It should produce a heart that says, “Blessed be God!” even in suffering and trial, as Peter’s readers were experiencing.
### E. “Who according to His abundant mercy has given us new birth…”
Here Peter focuses on regeneration—the new birth.
1. The source: His abundant mercy.
New birth is not earned. It is a gift, rooted in God’s overflowing mercy.
2. The nature: New birth (begotten again).
New birth is not self-improvement, but the impartation of a new nature. We become children of God, with His life in us.
3. The agent: The Word and the Spirit.
The mercy of God operates through the Word and the Spirit to bring us from death to life, from the old creation to the new.
### F. “Into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Peter introduces a further dimension: living hope.
1. Hope defined.
Biblical hope (*elpis*) is not wishful thinking. It is a confident expectation based on the promises and power of God.
2. Living hope.
Our hope is living because it is connected to a living Person—the risen Christ. We do not just have doctrines about the future; we have union with the One who has conquered death.
3. The basis: The resurrection.
The resurrection is God’s public declaration that the sacrifice of Jesus was accepted, that sin has been dealt with, and that a new order of life has begun.
So the lyrics “new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” summarize this central truth:
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The revelation of God’s rich mercy, our being made alive with Christ, and our new birth into a living hope must produce a lifestyle. Here are four key responses.
### 1) First, We Must Renounce the Old Identity of Death and Wrath
Many believers still think and speak as if they are primarily:
But Scripture says:
We must renounce agreement with the old identity—“dead in sins,” “children of wrath”—and embrace our new identity—“alive with Christ,” “children of God,” “new creation.”
A practical step is to stop speaking about yourself in terms that contradict what God has said. Align your confession with God’s Word.
### 2) Second, We Must Receive and Affirm God’s Rich Mercy Daily
The Christian life begins and continues by mercy.
Every day, you can approach God on the basis of His rich mercy, not your performance.
Practically:
### 3) Third, We Must Live by Resurrection Power, Not Fleshly Effort
If God has “made us alive together with Christ,” then the power that raised Jesus from the dead is at work in us.
We are not called to live the Christian life in our own strength. We are called to walk in the Spirit, relying on resurrection power.
Practically:
### 4) Fourth, We Must Set Our Hope Fully on the Grace to Come
Since we are born again into a living hope, our outlook must be anchored in the future fulfillment of God’s promises.
Living hope produces:
Practically:
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### Proclamation
Say this aloud, thoughtfully and deliberately:
> I proclaim that God is rich in mercy toward me.
> According to His great love, even when I was dead in my sins,
> He made me alive together with Christ.
> By grace I have been saved, not by my works.
> According to His abundant mercy,
> God has caused me to be born again to a living hope
> through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
> I am no longer a child of wrath; I am a child of God.
> I have resurrection life within me by the Holy Spirit.
> My hope is living, because my Savior is living.
> I set my hope fully on the grace that is to be revealed to me
> at the coming of my Lord Jesus Christ.
> This is my portion, this is my identity,
> because of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus.
> Amen.
### Prayer
Father,
We bless You as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We acknowledge that we were dead in trespasses and sins, without hope and without You in the world. Yet You, being rich in mercy, because of Your great love, have made us alive together with Christ.
Thank You for Your abundant mercy that has caused us to be born again into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. By Your Spirit, write this truth deep in our hearts. Deliver us from every lie of condemnation, every identity of death and wrath.
Teach us to walk in the power of resurrection life. Strengthen us to set our hope fully on the grace to be revealed. Let the reality of Your rich mercy and living hope transform our thinking, our speaking, and our living.
We yield ourselves afresh to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and to the working of Your Holy Spirit in us.
In the name of Jesus, who died and rose again,
Amen.
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