What does it mean that God is rich in mercy (Ephesians 2:4)?

Answer

In Ephesians 2:4, the apostle Paul writes, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us” (ESV). The word “but” signals an emphatic contrast between verses 1–3 and verses 4–10. Therefore, to understand the meaning and significance of God’s being “rich in mercy,” we need to review the immediate context.

Ephesians 2:1–3 paints a sobering picture of the human condition. In verse 1, Paul writes that we were “dead” in trespasses and sins. This does not mean that we were physically dead because, in the next verse, he writes that we followed “the course of this world” and “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience” (verse 2, ESV). As a result, we “lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (verse 3, ESV).

The contrast between human impoverishment and divine abundance could not be more striking. God is not only merciful; he is “rich in mercy” «But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, », (Ephesians 2:4). The Greek word for “rich” means that God abounds in mercy. As Jeremiah testified, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23;ESV). In other words, God’s mercy is overwhelmingly generous. We do not deserve it, yet He continues to give it. How great is our God!

Even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, God was still merciful to us “because of his great love for us” «But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great loveWherein He loved us,” (Ephesians 2:4). God’s love surpasses mere sentimental feelings; it is a love that prompted Him to action: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16; ESV; cf: Romans 5:8). God loved us so deeply that He sacrificed His only Son for us. Now, that is genuine and unconditional love!

Jesus Christ is the originator and perfecter of our salvation, “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God,” (Hebrews 12:2). He initiated the work, and He will bring it to fruition. Paul affirms that God “made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” “even when we were dead in sins, He made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved;)” (Ephesians 2:5, ESV). We were spiritually dead. Now, we are alive. Not through our own efforts, but by His grace:

He has “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 display the immeasurable riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace, you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:6-9; ESV).