"But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, 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."
Ephesians 2:4-6
We see now what was meant earlier by saying that it is better to think of the dark picture of human sin in the light of the mercy of God, than to look at that picture by itself. When we think of what we are in our plight and helplessness as sinners we might well despair, but the message of the gospel is of a God Who in Christ intervenes to give newness of life, and to meet every other need and eventuality. We could put it this way: There was a day when the sun's rays penetrated the mists and clouds of the primeval chaos at God's behest, as He commanded the light to shine out of darkness, and there comes a day, in the lives of God's elect, when the Sun of righteousness rises upon them with healing in His wings. That is the miracle of the grace of God by which we become regenerate, and pass from death unto life, and from darkness into light, and from the power of Satan unto God. And it is all of grace. If we are Christians today we are so by the sovereign grace of God. We never deserved His grace. He did not have to speak that life-giving word to our souls. There was no obligation on Him to do so. There was nothing in us to invite His pity or compassion. He might have left us in our sins and in our lost estate. But the Spirit of God brooded upon our darkness. The divine pity overshadowed our helplessness. His thoughts towards us were thoughts of peace and not of evil. He held out His hand to us and it was a hand of love. He loved us, and He had mercy on us. Blessed be His Name! And - to anticipate what follows later in the chapter, and to continue the 'creation' analogy a little further - just as God commanded the flowers and the fruits of the earth into being, so He commands the flowers of grace and the fruits of the Spirit to come forth in the lives of those He has recreated. So also, the fragrance and beauty of the first creation have their spiritual counterpart in the new creation of God in Christ. The soul of man becomes like a well-watered garden, and the desert blossoms as the rose. There is nothing in the world so beautiful as a newborn child of God.