We have now seen a general picture of man’s fallen condition. He has sinned by disobeying God’s commandment and come under God’s condemnation. He also now has within him the sinful life of God’s enemy, Satan. Man is helpless, unable to save himself or others from God’s coming judgment. He is also unable to keep himself from sinning and offending God still more. His final destination is the lake of fire, which has been prepared by God for Satan and all those who have followed him. So, in every way, man is both helpless and hopeless.
Yes, man is hopeless in himself. But God loves man because His heart is a heart of love. He loved man in His purpose before He created the heavens and the earth. He loved man after He created him and put him in front of the tree of life. And now, after the fall, He still loves man. God still wants man to be filled up with Him so that man may fully satisfy God’s heart by expressing Him.
Let us read Ephesians 2:4-5: “But God, being rich in mercy because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in offenses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).”
[Verse 4, which tells us that God is rich in mercy, begins with the words “But God.” This was the turning factor in our position. We were in a miserable situation, but God came in with His rich mercy to make us suitable for His love.]
[God is rich in mercy “because of His great love with which He loved us” (v. 4). The object of love should be in a condition deserving love, but the object of mercy is always in a pitiful situation. Hence, God’s mercy reaches further than His love. God loves us because we are the object of His selection. But we became pitiful by our fall, even dead in our offenses and sins; therefore, we need God’s mercy. Because of His great love, God is rich in mercy to save us from our wretched position to a condition which is suitable for His love.]
This love is the source of our salvation. He manifested this love by sending His only begotten Son to die for our redemption. He did not need to save us. He could have cast us into the lake of fire, but His love caused Him to come and die for us. What a wonderful love!
[The Good Shepherd forsook all to seek one lost sheep. He did not come to seek to save the lost sheep because there were ninety-nine of them. The Good Shepherd came for one lost sheep. In other words, even if only one person in the whole world were lost, the Lord would still have come to the earth. Of course, historically, all men needed to be saved. But as far as the love in His heart is concerned, He was ready to come for one man, for one lost sheep. The Holy Spirit did not begin searching because ten coins were lost; He searched because one coin was lost. The Father did not wait for His prodigal because all of His sons had become prodigal; He opened His arms to one prodigal who returned. In the parable in Luke 15, we see that in the work of His redemption, the Lord was willing to spend Himself freely to meet the need of even one soul....This shows the intense love that the Lord has for man.
The Lord Jesus came to the earth for man. According to Mark 10, He came to serve men even to the point of giving His life as a ransom....He was interested in man, and He considered man precious and worthy of love and service. He served man to such an extent that He met their need by becoming their Savior. This is why He gave His life as a ransom.]
Because of this love, we can become children of God to grow to become His sons. First John 3:1 says, “See what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and we are. Because of this the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”
Now you can see that because God loves us, we are not a hopeless race of people. He wants to save us and to give us His life. His purpose with man is eternal, and so is His love. He never changes. When He loves us, He loves us eternally. Even when we fell into sin and death, His mercy reached us. Hallelujah! Because of His great love for us, it is guaranteed that we will be filled with His life and fulfill His eternal purpose.